This Republic Day, spectators to be treated to 23 pieces of art

Women's empowerment, the rich legacy of India's celebrated bard Rabindranath Tagore and universal adult franchise will be among a panoply of themes on Republic Day this Thursday as 23 tableaux get set to trundle down Rajpath.

Women's empowerment, the rich legacy of India's celebrated bard Rabindranath Tagore and universal adult franchise will be among a panoply of themes on Republic Day this Thursday as 23 tableaux get set to trundle down Rajpath.

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The tableaux, representing various states and ministries, will vie for spectators' attention as they roll out, offering a kaleidoscopic view of India's cultural mosaic, its military might and economic strength. "This year, we have 23 tableaux representing 13 states and 10 ministries, departments and agencies of the Indian government," said Dhananjay Mohanty, PRO of the Defence ministry, which is in charge of organising the celebration.

"Each state will display little known aspects of its art and culture, while the tableaux of ministries will showcase their functioning," he said.

For the first time, the Election Commission will roll out a tableau featuring a mammoth model of the Electronic Voting Machine and banners exhorting youngsters to vote.

"With elections barely a week away in some states, we thought we could use the celebration as a platform to get more people to vote," said an EC official, who had come to inspect the tableau.

Besides the EC, other ministries that will showcase their tableaux include textile, human resource development, tribal affairs, railways, steel and agriculture. The replica of Punjab Mail, the first train on the country's broad gauge network to complete 100 years, will also be displayed as part of the Republic Day tableaux.