Stopped at a traffic light on Janpath today. A mallu man started crossing the road, with a bevy of schoolboys behind him. With the efficiency of a seasoned PE teacher, he kept one eye each on both sides of traffic, while also keeping every child within his sight, guiding them with hand signals.

Soon the queue of young boys covered the length of the pedestrian crossing. The lights turned green, and all hell broke loose. The drivers honked and shouted at them. I stood frozen, but the other lane threatened to drive over the kids. The teacher rushed up to stand in front of that lane, obstructing traffic so the children in front could pass safely. Meanwhile, on the other side of the road, traffic had crossed the signal and was menacing the kids. Eventually the traffic broke through, and the kids were split into three groups - one each on either side of the road, and the teacher and a handful more stuck on the median.

At that moment, I was ashamed to be an Indian. These young kids had travelled the length of the country to come see the glory of our Republic - India Gate. And this is how we treated them?