The clouds gave way to a brighter sky and the Sun rose from its slumber at around 7.15 AM as the celebration was reaching its peak at the majestic Red Fort here, in sharp contrast to last year when it was marred by heavy downpour.
Unprecedented security cover, that included tight vigil by gun-totting security personnel in and around the venue, did not dampen the spirits of the people.
At 7.20 AM, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's cavalcade reached the Lahore Gate where he was received by Defence Minister A K Antony, Minister of State for Defence M M Pallam Raju and Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma.
The Defence Secretary introduced the General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area, Lt. General Vijay Kumar Pillai, to the Prime Minister.
Then Singh, accompanied by the General Officer Commanding, Delhi Area, Manvendra Singh, proceeded towards the saluting base where he unfurled the national tricolour from a closed enclosure.
There were no rains this time and the weather was pleasant, making the atmosphere more pleasant as school children jostled with each other to catch a glimpse of Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur.
Dressed in track suits, about 5,000 children from several schools of the national capital attended the celebrations which saw the participation of leaders like Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and senior BJP leader L K Advani among others. (More)