How’s the josh? High sir! And Tricolour? Higher!
Whenever we witness the Tricolour being hoisted, it fills us with a sense of pride. The sight of the National Flag fluttering at the Red Fort gives another high! But, do you know which is the tallest or largest National Flag in Delhi-NCR? Read on to ignite your patriotism with some awe and wonder.
While there are quite a few high mast National Flags in NCR, one of the tallest among them is at a height of 250 feet in Faridabad’s Town Park. Put up in 2015, this symbol of national pride has captivated the attention of many. “I often drive past Town Park and it’s such an amazing feeling to witness our Indian flag fluttering in the wind. I always take a moment to stop my car and salute the flag. It just happens instinctively each time,” says Devvrat Singh, a resident of Green Field Colony, Faridabad.
The National Flag when put up, added to the colonial charm of Connaught Place and its Central Park, and gradually became a landmark where hands raise almost automatically to salute this marvel! Besides, it’s also a landmark for most visitors to click selfies. Doing just that, an ecstatic Aaditya Rawal, a resident of Dwarka, says, “No visit to CP is complete if one hasn’t clicked a picture here!” Soon, his friends join in to say in unison: “The josh is high!”
Shahnawaz Khan of the non-profit organisation Flag Foundation of India, shares how they installed this flag and about 80 others across India. “This is a gigantic flag weighing over 35kg that was installed on a 207 feet pole in Central Park, Connaught Place. One may have seen it multiple times, yet each time we see it, the goosebumps are real. It’s quite a majestic feeling to see this flag... When a person displays a National Flag, it’s an implicit symbolic gesture saying that the person rises above all other affiliations and is united as an Indian,” says Khan.
At Greater Noida’s India Expo Mart, there is another giant National Flag hoisted at a height of 163 feet. This can be seen while driving on the Noida–Greater Noida Expressway. Abhishek Sharma, a local resident, recalls attending the flag installation ceremony in 2017, on the morning of Independence Day!
“I haven’t witnessed anything so euphoric. There was an Army band performing and it required over a dozen people to hold the flag while it was being hoisted. It easily took over five minutes for the giant flag to reach its height on the pole and the sight of it taking over the skies was truly a mesmerising one,” recalls Sharma.
So, how easy or difficult is it to maintain flags of such proportion, and what measures are taken while installing one such gigantic flag? Rakesh Kumar from India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, says, “We are maintaining it on a regular basis. We have a hydraulic system in place, through which the flag is hoisted at that height. So, there is certainly no issue of maintenance or keeping it stable at that height.”
Kumar goes on to say, “The expo mart hosts many national and international events throughout the year. And it is during most exhibitions and events that this flag is often the centre of attraction. Moreover, it shows our dedication and commitment towards the nation. It is certainly a matter of pride for us, and instils a feeling of patriotism!”
Ashish Kedia