Happy Independence Day!

Today is the 60th anniversary of the Partition that gave India its independence! Sixty years ago at midnight last night, the self-governing nation of India was born. It is amazing to think how young India is compared to most other countries. I find it especially difficult to fathom the fact that there are a significant number of people still living in this country that were alive during the British colonial rule and who were old enough at the time to participate in the struggle for independence.
Today is a national holiday, which means that we got the day off from classes. While there was a parade at the parade grounds in Secunderabad, Hyderabad’s twin city, and a few other cultural events taking place in the city today, we were told that most Indians simply enjoy their Independence Day quietly and privately. Since it is one of the few national days off from work, many people spend it at home with their families or grocery shopping. Most of the city is closed today. This was a great day for us to have off because all of the CIEE students, myself included, have lots of reading to catch up on and since the city is closed we don’t have many excuses not to do it (although I have found one – blogging!). It also happens to be gorgeous outside today. My suitemates and I spent part of the morning laying on our rooftop sunbathing while we read.
This morning we had a little Independence Day celebration in front of the SIP Guesthouse. Our yard was decorated with streamers and flags in the colors of the Indian flag – orange, white & green. The flag was ceremoniously raised by Rani, one of the CIEE students of Indian descent, on a pole garlanded in the flag’s colors. Then a coconut was broken on a rock at the foot of the pole and its milk was sprinkled around the flagpole. The Indian staff sang the national anthem and saluted the flag. Then we were each blessed with a smudge of kumkum, a red powder, on our foreheads.