Over the past four weeks, my life has been as normal as can be. I attended my internship (which is still fantastic and I'm really proud of what I've accomplished), as well as hung around friends and family. In the mean time, couple of festivals came and went, and one of two national holidays of India, Republic Day was celebrated. The significance of Republic Day is that it was on the 26th of January 1950, when the Constitution of the Republic of India, beginning with the hallowed words of "We the People…" was unanimously passed by the Constituent Assembly and India was "truly" politically free. I say politically free, because unlike some other countries, India still has a long way to go in providing basic freedoms such as "…life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…" to her citizens. For those who wish to argue are advised to check up this and this. On that note, Amit Varma of India Uncut, adds something ingenious here. However, I am hopeful that eventually India shall claim her rightful place on the world stage.
January also heralds the start of the harvest season in India, and is marked by the festival of Sankranthi / Pongal in the Southern States. Apart from the worship of deities, a social norm is the flying of kites, either for fun or for the objective of "winning" other kites by friendly kite fighting. "Manja" is an abrasive thread used for the purposes of the latter. Manja comes in many varieties, with the least abrasive which can be held by hand, or more abrasive versions which can only held with leather gloves. Below are some pictures of the day and kites:
Your's truly flying the kite, using Manja
Our kite in the distance
Our armoury, at the end of the day
Our kite (closest) and our opponent's kite in the distance
I also did some travelling, although nothing compared to my outings in the last two months of 2008. I visited Chennai to be part of a friend's marriage, and from then I went to Mangalagiri, 20km outside of Vijayawada, which is home to my family deity. The temple is on a hill which consists of 500 steps. The sight of the town from the temple is truly awesome. Finally on return to Hyderabad, I passed Bhongir Fort, which was built during the reign of the Western Chalukya Empire's King Vikramaditya IV. Due to the train passing through the point at high speed, the photos may not be too good, and for that I apologise.
The scenery of India, just outside Vijayawada
More scenery
Our distant relatives!
Bhongir Fort 1
Bhongir Fort 2
More scenery
The customary railways picture
I also had the opportunity to be involved with the functions of ITMS, a body I am associated with. Those who wish to find out more about the body or my involvement in it can email me. Thus, my annual "Republic Day" message was not written. It must also be said that at the time I was also suffering from writer's block.
Finally, the month also provided me with a genuine wake up call, with the hospitalisation of my grandfather due to high blood sugar, and the passing away of one of our close family friends. All in all, a very normal month, with a very sobering end.
Till next time!
