Tradition revived: Murmu, Macron arrive in a buggy

President Droupadi Murmu and her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron arrived on Friday for the 75th Republic Day celebrations in a colonial-era horse-drawn buggy, reviving a tradition after 40 years. Macron attended the celebrations as chief guest, the record sixth time a French leader did so.

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The buggy has been used on occasions such as the Beating the Retreat ceremony in recent years, but it was the first time since the Republic Day in 1984 that the carriage was used on January 26.

And it could soon make another appearance: If the weather doesn't play spoilsport, President Murmu will take the presidential buggy to reach the new Parliament building on January 31 when she addresses the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament in the new Lok Sabha chamber, two Lok Sabha officials told HT, asking not to be named.

According to these officials, the secretariat has been informed about the plan and a full-dress rehearsal for her movement in the buggy has been scheduled on January 27. The rehearsal will be a timed exercise, starting from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.