When India became independent, papa was just 6 years old. That was a big moment in India's history is what we know. But what was it like for someone who witnessed it themselves.
Papa doesn’t seem to remember that exact moment but remembers the celebrations, unrest and incidents surrounding that time. Our grandfather was not heavily involved in the freedom movement , mostly his involvement was through a hindu organization Arya Samaj.
Papa remembers people carrying Indian flags going through streets where their home was. He remembers the unrest, following the announcements that muslims had to migrate to Pakistan. He also recalls being told to have red chilly powder always handy, so if they were on roof top and someone called them down or said something, they could throw the red chilly powder on them from top, so people could not get to them.
Papa also recalls that during that time his chachaji (uncle) who was visiting from Delhi found a fan lying on or near railway tracks, it must have belonged to someone who was leaving by train and unable to carry it any further, they had that fan in their house for a long time.
The most interesting part was Papa remembers Seeing Mahatma Gandhi. He told that in Anaj Mandi (Market), there was has a huge empty space in middle, Mahatma Gandhi came there to address people and he saw Mahatma Gandhi in person. Later he remembers hearing about Mahatma Gandhi’s passing away and the exact spot where he heard that news..
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