Suryakiran, sarang shows attract heavy crowd at Jal Mahal

Jaipur: The Indian Air Force's air show by the Suryakiran and Sarang teams attracted heavy crowds at Jal Mahal, from children to senior citizens, Friday. The air show is being conducted to motivate youth to join the Air Force under the Know Your Airforce initiative.For the aerobatics shows, nine red-and-white Hawk Mk-132 jets, part of the Suryakiran team, and five ‘Dhruv' Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), part of the Sarang team, performed different manoeuvres, keeping residents on their toes through 50 minutes of the show.
The show started with the Sarang team making an I formation, saluting India over Jal Mahal, followed by a diamond formation. Just as people soaked in these 2 jaw-dropping manoeuvres, 1 of the pilots welcomed the residents, saying ‘Khamma Ghani Jaipur' from the cockpit.Thousands of residents came to see the manoeuvres, which included double arrow cross, dolphin leap, and making a heart with an arrow piercing through it.The Suryakiran team entered the show with the Tejas formation, followed by the Agni formation. They performed the iconic 360-degree flip and DNA formation, with a trail of the tri-colour in the sky made using indigenously developed smoke pods. This modification in the smoke pods, which can produce coloured smoke, was used by the team for the first time in Jaipur.The aircraft performed 18 manoeuvres at an altitude of approximately 1,000 feet, with some at a distance of 5 metres.Surprising everyone, Squadron Leader Sanjesh Singh of the Suryakiran team, while entering, announced from the cockpit, "I am making a Marwari entry." From the cockpit, Wing Commander Rajesh Kalra said, "Khamma Ghani Jaipur, thank you. Jai Hind."Excited to see the air show, four-year-old Ishani Meena came with her mother 2 hours before the show. Nisha Meena, her mother, said, "She kept her school bag in the car after reaching home and immediately wanted to come here for the show. She heard the aircraft practise since 2-3 days and was very excited."For the show, residents came from different parts of the city but were disappointed as seating was limited to VIPs, and many had to stand and watch the show. While some senior citizens sat on the road while waiting for the show to begin. On the invites and public passes, it was mentioned that the show will start at 2pm and residents reached accordingly, but the show started at 3:30pm. Videos were also making rounds on social media stating that the front area was allocated for VIPs, while the public was not being allowed to stand even on the road dividers outside Jal Mahal, from where they could see clearly.