New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS) In the race for best tableau during the Republic Day parade 2025, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat jostled for the numero uno spot. Both of them, however, ended up notching the top rank though under different categories.
Gujarat’s tableau at the 76th Republic Day celebrations, themed “Swarnim Bharat: Virasat Ane Vikas”, marked a beautiful culmination of 12th-century Solanki-era ‘Kirti Toran’ of Vadnagar (Anartpur) and the awe-inspiring 21st-century ‘Statue of Unity’, capturing the state’s historical legacy alongside its contemporary achievements.
An online poll was conducted by the MyGov portal from January 26-28, where common people shared their views and adjudged Gujarat tableau as the winner. The online poll saw Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand occupying the second and third spot, respectively.
Uttar Pradesh tableau, themed Mahakumbh 2025 – Swarnim Bharat: Virasat aur Vikas bagged the top award in judges panel while Gujarat tableau themed Swarnim Bharat: Virasat Aur Vikas won the top honours in people’s vote under the ‘People’s Choice category’.
K.L. Bachani, Director of Information, Gandhinagar, said: “Under the vision of Prime Minister for ‘Swarnim Bharat’, we received guidance from Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel. Based on this, we designed the tableau showcasing Gujarat’s development from the 12th century to the 21st century. This comprehensive representation earned First Prize in the People’s Choice category. We express our gratitude for this honor. This marks Gujarat’s third consecutive achievement, as we secured the top position in 2023, 2024, and now in 2025.”
Bachani, and Avantika Singh, Secretary to Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, attended the award ceremony for the Best Marching Contingent and Best Tableaux at Rashtriya Rangshala Camp, where Gujarat’s tableau secured First Prize in the People’s Choice category among Ministries/Departments of the government of India
During the Republic Day Parade award ceremony, Gujarat’s artistes showcased a dance performance
A Gujarat Tableau artiste said: “Our experience has been very good… we practiced for three to four hours every morning for over a month… our performance was successful, and based on that, we received an award. And this year, we have achieved a hat-trick.”
The online poll conducted this year was supposedly an addition to the standard protocol of three-member panel assessing the performance of Marching contingents from Services and CAPF and tableaux from various states and UTs as well as Ministries of Central government.
Among other awards in the People’s Choice category, the Signals contingent was awarded the best marching contingent among the services while CRPF contingent was adjudged the best among the CAPF and Auxiliary forces.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development, showcasing the multifaceted journey of women and children nurturing under the Ministry’s welfare schemes, won the best tableau award in Central Ministries/Departments category.
Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Sanjay Seth presented the awards to best Marching Contingents and Tableaux of Republic Day Parade at the Rashtriya Rangshala Camp in the capital on Thursday.
He also thanked the Culture Ministry for taking up the challenge of creating new Guinness World Record of 5,000 artistes in the cultural performance.
–IANS
pgh/
