BENGALURU: Many have studied about India’s first Independence Day in history books. But to actually see history happening is something special. Express spoke to people who were there on the night of August 14, 1947. Padmanabha Arkalgudu was only 11 years old. He had gathered at Gandhi Bazaar to listen to the radio. A single radio was connected to a loud speaker and people were listening to the developments at Red Fort.
Padmanabha said, “The narrator was speaking in polished English, which meant I could understand only half of what he was saying. And then I listened to every word of Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ speech.” He remembers the crowd chanting ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Hind’ slogans at the stroke of midnight.
Retired army officer Major Promod Kapur was among the lucky ones who saw Jawaharlal Nehru hoist the tricolour at Red Fort.
He was 11 years old and was among the audience as part of a contingent of school students. “My parents were staying in Lahore before Independence and I was in Delhi.” He also remembers witnessing a huge rally of people at India Gate. “Independence was a dream come true and it was a joyous moment even for us kids,” he added.
Former SC judge and Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde was in Mangaluru on the night of August 14. “I remember my guardians taking me to Mangalore Central Maidan for the flag hoisting ceremony,” he said. Now, the 77-year-old hoists the tricolour every year as a chief guest at schools and colleges.