Sitting next to Advani were Haryana Chief Minister Bansi Lal and state Co-operative Minister Rao Narbir Singh, who looked around curiously after this unexpected announcement. The compere repeated,`` Ladies and gentlemen these commandos can be sitting next to you, so watch out!''

Even before the crowd realised, rifle shots broke the silence in the arena and the target was destroyed. And as soon as the four black cats -- three were lying prostate on the ground while one was atop a tree emerged, the crowd erupted into an ovation.

``This is why they are an elite commando force,'' commented an officer sitting next to us.

The demonstration left the VVIPs and the crowd flabbergasted. ``I don't think anybody would go home unimpressed by their skills,'' Advani later remarked.

If the display of shooting down a target while moving in a vehicle driving at 40 kmph invited thunderous applause, the show of reflexes while saving a VIP and the thwarting of an attack on a VIP motorcade were stunning.

More surprises were in store during the first hostage rescue exercise. The kidnappers (statues, of course) were licking the dust in a matter of seconds, leaving everybody wondering where the shots had been fired from.

The Black Cats gave a demonstration of their versatile skills and expertise. What was perhaps the most hair-raising demonstration was the one given by Major Anand Mehrotra, during which he was suspended from a moving helicopter by a rope. The display was to remind spectators of the rescue operation carried out at the Timber Trail resort in Parwanoo when Major Crasto rescued passengers from a cable car dangling on a ropeway.