Did India forget Gandhiji’s birthday?

2013/10/02

Today is Oct 2^nd and it is Gandhiji’s birthday. The traffic was remarkably less all day, in fact I have not seen this little traffic in India for a long time. The schools are closed and so are some government offices.  May be I have not looked in right places but I did not see any TV specials or any celebration notices or even any mention in India’s big newspapers ( like Times of India). So, either I did not know where to look or Mumbai is indifferent about these old memories or India has forgotten Gandhi. I think, it is all of the above.

I asked and the answer is that , “ these days people celebrate more of religious holidays ( Ganesh is big in Mumbai) and less of national pride days. I personally think it is a sign of trouble looming in future but of course most people will disagree with me.

 I fondly remember our childhood days, when India was a new free nation and we used to wear white, green and orange, participate in parades , sing patriotic songs and feel pride in being an independent  nation ( even though we did not understand the meaning of it all but we loved Gandhi and Nehru and all other independence fighters). Today I did not hear a single national anthem or saw any tricolor flag. As I said, may be I did not look hard enough.

Rest of the day was more of the same. Finishing touches to the wedding shopping (we got more done in three days than we would have done in six months and the best part is we enjoyed it all). For some things we went to the air conditioned shopping mall, saw all the usual western brands with an Indian twist in that there was  security check to get in the shopping center. I wonder if they can legally refuse any one to enter on the basis of being poor or wearing rags. Why don’t poor people go to the air conditioned shopping centers to escape the heat and humidity??

Afternoon was packing ( Theressa) and socializing. Smita’s friend Jerrod and his wife came over and had fun sharing India experiences and shocks. They seem to be well settled after few weeks of cultural shock. Now they are enjoying the chaos that is India. Theresa’s long time friend came for a visit also.

No schools today meant we got to see the dances ( including the Gangum style) and lots of horsing around ( literally)

I cannot thank Neha and Renu for being such a loving , willing and able shopping advisors  at the same time feeding me rare Indian dishes.

That is all for now, I am sure tomorrow will be more news.