61st Independence Day of India

"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again."

This is a part of the speech made by Jawaharlal Nehru, as India's first Prime Minister, to the Constituent Assembly, in New Delhi, on the eve of India's Independence -- August 14, 1947.

The Independence Day of India, which is celebrated religiously throughout the Country on the 15th of August every year, holds tremendous ground in the list of national days, since it reminds every Indian about the dawn of a new beginning, the beginning of an era of deliverance from the clutches of British colonialism of more than 200 years. It was on the fateful morning of 15th August 1947 that India was declared independent from British colonialism, and the reins of control were handed over to the leaders of the Country. India’s gaining of independence was a tryst with destiny, as the struggle for freedom was a long and tiresome one, witnessing the sacrifices of many freedom fighters, who laid down their lives on the line. Click here to view the webcast of Independence Day celebrations.

Here's a song for us...Indian expatriates...sing-along:

Lyrics of Aye Mere Pyare Watan

Aye mere pyaare watan aye mere bichhade chaman tuz pe dil kubraan

too hee meree aarajoo, too hee meree aabaru, too hee meree jaan

tere daaman se jo aaye, un hawaaon ko salaam

choom loo main us jubaan ko jis pe aaye teraa naam

sab se pyaaree subah teree, sab se rangee teree shaam

maan kaa dil banake kabhee seene se lag jaataa hain too

aaur kabhee nanheesee betee ban ke yaad aataa hain too

jitanaa yaad aataa hain too, utanaa tadapaataa hain too

chhodakar teree jameen ko door aa pahuche hain hum

fir bhee hain yahee hain tamannaa tere jarro kee kasam

hum jahaan paidaa huye, us jagah hee nikale ye dam

Jai Hind!