PHOTOS: Pranab joins Mauritians' I-Day celebration

Saisuresh Sivaswamy, who is accompanying President Pranab Mukherjee on his trip to Mauritius, reports on the spectacular independence and republic day celebrations of the island nation. Pranab was chief guest of the function.

It may not match the show India puts out in New Delhi annually on January 26 in terms of majesty and military might, but the 45th anniversary of Mauritius's independence and the 21st anniversary of it becoming a republic, held on Tuesday at the Anjalay stadium in capital Port Louis, was spectacular nevertheless.

The two-hour-long event, presided over by the island-nation's President Rajkeswur Purryag and Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam and with Indian President Pranab Mukherjee as chief guest, got off to a clockwork-like start.

The stadium, said to accommodate around 15,000 people, easily saw more than 20,000 in attendance, with Mauritians wearing their heart on their sleeve and cheering every act of daredevilry and showmanship.

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So the flypast by police helicopters, the Dornier and the Chetak, abseiling by policemen, the gigantic A380 making a brief overhead appearance, parajumping, all had the crowds cheering lustily.

The cultural event that followed had Bollywood singer Shibani Kashyap as the lead act, and although she sang just three songs -- Sajnaa aa bhi jaa from Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II, Zinda Hoon Mein from Zinda, both sung by her, and the predictable Jai Ho! that she covered and without which no Indian performance seems complete.

The IMDB page on her doesn't point to a rocking career in the industry, so while Kashyap's selection to attend the Mauritian National Day celebrations puzzled many in the media contingent the crowds had no such reservations. They thronged the performance area peacefully, a sight unimaginable in India, and soon the security personnel moved in to urge them back, which again they did without protest.

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But the best was clearly saved for the last.

The light and sound show that followed had everything the crowds loved -- it told the story of the immigration of indentured labour from overseas and their subsequent struggle to build a better life, but through a poignant song and dance performance that combined the best of technology, laser, with the finest of emotions, nostalgia, all drawing to a close with a spectacular show of fireworks