Elephants carry schoolchildren during the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Jan. 26. (Photo: AFP)

New Delhi : Sleek nuclear-capable missiles featured alongside colorful folk dances as India showcased its military might and cultural diversity at the Republic Day parade on Jan. 26, watched among others by Bhutan King Jigme Singye Wangchuk.

The annual parade, an impressive exposition of the country’s military spit and polish and brilliant cultural diversity, received its first makeover to make it more compact since it began in 1950 to commemorate India’s emergence as a republic.

As a dense early morning fog that had gripped the city evaporated, thousands of people gathered in the pale winter sunshine to watch the parade along the grand Rajpath, the capital’s magnificent central vista.

As the parade wound its way from Rajpath, a stone’s throw from the presidential palace, to the 17th-century Red Fort monument in the city’s old quarters, about 9 miles away, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the supreme commander of India’s armed forces, took the salute.

Bhutan’s Crown Prince Dasho Jigme Gesar Namgyal Wangchuk was also present at the venue. The king, clad in the gho, a wraparound, coat-like knee-length garment, sat at Kalam’s side through the extravaganza, flanked by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani.

The country’s hi-tech military might was represented by nuclear capable Agni-I and Agni-II missiles, T-90 missile firing tanks, Tunguska air defense weapon systems, a mobile satellite communication vehicle, and the home-grown advanced light helicopter Dhruv.

The Defense Research and Development Organization’s column featured the BrahMos Cruise missile jointly developed with Russia, the state-of-the-art Samyukta electronic warfare system, and the multi-barrel rocket launcher Pinaka.

The marching contingents and armed forces bands were followed by 22 tableaux depicting subjects as diverse as Jammu and Kashmir’s water bodies, the wooden toy industry of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and the 10th century Gomteshwara statue of Karnataka.

As always, one of the highlights was the contingent from 61 Cavalry, the world’s only horse cavalry unit.

Bringing up the rear were troupes of 1,500 schoolchildren who presented colorful dances to the accompaniment of patriotic music. The 19 children (14 boys and five girls) who received the National Awards for Bravery too participated in the parade, riding on caparisoned elephants.

Earlier, Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries visited India Gate to lay wreaths and pay homage at Amar Jawan Jyoti, the memorial to Indian soldiers killed in battle.