If Only My Eyes Were A Camera...

Independence Day is a huge affair in India. We began our festivities by launching the nation's flag via a pulley system onto the rooftop.


From there, we gathered back inside complete with Dr. Shroff, Dr. Ashish and their family members to laugh and cheer with one another over some live entertainment, lunch, and refreshments. It was great to not only spend time with the other patients, but to also be able to spend time with the staff. It brought about such closeness to meet the families behind the lovely faces that greet you everyday. It is hard to imagine at times that India isn't home.

Dr. Shroff's mother shares a birthday with India (as well as Kanako!) We celebrated with chocolate cake for both, and when Kanako wasn't able to accept the song in person Sarah and I did what any noble friend would do and announced the upcoming anniversaries of our own births. The whole lot sang for Sarah and me while Dr. Shroff oversaw a proper cutting of the cake and blowing of the candles.

It only partial worked. Sarah and I still managed to ham it up pretty well and get cake everywhere.


The day danced on with balloon games with children, traditional Hindi hip gyrations, and any attempt to get the sisters and the ward boys in on the fun. I really hope that they had at least a spoonful of the fun that I had today.







Later on, after most of the sugar had been consumed and the majority of balloons had been suffocated a few of us headed out to India Gate... the most popular spot for people and kites on Independence Day. India Gate sort of looks like the Parisian L'Arc de Triomphe, which I love dearly. It was quite a sight today, however. People from all over were there to celebrate and try to sell you cheap souvenirs. Little did we know, that we were to quickly become the main attraction for the event.


I had never been looked upon so much in my entire life. We wheelers drew in such a crowd as we rolled amongst the mob. Without much effort, we learned that it was best to keep moving, for if we didn't we would have at least 30 people around us within a moment's notice. Michael was the most desired of the 3 wheelers (myself and Gavin didn't hold a candle to that hunk-a-flame). We were asked to pose for pictures and to hold babies and to save the world, probably. For some odd reason, it was sort of enjoyable... I guess because the whole event was absolutely comical.

What a day. Happy Independence, India.