India celebrated its Independence day this weekend. On Saturday morning we sped through Delhi, an empty Delhi, eerily quiet with no cars or autorickshaws and Police road blocks everywhere with the army out in full force.So no phones or cameras allowed not even car keys. We were guided into the Red Fort and were seated on the ramparts overlooking old Delhi below. The clouds were gathering and a light rain fell. We had little towels on our seats to ensure we had a dry seat and were handed out umbrellas as we took our place among other heads of Missions and Diplomats. A Hindi announcer spoke in an eloquent and strong voice, children below, in yellow and orange, to depict the colour of the flag, were in place to sing and to cheer. Manhohan Singh, the Prime Minister, arrived at 7.30 am and took his place on the podium a few feet away from us and proceeded with great solemnity but also pride to unfurl the Indian flag that fell open scattering rose petals on the bullet proof covering behind which he was standing.
He talked comprehensively if not eloquently about the challenges that India faces and addressed issues from the failing of the monsoon to the challenges of swine flu and the problems of India's complex society.He concluded his speech with calls of Jai Hind and we rose to the sound of the national anthem.
The President's reception was at the beautiful Lutyens palace in the evening and again with considerable organisation and pomp we were guided in and welcomed by imacculatly dressed guards. Guards of honour lined our path to the great Ballroom. They were dressed in the finest costumes and belonged to an elite group all chosen for their height as well as their fighting spirit.The President, a woman, Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil, barely five foot tall arrived and chatted to the Prime Minister and to Sonia Ganhdi and other members of the Government before going on a small walk about and then leaving. While we were waiting for her to arrive we had time to admire the intricate and beautiful painted ceiling, listen to the music being played by a live band above and admire the sculpted and immaculate Mughal water gardens of the Palace below. This was of course the old Viceroy's palace with the cobra fountain and the beautiful collonades that Lutyens and Baker designed and built between 1913 and 1930. Rashtrapati Bhavan is the biggest residence of any Head of the State in the world.You might be interested to know that the Mughal Garden is open to public in February every year.The palace has 340 Rooms. No steel was used to construct Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The guests were then treated to buffets all over the palace which offered fish, cheese and vegetable bites followed by the traditional Indian sweets but also "assorted tarts" which I assume was an offering to the large number of foreign guests in the Palace that evening. We stood sampling the delicacies and chatting to a friendly crowd. The Ambassador of Bhutan in traditonal dress, the Ambassadress of Vietnam, our own HC with the wonderful and quintessential British name of Dicky Stagg and a small gentleman and his wife. C inquired what he did in the army as he had a large number of medals on his chest and his wife piped up. " He was a tank man " to which he added " Fitted in very well with my stature !" Delightful couple and he was a three star General and Chief of Staff. Who would have guessed !
After tea and coffee we all headed out, through the Durbar Hall and the Staircase court to one of the entrances of the Palace where old Ambassador cars with curtains and covers and red beacons would arrive to collect their charges. The light was fading as we left the palace and the vista of the Lutyens architecture was just breathtaking.
