15th August is a day that brings out true patriotism in each and every Indian’s heart. It is the day our country, India, got independence from foreign rule i.e. the British Raj. After two hundred years of struggle for freedom, India was finally a free country. In the famous words of our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, “At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.” These historic words are etched in every Indian’s heart, even to this day. This year is going to be the 74th Independence Day celebration. So let us look at the 10 best things you can do this Independence Day!
1. Visit a Martyrs’ Memorial or Monument
What better way to spend Independence day other than visiting the martyrs memorial or monuments in your city? They sacrificed their lives for the independence of our country, and the least we should be able to do is remember them and pay our respects by visiting their memorials. There are many monuments such as the Shaheed Minar in Kolkata, which, from 8th August 1969 was rededicated to the martyrs of the Indian Freedom Movement. Other monuments in the country include the Shaheed Smarak in Patna, the Hussainiwala National Martyrs Memorial in memory of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar, and Shivaram Rajguru, located in Punjab.
2. Watch Patriotic Movies
newsd.in
Since 15th August is a national holiday in India, you can watch patriotic movies to see the struggle that our countrymen, our brothers, and sisters went through for us to live a free life. Movies like Rang De Basanti, Razi, LOC Kargil, Shaheed, and Uri-The Surgical Strike are all patriotic movies that are bound to make you teary-eyed and emotional. These movies have a way of making us feel that way, they connect to us, the stories reach out to us.
3. Attend a Flag Hoisting Ceremony
www.cityairnews.com
Every association, club, public institution, in general, has a flag hoisting ceremony. They hoist the tri-colour before or after a ceremony where people dance to patriotic songs or sing them. Then the national anthem is sung and the Indian flag is hoisted. You can visit a nearby school or college and witness the ceremony. It is an ecstatic feeling altogether.
4. Write an Essay or an Article
Write an Independence Day essay at your school and submit it to your teacher, this way you will gain more knowledge about the freedom fighters of our country and the entire process of the freedom struggle. You will learn many facts about our Independence Day just with that one essay! If you are good with articles, then you can go ahead and write an article on the topic too. Through the write-up, you should be able to answer the question ‘why do we celebrate independence day?’.
5. Listen to Patriotic Songs
www.shutterstock.com
While doing some household chores on 15th August Independence Day you could play some patriotic songs in the background. A.R Rahman’s Maa Tujhe Salaam is an all-time favourite. Other soulful renditions include Mere Desh ki Dharti, Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo, Jai Ho, etc.
6. Do a Good Deed
It is, after all, a day that you celebrate for being free and in memory of the people who sacrificed their lives for our nation. So we could also engage in a small act of kindness towards a fellow citizen. An act of kindness, of course, should not be limited to a certain date or reason, but what better day than today? So go outside, either buy a poor man some food or help an old lady cross the road. Either way, do an act of kindness and feel amazing!
7. Spend Some Family Time
economictimes.indiatimes.com
It is a national holiday so you can spend your day cooking for your family and spending some quality time with them. Give your mom or dad or whoever cooks a rest today and instead take up the duty of making some tasty dish for your loved ones. If you can’t cook, help with some work at home and make yourself useful!
8. Look up the history of the Freedom Struggle
www.thequint.com
This Independence Day you can actually look up the Indian Independence Day history and enlighten yourself with a wide range of knowledge. Starting from the First Struggle for Independence or the Sepoy Mutiny to the Quit India Movement which finally uprooted the British Raj from Indian soil.
9. Give an Independence Day Speech in English or any language you are comfortable in
somensengupta.wordpress.com
If you are attending an Independence Day Celebration ceremony then you could go up on stage and give a small speech enlightening youngsters to acknowledge the importance of the day. Or if you yourself are a student then muster up the courage and speak about the importance of the Independence Day celebration in school.
10. Organize a Get-Together
www.123rf.com
It is a holiday and what better way to make use of the holiday than a get-together? Organise a party at your place and call over your close friends and relatives and spend some quality time listening to patriotic songs and singing along. Watch patriotic movies or any movie and just enjoy your day off!
Also, check the – 10 Tips to Work from Home without Being a Slacker
Thanks for visiting 10 Tips!