Tiranga a bestseller in city shops

People can also pick up flags free of cost, as a result of an Har Ghar Tiranga initiative of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to distribute around 50,000 flags. “We have supplied all the flags among 15 ward offices. The citizens can collect these without any payment,” said Chetana Kerure, Deputy Municipal Commissioner. She added that PMC had to return 40 per cent of the flags to the manufacturers as these were found to be damaged. “The ward offices have been asked to return damaged flags so that these can be replaced,” Kerure said.

A shopkeeper at a market near Kothrud depot, says that most individuals come to buy flags to put up at home. For parents, this is an opportunity to explain the meaning of Independence to their children. Across the city, stalls and shops are covered in tricolour, and not just flags. There are pinwheels, garlands, buntings and apparel in the colours of the national flag. At Laxmi Road, where one is spoilt for choice, a makeshift stall has found T-shirts to be popular.

A tricoloured T-shirt, with the word ‘India” in blue replacing the chakra, costs around Rs 150 for an infant’s size. On Sunday evening, one of the buyers was Rekha who wanted a T-shirt for her 18-month-old son.

“We have celebrations in our building every year. There is flag hoisting, where we participate in singing the national anthem and being grateful for our freedom. After the ceremony, children are given biscuits, which makes them very happy,” she said.

Then, there are white kurta sets that are selling out fast, with school teachers and parents being the major buyers. “Our white kurtas are out of stock,” says Piyu at a boutique on Tilak Road.

For many children, like the minor boy who sells flags from a stall at Nal Stop, Independence Day brings its own challenges. They get their stock of flags from Mandai and sell each for Rs 30. Tricolour wheels are handmade by them. “We try to finish the stock in three days, from August 13 and 15.

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If any stock is left, we sell it the next year,” he says. Another seller, 23-year-old Anil, says he doesn’t know why some days become important nationally. “I have observed people holding flags in January and August and there are pictures of flags on hoardings on the roads. We buy flags from Mumbai. Each bundle costs Rs 50 and contains around 100 flags. We invest Rs 5,000 at a time. It’s not like we successfully sell all the flags. Whatever remains is stored in our homes for the next national day,” he says.