Familiar languages, faces reconnect after Republic Day celebrations at Kartavya Path

As the celebrations at Kartavya Path came to an end, many in the audience stayed on to speak to the artistes from their home States and click selfies with them.

Among the spectators was S. Laxmi, who has lived in Delhi for 35 years and hails from Tamil Nadu. Spotting performers in traditional attire, she broke into conversation in Tamil. “It’s a joy to converse in our own language,” she said and asked a dancer where he lived in Tamil Nadu. After exchanging greetings with the spectator, the dancer, Md. Aslam, a performer from Tiruchirappalli, said the troupe had rehearsed for nearly 20 days for a performance that lasted only a few minutes. “It is a great feeling to perform in front of national and international dignitaries,” he said.

Dance troupes from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Assam and West Bengal arrived in Delhi as early as January 9 to rehearse together. Practising alongside artists from other regions was an experience in itself, said many. “The experience is great, and we get to interact and learn about other cultures also,” said one of the performers.

According to an official release, around 2,500 artistes participated in this year’s celebrations.

The groups were a mix of college students, trained dancers and veteran artists. For many, it was their first visit to Delhi and their first performance outside their home State. Virendra Ogre, 36, part of the Chhattisgarh contingent, said that although he had performed at several State and Central government events, this was his first Republic Day appearance with his State troupe.

“We have been carrying our legacy for five generations and are now training our children too,” he said. “Our dance, ghedi nrutya, needs to be preserved and represented across the world. With evolving times, we cannot let it disappear.”

Ogre added that the 20-day stay in Delhi was as much about cultural exchange as performance. His troupe of 34 artists from Bilaspur included dancers of various age groups. “We have been here since 3 a.m., and now we will get back,” he said after the performance, noting that preparations had begun two months earlier. While the group spent nearly ₹2.5 lakh overall, the expenses were reimbursed by the government.

Outside the venue, an Air Force officer posted in Delhi for over a decade queued up with his family to take pictures with performers from Uttarakhand. Originally from Nainital, he said meeting artists from his home State was a special moment. For Arohi Uniyal, 21, part of a 45-member Uttarakhand group, the experience was transformative. “This is totally different. I have never performed out of State. We meet people from different cultures and learn their dance forms,” she said.

Florence, a resident of west Imphal, hoped that the performance by artistes from her State would remind everyone about “how Manipur has been torn apart due to violence”.

For Warangi Dhere, a Mumbai University student, the performance fulfilled a long-held wish. “I wanted to be part of the Republic Day tableau for years, but exams always came in the way. This time I finally could,” she said.