By Sandeep Verma 
Noida, August 12: In the past week, markets in Noida and Ghaziabad have been awash with saffron, white, and green. On Tuesday, the colours came alive in song, dance, and the hum of conversation as the Tiranga Mahotsav made its way into community halls and open spaces. This wasn’t the kind of programme where people just sit politely and clap. Here, neighbours waved across aisles, kids tugged at their mothers’ sarees to point out friends on stage, and stall owners called out to passers-by with the persistence of the season’s street vendors.
A Stage Full Of Small Stories In Noida
At the Greater Noida Authority auditorium, the official start came with District Magistrate Medha Roopam on stage, but the real energy was waiting in the wings schoolchildren in pressed uniforms, some barefoot, some with hair ribbons slipping loose, ready to perform.
A group from Government Girls Inter College Hoshiyapur sang with the kind of unpolished enthusiasm that doesn’t need a mic check. From Primary School Nagla Banjara came a skit about freedom fighters, where one boy, too nervous to remember his lines, was quietly prompted by his friend without missing a beat.
Outside, the Tiranga Mela was busy in the way local fairs always are — shoppers leaning over tables to bargain, friends stopping mid-walk to greet each other, the smell of hot pakoras drifting from somewhere. Women from self-help groups had set up stalls with tricolour bracelets, hand-painted flowerpots, and cloth bags. Anita Sharma from Sector 62 said she had barely sat down all afternoon. “Usually I go home with half my stock. Today, I’ll be lucky if I have anything left to pack.”
Music, Memory And A Crowd In Ghaziabad
In Lohia Nagar, the Hindi Bhawan was filled to the brim. Children from Bhagirathi School and Shri Vidya School took turns under the stage lights. Some sang, some danced, some looked like they’d rather be anywhere else until the music started and the crowd began clapping in time.
The Tiranga Sangeet Samaroh was the sort of event where you could spot three generations sitting together a grandmother tapping her foot, her daughter recording the performance, and a child in her lap pointing at the performers. Ramesh Tiwari, a retired schoolteacher, said the chorus of Vande Mataram brought back memories of when his colony would gather for flood relief fundraisers. “It’s the same feeling everyone here for one thing, and no one thinking about themselves first.”
Flags As A Common Thread
The next phase of the Har Ghar Tiranga drive will see about one lakh national flags going up in the two districts from August 13 to 15. But walking through these events, it was clear the real momentum is not in the official count — it’s in the way mohalla committees are pooling money to buy flags for those who can’t, or the way small shopkeepers are taping them above their entrances without being asked.
On one corner, a group of teenagers were showing an older neighbour how to take a selfie with the flag and upload it to harghartiranga.com. “You press this button… yes, that’s it,” one laughed, handing the phone back.
Local Hands, National Canvas
The One District One Product stalls turned into conversation starters. People lingered, asked questions about how jaggery was made or how long it took to weave a mat. Meena Devi, who had travelled from Dadri with her SHG, said this was the first time she had been part of such a gathering. “I’m not just here to watch. My work is here too. That feels different.”
Independence Day, From The Ground Up
By the time dusk fell, the decorations looked a little tired, children had run themselves out, and stall owners were counting the day’s earnings. But the chatter in the streets stayed warm. For many, this Independence Day feels like something built not just in government offices or public parks, but in schoolrooms, shared courtyards, and market stalls.
In both Noida and Ghaziabad, the Tiranga Mahotsav left behind more than photographs and slogans it left the sense that celebration can be personal, local, and still part of something much bigger.
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- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/sandeep/
- Sandeep Vermahttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/sandeep/
