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.

Travel Tips for visitors to Ajanta Ellora caves Aurangabad

At the outset it should be mentioned that you should not try to pack in a visit to the Ajanta caves at the same time as the Ellora caves. You should keep enough time to explore the grandeur of the two caves separately.

Dining at Dala Rooster homestay Panchgani

The food served at Dala Rooster is wholesome and tasty. You can have  traditional Maharashtrian cuisine or western-type food. Breakfast items are fixed – upma, poha, sabudana khichdi etc. You can also have bread/oats & butter and ask for egg omlettes to be served. At tea time there are no snacks, just Glucon-D biscuits. 

Why is tilgul offered on Makar Sankranti

The spring festival of Makar Sankranti in terms of cosmic movements signifies the movement of the Sun from one constellation (Sagitarius) to another (Capricorn). Since the Sun God is the God of Light, this significant movement entails auspicious beginnings as there are more hours of light and fewer of darkness.