Monday, August 15, 2005

happy independence day!

indian independence, that is.

it's one of the big indian holidays. everyone has the day off and the flags are flying... this is a very patriotic place. i've mentioned to several indians the common independence day bond we have, both of our countries having booted out the brits and united as democratic nations. surprisingly, this almost never fails to elicit surprise. in fact i've been told twice that i'm mistaken. i guess western history is given about as much study here as eastern history is given in the USA.

i was going to go to the freedom jam--a massive outdoor music festival, apparently the biggest in india--but the event was cancelled due to security concerns (i.e. terrorists). once again the terrorists have won, and i'm at work instead.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry terrorists ruined your independence....

Anonymous said...

Indians were tellng you that, as an American, you were mistaken and the US was never a Brittish colony (that would be odd)? Or they were correcting you somehow about Indian history with England (that wouldn't be so odd)?

Strange how many independence days involve victory over an uppity nation with little landmass. England. Portugal. The Dutch. Japan. All the size of an American beverage. Germany, only moderately larger than a Coleman cooler.

steyock said...

a few indians were telling me that the US wasn't a british colony. i got the impression they thought i had confused US and indian history.