In a departure from the previous years, Indian tunes will be the flavour of the ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony this year. As many as 19 of the 25 performances have been composed by Indian musicians; just four popular tunes by foreign musicians have been retained, interspersed twice with ‘Fanfare’, a collage by Buglers, and the ‘Drummers’ Call’, a traditional performance by only the drummers.
The ceremony at the Vijay Chowk on January 29th every year marks the culmination of the four-day-long Republic Day celebrations. Twelve Military Bands, 15 Pipes and Drums Bands, 72 Buglers and 12 Trumpeters from various Army Regiments will perform during the ceremony. Besides, there will be four Bands each of the Navy and Air Force.
Most of the tunes being played by the Army’s Military Bands are based on Indian tunes. Two new compositions, - ‘Gajraj’ by Captain Mahendra Das and ‘Rashmi’ by Captain Khem Chand, will be played for the first time. Other than ‘Abide with Me’ and ‘Sare Jahan se Achchha’, rest of the tunes are being played after a gap of at least a decade.
‘Beating the Retreat’ has emerged as an event of national pride when the Colours and Standards are paraded. The ceremony 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. ‘Beating Retreat’ marks a centuries old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and 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 a nostalgia for the times gone by.
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