Republic Day in Bengalooru

I just got back from the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground in Bengalooru. It is located about a mile down MG Road. The security guys wouldn't let me take my camera in, so I don't have any of my own photos, but the guy sitting next to me took some photos with his phone, so I may get one of those from him.

Republic Day celebrates the day in 1950 when the country finalized its own constitution. Independence Day is August 15.

About 9 a.m. a helicopter dropped red confetti on the parade ground and the assembled marchers made up of various military and police units. That was followed by the speech of the governor of Karnataka, the state where Bengalooru is located. His speech, in English, lasted about 30 minutes.

Following the speech, the marchers paraded around the parade ground in front of the thousands of citizens watching from the stands. (Watch a short video from the parade ground on YouTube. It appears to have been filmed this morning.) The final group of marchers was a military band. All in all, it was a very colorful event and I got to visit with the two young men sitting on either side of me. One is an electrician and the other a programmer. Pradeep, the programmer, has a 3 year degree and a letter of employment from Wipro, a local IT ompany. Because of the recession, he has not actually started work yet. His salary, he said, should be about 22000 Ns. monthly, or about 488.00 USD.

Below is the Republic Day greeting in today's Times of India. The headline reads "Sovereignty, Peace and prosperity-the spirit of the Republic of India. The photograph on the right-hand side is of B.S. Yeddyurappa, the Chief Minister. He sends his "Hearty Republic Day greetings to the people of Karnataka", the state in which Bengalooru is located.