Daily Grind

Nahid Khan takes us through today's routine

After a hectic, action-packed weekend, we were back to the grind this morning. A majority of those who attended the Republic Day celebrations in the Garden yesterday, stayed away today. The few who showed up were more anxious to relive the event as attention was drawn to its many high points – the way the entire Garden was drawn into the march, the medley of patriotic songs played on Harish Wadhwa's amplifier, the sumptuous samosas and luddoos served along with hot-hot tea, Sitaram Hivarkar breaking into an impromptu jig… “We should have recorded the event on video,” quipped Monthi Serrao.
“Who would have imagined that the entire celebration could have been wrapped up in 1,000 rupees only?” commented Arun Patil. “And there was no shortage of anything. Even the watchmen, milkman, juice wallah and the banana sellers outside the Garden got a share. Nobody was turned back.”
While pictures on the blog (yesterday’s post) serve as a reminder to all the fun and frolic, many demanded that we have more such events in future. Otherwise, life tends to fall into a rut – as today’s exercise routine proved. We labored through the motions and hurriedly called it a day.
Harish Wadhwa:
Too much planning often 'spoils' the mood while impromptu programs are a 'success' due to the surprise and curiosity factor. January 26 was one such day. Everyone enjoyed as it was informal -- oceans away from the formal and quotidian ways.
Jagmohan Papneja:
A sense of duty towards the nation emanates from the enthusiastic celebration of the Republic Day. It brought people from different walks of life to rejoice together and thereby, foster brotherhood. Other national festivals should be celebrated similarly.