SAUDI Arabia marked its 91st National Day recently and as usual it was also celebration time in Bahrain.
Many public and private institutions, companies and even ordinary people marked the occasion with various kinds of celebrations, including raising the Saudi national flag and holding gatherings to espouse the historic friendship between the two brotherly nations.
It was after a long time that the four-day holiday was marked with a lot of enthusiasm, and in keeping with the restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was also boom time for Bahraini businesses because Saudi nationals in their thousands crossed the border to shop, visit friends and family and generally have a good time.
But in the midst of all this, there were groups of people, both in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, who threw civilised behaviour by the roadside and indulged in hooliganism, went berserk and violated traffic rules. All in all, they lost all sense of decency.
Scores of videos showing such indecent acts were circulated online, which clearly brought a bad name to the people of both nations and proved to be the proverbial spoke in the wheel.
On the other hand, another video that went viral showed a man in the Indian state of Kerala in traditional Arabic dress wave the Saudi flag and offer sweets to passers-by, including drivers and pedestrians. It was his way of showing and giving back to a nation that had been his home for many decades and had given him so much.
This gesture won a lot of praise from netizens who spoke about his sense of loyalty, love and appreciation.
People in Bahrain, as elsewhere in the Gulf countries, have a very high regard for Indians, and people from Kerala in particular, who work in many fields, including medicine, commerce, education, industry and engineering, among other professions, crafts and specialisations.
Every person is free to express himself, but this has to be within the scope and limits of commitment to public taste and respect for the law. This also shows we are a conscious and sophisticated people.
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