Republic Day Celebrations

Over the past week, a lot of people have been telling me that they had seen the Republic day parade this year, on TV. Considering that its a 3 hour affair, not many take time off on a declared holiday to watch the full parade, even on television. The Republic day celebrations this year got unusual attention, thanks to Obama and his huge entourage. For example, the media made ample mentions of the Beast, Obama's limousine, which incidentally has its own wikipedia page !

Republic Day

The Republic day celebrations generate quite a buzz every year in Delhi and closer circles where the festivities go on for 4 days and 'Beating the retreat' ceremony marks the formal closure of events. When we were in Delhi over 5 years back, my wife and I had planned to watch the parade in 2010. Getting the tickets for the event was relatively easy inspite of the lack of online presence, however the tougher part was to brave the Delhi winter in January to make it to the parade on time. 

Its a lesser known fact that to watch the parade that starts at 9 AM, one has to be in the venue atleast 4 to 5 hours earlier, by 5 AM in order to find parking slots few kilometers away and go through the elaborate security screening. The early morning fog with zilch visibility adds to the driving woes at this hour. However, all these complaints are long forgotten when one watches the beauty and precision of the parade. Being a part of an electrifying event of such national importance, amongst a charged up crowd is something only to be experienced.

Beating the Retreat

After watching the parade, I was told by friends about 'Beating the retreat' parade which I wasn't aware of. Many spoke very highly of it and in some cases even considered this a notch higher than the Republic day parade in itself.  With curiosity, we bought tickets in the same year. 

For the uninitiated, this event symbolizes retreat after a day on the battlefield and features performances by bands of the three wings of the Indian military -- the Army, Navy and Air Force. 

The performance is at Raisina Hill in Vijay Chowk, that is right in front of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This one was hassle-free with lesser demand for the tickets, easier parking-and-screening procedure and importantly an evening time slot for the event! The synchronized performances by bands were enthralling and it was a visual delight. We came back with very fond memories and are looking forward to watching it sometime again. Both these events are highly recommended for anyone visiting/staying in Delhi around end January.

Image sources: (1) Centre right India (2) The Hindu, (3) Photodivision.