Updated, Jan. 29, 2024. 8.47 PM.
As part of Republic Day Celebrations, ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony was held at the historic Vijay Chowk in New Delhi this evening. Music bands of Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces played captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes and mesmerised the audience. President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, Raksha Rajya Mantri Ajay Bhatt, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Army Chief General Manoj Pande, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Akashwani correspondent reports that The ceremony began with the massed band’s ‘Shankhnaad’ tune which was followed by the enthralling tunes such as ‘Veer Bharat’, ‘Deshon ka Sartaj Bharat’, ‘Bhagirathi’ and ‘Arjuna’ by Pipes and Drums band. The Central Armed Poilce Force bands played ‘Bharat Ke Jawan’ and ‘Vijay Bharat’. ‘Tiger Hill’, ‘Rejoice in Raisina’ and ‘Swadeshi’ were among the tunes played by the band of the Indian Air Force, while the audience witnessed the Indian Navy band playing a number of tunes, including ‘INS Vikrant’, ‘Mission Chandrayaan’, ‘Jai Bharati’ and ‘Hum Tayyar Hain’.
The Indian Army band played tunes like ‘Faulad Ka Jigar’, ‘Agniveer’, ‘Kargil 1999’, ‘Taqat Watan’, ‘Agniveer’ among others. The Massed Bands played the tunes ‘Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja’, ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon’ and ‘Drummers Call’. The event came to a close with the ever-popular tune of ‘Sare Jahan se Acha’.
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 were cased and flags were lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by.