You feel good inside, don't you? The word patriotism has taken a different shape over the years but it is still there, deep in our hearts we feel proud of our nation and blessed to be a part of it. The reason I talk about this is to build a base for the discussion about our national festivals. For 90% of all people in the world their relevance isn’t more than a public holiday, which is quite funny and grave at the same time.

I am born in India, so I know more about the public holidays here- 26th January, 15th August, and 2nd October. All of them are really very significant in their own way. Today we talk about the latter one-2nd October – the birth anniversary of the father of nation.
He was a great man no doubt about it.

"A man who commands respect even among his enemies defines the term ‘greatness’. "

I have stories that people back there in England acknowledge the charisma and admire the personality of this man. ‘Charisma’- Should I be using this word for a man – who looked skinny, poorly dressed, round glasses….not sure…


I recall a story I was told someday that bapu once saw a woman on the banks of a river washing the saree she was wearing as it was the only saree she had. He was so touched that he gave up wearing clothes over waistline. Charismatic!

You can't even leave your favorite pair of jeans. Gandhi famously led his followers in the Non-cooperation movement that protested the British-imposed salt tax with the 400 km (240 miles)in 1930. 60,000 persons gathered on the bank of the river to hear Gandhi's call to arms.
Read those numbers twice. You ask your best friend- can he come on a stroll with you for 400 km, he'll probably call ambulance for you.

Corruption, bribery, frauds, the nation is crippled we have lost that leadership within ourselves that pushed us to raise a voice against what is wrong. We have lost the Gandhi within us.

Mahatma Gandhi - A poor man with rich ideas

If you read about his way of working you’ll find out how planned and methodically he used to work. He did not only use big words in his speech- ahimsa (non violence), satyagraha(Literally, it is formed from thesatya, "truth", and aagraha, "asking for." ), purn swaraj(self rule), he practiced them with courage and took pride.
He was not only a figure you would like to learn from, but rather want to be like. his way of living inspired one and all to lead a simple inspirational life. Again, his ideologies might convice you one day, "We don't need a War".

 -Mahatma Gandhi

He won hearts of many but not all. It is said that father of the nation wasn't a very good father to his sons. Harilal Mohandas Gandhi was the first son of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi to survive childhood. I discovered that Mahatma, the man who I till now considered infallible, was also human, after all. He did have his share of foibles. Harilal's words sum up his predicament.

"He (Mahatma Gandhi) is the greatest father you can have... but he is the one father I wish I did not have. "

Happy Gandhi Jayanti!