The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : ‘Mutiny’ float main attraction

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Thursday, Aug 16, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

‘Mutiny’ float main attraction

Special Correspondent

Two thousand schoolchildren
take part in I-Day celebrations

HYDERABAD: Bharateeyam, an ensemble of cultural items depicting the freedom struggle right from the 1857 Mutiny, was the main attraction at the Independence Day celebrations here on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and a large gathering of public and officials were delighted to see nearly 2,000 children from different schools in the twin cities enacting the sequence of events relating to the Indian War of Independence till the British left the country after the advent of Mahatma Gandhi.

Ideal backdrop

Another batch of tiny tots sat on a make-shift stadium facing the gathering and formed letters with multi-coloured flags such as Mahatma Gandhi and pictures like “Om, Cross and Crescent” providing an ideal backdrop.

The montage began with the British officers “killing” Indian soldiers for their disobedience of orders, leading to the mutiny, coursed through incidents like the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, the martyrdom of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi on the issue of doctrine of lapse, and the emergence of Mahatma Gandhi in the struggle against the British with the weapon of satyagraha.

Among the 21 tableaux displayed, the one put up by the Information & Public Relations Department which depicted the Sepoy Mutiny with “Mangal Pande” chained and held by gun-toting British soldiers in one corner drew wide appreciation.

Children among the audience were enthused to see the Rani of Jhansi astride a stuffed horse, holding up a sword against the British soldiers, with a baby in one arm. The tableaux bagged the first prize.

The tableau of the Forest Department with tribals blowing conventional bugles as part of the “Gurukalau” dance was ranked second, while the third prize went to the South Central Railway that displayed a Multi-Model Transport System train halted at Necklace Road ration in its original blue curved awnings.

Earlier, contingents of the Police, Home Guards, Scouts & Guides, National Green Crops and others marched impressively past the dais. The parade was commanded by Naveen Gulati, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mulug, Warangal.

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