His speech difficulties have always been a hindrance for him to lead a ‘normal’ lifestyle. The insensitive mockery of neighbours or schoolmates haunted him throughout his childhood and youth, but he sailed through it all silence. And now at 32, Priyaranjan Sarkar from Bali, West Bengal is ridiculed for his strange hobby – collecting national flags which are dumped here and there post Independence and Republic Day celebrations.
Love for his country runs in his very veins. It pained him deeply to see the flag being hailed one day and carelessly dumped or trampled upon the next. So, for the past nine years, Priyaranjan has been spotted roaming the streets after Independence Day or Republic Day, collecting flags from sidewalks, main roads, dump yards and even from the gutters, reported Bengali magazine Newzpole.
People Called Him A Madman
Priyaranjan Sarkar shared how people called him a ‘madman’ and ‘ragpicker’ when he would go out to collect the discarded flags. There had been instances where he was even harassed in the suspicion of being a thief. Despite his speech problems, he had made sure every time to make people understand the importance of what he is doing and urged them to show proper respect to the national flag.
In his opinion, the real ‘madmen’ are the hypocrites who salute the national flag one day and do not mind throwing it in the trash the next day.
No one has ever become poor by giving
– Anne Frank
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