Mumbai police at 2013 Republic Day parade Shivaji Park

The photographs below are of the squads of the various units of the Mumbai Police as well as other squads at the 2013 Republic Day parade in Mumbai. All of them looked splendid, kitted out in their full gear!

The Mumbai police squads included the band and special security units.

Deccan Odyssey Tourist Train Maharashtra India tariff bookings

The Deccan Odyssey is a luxury tourist train operated by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in collaboration with the Indian Railways. The train is known as the Deccan Odyssey because it makes its way across the Deccan Plateau in India for a 7 nights and 8 days journey. 

Hot tip: The Deccan Odyssey is offering 10% discount on all bookings made for the journey scheduled on 20^th February 2013. You may get an even bigger discount, subject to the group size and the class of accommodation booked. So be quick!

2013 Turtle Festival Velas Beach Ratnagiri booking

Every year, turtle hatchlings, primarily of the Olive Ridley turtle species, are gently guided into the sea from over 600 nests across 30 or more villages around the beach of Velas. This beach is located in the district of Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

The project of releasing the turtle hatchlings is celebrated as the Turtle Festival.

Traffic Police at 2013 Republic Day parade Mumbai

Your conception of a traffic policeman is simple: standing on the roads directing traffic. Actually, a traffic policeman does more than this work.

Traffic policemen (and women) not only direct traffic to ensure a smooth and regularised flow of traffic, but are also ensuring that the public follow rules. They catch drivers without a license, those who drink and drive, those who park in no-parking zones and other offenders. They are thereby ensuring that fewer people are at risk because of these offenders. In fact, it is because of the traffic police ensuring discipline that we get to use roads safely.

Navy personnel and cadets at 2013 Republic Day parade Mumbai

Navy cadets are trained at the Indian Naval Academy in Kerala. Academic studies and outdoor training are imparted here based on the cadet's specialized field. Various fields include naval architecture,  naval aviation, submarine warfare, etc. On successful completion of their training, they get appointed as Sub Lieutenants.

Check out the smartly fitted men and women of the Indian Navy at the 2013 Republic Day parade at Shivaji Park, Mumbai.

Firemen at 2013 Republic Day parade Shivaji Park Mumbai

Firemen are an incredibly courageous lot. People tend to run away from flames with a natural horror of getting burned and being charred. Firemen, on the other hand, run towards the horrifying danger to battle the flames.

Most of our firemen do not have the special costumes to protect them from fire. Yet they plunge into the danger, time and again. They also rescue people trapped in high rise buildings and those trapped in stuck lifts. See them in their glorious fireman's uniforms in the photos below taken at the 2013 Republic Day parade at Shivaji Park. This time, though, there were not fire engines unlike at previous parades. Perhaps they were required at the site of a major fire.

2013 Republic Day parade Shivaji Park Mumbai

This year's Republic Day parade at Shivaji Park, Mumbai was an even grander event than previous years with the addition of more floats and more folk dance groups from the smaller towns and rural areas of Maharashtra.

It is a pity that the public stays away. There is a crowd, but not as much as one would expect. It was really a wonderful opportunity to see & cheer the various units of the police forces, fire brigade, security forces, army, navy and other personnel smartly turned out in their full working kit.

The photographs in this and related blog posts reveal them in all their glory.