Everyone Loves a Parade

A few days ago a friend of mine invited me to watch the national parade celebrating India's 63rd Republic Day with him.  Republic day commemorates the day the Indian Constitution went into effect with the date of January 26th chosen to honor the Declaration of Independence of 1930. The main parade takes place in the nation's capital, New Delhi, although other celebrations occur in the individual states with varying degrees of formality. The day brings together the diverse population of India and most citizens consider it one of the most popular national holidays.

Through the miracle of computers and the internet, my friend Niraj and I watched the parade as it happened live.  I appreciated his commentary and explanations regarding the different aspects of the parade as well as the information he shared about India in general.  I learned so much I did not know about India just by watching the parade and listening to my friend talk about his country and it's history.  I am pleased that he wanted to share this with me and I appreciated his time in making it happen.  (Thank you, Niraj.)

I like parades as much as the next person and I assumed, based on my knowledge of small town parades and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, that this one would be very similar to those.  Much to my surprise, however, this event proved to be quite different.  Prior to the parade, the Prime Minister laid a wreath on the Amar Jawan Jyoti, a memorial to unknown soldiers and then observed two minutes of silence.  The President of India then awarded medals to valorous members of the military, and after unfurling the national flag, the playing of the national anthem, and a twenty-one gun salute, the parade began.

First, various elite units representing the branches of the military marched past followed by a display of weaponry, ordnance, and aircraft.  The uniforms of each of the units amazed me with their colors, designs and the degree of precision in marching technique. My favorite portion of the parade, however, consisted of a display from each state of India.  That particular section of the parade reminded me of the Rose Bowl Parade that occurs in Pasadena, California every New Year's Day in which every state in the U.S. creates a float representing it's unique aspects.  I always knew India, much like the U.S., had a great degree of diversity among its people, but this section of the parade me me realize that diversity in a deeper, truer fashion.  Each display represented the state, it's people and their specific cultures in a vibrant, colorful manner.  The dancing, the music, and the floats themselves drove the idea home that what I thought I knew about India, it's culture and it's people comprised just the very tip of the iceberg of its reality.

My husband teases me that I like to chat online with people who live very far away from me and who have very different backgrounds and cultures.  He thinks my penchant for all things "foreign" makes me "cute."  I have to remind him, however, that if it weren't for my interest in people from countries other than my own, we would never have met and wouldn't have fourteen years of marriage to our credit.  At that point he generally ceases his teasing.  (I've always been good with a comeback.)  It might seem silly to some people, especially those who seek other chatters who enjoy similar mindsets and upbringings, but I have always been fascinated by those little differences in the way people live from one country to the next.  I also appreciate those things that transcend culture, religion, and tradition....those common aspects of humanity that tie us all together.  

My online friends provide me with opportunities to learn something new about this great, big world of ours.  They intrigue me, amuse me, entertain me and enlighten me, and I am ever so grateful to them for those things.  They make my life more interesting, they give me things to contemplate and most of all, regardless of how very  different we may be in the living of our daily existences, they reinforce the idea that all of humanity is connected.  Every sentient being on this earth shares a unique, divine quality with every other human being on the planet.  This idea sustains me.  It gives me hope for a peaceful future, and at the very least, it makes for a very entertaining Thursday night in front of the computer with a very good friend.