Thursday, January 26, 2012

63rd Republic Day

Disclaimer: This post will not be of interest to the non Indian readers, so you can let this one pass :) :)

I wan not planning to do a post today but then this conversation happened in the morning :a

Husband: Just after getting up says, its Republic Day, switch on the television, they must be telecasting the Republic Day parade.
Me: What are you saying??? I used to watch the R Day parade when i was a small kid. Grown ups don't watch this stuff, its for kids.

Anyways,  I switched on the TV and started watching the parade and realized how stupid and wrong and ridiculously ignorant I am or lets say I was.
I felt proud and happy watching the parade.

It began with the arrival of the Prime minister Manmohan Singh who laid a wreath on the Amar Jawaan Jyoti.


Then was the President's arrival flanked by the President's Bodyguards on the mounts. Did you know that President's Bodyguards are the oldest and most senior regiment of the Indian army. A section of pesident’s army also serves in Siachen.
Those immaculately dressed bodyguards looked like a perfect combination of man and mount. The President was accompanied by Thailand's Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was the chief guest for this years Republic Day Parade. She is the youngest and first women Prime Minister of Thailand with an extensive experience in the corporate world.

The President then hoisted the Indian tricolor at the rajpath followed by the National Anthem and the awarding of Ashok Chakra to Lieutenant Navdeep Singh, posthumously.

The Parade then was commenced by the flight of 4 M16 helicopters carrying the Indian flag and the 3 service flags of Indian Army, Air Force and Navy.






Then came various Marching Contingents, Music Bands of various forces across India, and the Mechanized Cavalry displaying the Military might of India. The President of India who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, took the salute from the marching contingents.








Did you know????
  • 61 Cavalry is the only horse cavalry regiment in the world
  • 11 Gorkha Rifles regiment is the only gorkha regiment to be re-raised after independence
  • BSF has the only camel mounted music band in the world and also features in the Guinness World Records.
  • Delhi police marching contingent's members are all atleast 6 feet tall and they have been participating in the Republic day parade ever since India became a republic




You all should see how these regiments and bands march. Its a sight, the amazing sync and discipline that is showcased.
Also I loved BSF's Camel march regiment. The riders were wearing the traditional peela safa (yellow turban), achkans, a Kalgi ( ornament for the turban) and the camels were also decorate






Also shown were the DRDO equipment columns which consisted of: 

  • Agni 4 Missile: Range 3000km and ability to be launched from a mobile launcher 
  • Prahaar missile: A tactical battlefield missile, its navigation system leading to high accuracy
  • Rustum 1: An unmanned aerial vehicle 
(Read More here)

23 Tableau were shown of various states and ministries. Diversity, creativity and color took center stage. It was a true depiction of complete unity in diversity. Each tableau had a distinctive theme from education to peace to tourism, culture, architecture, dances, traditions, handicrafts, agriculture importance of steel, importance of voting , importance of Information technology.

The best piece of information was from the Tableau of Bihar. A small village Dharhara of Bhagalpur district in Bihar has the tradition of planting 10 fruit bearing trees to celebrate the birth of every girl born. They say that girls and trees are both required and the world can not go on without them. How thoughtful is this? Did you knew about this?

Then came the children chosen for their bravery on decorated jeeps. 24 children have been chosen this year for their brave and heroic acts.

Now was the time for some Cultural / dance performances by 1200 children showcasing the following dances:

  • Importance of Education
  • Pondicherry’s traditional dance
  • Orissa's tribal dance
  • Maharashtrian folk dance depicting joy of the fishermen 
  • Madhya Pradesh's folk dance 

Then came the heroic acts of BSF's Motorcycle Riders. They showcased skills like standing on the bike, side riding formation while drinking tea,  yoga on a bike, ladder double formaton reading newspaper, Pyramid formation: 8 on a bike, Floral formation with a bumble bee on top, 6 bikes and 40 riders and lastly 9 bikes and 41 riders. It was a sheer spectacle of balance, control, discipline and years of practice.



Lastly came the Indian Air Force's Flypast. Magnificent men in their magnificent machines showed some brilliant formations. My favorite being the Arrowhead formation by the 5 Jaguar Aircrafts and the Vertical Charlie


The flypast was the  high note to the conclusion of celebrations.
National anthem was played to conclude the parade and lastly was the symbolic unleashing of our aspirations as the tricolor balloons were released.

I had seen The Republic Day Parade after ages and it was an enriching experience. Never again will I say that its for kids.

Happy Republic Day!!!!!




P.S: Its Okay if you have skipped the long post. I had to document this experience for my sake and hence I have kept it detailed. Thanks for bearing with me :) :)

24 comments:

  1. I should really thankl u for this post coz being abroad we know what it is to miss such days...Happy Republic Day! And thnx for refreshing my memories.

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  2. We watch the parade on tv every year. It sort of became a tradition. And every time I see the parade, hear the national anthem, see our flag flying high, I tear up :) I love watching it somehow! Glad to know you started again!

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  3. wowww ... I was looking forward to see such a post on some blogs ... glad to find one :)

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  4. Thank you so much for all these pictures .. its been lot of years since I have seen this live or on Tele..


    63 years gone by I hope this year we will see the change

    happy republic day to you toooooo :)
    Bikram's

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  5. Instead it' s very interesting for me, I have learned something more about your traditions and this is very good for my culture! And you must be very proud of this parade!

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  6. Happy Republic Day!! Excellent pictures!!

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  7. Happy Republic day! I have never seen the parade before, not being in India, great post and pictures :)


    awayfromtheblue.blogspot.com

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  8. Happy Republic Day to you! :)
    I love the images and it's so nice to find out new things about you and the country that you live in.

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  9. I felt so proud seeing the parade today .The feeling is Very patriotic indeed! :)

    Awesome photos! Wish I could be there in the stands one day! They're march is amazingly in synchronism. :)

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  10. Its so great that you shared this Purvi. I have learnt so much from this post. I can imagine how proud you must be to be part of such a vibrant and dynamic nation. Have you ever been to one these parades live? The atmosphere must be so exciting.
    Happy Republic Day, I hope you will also get to participate in a celebratory event in the UAE.

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  11. You captured it very well - the text and photos are really good.
    Happy Republic Day :-)

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  12. happy republic day

    Aarthi
    http://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com/

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  13. Happy republic day to you too!!
    http://style-delights.blogspot.com/

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  14. This for this post Purvi. It took me back to my earliest memory of Jan 26th. I haven't seen a parade in almost 10 years now but I was so so happy reading this and going reliving each memory. I hope you don't mind, I have linked my post to this. Happy Republic Day.

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  15. Wow .. lots of info.. I love watching the republic day parades.. But things changed now.. I have other stuff to do on 26th now.. But we as a family used to watch it and dad used to explain the regiments and stuff.. miss that so much.. After reading ur post now I know what I missed ... Great post purvi :D

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  16. You made me feel proud with this post Purvi. Salute <3

    I haven't watched the parade for so many years...I should next time!

    *shared it on twitter xoxo

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  17. happy republic day! the parade looks so fun and festive!

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  18. Wowww thanks for sharing such an amazing pics!!!!

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  19. Enjoyed the post, and great pics! I've learnt alot :)

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  20. Beautiful post, Purvi with some very absorbing details and colorful pictures! Thanks..

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  21. Great post!

    Love
    http://www.meghasarin.blogspot.com

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  22. Purvi..this is a beautiful post..I loved watching pictures and felt so proud:)

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  23. looks absolutely amazing... The uniforms are beautiful and so full of culture.

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