Tracking a momentous transition into the new temple of democracy

On Tuesday morning, with aspiration and apprehension, nostalgia and trepidation, the country's lawmakers walked into the pristine maze of hallways in the new home of Indian democracy.

As they crossed the corridor that separates the new Parliament from the old, they took a step into history. They transitioned from the iconic circular building designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker that for several decades captured every pulse of the national essence to a triangular edifice designed to blend with the old sandstone structure.

The moment allowed MPs, some of whom worked in the old complex for decades and some for less than a full term, to coalesce in recollecting nuggets from the past and exchange notes about landmark incidents that shaped the country's polity.