We are ‘Creative beings’ living a Human Story’.

Exactly one year ago, our nation embarked on a joyous journey known as the ‘Amrit Mahotsav,’ celebrating India’s year of independence.

Flags. Flags and Flags. I personally felt that it was an amazing initiative to enrich the feeling of patriotism amongst the people of India during the ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ year of India, which otherwise was looked just like any other holiday.

Here is a story of pride, that I would like to share through this blog. As an Artist, I felt deep inside on how should I pay my tribute towards this eventful year. Out of nowhere, an idea stuck in my head that I should travel to the different parts of villages and capture what people are doing at this event. I believed it will be a rare experience to see, so I decided to take my family along with me. Our journey took us through the rustic roads, offering a glimpse into the soul of the common Indian man’s perspective on this monumental day.

This part of the story I defined as ‘Pride of common man’

At first on the road, we saw a Rickshaw on the highway, which tied the flag on top of its roof and it was flying high along with the speed of the winds. My kid was amazed by seeing the flow of waves on the cloth, on which the Tri-colours were waving. Further, we saw a man standing in the rain, skillfully erecting a bamboo pole on the rooftop of a small shop and fastening the tricolor flag to it. These moments humbled me. Until then, I had associated this act with notable figures of our society, yet for the first time, a common man had taken up the mantle.

This part of the story showed me ‘An Experience becoming Viral’

The weather was rainy, windy and cold as we travelled through the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. The green landscape across the Sahyadri ranges was so serene. Moved by the spirit of the occasion, my wife asked me to take the tricolor flag in hand and wave it from a hilltop overlooking the road. To my amazement, a nearby couple, inspired by our gesture, emerged from their parked car, and started waving the tricolor they had. A man approached me, said, brother please give the flag for a moment and capture my photo in the mobile. In that instant, an infectious joy spread like wildfire, people all around were so joyful to live this moment and capture it on their phones. I was seeing first time an ‘experience becoming viral’

This part of the story is a ‘Festival of Tri-colours’

Across the journey, we saw various inspiring moments of people from various stages of life setting up the tricolor couple of days before the event. In the evening, we reached the village, and I was amazed to see the flags were standing tall and big on each ones house, as if it were the ‘Gudi’ poles which Maharashtrians set up in their houses during the auspicious festival called ‘GUDI PADWA’. Whether fashioned from mud, bricks, or cow dung, whether grand or humble, existing or under construction, each home proudly displayed the tricolor. The kids were happily running holding the flag through those small lanes of the farms, as if they were admiring this as a festival.

This part of the story is about ‘Owning relationships’

Nights happens early in villages. With no electricity due to rains, we were sitting quietly staring at the sky and farms. Soon, a kid walked towards our house and said ‘Dada’ (elder brother) tomorrow we have a flag salutation in the school early morning, why don’t you come and capture the moments. At the village school, they had 3 days flag hosting program and kids used to gather around 7:30 am and celebrate it. I was awake till 1:30 am, watching all the moments of the day that I had captured, so I decided to drop the idea of going to the school. In the morning 6:30 am, I got a call on my phone of that kid, and said get ready, we need to go. I felt as if the universe is calling me to the school. I got ready, walked down the road to the school through those muddy and wetlands, making my way in the silence of morning. It was a Zilla Parishad school at the Grampanchayat of the village. A small school with few younger kids in uniform, were cleaning the area near the pole where the flag was to be hosted. A man walked towards me and said Namaskar, ‘I’m the principal of the school and these are 3 teachers who travel from neighbouring villages. He surprisingly introduced me to the teachers’. Believe me I met all those people for the first time in my life, but the principal knew me. This is the magic of village life. People here know who is in the village and what is happening in the village. It was such a nice feeling to know that people know about each other, care for each other and are open to welcome each other and unknown people. This is rare in cities, where it is difficult to find about the immediate neighbour. What a contrasting life it is! To my astonishment, the village Sarpanch (head) invited me to break the shreephal (coconut) during the ceremony, a gesture that left me deeply moved.

This part of the story is about ‘Respecting an Idea’

Couple of Days after Independence Day, a call from an unfamiliar number caught me by surprise. The voice on the other side, asked for my name and said I saw the video which you had done for Independence Day. It was on what’s app status of a school principal. And then that principal, gave the number of a teacher from the school of the village where you shot this video of the kids. Later, that teacher searched for the kid who bought me to the school and that is how I got your number. I was now wondering why did he take so much effort to figure out me. He said, he is from ‘Tata Automobiles’ and that they were amazed by this video. He mentioned that his team wants to showcase this video at the event of theirs CSR activity. So for showcasing the video, he needed my permission. I was humbled by the honor and profoundly impressed by the genuine respect for the authenticity of ideas, which otherwise I had seen people don’t care about using other’s ideas or about showing respect towards other’s ideas.

Now, Even after a year now, those numerous moments of the journey to capture Amritmahotsav’ are so much alive in my memory. It was a one-of-its experience, an idea that evolved my perspective towards creativity and ways to find transformation in those little details. The teachings of my gurus, who gave me the lessons of ‘being observant’, and relate moments with stories have once again helped me during this whole journey of seeing ‘Har Ghar Triranga’. I always feel ‘Creativity is Natural’. It exists in every human being and may such events reveal us the unknown part of every human story

About the Author

Deepak Nanekar is the Strategy Director of an Award Winning, Mumbai Based Advertising Agency, Golden Mean. He has more than 18 years of experience in building brands and nurturing them to grow. He is known for the deep understanding of Brand advertising and its communication flow through various channels.