The small town of Tirupur was all decked up. The year was 1947 and 13-year-old CS Ramakrishnan went to school with a spring in his step.
There had been a buzz in town for over a week in August. He knew something was up. “Everyone spoke of one word — suthanthiram (freedom),” he recalls on phone from Puducherry. He didn’t understand it entirely, but he knew this was something that would change his life forever.
The 83-year-old Gandhian activist remembers how the calm town, with a population of around 60,000, transformed into a mad wedding party on August 15. “There were impromptu marches everywhere,” he says. “All it took was some 10 people. They would get together and march through town calling out ‘Gandhiji ku jai!’”
For the first time, the tricolour was hoisted in every household. “People erected wooden poles for the purpose,” he says. “There were no rules for flag hoisting back then and so the National Flag even fluttered proud on trees.”
At the stroke of midnight, special prayers were held at places of worship to herald the new beginning. “No one slept that night,” says Ramakrishnan.
As the sun rose on a free India on August 15, nationalist songs rang through the streets from gramophones. Everyone had a smile on their faces. “I cannot describe the feeling,” he says. He took it all in as he marched through the streets with his school-mates. For a town that did not even have bus connectivity to nearby Coimbatore, Tirupur’s transformation brought about by India’s independence was unbelievable to Ramakrishnan’s eyes. “Those who had electricity, lit up their households,” he says. People lined-up to buy khadi at the retail outlet of the All India Spinners’ Association. “There were long queues outside. Customers would wait near the tailor as he stitched the fabric.” He adds that babies born on the day were given names with the prefix ‘suthanthiram’' — there was a Suthanthira Kumar, Suthanthira Devi...
“The Blue Mountain Express would ferry newspapers to town every morning and that day, agents had a hard time controlling people. Copies were sold before they could leave the station,” remembers Ramakrishnan.
He recalls how Kalki magazine featured the National Flag on its cover. Ramakrishnan says that he heard that the Madras Presidency celebrated the day with a display of firecrackers. “There were several marches there too, led by freedom fighters.”
Ramakrishnan vividly remembers how Thirumoorthy Stores on Easwaran Kovil Street in Tirupur set up a shrine for Gandhi at its entrance.
In school, his headmaster hoisted the National Flag at 8 am. “We were given one paper tricolour pin-on each,” he says. “It was the first time that I pinned the flag on my shirt. I walked with my chest puffed up,” he laughs. “I was beyond excited. I hopped and skipped on the road for no reason. Students were treated to a piece of sugarcane, laddoo, and kadalai mittai,” he says.
Freedom never tasted sweeter.