Gandhi Jayanti - Birth Anniversary Of Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi Jayanti is a national holiday celebrated in India to mark the occasion of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the "Father of the Nation". It is celebrated on October 2, every year. Gandhi Jayanti is observed as a national holiday in India.A solemn celebration marking the birth date of Gandhiji, the father of the nation.On this day, the President and Prime Minister, along with other eminent political leaders, pay homage at Raj Ghat - the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. All the offices and schools, throughout the country, remain closed on this day.
Popular celebration includes prayer meetings, commemorative ceremonies in different cities by colleges, local government institutions and socio-political institutions.

Themes are generally of glorifying peace, non-violence and Gandhi's effort in the Indian freedom struggle. Gandhiji's favorite song named Raghupathi Raghava Rajaram is sung in memory of his on this day.

Raghupati Raghav Rajaram
Patit Paavan Sitaram

Sitaram Jai Sitaram
Bhaj pyare tu Sitaram
Raghupati.........

Ishwar Allah Tere Naam
Sabko sanmati de Bhagwan
Raghupati ........

Raat ko Nindiya Din ko Kaam
Kabhi Bhajoge Prabhu Ka Naam
Karte rahiye aapne Kaam
Lete Rahiye Prabhu Ka Naam

Raghupati Raghav
Rajaram Patit Paavan Sitaram

About Mahatma Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born into the Hindu Modh family in Porbandar, l.a., on october 2nd, 1869. He was the son of Karamchand Gandhi, the Diwan (title)|diwan (Prime Minister) of Porbandar, and Putlibai, Karamchand's fourth wife, a Hindu of the Pranami Vaishnava order. Karamchand's first two wives, who each bore him a daughter, died from unknown reasons (rumored to be in childbirth). Living with a devout mother and surrounded by the Jainism|Jain influences of Gujarat, Gandhi learned from an early age the tenets of non-injury to living beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between members of various creeds and sects. He was born into the vaishya, or business, caste. Image:Gandhi and Kasturbhai 1902.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Gandhi and his wife Kasturba Gandhi|Kasturba (1902) In May 1883, at the age of 13, Gandhi was married through his parents' arrangements to Kasturba Gandhi|Kasturba Makhanji (also spelled "Kasturbai" or known as "Ba"). They had four sons: Harilal Gandhi, born in 1888; Manilal Gandhi, born in 1892; Ramdas Gandhi, born in 1897; and Devdas Gandhi, born in 1900. Gandhi was a mediocre student in his youth at Porbandar and later Rajkot. He barely passed the Matriculation|matriculation exam for Samaldas College at Bhavanagar, Gujarat. He was also unhappy at the college, because his family wanted him to become a barrister. At the age of 18 on September 4 1888, Gandhi went to University College London to train as a barrister. His time in London, United Kingdom|London, the Imperial capital, was influenced by a vow he had made to his mother in the presence of the Jain monk Becharji, upon leaving India, to observe the Hindu precepts of abstinence from meat, alcohol, and promiscuity. Although Gandhi experimented with adopting "English" customs — taking dancing lessons for example — he could not stomach his landlady's mutton and cabbage. She pointed him towards one of London's few vegetarian restaurants. Rather than simply go along with his mother's wishes, he read about, and intellectually embraced vegetarianism. He joined the Vegetarian Society, was elected to its executive committee, and founded a local chapter. He later credited this with giving him valuable experience in organizing institutions. Some of the vegetarians he met were members of the Theosophical Society, which had been founded in 1875 to further universal brotherhood, and which was devoted to the study of Buddhist and Hindu Brahman|Brahmanistic literature. They encouraged Gandhi to read the Bhagavad Gita. Not having shown a particular interest in religion before, he read works of and about Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and other religions. He returned to India after being called to the bar association|bar of England and Wales by Inner Temple, but had limited success establishing a law practice in Bombay. Later, after applying and being turned down for a part-time job as a high school teacher, he ended up returning to Rajkot to make a modest living drafting petitions for litigants, but was forced to close down that business as well when he ran afoul of a British officer. In his autobiography, he describes this incident as a kind of unsuccessful lobbying attempt on behalf of his older brother. It was in this climate that (in 1893) he accepted a year-long contract from an Indian firm to a post in KwaZulu-Natal Province|Natal, South Africa.