The crowds, which were sorely disappointed on Saturday because a heavy smog prevented them from being able to properly view the IFR, were not deterred from turning out in their thousands on Marine Drive.

And they were not disappointed - bright sunny skies set against the blue still waters of the sea provided a perfect backdrop for the synchronised aerial display and acrobatic stunts of India's armed forces.

People took up positions early in the morning at various vantage points in order to have a glimpse of the aircraft participating in the event, while an intrepid few climbed atop high-rise buildings near-by in order to get a bird's eye view of the parade.

The skies reverberated with the noise of supersonic Jaguars streaking across the skies, eliciting a round of applause from crowds below. These were followed by a set of Sea-Harriers that performed various acrobatic stunts and disappeared into the skies seconds after their arrival. Later, all eyes turned towards the skies as an SU-30 rose high into the sky vertically and spun 180 degrees in seconds, leaving several mouths agape down below. Search and rescue operations performed by the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard's aircraft also held the seaside viewers spell-bound. As the choppers flew low and "rescued" men from a "capsized" boat, the audience let out a collective squeal of delight. The tricolour trail left behind by the IAF's Suryakiran prompted crowds below to cheer in unison "Bharat Mata ki Jai". The Sea-Harriers, Sea Kings, Chetaks, Suryakirans,Sukhoi-30's zoomed across the skies as people craned their necks to catch a glimpse. Prior to the display, the parade saw the participating fleets of 30countries accompanied by the melodious strains of the Indian naval band and its counterparts from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the United States filled in the still morning skies.