Memories of the Republic Day

Today the people of the housing society where we live celebrated the Republic Day by hoisting  the national flag and organizing a small lawn party. We didn’t go but then we normally don’t attend events organized by the society because we find most of the people snobbish (and I’m sure they must find us snobbish). But anyway, this is the first time I’ve seen residents coming together and celebrating events like the Republic Day and the Independence Day. Maybe because it is a teachers’ housing society.

There was a time when the Republic Day used to be a special event at our house too. We were quite young then: 12-15 years. Actually it was our mother who was a great fan of the Republic Day parade that they used to telecast over the state-run TV channel, Doordarshan. Even the anchors that used to give the running commentary were celebrities in themselves. I remember two names: Sukhdev Singh and Komal GB Singh, and of course, Kamleshwar.

Our mother  used to make us get up early in the morning, have baths, get ready and then have a comprehensive breakfast while watching the parade. She used to prepare a special breakfast on that day, many often consisting of puris, chhole, aaloo, halwa, kheer, etc. in various combinations.

The program used to start with the customary arrival of the President in his (we had never had a woman president by that time) horse driven bogey  accompanied by six or seven or maybe nine  bodyguards on horses. That was some British Raj tradition I guess. With the advent of terrorism and I think the assassination of some top leaders like Indira Gandhi, the bogey was replaced by a bullet-proof Mercedes car.

The Presidents, with their bulging bellies (especially Giani Zail Singh) and awry postures, alternately used to stand and sit while the marchers and bands from all the three armed forces, singing or playing kadam kadam badhaija (keep marching forward) etc., would march from Raj Path to India Gate and from there, I guess, to Janpath. They were (I’m always using the past tense because I’m talking about the thing that we used to see on TV — the parade, in its mutated form still takes place) accompanied by  the latest tanks, missiles, guns, helicopters and other warheads that the country had required or indigenously developed that year.

After the military parade came the jhankis (right now, although I know it, I cannot recall the English equivalent of the word). They were like miniature models, placed upon moving vehicles, of the ways people lived, earned their living, and celebrated various festivals in different states.  Some just had figurines and mannequins depicting various activities and traditions and some had human artists performing various acts of living and enjoying. They were always a treat to watch and the best one even won a prize. The Delhi jhanki always used to be made of flowers; once upon a time Delhi used to be the green capital of India, now it is merely an ugly, concrete jungle. Oh yes, the Commonwealth Games.

The jhankis were followed by performances from various Delhi schools and if I remember correctly some representations came also from other adjoining states. The performances mainly consisted of dance items intermingled with visual effects synthesized with the help of cardboard, plants, masks, clothes, rings, etc. Here too the best school performance used to earn a prize.

In the end there used to be a fly-past of a few fighter planes and military helicopters. I remember children used to run out to see the fighter planes because they used to fly over our houses. As a precaution people living in the city were advised not to eat in the open so that not to attract birds. The military helicopters used to throw rose petals at the spectators and hundreds of balloons filled with helium and carrying the colors of the flag were released. And then with the same ceremony, the President, accompanied by the state guest (the way Sarkozy has come this time,  with his model girlfriend), used to leave.

Normally after that they used to show patriotic songs from Bollywood movies. This was the most interesting thing for me because most of the old patriotic songs are excellent compositions sung by the greatest singers India has been blessed with so far.

There is another memory that is attached to this day. The sunny day. I used to dislike, no, hate winters because I am hypothermic. I don’t know why I remember it was always on this day, after having watched the parade on TV, when we used to go out in the small backyard of our house, to sit in the sun, I used to notice that the sun had come up (come up not in the morning way but had risen in altitude as it does as summer approaches) and there used to be more sunshine in the backyard and it stayed there for a longer period.  I used to measure this by the size of the backyard portion with unobstructed sunshine.  There was another row of two-storey flats behind our row and unless the sun was high enough we wouldn’t receive ample sunshine in the backyard. So the more the shadow of the other houses receded, the greater was the indication of the approaching summer.  It was only on the Republic Day that I used to check whether the shadow had crossed the threshold. That used to be the best thing for me on the Republic Day.

Note: a jhanki is a tableau.

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