Military bands dazzle audience at Beating Retreat

Escorted by the elite President’s Bodyguard (PBG), President Murmu arrived in a horse-drawn buggy that made a comeback at the Republic Day parade after 40 years

NEW DELHI: Military bands on Monday presented a dazzling musical extravaganza at the Vijay Chowk in the backdrop of the majestic Raisina Hill, belting out a raft of Indian martial and patriotic tunes at the annual Beating Retreat ceremony, with cheering crowds soaking up every moment of the breathtaking event.

The Beating Retreat ceremony, held on January 29 every year, marked the grand finale of the 75th Republic Day celebrations. (HT Photo/Sanjeev Verma)

The Beating Retreat ceremony, held on January 29 every year, marked the grand finale of the 75th Republic Day celebrations.

This year the bands of the army, navy, air force and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) played 31 Indian tunes during the ceremony, which was attended by President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh, minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt, chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, army chief General Manoj Pande, navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, defence secretary Giridhar Aramane and others.

Escorted by the elite President’s Bodyguard (PBG), President Murmu arrived at the Vijay Chowk in a horse-drawn buggy that made a comeback at the Republic Day parade on January 26 after 40 years. To be sure, Indian Presidents have often used the traditional buggy to reach the venue of the Beating Retreat ceremony.

President Murmu arrived at the Vijay Chowk in a horse-drawn buggy that made a comeback at the Republic Day parade on January 26 after 40 years (HT Photo/Sanjeev Verma)

Giant screens installed around the Vijay Chowk aired the live action.

The CAPF band that took the stage next enthralled the audience with a variety of tunes such as ‘Bharat Ke Jawan’, ‘Hathroi,’ and ‘Vijay Bharat’. The air force, naval and army bands that followed also drew an ecstatic cheer, as the audience members rose to their feet, erupted into generous applause and filmed the proceedings on their smartphones.

The bands from the three services treated the audience to a musical delight as they played ‘Sound Barrier’, ‘Swadeshi’, Rejoice in Raisina’, ‘Tiger Hill’, ‘INS Vikrant’, ‘Ekla Chalo Re’, ‘Mission Chandrayan’, ‘Faulad ka Jigar’, ‘Taqat Watan’, ‘Agniveer’, ‘Kargil 1990’ and a raft of other foot-tapping tunes.

The military bands saved the best for the last -- ‘Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja’, ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon’, and ‘Saare Jahan Se Acha’, again drawing loud cheers from the crowds.

Lieutenant Colonel Vimal Joshi was the principal conductor of the ceremony.

The ceremony ended with the lowering of the national flag against the backdrop of the setting sun and a simultaneous lighting up of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, South Block and North Block.

Beating Retreat is a centuries-old military tradition depicting the disengagement of troops from battle at sunset.

As soon as buglers sounded the ‘retreat’, the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battle.

Abide With Me, a decades-old staple tune at the Beating Retreat ceremony and said to be a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi, is no longer a part of the musical extravaganza. The Christian hymn was composed by Henry Francis Lyte in 1847.