My Morning at the Maidan

 It is my first morning in Calcutta and I have gone for a run. My hotel is just a few tired and tattered blocks from the sparklingVictoria Memorial.  Night has just lifted as I begin a slow circuit around the Maidan, the great park in the heart of Calcutta.  Something big is happening here this morning and I have yet to learn what it is.

There are dozens and dozens of groups assembled in front of the Victoria Memorial.  They are all getting ready to march.  But today is just a practice for the big day which comes 2
days later.  I learn that on January 26th in 1950 India signed its constitution.  Now it is one of just 3 National Holidays.