The Navy exercises at Gateway of India made for a stellar show
The majestic outline of Gateway of India against a crimson dusk sky and a helicopter slowly rising from behind the monument -- this was one of the many captivating moments of the rehearsal for the Beating Retreat ceremony in Mumbai on Thursday ahead of the Navy Day celebrations.
A video clip shared by news agency ANI showed a drill by the Navy's premier marine commando unit that is entrusted with special operations. The drill demonstrated speedy extraction of the marine commandos -- also known as MARCOS -- after a successful mission.
The clip shows the helicopter slowly rising from behind the Gateway of India. As the aircraft gains altitude, one can see six commandos from the Western Naval Command attached to three points on a cord suspended from the helicopter.
Soon, the show of skill takes on a new hue as the commandos set off flares, creating three horizontal lines across the dusk sky.
Another visual shared by ANI showed Navy personnel and aircraft displaying more skills and a Navy band's performance.
Navy Day is celebrated to recognise the achievements of the Indian Navy.
According to the Indian Navy website, the Royal Indian Navy during British rule celebrated Navy Day for the first time on October 21, 1944. The idea was to increase awareness about the Navy among the people. Seeing the public response, it was decided that the day will be observed every year. Later, Navy Day came to be observed on December 15 until 1972.
In 1972, it was decided that Navy Day would be observed on December 4 to mark India's successful naval operations in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. December 1-7 is observed as Navy week during which various events are organised.