Patna: As India celebrates its 78th Independence Day, four nonagenarians of the state take a nostalgic trip down memory lane, recalling the euphoria and excitement of August 15, 1947. With hearts filled with pride, they relive the moments when India broke the shackles of slavery and won over the tyranny of British. They share the stories of midnight processions and celebrations that lasted through the night.
“I was studying in B N College, Patna at the time of Independence. At that time, I stayed with my uncle in a govt quarter near the Raj Bhavan and as soon as the news of Independence was announced on the radio, all youths of the locality came out on the streets and started shouting slogans of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Inquilab Zindabad’, said retired atomic energy scientist S N Virnave.

“All of us heard patiently the midnight speech of Jawaharlal Nehru and remained on the streets, roaming from one locality to the other in excitement. Not a single British officer was visible anywhere,” he said.
Retired Patna University teacher Shashi Dhar Singh, who was a matric student of Naugachhia High School in Bhagalpur district at the time of Independence, recalled that the much-awaited news reached a bit late as hardly one or two families in the village had a radio set, the only source of news in those days. However, as soon as the people came to know about the country’s Independence, they started dancing with joy. “Next morning we took out prabhat pheri and paraded throughout the village, carrying tricolours in our hands and singing patriotic songs,” he added.
Reminiscing the nightlong celebrations of India’s freedom, Renuka Devi (96) of Banni village in Khagaria district said she was studying in Chapman Girls School at Muzaffarpur that time when the news was received by the people with bursting of fire crackers all around the city. “Virtually, the entire population of the city was on the roads, dancing with joy and chanting patriotic slogans and songs. Next day, we took out processions and celebrated our Independence. The other day we were given sweets in our school as part of the celebrations,” she said.
Ram Avatar Tiwary, an ice-cream seller of the city, was studying in class VIII at Gorakhpur when the Independence came. As soon as the clock struck midnight on August 15, people streamed out onto the road in excitement. Many of them were singing swadeshi songs. One could hear the sound of conch shells and Vedic rhymes all night long. The streets were dazzling with light. By the time it was dawn, the younger people joined the prabhat pheri.