Beating Retreat ceremony that marks the end of Republic Day celebrations at Vijay Chowk in the national capital on Monday evening will witness all Indian tunes, beginning with the ‘shankhnaad’ tune similar to blowing a conch.
The musical ritual will be watched by President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narenda Modi, his Cabinet colleagues and others as the sun sets over Raisina Hills.
The music bands of Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will play 31 captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes.
On January 26, the Republic Day parade opened with 100 women blowing the conch shell and playing other traditional Indian instruments on the ceremonial boulevard of Kartavya Path.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, other Union Ministers, senior officials will also be present.
The ceremony will begin with the massed band’s ‘Shankhnaad’ tune, which will be followed by enthralling tunes such as ‘Veer Bharat’, ‘Sangam Dur’, ‘Deshon ka Sartaj Bharat’, ‘Bhagirathi’, and ‘Arjuna’ by Pipes and Drums band. The CAPF bands will play ‘Bharat Ke Jawan’ and ‘Vijay Bharat’ among other rousing numbers.
‘Tiger Hill’, ‘Rejoice in Raisina’ and ‘Swadeshi’ are among the tunes to be played the band of the Indian Air Force, while the audience will witness the Indian Navy band playing a number of tunes, including ‘INS Vikrant’, ‘Mission Chandrayaan’, ‘Jai Bharati’ and ‘Hum Tayyar Hain’. This will be followed by the Indian Army band which will play ‘Faulad Ka Jigar’, ‘Agniveer’, ‘Kargil 1999’, ‘Taqat Watan’ among others.
The Massed Bands will, then, play the tunes ‘Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja’, ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon’ and ‘Drummers Call’. The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of ‘Sare Jahan se Acha’.
The principal conductor of the ceremony will be Lt Col Vimal Joshi. While the Army Band conductor will be Subedar Major Moti Lal, MCPO MUS II M Antony and Warrant Officer Ashok Kumar will be the Conductors of Indian Navy and Indian Air Force respectively. The conductor of CAPF band will be Constable GD Ranidevi.
The Buglers will perform under the leadership of Naib Subedar Umesh Kumar, and Pipes and Drums band will play under the instructions of Subedar Major Rajender Singh.
‘Beating Retreat’ traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army indigenously developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands. It marks a centuries old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms, withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat. Colours and Standards are cased and flags lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by.
