AP PHOTOS: Marchers rehearse for the Republic Day parade in India
By MANISH SWARUP
NEW DELHI (AP) – With a sword and a turban in the colors of his regiment, the Indian Army, Major Piyush Sharma, thundered, “Troops, prepare to march.”
At his command, the regiment on camels – his mustachioed riders led by gleaming brass bands with gleaming tubas – swiftly moved along a boulevard in the Indian capital on Friday during a rehearsal for the annual Republic Day parade.
‘I can’t describe my feelings in words. It is such 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 congregate on Rajpath, a ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi, for a flamboyant display of the military might and cultural diversity of the country. land. School children, folk dancers, police and military battalions march along the parade route, followed by a display of military equipment.
But what’s behind the meticulous parade – broadcast live and watched by millions of Indians across the country – is weeks and weeks of practice in the biting winter cold.
Due to a fierce nationwide campaign to ward off the coronavirus, participants in rehearsals this year marched with their faces covered in masks.
The crowd that came to watch was thin, braving a fog and cold as they lined the sides of the boulevard.
Due to the pandemic, spectators at the Republic Day parade next Tuesday will be restricted to enforcing social distance, and some events will be canceled.
India won independence from British colonial rule in 1947.