Guru Nanak's 550th, world heritage Jaipur city & Guj's stepwell to be showcased among R-Day tableaux

The Walled City of Jaipur and Gujarat's iconic stepwell in Patan, both UNESCO world heritage, and the 550th anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev will be thematically showcased among the host of tableaux in the Republic Day Parade this year, officials said on Wednesday.

Jammu & Kashmir will participate in the parade for the first time as a union territory.

Out of the total 22 tableaux, 16 will be of various states and UTs and six of ministries, departments and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). They were unveiled at an event held at the Delhi Cantonment on Wednesday.

Northeastern states will be represented by Assam and Meghalaya.

The Walled City of Jaipur, which was accorded the UNESCO World Heritage tag in 2019, will be the overriding theme of the Rajasthan tableau that will depict the Pink City's architectural grandeur and the state's vibrant culture reflected in its folk songs and dances.

The year 2019 was the 550th anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and this will be theme of the Punjab's tableau in the parade.

Sikhism's architectural and cultural heritage will be portrayed in its tableau, with messages 'Kirat Karo', 'Naam Japo' and 'Vand Chhako', which form the cornerstone of Sikhism, depicted in panels.

Gujarat's architectural wonder Rani Ki Vav will be the centrepiece of the state's tableau, complemented with folk culture and dances performed by artistes.

Rani Ki Vav or Queen's Stepwell initially built by Rani Udayamati as a memorial to her husband King Bhimdev I in the 11th century in Patan district of the state was inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014.

The majestic architecture of the stepwell will be showcased in the tableau that will be fronted by a statue of a village woman wearing Patola saree of Patan.

The Jammu & Kashmir tableau showcases the rich sartorial and cultural heritage of the region with a shawl weaver being depicted in the front. The flora and fauna will be shown in the middle complemented with the Dogra and Kashmiri folk culture.

Other states which will take part in the grand parade are Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

The Defence Ministry had received 32 tableau proposals from states and union territories and 24 from central ministries and departments.

Besides, the three wing of the armed forces -- Army, Air Force and Navy -- will have their own tableaux, officials said.

On West Bengal government's proposal for a tableau being rejected, a senior defence ministry official on Wednesday said, "It was all merit-based and those tableau which were rejected by the committee were after some shortcomings found by the panel".

An Expert Committee had examined it in two rounds of meeting.

The proposals are evaluated by the Expert Committee comprising eminent persons in the fields of art, culture, painting, sculpture, music, architecture, choreography, among others, the ministry had earlier said.

The Committee examines the proposals on the basis of theme, concept, design and its visual impact before making its recommendations, it said.