Happy Independence Day! (Monday Moments #64)

          He was sitting in his office doing his usual work, talking with the usual people but something was not usual about that day. The Indian man's heart could only think about his home country on the 70th Independence Day. Living abroad becomes even tougher on occasions like these. Home sickness, longing to be with family, desire to be among your own people. All these aspects had already settled deep down in him. But at times like these, all of the emotions surfaced and made him miss India more than ever. If he would be in India, he wouldn't be working. But, right now, he was just working in his office with a few people coming up and wishing him. No celebrations, only formalities. If he would be in India, he would watch those patriotic live parades, stand proudly when the anthem played and read amazing historic articles which made him passionate about being an Indian. But, right now, all he listened to was live meetings, read reports and wrote financial articles. If he would be in India, his family and friends would hoist the flag. But, right now, his hands were tied to his desk.

          Once he got home, he talked to his wife and kids. His wife had made Indian food. His kids arranged for a video chat with his parents and friends together. They did a flag hoisting in their front lawn and sang proudly to the national anthem. It was so euphoric that for a moment, he felt like he was in India. Technology and sentiments somehow erased the distance making him feel at home while not actually being at home.

Happy Independence Day!

(‘Monday Moments’ is a blog series wherein I write about an incident or a moment in a short paragraph. It’s not a story, but just a short description to express and explore the most common joys and also the uncommon miseries.)