AP PHOTOS: Merchants rehearse for the Republic of India Day parade
By MANISH SWARUP
NEW DELHI (AP): With a sword and a turban in the colors of his regiment, Indian Army Major Piyush Sharma thundered, “Troops, get ready to march.”
At his behest, the camel-mounted regiment (its mustachioed riders led by gleaming brass bands with gleaming tubes) quickly moved down an boulevard in the Indian capital on Friday in a rehearsal for the annual Republic Day parade. .
“I can’t describe my feelings in words. It is an honor to lead my contingent, “said Sharma, 28.
Republic Day marks the anniversary of the adoption of the country’s constitution on January 26, 1950. Thousands gather in Rajpath, a ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi, to see an extravagant display of military power and the cultural diversity of the country. Schoolchildren, folk dancers, police and military battalions parade along the route of the parade, followed by an exhibition of military equipment.
But what is behind the high-precision parade – broadcast live and seen by millions of Indians across the country – is weeks and weeks of practice during the winter cold.
Due to a fervent national campaign to defend themselves against the coronavirus, participants in this year’s trials paraded with their faces covered in masks.
The people who came to see her were thin, daring with a fog and a cold as they stood beside the boulevards.
Due to the pandemic, spectators at next Tuesday’s Republic Day parade will be limited to applying social distancing and some events will be canceled.
India gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.