ANNIVERSARY CARNIVAL:

JP/R. Berto Wedhatama

CITY ANNIVERSARY CARNIVAL: A float adorned by faces of Kurawa, a character from the Mahabarata epic (photo above), plies Jakarta's main thoroughfare, Jl. MH Thamrin. Thousands of Jakartans flooded the city center on Sunday morning and observed the carnival procession to mark Jakarta's 474th anniversary. Many arrived early at around 8 a.m. in order to be able to watch the long parade, as well as numerous performances by local Betawi people such as Tanjidor and Chinese Liong (Dragon Dance). The carnival started in front of City Hall, with Governor Sutiyoso and several top officials overseeing the beginning of the colorful parade. The Betawi Ornament dance and the release of hundreds of balloons and pigeons marked the start of the parade. The main attraction of Sunday's parade was founding president Sukarno's private car and official car that still bear the registration plate RI 1.