Marriage in heaven, anniversary in Ralegan Siddhi

For Puneites Priyanka and Amitabh Singh, the village of veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare, Ralegan Siddhi, was the perfect venue to celebrate their marriage anniversary on Sunday.

"We have been closely following Anna's agitation for the last 12 days and have also participated in some rallies in Pune," the couple recalled.

In fact, they were so happy after parliament accepted Hazare's three demands on the Jan Lokpal Bill on Saturday that the young couple had planned to go to New Delhi to celebrate. "Since the air fare was exorbitant, we decided to drive down to Ralegan Siddhi," recalled Priyanka.

Along with their little daughter, Janhavi, the Singh family visited the village and lived up to their dreams. "Anna has managed to wake up the sleeping leviathan and it would surely be reflected in the coming days," they said.

On Sunday, Ralegan Siddhi witnessed people pouring in from all parts of the state. Like the Singhs, many were thrilled with the massive movement that has caught the imagination of the nation over the last 12 days.

Other than the neighbouring places like Parner and Pune, people from Mumbai came down to celebrate at Ralegan Siddhi. Narayan Shinde, a resident of Chembur, drove down with 20 of his friends early on Sunday morning. "Some of us have been in the forefront of the movement at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Once parliament accepted Anna's demand, we decided to come down to Ralegan Siddhi," he said.

A majority of those who had come were enamoured with the ideology of Hazare, who had managed to transform Ralegan Siddhi into an oasis of hope in an otherwise barren land. Datta Awari, a resident of Ralegan Siddhi, stated that visitors coming to their village is nothing new. "However, the frequency has increased since the beginning of the movement for the Jan Lokpal Bill in April this year," he said.