It's Raining outside and you have a holiday on Independence Day

The memory

The flag had been hoisted. The songs had been sung. The sweets had been distributed. Your little paper flag was probably already bent. And then the rain came. The rest of the day was yours. School was closed. The sky stayed grey. You could hear rain against the windows, music from somewhere outside and the occasional patriotic song still drifting through the neighbourhood. You changed out of your damp clothes, had something hot to eat and settled into the kind of afternoon that only a school holiday could create. 15 August felt like freedom in more ways than one.

Era

Late 1990s – early 2010s

1997–2012

Place

Home

Situation

Solitude

Location

India