Chennai was engulfed in a buzz in the last few days. Not just of the excitement of a large-scale event scheduled to happen in the city after two decades, but also of the 72 aircrafts flown by Air Force pilots rehearshing for the event.
Over the weekend, especially Sunday, lakhs of people gathered along the Marina Beach, eager to witness the Indian Air Force’s grand air show. Kids, sporting shades and pointing to the sky, waited in anticipation while families came prepared for the long day ahead, hauling large cans of water and baskets of food, treating the event like a picnic.
The crowd erupted in applause and shouts of excitement when the Rafales, Sukhoi-30s, the HAL Tejas, and the iconic Suryakirans zipped across the sky at 11.30 am and began the 92nd Air Force Day celebrations. Four Chetak helicopters carrying the national flag and the Indian Air Force flag, set the tone for the commencement of the show.
It was followed by the display of Rafale, and three Light Combat Helicopters. “Vande Mataram endra karagoshathoden ungal kural maidanathe athirattum (Let the ground fill with the reverberation of Vande Mataram,” the announcement came.
Venkavitharathi, a spectator said, “We saw the rehearsals yesterday and thought of coming here and watching. Normally, we sleep at this time but today we are happy to witness this.” Her friends Midhunasree and Miruna also expressed the same sentiment.
However, Miruna also complained about the poor crowd management and no availability of basic facilities like drinking water. The event witnessed a participation of majorly kids and attendees like Rakesh, brought his pet dog.
Narayani, another attendee shared that much planning should have been put into it. “More than attending the event, the real trouble was to get out of the venue. We had to walk kilometres to the nearest metro station,” she added.
Aircrafts like vintage, slow movers, supersonic, transport and helicopters were used to perform stunts. Though the spectacle left people in awe, the improper crowd management had many gasping for air!
Written by Diya Maria George