The Hindu : Front Page : Tableaux an instant hit with spectators

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Sunday, Jan 27, 2008
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Front Page

Tableaux an instant hit with spectators

Staff Reporter

States vie with one another in showmanship

PHOTOS: RAJEEV BHATT AND ANU PUSHKARNA

PRIDE OF INDIA: An Army contingent marches through the Rajpath during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: “If there is paradise on earth, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here,” said the seasoned State commentator Jasdev Singh as the Jammu and Kashmir tableau coasted past a cheering crowd on Rajpath here on Republic Day.

Fabricated on the lines of the famous Tulip Garden in the Kashmir Valley, the tableau proved an instant hit with the spectators.

The preceding military bands and caparisoned camels and elephants already set a high standard of showmanship.

Among the dignitaries who watched the event was French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Taken out as part of the R-Day parade, most of the tableaux lived up to expectations with groups of dancers leading from the front.

To the strains of Buddhist chants came Bihar’s offering, a recreation of a scene from the ancient Nalanda University.

A popular destination for students from across Asia as early as 415 A.D., the university flourished under the patronage of successive dynasties.

Long-range ballistic missile Agni III that has a range of 3,000 km and a payload capacity of 1.5 tonnes on display at the parade.

True to the sobriquet “God’s own country,” Kerala’s Onam-based tableau was bedecked with flowers and ornamental accessories with a string of dancers performing the “Pulikali” (tiger dance).

Punjab’s contribution consisted of a presentation on one of its proudest sons, freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh, and a re-enactment of the 1928 boycott of the Simon Commission.

While Karnataka chose to display the rocky splendour of its architectural creations — the Hoysala dynasty’s Channakeshava Temple, Uttar Pradesh presented the valour of the legendary Rani Lakshmi Bai of Bundelkhand.

With each State concentrating on its forte, it was but natural that Chhattisgarh showcased its diverse folk music produced by tribal instruments “dhankul,” “chikara” and “dhungroo.”

The most well received contingent of performers was from Arunachal Pradesh that offered a glimpse of its ethnic “Khampti” culture. Devout Buddhists, the “Khamptis” put up a lightning performance of mock-martial arts.

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