It rained very heavily in Kochi on August 15, 1947. But that did not matter. Seventy nine years ago, to the day, bells rang all over the city, in schools and colleges, temples and churches, while the ships in the harbour, factories and mills sounded sirens to announce India’s independence.
“Interestingly, the Indian flag was not hoisted at any official building in Thiruvananthapuram but the YMCA. In Kochi, the flag was hoisted at the Durbar Hall grounds, Ernakulam, by the Cochin Maharaja, Aikya Keralam Thampuran’s younger brother, the Elaya Raja Rama Varma Parikshith Thampuran,” says Balagopal Varma, city historian.
A news item in The Hindu, dated August 15, 1947, about the reforms proposed by the Maharaja of Cochin to the State Council
Grainy photographs from the day, published in the September edition of Cochin Information (archived by Granthappura, the Kerala Digital Archive) a magazine published by the Government of Cochin, show a river of black umbrellas on the road as a large crowd makes its way to Rajendra Maidan, unbothered by the rain. “The processions started from Durbar Hall in the evening and terminated at Rajendra Maidan where a public meeting was held,” says Rajith Nair, a history enthusiast who is co-authoring a book on Kochi and the Cochin Royal Family.
