‘In our house, the tricolour flies all year round’

“We began by reading the code of conduct about how to raise the flag in the morning and lower it at sundown. We got the pulleys and ropes sorted out and found out that even the texture of the rope had to be weather resistant,” he says. Their first flagpole was a pipe and the first flag was made of khadi that was too heavy to fly and would droop when it rained. “As a private citizen, we cannot have towering flagpoles that can catch the high-altitude winds. When I discovered the Flag Corporation of India in Mumbai, an amazing company that makes flags in polyester, I was thrilled,” he says.

There is now a permanent pole of 15 ft on the terrace, and the polyester flag flutters in the gentlest breeze. “There was also the problem of birds dirtying the flag. We sharpened the top of the pole to a pointed spear, so crows and pigeons cannot sit for long,” says Rajeshwar.

One Republic Day, he recalls, the flag refused to unfurl. “I have heard that ours is one of the few countries that unfurls its flags, yet there is not a single YouTube video that teaches people to do this. I put across a request to the ceremonial contingent of the Indian Air Force that is stationed near Race Course Road and the soldiers were delighted that a civilian was asking about the flag,” says Rajeshwar, “They taught me many flag ceremonies that I incorporated in the celebrations at home.”

Every Independence Day, Rajeshwar hosts an elaborate ceremony in which local security guards conduct a march past, the flag is unfurled to recordings of the 21 gun salute and bugles before around 300 balloons in saffron, white and green are released into the air. “Everybody is welcome to join in,” he says, “It is a celebration of our nation.”