R-DAY: ASEAN leaders flaunt Raj duppata

The colourful Rajasthani Bandhej duppatas were seen around the necks of 10 ASEAN heads of states on Republic Day at Rajpath in Delhi on Friday.

It was a moment of pride for the state as each of the heads of the ASEAN countries walked with their spouses wearing the Rajasthani duppata.

These Bandhej duppatas were more or less looking same around the necks of the visiting dignatories and looked elegant as these chief guests witnessed the Republic Day parade along with President Ram Nath Kovind.

The duppatas are largely visible around the necks of the guests arriving in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner and other places and are typically a Rajasthani welcome. 

Apart from these guests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also seen wearing a traditional Jodhpuri safa on his head as he welcomed the President, guests and other dignatories on this occasion. It’s, however, not the first time that Modi adorned the traditional safe. During his maiden speech from Red Fort on Independence Day in 2014, Modi had adorned the safa and it became a style statement.

All this spread the brand and tradition of Rajasthan on Republic Day even though the state did not have a tableau.

However, in the parade, the world’s only camel band squad of the BSF Jawans from Rajasthan participated and became centre of attraction. The jawans and the camel squad led by Kuldeep Choudhary made their presence felt at Rajpath.