Just another day....

It started off being just another day...I checked my mail with my morning cup of coffee perched next to the mouse on my workdesk. There was a time not so long ago when mornings did not begin with checking email....and I cant help but wonder how things and life change so drastically in such a short span of time. But thats a different thread best left to a different time.

So, the morning moved in a 'normal' way....reading, surfing, work, chat and breakfast all intespresed by the occassional click on the mailbox. Even while i was going through the motions I wondered why the frequency with which mails were coming in was thinner than most days. I chatted briefly with a few friends online and started to type a mail to a friend when it struck me close to 12 noon that it is a holiday in India.

I could not get over the fact that I have been away from the country about 10 days and I have forgotten...I immediately messaged to a friend online....

Me: are you at work today???
i am shocked
isnt it independance day

Friend: yes mam..independence day for the country and not for citizen..

Me: i dont believe it
you are working on independance day

Friend: well..something need to be believed..
well..i came in to office at 3 pm...the rest came in the morning..
some pstns need to go this week ..so we are putting in xtra efforts...

We chatted for a while ranting about the weather in london and the work life in bangalore and how somethings never change and how appalled i was at myself for having no awareness of the fact that today in an important day in india...and then it struck me....and i felt like a bigger fool

Me: btw - it is republic day today....and we both chatted about it for a min or two without batting an eyelid...what have we come to....we cannot distinguish between independence day and repulic day

Friend:actually i did not pay attention to the word you typed in

Me: but you said independence for the country not for the country men

Friend: yah ..classic absentmindedness

Anyway....as i write this, i think its not only 'just another day' for the indian diaspora but also for most people in India. Barring the coverage of the repulic day parade on the national news that now even our parents dont watch, the new breed of patriotic movies bordering commercial flicks (read: dil se, sawdes) that make for good post lunch entertainment, beggar children on the road selling the tricolor and sweetshops and departmental stores creating special sweets and window displays to celeberate the spirit of freedom...life goes on as usual...for the most who are lucky not to work even on a national holiday...it is a 'holiday'...to catch up on sleep and the laundry...

When I was growing up, republic day was one of the many big and exciting days we looked forward to. I have fond memories of those times when on such days people from the neighbourhood gathered early morning (yes people would wake up early in the morning on a holiday) to hoist the flag, while sports events were organized for children. The evening saw various performance by a few sporting elders and children who had been preparing for many days leading up to the event. There was a sense of community and a feeling of belonging one felt on such days. Belonging to a neighbourhood...a society...a nation.

Today....it is just another day!