Dance, Drones & 3D: This Year’s Republic Day Celebrations Will Be Bigger & Better

A traditional march past at Kartavya Path comprising a grand parade by the contingents of the Armed Forces & Paramilitary Forces; tableaux display by the States and Central Ministries/Departments; cultural performances by children; acrobatic motorcycle rides and a fly-past, besides Beating the Retreat ceremony at the Vijay Chowk and PM’s NCC rally — this year’s Republic Day celebrations are set to get bigger and better.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said that celebrations have been planned keeping the Prime Minister’s vision of Jan Bhagidari in mind. The Republic Day celebrations will be week-long, commencing on January 23, the birth anniversary of great national icon Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and culminate on January 30, which is observed as Martyrs’ Day. The celebrations will be a tribute to INA veterans, people and tribal communities who participated in freedom movement.

Many new events are being organised as part of the Republic Day celebrations this year. These include Military Tattoo & Tribal dance festival; Veer Gatha 2.0; second edition of Vande Bharatam dance competition; performances of Military & Coast Guard bands at the National War Memorial; an All-India School Band Competition at the NWM; a Drone Show and projection mapping during Beating the Retreat ceremony.

MILITARY TATTOO & TRIBAL DANCE FESTIVAL

As part of Republic Day celebrations and to mark the 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose (celebrated as Parakram Diwas), a Military Tattoo and Tribal Dance festival ‘Aadi-Shaurya – Parv Parakram ka’ will be held at Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi on January 23 and 24. The Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Tribal Affairs are jointly organising the event, with Indian Coast Guard being the coordinating agency.

It will witness 10 Military Tattoo performances and 20 tribal dances. Over 1,200 performers are fine tuning their art forms each day in rehearsals. The traditional dance forms to be presented during the main event include Gaurr Maria, Gaddi Nati, Siddi Dhamal, Baiga Pardhoni, Purulia, Bagurumba, Ghusadi, Balti, Lambadi, Paika, Rathwa, Budigali, Songimukhawate, Karma, Mangho, Ka Shad Mastieh, Kummikali, Palaiyar, Cheraw & Rekham Pada.

The Indian Armed Forces will hold a Horse Show, Khukuri Dance, Gatka, Mallakhamb, Kalaripayattu, Thang-ta, Motorcycle Display, Air Warrior Drill, Navy Band and martial arts. 20 Tribal dance troupes from all across the country will perform during military tattoo event. Approximately 60,000 spectators are expected to attend the event.

The grand finale will showcase a performance by playback singer Kailash Kher. The entry for the event is free. The tickets are available at www.bookmyshow.com.

VANDE BHARATAM 2.0

The second edition of Vande Bharatam dance competition has been organised as part of the celebrations. Entries were sought from October 15-November 10, 2022 from the participants in the age group of 17-30 years in the genres of Folk/Tribal, Classical and Contemporary/ Fusion. State/UT-level and Zonal-level competitions were conducted from November 17 to December 10, 2022 by the seven Zonal Cultural Centres under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture.

The Grand finale was held in New Delhi on December 19 and 20, which witnessed participation of 980 dancers. Of those, 503 dancers were selected by a jury. These dancers will put up a grand cultural show during the parade on the theme of ‘Nari Shakti’.

VEER GATHA 2.0

Veer Gatha, one of the unique projects launched as a part of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ last year, was organised to inspire and spread awareness among children about the gallant deeds and sacrifices of the Armed Forces. This year too, the Tri-Services organised virtual and face-to-face interaction of school children with Gallantry Award winners and the students (from 3rd to 12th Standard) submitted their entries in the form of poem, essay, painting, multimedia presentation etc. These were evaluated by a national Committee, which selected Super-25. The winners are scheduled to be felicitated by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on January 25. These winners will also attend the parade.

TABLEAUX

Twenty-three tableaux – 17 from States/Union Territories and six from various Ministries/Departments — depicting the nation’s rich cultural heritage, economic and social progress and strong internal and external security will roll down the Kartavya Path during the Parade.

BHARAT PARV

Reflecting the Jan Bhagidari theme, ‘Bharat Parv’ will be organised at Gyan Path in front of Red Fort, Delhi from January 26-31 by the Ministry of Tourism. It will showcase Republic Day Tableaux, performances by the Military bands, cultural performances, Pan India Food Courts and Crafts Bazaar.

E-INVITATION

This year, physical invitation cards for guests and spectators have been replaced by e-invitations. For this purpose, a dedicated portal www.amantran.mod.gov.in has been launched. Sale of tickets, admit cards, invitation cards and car parking labels are being issued online through this portal. This will ensure the whole process is more secure and paperless and enable people from all parts of the country to attend this national event.

SPECIAL INVITEES

Invites have been sent to common people from all walks of the society such as Shramyogis involved in construction of Central Vista, Kartvya Path, New Parliament Building, milk, vegetable vendors, and street vendors etc. These Special Invitees will be prominently seated at Kartvya Path.

SCHOOL BAND PERFORMANCE

An All-India School Band competition was organised for various schools to compete and perform in the run-up to the Republic Day to encourage values of discipline, teamwork & national pride among the children. Over 300 schools participated in the competition organised by Ministry of Defence in coordination with Ministry of Education. Eight school bands were selected, which began performing at the National War Memorial from January 15 onwards. The performances will continue till January 22.

DRONE SHOW

The biggest Drone Show in India, comprising 3,500 indigenous drones, will light up the evening sky over the Raisina hills, weaving myriad forms of national figures/events through smooth synchronisation. It depicts the success of start-up ecosystem, technological prowess of the country’s youth and pave the way for future path-breaking trends. The event will be organised by M/s Botlabs Dynamics.

ANAMORPHIC PROJECTION

For the first time, a 3-D anamorphic projection will be organised during Beating Retreat Ceremony 2023 on the façade of North and South Block.

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