Flavours of India in state tableaux at Republic Day parade
Odisha started the procession of state tableaux on Thursday, with floats from 17 states and union territories, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Lakshwadeep, following.
The Republic Day turned out to be a grand, colourful affair this year, with tableaux of various states being cheered by the audience under a grey Thursday sky. It was the kids, however, who stole the show with their stellar performances.
Odisha starts tableaux procession
Odisha started the procession of state tableaux on Thursday, with floats from 17 states and union territories, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Lakshwadeep, following.
A number of states, like Odisha and West Bengal, chose to highlight local festivals in their tableau. Odisha focused on Dol Yatra, while Bengal featured Durga Puja, complete with Dhunuchi dancers- sans the fire and smoke, on their float.
Some states, like Goa, Punjab, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, featured lively music and dancers. The Goan tableau had members of the crowd humming and dancing to their tunes.
Read: Delhi’s first govt model school has audio-visual aids, swanky classes and a gym
Tableau with a message
Haryana stood out for all the right reasons at the parade this year. The state came with a social message behind their tableau; “beti bachao, beti padhao.”
The beti bachao, beti padhao initiative is one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet projects, and in a state like Haryana — which has been deemed unsafe for women from the womb to adulthood — the message was a ray of hope for the otherwise neglected girl child.
Northeast finds a special place
Many states from the Northeast also found a place of their own in the procession. Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Assam and Manipur had all sent state tableaux for the republic Day parade on Thursday.
The tableaux from the Northeast chose to highlight their local culture, topography and history at the parade. The traditional Lai Haraoba festival of Manipur’s Meitei community, the yak dance of Arunachal Pradesh, the reang tribal dances of Tripura and the Kamakhya temple of Assam all they all found a place at the Republic Day parade.
Read: Delhi CM Kejriwal gets e-mails saying he may be ‘killed’ during poll campaign
Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News