I think Shashi Tharoor got it right this time! Why, indeed, we need to have a holiday on Gandhi Jayanti? Frankly, I don't think I even thought about Gandhiji as I used the entire day to complete 2 whole weeks' pending chores. It was only in the night when I was flipping through the channels that I came across the movie "Gandhi" and remembered what the occassion was. :-(

Names and places from the pages of the long-forgotten history text book came flooding back through time - Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Nehru, Maulana Azad, Sarojini Devi Naidu, Sabarmati, Dandi March, Jaliawala Bagh, Chaurichura, Non-cooperation movement. I shook my head just like 2 American Journalists did (Martin Sheen and oh, Uncle Vernon from Harry Potter Series!) when they saw unarmed Satyagrahis face the baton-wielding police. I was sad once again when the now familiar sight of Hindus and Muslims fighting in the street came up on screen. I was proud when India at last got her freedom. And as on countless other occassions, I wondered again - whether it was the non-violent struggle that made the British walk out of India or were they just keeping their end of the bargain that was struck during WWII. :-(

Tharoor is right! We will serve our country better if we work on this day rather than stay at home and spend the day lolling about checking out what's playing on TV.