Crowd puller at the I-Day celebrations in Bengaluru

The tricolour shone on flags, face paint and various items of clothing at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground, where a tightly packed, cheering crowd celebrated Independence Day on Thursday.

As the flag was unfurled, a patriotic mood was palpable. The crowd's singing of the national anthem, their loud cheering and clapping as the uniformed platoons marched past the podium, almost drowned out their steady marching rhythm.

At a premiere, about 400 students, employees of the state social services and the department of youth development and sports, all in colorful costumes, presented the government's “five ambitious guarantee programs” in a dance drama.

Hundreds of children performed plays on the life and legacy of freedom fighter Rani Abbakka Devi, telling stories of the freedom struggle with an infectious energy that also resonated with the audience.

First-time spectators cheered and oohed and ahhed at the Malla Kamba demonstration by a team from the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment Centre and the paramotor demonstration by the Parachute Regiment Training Centre.

The loudest cheering, as on every Republic Day or Independence Day, came during the motorcycle demonstration by the Corps of Military Police Centre and School. People stood on their chairs, many expertly balancing their children with their hands on their shoulders, and held up their mobile phones to record the stunts.

Two “jokers” from the trained stunt team entertained the crowd in the front while the bikers jumped through a loop of fire a few times before jumping over other team members or balancing together in complicated formations on a speeding motorcycle.