Those choreographed contortions on the Wagah border are coming to India's border with Bangladesh too
More of a tourist attraction than anything else, the strange ceremony will soon be played out in Tripura too.
It's known as the world's most curious border ceremony. With reason. And now, the almost comical parade that Indian and Pakistani border troops perform at the Wagah border between the two countries, with legs thrust out high enough for the toes to be level with the nose, accompanied by spasmodic jerking of the head and other body parts, is all set to have another edition.
The Centre has sanctioned Rs 18 crore to institute a similar ceremony at the Agartala-Akhaura border between India and Bangladesh.
Because who doesn't need armed forces ballet at the border?
A "Wagah-like infrastructure, including a mini-stadium, would be created... to organise Beating Retreat ceremony," NDTV reported, quoting Tripura Tourism Minister Ratan Bhowmik.
At Wagah, the military ceremony of lowering the flag was turned into entertainment in 1959. The BSF guards on the Indian side and the Pakistani Rangers have been staging the choreographed spectacle since then.
The video above shows a snippet of the ceremony which sometimes lasts up to an hour. Beginning at dusk, the lowering of the flags is the finale to the show. Crowds gather on either side of the border and cheer on their countries and forces as the soldiers perform the peculiar ritual of coordinated theatrical aggression.
British comedian Michael Palin of Monty Python fame filmed the ceremony in 2007 and famously described it as "choreographed contempt" and as "chauvinism at its most camp."
In 2014 Fevicol made a clever ad centred on the Wagah Border ceremony, and of course at least one minister has demanded a ban, terming the commercial anti-national and an insult to the soldiers.
Some others have insinuated the whole performance is an insult to the dignified act of lowering the flag.
Monty Python's sketch on the Ministry of Silly Walks is often referred to in the context of the "goose stepping" at Wagah.
The ceremony is meant as a tourist attraction, and the coordinated movements are perhaps an expression of camaraderie rather than hostility. Following reports of soldiers facing leg injuries from the aggressive display, in 2010 the ceremony was toned down, at India's request.