Karnataka - Bangalore

Patriotism marks I-Day celebrations

By Our Staff Reporter

Actress Vasundara Das at a function to flag off a heritage hunt to mark Independence Day in Bangalore on Sunday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

BANGALORE, AUG. 15. The "holiday mood" did not deter Bangaloreans on Sunday from making a distinct difference to the celebrating the 58th Independence Day. They celebrated it with enthusiasm and a high note of patriotism.

Schoolchildren clad in neat uniforms were all around the city — unlike as on a Sunday. Inside the school compounds, they presented impressive march-pasts and cultural programmes while listening to speeches by eminent personalities.

Many adults too had refused to stay back home. They had a heady mix of programmes to select from besides the Independence Day celebrations at the several venues. You had a heritage hunt, a few blood donation camps, and cultural programmes of varied hue, a special flower exhibition. You even had a late night play (on Saturday) at Ravindra Kalakshetra culminating in a flag hoisting at midnight!

Flower show

While a large number of people visited the Lalbagh for the special flower show bringing in a festive atmosphere and the unavoidable traffic snarls near all of its gates, a fairly large number headed to the heritage hunt.

Nearly 500 of them assembled at the starting points — Jayanagar, Airport Road, Cox Town, Vijayanagar, Malleswaram — for the heritage hunt organised by the Karnataka Tourism Forum. Actress Vasundara Das flagged off the event at the BPCL outlet at Malleswaram.

The participants had to travel around to find out the spots that represented the tourist destinations such as "Hampi", the "Mysore Palace" and the "caves of Pattadakal" and a few temples of the State at six different locations in the city depending on some vague clues. Not all could succeed. But some did.

Those who did it fastest walked off with prizes.

Weightage

But the participants who came in traditional dresses and brought in remodelled two-wheelers or cars were given a weightage. One such participant wore the dress of a king and came in a "chariot." He had converted a horse-run "jutka" into a chariot. A scooterist wore a dress resembling a tree displaying a message that said "Save the city and its trees".

Another couple from Dehradun, who had come to the city on a tour, were also a part of it.

Prizes

The Minister for Industries and Infrastructure, P.G.R. Sindhia, gave away the prizes at a function at the Christ College Auditorium.

The "theatre-buffs" headed towards the Ravindra Kalakshetra on Saturday night itself to witness the enactment of "Igo Panjara Ago Mugilu", a play based on Nagatihalli Chandrasekhar's story and directed by C.P. Krishnamurthi.

A flag hoisting followed it at midnight. Those who came late to the venue had to return disappointed.

Painting book

At a corner of Chitrakala Parishat, a group of 15 cartoonists were silently drawing pictures to create what they called to be a "biggest painting book". They were drawing on a huge canvas measuring 10.5 feet x 14 feet using "Indian ink". It was only the beginning of their project. They are planning to complete it by September 19 and exhibit it at the Bangalore Book Festival.

The Managing Committee of Masjid-e-Taha chose to hold a flag hoisting on the premises of a mosque at Mathikere.

The Bangalore Division of the South Western Railway, the Bangalore University, the Union Government offices at Kendriya Sadan in Koramangala and other government offices, also held celebrations.

Radio

Those who stayed home enjoyed old patriotic film songs on the radio or listened to the speeches of the national leaders and the freedom fighters. The Rainbow FM channel heightened the patriotic fervour when it played the recorded speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Na. Su. Haradikar and Indira Gandhi.

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