All-Indian tunes to be played during Beating Retreat ceremony

New Delhi: The Raisina Hills here will reverberate with the sound of captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes that will be played by military and paramilitary bands on Monday during the Beating Retreat ceremony.

The historic ceremony which takes place at Vijay Chowk in the heart of the national capital, marks the culmination of Republic Day celebrations.

The Raisina Hills 'will witness all-Indian tunes' which will be played during the Beating Retreat ceremony on January 29, the defence ministry said in a statement.

"The music bands of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will play 31 captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes before a distinguished audience," it said.

The audience will comprise President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, several other union ministers, senior officials and the general public.

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 ministry said.

The CAPF bands will play 'Bharat Ke Jawan' and 'Vijay Bharat' among others.

Tiger Hill, Rejoice in Raisina and Swadeshi are among the tunes to be played by 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," it said.

This will be followed by the Indian Army band playing Faulad Ka Jigar, Agniveer, Kargil 1999 and 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 statement said.

"The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of Sare Jahan se Acha,' it added.

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 the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force respectively. The conductor of the CAPF band will be Constable GD Ranidevi," the statement said.

The buglers will perform under the leadership of Naib Subedar Umesh Kumar, and the pipes and drums band will play under the instructions of Subedar Major Rajender Singh.

The 'Beating Retreat' 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.

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 are lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by, it said.