R-Day parade: Full dress rehearsal of grand cultural performance held at Kartavya Path

New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Nearly 2,500 artistes, set to perform at the Kartavya Path here during the 77th Republic Day parade, took part in a full dress rehearsal of their segment on Saturday, officials said.

While a dress rehearsal of the ceremonial parade was held a day ago, the flypast and some sections of the cultural performance could not be held due to inclement weather.

"A group of artists will herald the parade, which was part of the rehearsal held on Friday, but the grand show, with nearly 2,500 artistes representing different dance forms of India, could not held. So, full dress rehearsal for that section was held on Saturday, as it will be a major attraction on January 26," a senior official said.

On Friday, armed forces personnel and artistes took part in the full dress rehearsal, marching down the Kartavya Path amid morning rain, which briefly delayed the proceedings at the ceremonial boulevard.

The main theme of the parade will be '150 years of Vande Mataram'. The broader theme of the performance will be -- 'Swatantra Ka Mantra - Vande Mataram' and 'Samriddhi Ka Mantra - Viksit Bharat', officials said.

The members of the creative team that has worked on it include M M Keeravani as music director, Subhash Sehgal as lyricist, Anupam Kher as narrator, and Santosh Nair as choreographer, under the supervision and direction of Sandhya Purecha. Creative design and costumes has been conceptualised by Sandhya Raman, they said. PTI KND RUK ARB ARB