The Freedom Fever is doing its annual round. Consequently we face longer frisking time at Metro stations and lot more patrolling on roads.

The Government has responded to the occasion by organising Bharat Parv (India Festival) at various venues in Delhi. Bharat Parv is, by all accounts, an event that showcases the cuisine and culture of the various states of India. Details (venues – dates – timings) are available at the following link – http://iato.in/pdf/EInvite.pdf

We visited Delhi Haat, INA to view this event. It was evening and we saw several performances at the Amphitheatre. This included Kajri songs from UP/Bihar region, Bhangra from Punjab, and other folk dances from the states of Haryana and Rajasthan. The show was impressive but it was extremely warm and humid for an outdoor event. The audience could hardly take their minds off the sticky weather. In fact our hearts went out to all the performers who were wearing heavy clothes and makeup and danced under very strong halogen lights on stage.

Delhi Haat has an impressive agglomeration of state restaurants that serve cuisines from various parts of India throughout the year. We did not find any additional stalls set up by the festival organisers. Given the richness and variety of Indian culture, there is always scope for showcasing a wider range of Indian cuisine and culture without much difficulty. We wonder why no food stalls were set up, especially for this event.

For most of us, Independence Day is just another holiday. Hence any initiative that reminds us of our heritage as well as the value of being independent – living in a free country – is welcome. So while we say Jai Hind to the idea, we wish it was implemented with a little less bureaucratic inertia and a little more sincerity.