august 15: my other Independence Day, part 1 - an Irishman, large sticks hitting people, and giraffes

Above picture: Ol’ Orange, White and Green

I have a dark secret to reveal… I did nothing on Independence Day (American).

On the 4^th of July, I was at the Bridge Foundation busily working away at my computer. Around noontime, I happened to look over at a calendar and saw that it was the 4^th of July. I didn’t know what to do. I always take part in some kind of 4^th of July celebration.

For a second, I thought about what I should do, shrugged, and then went back to work. I completely did nothing on my country’s Independence Day.

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India’s Independence Day is a huge deal. Independence Day in the US is a huge deal, too. So, I spent the 15^th of August comparing who makes a bigger deal of their Independence Day. If you think about it, both our Independence Days celebrate the same thing, our freedom from the British.

Above picture: Indian History for Dummies or the Idiot’s Guide to Indian History

I began my celebration of India’s independence from the British by going to one of Parikrma’s schools. There the students put on a presentation of India’s history.

After the presentation, I went to Lalbagh with an Irishman.

Lalbagh is the home of the Botanical Gardens, so it is one of the only places where vegetation still grows in Bangalore. On the 15^th of August, you can find food and flowers from all over India in Lalbagh. You can also find a large portion of Bangalore’s human population.

Above picture: And they aren’t afraid to use them

There were many events happening in Bangalore on the 15^th of August. I decided to go to the place where police and security guards hit people with large sticks, Lalbagh.

In the center of Lalbagh is a glass house that the British built. It is, ironically, the main attraction in Lalbagh. The Glass House holds beautiful creations made entirely of flowers. Everyone wants to get into the glass house.

The problem is that not everyone can get into the glass house at the same time because there is only one entrance, three exits, and hundreds of thousands of people.

The police and security guards hit people with sticks to keep them away from the exits, which people ingeniously use as entrances.

I was at one of these “alternative entrances” for about 30 minutes watching people get hit with large sticks. It was some of the best entertainment I’ve got in a long time.

Above pictures: Worth a stick-beating

The Irishman and I didn’t want to wait in the long entrance queue and we didn’t want to get hit with sticks. Luckily, we found a great alternative: bribery. And, the money wasn't coming out of either of our pockets.

Here’s how it worked. We observed men walking up to security guards in the crowd, handing them money, and then watching the security guard lead the man and his family through the swinging sticks and into the exit. So, we just joined the next family that paid the bribe.

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When we got into the Glass House we found beautiful flower arrangements and people taking pictures in front of giraffes made entirely of flowers.

Lesson of the day: The Glass House is definitely worth all the bribery, stick-beatings, and long entrance lines.