Jai Hind!

Happy Republic Day!

Today is one of the 14 public holidays in the state of Maharashtra that I will experience during my secondment. I will miss the last 2 of the year; Diwali and Xmas. But 14 is still a whole lot more than the 8 of the UK.

I asked a few people at work what happens during Republic Day and how is it celebrated and where and how could we get involved. It seemed to be a community based coming together of people to sing the national anthem and raise the flag of India, so I wasn't expecting to see or do much today other than see more flags flying than usual. But luckily for me, and unfortunately for Simon who hates a fuss and being the centre of attention, we got pulled in to the celebrations of the staff at the hotel.

The first bit was quite formal with a 9:00 display for the international guests. There were 12 maids a dancing, 7 soldiers marching, 1 lady singing and the raising of the flag. We took videos and photos and were offerred drinks (non-alcoholic of course) and ladoos and pieces of barfi in the orange, white and green colours of India.

Just a small aside on Indian sweets which I think only appeal to Indians and people with incredibly sweet teeth. I am both and absolutely love them so I have been very careful to resist eating them at every opportunity. I had a jalebi at breakfast one morning because they were freshly made and I had both a ladoo and a piece of barfi this morning. I am excusing this indulgence as celebratory.

At the raising of the flag I joined in with the "Jai Hind" part of the Jana Gana Mana national anthem as that's the only bit I know but I have vowed to learn the words before I leave India.

And then what followed was an invitation for Simon and I to join the hotel staff on " a rally through the streets". We've been at the hotel for 10 nights now which for a business hotel on an industrial park is an unusually long stay for international guests so I think we've moved into the staff category now. Simon looked horrified at the offer of participating in a rally whereas I looked excited and intrigued and they combined this assortmeent of non-indian facial cues to mean that on the whole we were agreeable. But here's the twist. Simon and I were escorted into a 1960 (replica?) White Rolls Royce convertible which was the centrepiece of a fleet of motorbikes and hotel transport vehicles all bedecked in India flags and hotel insignia, which then proceeded to drive out of the hotel and into the wilds of Navi Mumbai "in a rally".

The irony of the white man in a Rolls Royce during Republic Day celebrations seemed to be lost on everyone - especially the people on the streets and in the traffic, watching the entourage drive past and waving at Simon. It was not lost on Simon and I counted at least 12 internal deaths he endured during that 45 minute ride! It was only made even funnier for me by the running commentary by the young Indian girl, another guest at the hotel, who had been ushered into the car with us. She wittered on happily, nb: in English, about how we celebrate Republic Day because the Indians had told the English that this was their country and that they didn't want to speak English (my raised eyebrow at this was ignored) and didn't want to be ruled by foreigners and that they must leave to let India rule herself. Simon was saved further mortification by this schoolgirl summary of India's independence from the evil white man by both his selective deafness and the mandatory Mumbai traffic noise. I felt like I had fallen into an E. M. Forster novel and, as expected for the heroine, felt quite giddy!

2 hours of 2026 Republic Day spent singing, clapping, joyriding, eating, drinking, and feeling a genuine affection for this country which can be quite a challenge but which I am sure will completely steal my heart by the warmth of its people and its eccentricity.

Jai Hind!