Hollande's 'bored' looks, Chandigarh's 'lazy float': What excited Twitter on Republic Day

Hours after he landed in India on Sunday, French President Francois Hollande set off a storm of chortling after a photograph of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeming to hug his visitor rather awkwardly went viral. Two days later, Hollande's every gesture was under scrutiny as he attended the 67th Republic Day parade in the Capital on Tuesday as the guest of honour.

His seemingly bored expression during the parade elicited some comment on social media.

The morning constitutional

The annual parade down Delhi's Rajpath is a grand spectacle of India's military prowess and cultural diversity. it includes floats with tableaux prepared by various Indian states and ministries that highlight their heritage, culture, art, crafts and technological feats.

This feature prompts many to get out of their beds early in the morning on a holiday. However, the people chosen to represent Chandigarh on the territory's float seemed like they had not woken up early enough: they were still trying to kickstart their morning with the front page news and yoga as they rolled down Rajpath. The float was meant to represent Chandigarh as the "smart, green and dream city" but was dubbed the "laziest float".

During the three-hour long broadcast of the celebration at Rajpath, #RepublicDay trended as Twitter buzzed with comments and witticisms about the parade. Twitter even introduced a special Republic Day emoji in the colours of the Indian national flag to commemorate the day.

The stars

Tripura and Sikkim quickly emerged as the best in the show with some spectacular designs and ideas. Tripura's tableau was an assemblage of Unakoti sculptures, while and the latter depicted celebration of Buddha Jayanti in the state.

The other themes that caught people's fancy were tableaux designed around Modi's Swachh Bharat campaign and B.R. Ambedkar, the chairman of the committee that drafted the constitution, by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, respectively.