Old Delhiites make I-Day special from hoisting flag to kite flying and sky lanterns

Red Fort, the 16th-century fort situated inside Old Delhi holds pride of place in the Independence Day celebrations as it is from here that the Prime Minister of India unfurls the tricolour and gives his traditional addresses the nation every year.

Chandni Chowk inside Delhi-6 has traditions connected with Independence Day since the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the national flag from Lal Quila and made the announcement.

On the occasion of the 73rd Independence Day, old Delhi or as it is popularly known as, Delhi-6, left no stone unturned to celebrate the hard-fought victory day with great pomp and show.

Purani Dilli is synonymous with kite flying and on this day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation, colourful kites dotted the skies keeping alive a tradition that has come to be associated with Independence Day.

The lanes of Old Delhi, known as Purani Dilli in Hindi, offer some lip-smacking food for those who visit the area.

As the day grew older, people began bursting crackers and releasing sky lanterns. For the past few years, sky lanterns are released into the sky. This year too, locals lit lanterns and released them up into the sky and soon a colourful spectacle of lights was on show high up above the ground.

BJP leader and a resident of Old Delhi, Vijay Goel told ANI, "Independence Day celebration in Delhi leaves everyone spellbound. Everyone should come to Old Delhi and see how enthusiastically people make their Independence Day very special."

This year with the festival of Raksha Bandhan coinciding with Independence Day it was an occasion for double celebration.

And what is celebrations without sweets? People flocked to the lanes of Old Delhi for its famed sweets and lip smacking food.