January 31, 2008

President's House and Parliament

Starting on Republic Day and ending 3 days later with the “Beating Retreat” ceremony, the President’s House and Parliament are lit up in lights. I completely missed this spectacle last year, so I was determined to see it this year. The top of India Gate is also lit with green, white and orange lights – forming the Indian flag.
c
I didn't actually see the ceremony, only the lights, but that was cool enough. The ceremony signifies the retreat by armed forces after a day at the battlefront and is accompanied by armed forces bands and bagpipers.


By the way, until last week, I thought that the President’s House was Parliament. It turns out that Parliament is the round building NEXT to the President's House. Anyway, it made sense because the building sits at the end of a long road a pedestrian avenue called Rajpath (a la the US Capitol and the National Mall) and I never thought that a president would need a house that big.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Those pics are beautiful! Don't forget to get the scoop on tours, etc. for when I visit next.