I had joined the Fellows MBA at the NTU on 02 Jul 2013, and after a week’s orientation and two days team building stint at OBS Singapore, was craving to dig into and learn about the culture of Singapore. The God sent opportunity was provided by my co-fellow Yi Chuen, when he announced that he had managed to arrange few tickets for the full dress rehearsal of the National Day Parade (marking 48years of Independence) and was gracious enough to even accompany us with his wife to the venue.
So, with great enthusiasm and expectations, our group, all dressed in red T- shirts, reached the venue at 0530 pm. (In the background, you can see the logo for the NDP- circles of different sizes and colors come together to form the shape of Singapore. The circles symbolize many stories- at the personal, community and national levels, which have shaped the common history of Singapore and represent the experiences the citizens have gone through together as a country and their values and aspirations that make them who they are.) I was impressed by the way the volunteers, mostly young college/ school students, guided us towards our stands. Each of us was handed over a goodies bag and ushered to our seats.
On the stage were the anchors of the programme : Gurmit Singh( pleased to see an Indian origin guy), Siti Kaligah, Vernetta Lopez and Sebastian Tan. The theme song of the parade was ‘Many Stories… One Singapore.’ True to the theme, the programme began with the children from different schools presenting dances in very colorful dresses. This was followed by the sky divers, free-falling, holding each other’s hands- conveying the message of unity, and landing on the stage right in front of us. The most impressive was the jump of the first ever female sky diver who did a free fall in the NDP – hats off to her. This was followed by the spectacular display of Apache helicopters, tanks, anti-mine vehicles, all-terrain vehicles, artillery guns, multiple barrel rocket launchers, enactment of neutralization of terrorists by the police and display of their skills by the firemen.
Thereafter, followed the military contingents of the Singapore Armed Forces (close to my heart, being an ex-Army man), marching smartly in their spic and span dresses, to the tune of the bands accompanying them. Seeing the crowds’ reaction, it was apparent that they had stolen their hearts. Following this, the Singapore flag (first unveiled at the City Hall on 03 Dec 1959) was flown across in all its majestic glory by the Chinooks.
Then followed by the roaring F16’sm crisscrossing each other’s path, leading to skipping of heart beats of many.
When it is Singapore’s birthday, can the Carnival be far behind? We were entertained by stories, paying tribute to all the communities of Singapore and telling us how their shared dreams, aspirations and perspectives brought them together into “One Singapore.”
As the last light descended, we were greeted by cyclists (with colored lights on their wheels) and acrobats, transmitting their tremendous energy to the audience, through their power-packed display. By now, the torch lights were out from our goodie-bags and waving them to the tunes and chorus of the singers was an exhilarating experience.
The use of technology in creating the basketball court, etc. on the stage using laser beams was spectacular. The wheel-chair basketballers, not to be left behind, gave us the impression that everyone had contributed in his/her own unique way towards the building of this spectacular nation, in such a short time. Even the “Merlion,” from our right, swam across the waters and came on stage to entertain us. The accompanying fireworks display added color spark and brightness, to the ongoing performances. The spectacle ended with all the participants converging onto the stage, to bid us goodbye.
In the end, the crowd bid adieu to the Education Minister, Mr Heng Swee Keat, who was the Reviewing officer for the parade. I have no qualms in saying that the truly amazing and spectacular display of talent and technology will forever remain etched in my memory!!
