I got trapped in the Republic Day parade security check | Unforgettable incident

The sense of patriotism and the love for the tricolor was sowed strongly in my childhood days itself. And I hope the majority of the Indians will feel it high definitely on two days, Republic Day and Independence Day. Coming to mine, the credit goes to my father who was a police officer who used to hoist the tricolor in his station and that is how I learned that saffron comes at the top and the rest are known to all. Be it Republic Day or Independence Day I make sure not to step out without the tricolor over my chest. And also not let others stay void of it. So I always carry a bunch of flags and pins and offer them to people I come across. It also extends up to correcting people who wear it improperly and even have ended in arguments with the shopkeepers who had tied it upside down. 

While Independence day gave us freedom, Republic Day gave us the sovereign power to rule ourselves. The preamble starts with “We, the people of India..” meaning that the citizens are the real masters of the country’s governance. The special thing about Republic day is the Republic day parade. It always remained an eye feast where our soldiers of the armed forces perform march fast followed by the jaw-dropping stunts. The colorful display of the culture of every state is really worth a celebration. The high moment is when the fighter jets pounces with the tricolor tearing the air and throws flowers on the audience watching the parade. When this is telecasted it becomes the not to miss event in our family. And it became a dream to witness it live at least once in a lifetime.

Source: Wikipedia 

It was during 2005 I was in Delhi for my UPSC preparation. Finally, the moment arrived when I got the opportunity to witness the parade as the audience. I got dressed up in pure white with the tricolor proudly on my chest and all set to attend the parade. I and my friends reached the venue and there were many security-check counters. Each one of us got into the separate counters and my friends were already on the other side while I was stopped back by the policewoman and I had no clue why she stopped me because already I proved to be clean in the metal detector test, so what more? 

The officer started scanning me from top to bottom with her suspicious look. Then suddenly she inserted her hands into my bunchy curly hair and checked it. I and my friends were stunned for a second but we burst into laughter the next moment. I always have a special feeling over my hair because the curl is not usual and it is deeply curling. I know that curling hair is loved by many, but this incident showed me that too much curling could trap you in the security check. Thus it became a memorable Republic Day of my life. The same incident got repeated two years later when I attended an event where Abdul Kalam was the chief guest. This time neither I nor my friends were shocked but definitely, the laughter was there. I actually was happy that the level of checking was really stringent.