Arc de Triomphe reminded us of India Gate during Bastille Day Parade: Indian contingent leaders

New Delhi: Squadron Leader Sindhu Reddy, a helicopter pilot of the Indian Air Force, who led its contingent during the Bastille Day Parade in France, says the historic Arc de Triomphe -- a monumental arch -- in the heart of Paris strongly reminded her of the iconic India Gate back home in New Delhi.

The ceremonial arch, inaugurated in July 1836, in a rather austere ceremony, stands proudly at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle with 12 grand avenues radiating outward from the commemorative landmark.

The magnificent Champs-Élysées, one of these avenues, is the site of the annual celebrations to mark the French National Day, or Bastille Day, which occupies a special place in the French consciousness as it commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison during the French Revolution in 1789. The Bastille Day Parade is the highlight of the celebrations.

An Indian tri-services contingent took part in the historic military parade on July 14 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the guest of honour. Three Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force, along with French fighter jets, joined the flypast.

As the Rafale jets took the skies and filled the firmament with French colours -- red, white and blue -- over the celebrated arch, there was a sense of familiarity for Sqn Ldr Reddy and many other members of the Indian contingent who paraded on the magnificent Champs-Élysées in the heart of the City of Lights.

"The Arc de Triomphe of Paris reminded us of India Gate in Delhi. When we marched on the Kartavya Path on Republic Day this year, and when we marched on the Champs-Élysées on July 14, it felt very similar, as far the experience is concerned. Of course, the Republic Day Parade route is much longer, but the kind of support and cheering we receive from Indian people, we felt the same enthusiasm and warmth coming from French people," Reddy told PTI.

Rafale jets and other aircraft steal the show in a Republic Day Parade too in Delhi. The French colours rising over the Arc de Triomphe was very reminiscent of the tricolour plumes of saffron, white and green, produced by flying jets over the India Gate every year, she said.

Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Monday felicitated members of the tri-services contingent which participated in the Bastille Day Parade, and said they have made the armed forces and India proud.

Reddy, who had led the IAF contingent at the 74th Republic Day celebrations here in the January 26 parade on the Kartavya Path, said, "We put in all our 'josh' and energy and gave our best in the Bastille Day Parade too." After reaching Paris, a few days before the big day, the contingent members from the three services did rehearsals on Champs-Élysées, much like what they do on Kartavya Path for the R-Day parade.

"After we saw the Arc de Triomphe during our rehearsal, the monument felt so familiar, it was like seeing an India Gate in Paris," she reminisced.

While India Gate, originally built as the All India War Memorial Arch, the foundation stone of which was laid on February 10 in 1921 in Delhi by British royal Duke of Connaught, 85 years after the inauguration of the the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Both pay homage to soldiers who laid down their lives in wars, and both are national monuments and powerful symbols of their respective countries, especially in people's collective consciousness.

The 42-metre-high ceremonial arch here, designed by British architect Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, was built to honour the soldiers who died in the First World War (1914-1918) and the Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919). The landmark has the names of soldiers inscribed on its surface. Over 80,000 Indian laid their lives in those campaigns and India Gate bears names of 13,516 etched over its surface.

In the Arc de Triomphe, "decorative high-relief sculptures celebrating military victories of the Revolution and the First Empire were executed on the facades of the arch's four pedestals by François Rude, Jean-Pierre Cortot, and Antoine Etex. The most famous of those sculptures is Rude's group Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 (popularly called La Marseillaise). Other surfaces are decorated with the names of hundreds of generals and battles," according to Britannica encyclopedia. The French monument is 164 ft high and 148 ft wide, and work on its construction had started in 1806, it says.

The 242-member Indian contingent in the Bastille Day Parade included a marching contingent of THE Punjab Regiment with a band contingent behind it, followed by the Navy contingent and then the IAF contingent.

Capt Aman Jagtap, who led the Punjab Regiment contingent, said in an interaction with PTI on his return that marching on Champs-Élysées during the Bastille Day Parade was similar to marching on Kartavya Path.

The Punjab Regiment Contingent was declared the best marching contingent in the Republic Day Parade in New Delhi this year. Capt Jagtap had led the contingent on that occasion too.

Punjab Regiment members are known for their smart dressing, coordinated moves, synchronised step and swift foot movement while marching in unison.

"The experience was quite similar, Kartavya Path to Champs-Élysées, except in the Bastille Day Parade, we marched on a cobbled street unlike the flat surface boulevard in Delhi. But, everyone practised well and we took that in our stride," Capt Jagtap added.