Today is Indian Independence Day, and for the longest time Indian Independence Day was just a fact that was a part of my life. August 15^th, in the past, meant a couple of things: it meant that school was about to start which meant that I was probably either panicking or buying unnecessary stationery. In the recent past August 15^th meant that my tuition was either due or a few days from being due, and somewhere in the background as I slyly googled ways to cheat the higher education system “Jana Gana Mana”- the National Anthem of India would play in my mind-at which point I would have to stand up and pay my respects thus making it highly cumbersome to continue googling. The higher education system can thank Rabindranath Tagore for halting my plans.

However in all seriousness, the importance and true significance of Indian Independence Day had never really embedded itself into my heart, but this year has been a year of change for me and I told myself that I would make it a point to be one step closer to identifying myself as Indian. Unfortunately, I have not spent a great deal of time in my homeland of India, so it is harder for me to be nationalistic, but I found that the time you spend in an area does not necessarily relate to the level of pride you feel-it definitely will help, but what I mean to say is that I feel spending time somewhere does not have to be the primary reason behind being patriotic. Initially I wanted to write this article as a sort of history lesson into what I had found out about Indian Independence Day, and why it is so important, but a realization came to me that all that information could be found out in the same way I found it out-through a bit of research.

So for this particular article I want to write about what makes me feel patriotic inside, and when I say Patriotic I mean as patriotic as Kajol in Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham (arguably the best Bollywood movie ever to be made, thank you Karan Johar). As a child the one thing that always stunned me about India is the sheer amount of diversity. Growing up I was surrounded by a diverse group of people, but ultimately we all spoke English and dressed similarly, so while our external appearances were different, we were still all pretty much the same. I still remember going to a cultural fair and seeing the “India” booth, and while the differences in clothing amazed me the one thing in particular that caught my attention was the sign that said “Henna”. I was a bit confused because I grew up calling henna “mylanji” and to further my confusion a very pleasant lady came up to me asking if I wanted mehendi on my hand. After I had realized that yes, mylanji, mehendi, and henna were in fact the same thing an important thought came to my mind and that was the unity of languages. Language has always interested me, and the fact that India as a whole has a plethora of different languages and dialects is just one of the most amazing facts.

I grew up speaking Malayalam, and my mother is a big fan of Tamil songs so I picked up a bit of Tamil from that, and as most Indian children do I binge watched (present tense is more appropriate here) Hindi movies and happened to be able to understand Hindi fluently. I continue to be astonished every time I pick up a new word or a new phrase in any language, but learning the languages of my place of origin gives me that extra tally mark on my hypothetical chalk board. In my very first article I wrote about my Amma’s dhal (lentils), but in that one I left out that my favorite Indian dish to this day is Palak Paneer. While lentils are made in many different regions in India, the way my Amma makes them is pretty South Indian, whereas Palak, or Saag Paneer is a spinach dish originating in Punjab and then spread out mostly across Northern India.

Two dishes from two different parts of India combined together by my love for them, and that was a great discovery for me. To use my love for these dishes to understand unity a little more. Ultimately the fight for Independence, and gaining independence are rooted in politics, and for a person like me who comes from India and has a great appreciation for India, but has a very faint knowledge of Indian history and the political systems it was hard to feel patriotic on August 15^th. It was not until I realized that I could find portions of myself, and my life in the rich history of my country of origin that I started to really appreciate Indian Independence day.

That being said, despite my vague understanding of the history it is also very important to me to acknowledge the immense struggle, the countless lives lost, and the people that lived the experiences surrounding the movement that gave India its liberty. Without these brave people that spoke out and fought for what they believed in the India I know today, and the experiences I have gained as an Indian would have probably been very different. So today, on August 15^th 2017, 70 years after India gained its Independence I sit here with a newfound love and appreciation for the country I call my homeland with the unity in diversity that I continue to discover. Happy Indian Independence Day to all.