To mark India's 74th Republic Day celebration and the National Cadet Corps' (NCC) 75th anniversary, 10 young cadets from Russia visited the country to participate in the NCC PM Rally parade held at the Cariappa Ground in New Delhi on Thursday.
The NCC is the largest uniformed youth organization in the world, and its director general, Lt. Gen. Gurbirpal Singh, flagged off the parade, which saw cadets from India and 19 other countries march.
The countries include Argentina, Brazil, Mongolia, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Vietnam, Maldives, Mozambique, Mauritius, Seychelles, Sudan, US, UK, New Zealand, and Fiji.
Dressed in traditional uniforms and holding their country's signboard, five boys from the Suvorov Military School in St. Petersburg and five girls from the Russian Defense Ministry's Boarding School marched along with cadets from other countries.
As a part of a youth exchange program, the Russian cadets flew to India for two weeks and experienced India's rich culture and tradition.
From witnessing the grand Republic Day parade to visiting popular historical sites and tourist destinations like the Taj Mahal in Agra city in Uttar Pradesh state and Jai Mahal, the Amber Fort in Jaipur city in Rajasthan, to gorging on some lip-smacking authentic Indian delicacies, the cadets explored the best of India and took back some great memories from their visit.
From witnessing the grand Republic Day parade to visiting popular historical sites and tourist destinations like the Taj Mahal in Agra city in Uttar Pradesh state and Jai Mahal, the Amber Fort in Jaipur city in Rajasthan, to gorging on some lip-smacking authentic Indian delicacies, the cadets explored the best of India and took back some great memories from their visit.
"The parade was just awesome. It was unique compared to the Russian parade. We saw a lot of new things like the representation of different states of India. It was very interesting to watch all the colorful statues (tableau) moving and people dancing around," Maria, a cadet from the Boarding School for Girls of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, told Sputnik.
Another female cadet, Sophia, said, "Russians are very fond of Indian culture as we feel the energy of people dancing to songs like Jimmy Jimmy, Aaja Aaja. We feel that positive influence of people and Indian culture and music, on everyone and it makes us all happy."