Ranchi, April 6: Rimi Khera could scarcely suppress her excitement. With a camcorder she recorded the dancing wave of people that took over the streets on Thursday.

?I had been told that this is celebrated in a big way here but I was not prepared for such a show,? said Rimi, on her first visit to the state capital.

Hailing from Bangalore and studying in Pune, she had never seen so many people with swords and daggers on the streets before. ?Why, even small children are carrying these weapons,? she exclaimed. ?I have never seen anything like this,? she confessed candidly.

It was difficult to discern whether she approved or disapproved the display. She kept her counsel.

The MLA from Ranchi, C.P. Singh, did not win too many friends though during the afternoon. As he carried a shining sword and led a small group of his own, his official car, an ambulance and a Qualis carrying his family members followed.

The vehicles drew snide comments from the sweating hoi polloi and some angry abuses as the vehicles gently pushed against some of the processionists. One of them had the last word when he quipped, ?even these vehicles seem to know who is the VIP and who is not.?

The vehicles created avoidable traffic snarls and, typically, the police would do nothing to a ?VIP vehicle?.

Had it belonged to an ordinary mortal, one wonders what the uniformed men would have done.