It's that time of the year again when Indians wear their patriotic heart on their sleeves, or rather the tricolour on their shirts, wrists, caps and even as bindis - not to mention sporting the flag from rooftops, on their cars and inside their homes.

As India celebrates 60 years of its freedom from British rule, the tricolour is everywhere; in different sizes and materials, with a stick to wave it around, with adhesive to stick to different surfaces or a magnet to put on the refrigerator.

As the patriotic spirit gathers strength, so does business for firms like Chaggan Lal & Co in this Rajasthan capital that has worked overtime to meet demand from markets all over India.

One of the largest manufacturers of flags in the country, the company has been in the business for over 40 years. In the run to this Independence Day, it sent thousands of flags, t-shirts, stickers, plastic stands and balloons to various parts of the country.

"Aug 15 is a major day for us because this is the time of the year when the sale of flags, t-shirts, balloons, table flags is the highest. This is the first national festival that comes immediately after the summer vacations so all educational institutes participate with high sprits," said Vishnu Agarwal from Chaggan Lal & Co.

"To name just a few places, we have sent our flags to Ahmedabad, Chennai, Bhopal, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore," added another manager in the company.

The company, which has monitored India's patriotic zeal through the decades, says it is only growing - and some of it is due to the cricket, says Agarwal.

The biggest buyers are schools, which go for paper flags that cost one rupee, followed by multinationals which also interestingly buy in bulk.

The saffron, white and green badge of nationalism can actually cost as little as 10 paise and go up to Rs.1,500.

So, it is little wonder that this city was all dressed up in the three colours in the days before Independence Day.

From bindis to bunting, mostly everyone was sporting the tricolour.

"The use of the tricolour becomes a fashion every year during Independence Day and Republic Day. It is used in several products such as caps, t-shirts, stickers, fashion accessories, kites, balloons, friendship bands and so on," said Rajesh Agarwal, another flag manufacturer.

High on demand are electric flags in which small bulbs are fitted with green and saffron colour strips. These bulbs are lit through a battery. Special flags with metallic stands are also in the market as gift items.

Flags with a magnet attached to them are also much in demand as they can be placed on cars and doors.

A warning though: some of these products may violate the code of conduct for the flags.

"Such types of objects kindle patriotic spirit among the youth. But at the same time one should not over look the general code of conduct for the flags. Tricolour products should never be used below the waist. No words should be written on the flag. And it should not be thrown away on the ground," cautioned advocate Abhishek Kumar.

August 15, 2007

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