In the presence of an external magnetic field, a type-I superconductor undergoes a first order transition from a superconducting (SC) to a normal (N) phase [1, 2]. Although the initial and final phases are homogenous, the transition proceeds through the onset of an intermediate state (IS), which essentially consists of an intricate pattern of SC and N do- mains. Such a modulated phase structure is seen to exist in a wide variety of condensed matter systems, viz., (i) self organized domain patterns in biphasic quasi-2D systems, e.g., ferro- and ferrimagnetic garnets [3], (ii) interface between two immiscible fluids in Hele-Shaw cells [4], (iii) Langmuir amphiphilic monolayers at air-water interface [5, 6], (iv) chemical reaction diffusion system [7], (v) nucleonic matter within a neutron star [8], (vi) adsor- bates on a metal substrate [9], etc. In such systems, the competition and interplay between short-range interactions associated with a positive interfacial energy and the long range mag- netostatic/electrostatic/elastic interactions lead to a spatial modulation in phases [10]. This lies at the heart of the phenomena of pattern formation. The topology of the IS in type-I superconductors is guided by a competition between the magnetic energy that facilitates the formation of smaller normal domains and the positive surface energy which favors large domains [1]. As IS with various configurations of N-SC domains can be achieved by simply varying the magnetic field and temperature, type-I superconductors undoubtedly provide a model experimental system with easily tunable parameters for studying the intricate physics of pattern formation. The emergence of irreversibility during the processes of flux entry and exit in the IS has been an area of active interest recently [11–19]. Magnetic hysteresis in type- I superconductors was historically ascribed to disorder (defects, dislocations and impurities) and edge barriers [20]. However, recent developments in high resolution magneto-optical imaging (MOI) techniques have paved way for a revision of archaic ideas. In particular the experimental observations by Menghini et al [14, 15], Prozorov et al [11–13], and Gourdon et al [16] point to the occurrence of topological irreversibility associated with the formation of laminar patterns during flux exit in contrast to the tubular structures formed during flux entry. Furthermore, there has been observation of distinct transition fields during flux entry and flux exit. The behavior is expected to get richer in the mesoscopic regime, where, confinement effects are expected to play an important role [21]. However, a type-I super- conductor has been seen to go into the type-II regime at mesoscopic length scales and this had made it practically impossible to experimentally study the nature of intermediate states in mesoscopic samples. Recently it was demonstrated that pure Indium (In) in the form 2