Foreigners delighted by Republic Day parade

NEW DELHI: The 67th Republic Day parade at the majestic Rajpath delighted not just thousands of Indians present there but also drew cheers from several foreign nationals including the French, many of whom attended the ceremonial function for the first time.

61-year-old Danish Jan Petersen, on his maiden visit to India, said, he felt happy to join in the celebrations.

"In Denmark, we are not used to so much colours, so the parade came as a nice surprise and a visual treat. I felt glad to have attended the event, people are also very kind...I was in Jaipur earlier and had seen the Hawa Mahal there and when I saw the replica of the iconic monument, it felt great that I had already seen it," Petersen, who recently returned from Rajasthan, told PTI.

A resident of Kolding city, Petersen came to see the parade, accompanied by his fried Ulla, a doctor.

French officials, part of the delegation accompanying French President Francois Hollande, and press members from that country who attended the event, were seen cheering various contingents and tableaux that paraded on the ceremonial boulevard.

"It was wonderful to be here and it felt lovely to see India celebrating her Republic Day and France joining in here as represented by our President," a visiting French official said.

Young Chinese friends Zhou Shenquan and Chen Yi from Hubei Province gushed about their experiences after the parade, particularly watching acrobatics by the motorcycle daredevils.

"We have our National Day Military Parade in China once in five or ten years, and the last time it happened, we couldn't get the tickets. So, you see, we have seen the Indian parade before the Chinese one," said 27-year-old Shenquan, a financial consultant.

This was Shenquan second visit to India and Yi's first, but both attended the event on the Rajpath for the first time.

"People are very friendly and hospitable and, we were happy to be part of this occasion which means so much for India," Yi said.

"We had seen the motorcycle daredevilry video on the web in China only but saw it in India for the first time," she said.