Republic Day

Yesterday India celebrated Republic Day - the day that the constitution came into force, on 26th January 1950. Here's some trivia: it was actually passed by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949 (a little over two years since independence in 1947), but the date 26th January was chosen to commemorate the declaration of independence of 1930.

Another piece of trivia that perhaps isn't surprising once you've lived here: it is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world (395 articles, 14 schedules, and 94 amendments).

The day was marked with a huge parade here in Delhi, from the Rajghat along the Vijaypath. Army, Navy, and Air force marched in the parade, performing their drills. As we drove around yesterday, we saw some jets in the air and wondered if they were part of the celebration.

So how did we celebrate? Wish I could say we were right there with the millions of people watching the parade, but we were more than content to stay away from the crowds -- the definition of which is on a whole new level here in India. At night we took a nice drive around the city and ended the evening with chocolate oreo cheesecake and banoffee pie. It wasn't Indian, but it definitely was delicious! ;)