The Beating Retreat ceremony - a centuries-old military tradition going back to the days when troops disengaged from battle at sunset as soon as 'buglers' sounded the 'retreat' - was set to new tunes this year. The ceremony is performed every year on January 29 and marks the end of the Republic Day celebrations
Beating retreat in India officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day and is organized by Section D of the Ministry of Defence. It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, and pipe bands from the Army, plus from 2016 a massed formation of bands of the Central Armed Police Forces and the Delhi Police. The venue is Raisina Hills and an adjacent square, Vijay Chowk, flanked by the North and South blocks of the Central Secretariat and the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace) towards the end of Rajpath.
The ceremony was started in 1955 and has been a hallmark of Republic Day celebrations ever since. Brig Bewoor and Maj Roberts of Ceremonial and Welfare Directorate of Indian Army conceived the first Beating Retreat in India. Army, Air Force and Navy bands consisting of pipes, drums, buglers and trumpeters from various regiments took part. It has become an official ceremony to have a Head of State of a country as the chief guest and that year the Beating Retreat was in their honour.
The chief guest of the function is the President of India who arrives escorted by the President's Bodyguard (PBG). When the President arrives, a fanfare is sounded by the trumpeters of the Brigade of the Guards on their fanfare trumpets, and then the PBG commander asks the unit to give the national salute, which is followed by the playing of the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, by the massed bands, and at the same time by the unfurling of the flag of India on the flagpole right at the Vijay Chowk.
The ceremony starts by the massed bands of the three services marching in unison, playing popular marching tunes like Colonel Bogey March, Sons of the Brave and Qadam Qadam Badaye Ja. The fanfare by the buglers is then followed by the bands of the Navy and the Air Force. This part of the ceremony ends with their compound marches involving movements to form intricate and beautiful patterns and concert pieces. Then the pipes and drums of the Indian Army play traditional Scottish tunes and Indian tunes like Gurkha Brigade, Neer's Sagar Samraat and Chaandni. The pipe bands also does a compound march and formation numbers. The massed military bands of the Indian Army perform last, marching forward in quick time, then breaking into slow time, then by the "compound marches".
Beating retreat in India officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of 29 January, the third day after the Republic Day and is organized by Section D of the Ministry of Defence. It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, and pipe bands from the Army, plus from 2016 a massed formation of bands of the Central Armed Police Forces and the Delhi Police. The venue is Raisina Hills and an adjacent square, Vijay Chowk, flanked by the North and South blocks of the Central Secretariat and the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace) towards the end of Rajpath.
The ceremony was started in 1955 and has been a hallmark of Republic Day celebrations ever since. Brig Bewoor and Maj Roberts of Ceremonial and Welfare Directorate of Indian Army conceived the first Beating Retreat in India. Army, Air Force and Navy bands consisting of pipes, drums, buglers and trumpeters from various regiments took part. It has become an official ceremony to have a Head of State of a country as the chief guest and that year the Beating Retreat was in their honour.
The chief guest of the function is the President of India who arrives escorted by the President's Bodyguard (PBG). When the President arrives, a fanfare is sounded by the trumpeters of the Brigade of the Guards on their fanfare trumpets, and then the PBG commander asks the unit to give the national salute, which is followed by the playing of the Indian national anthem, Jana Gana Mana, by the massed bands, and at the same time by the unfurling of the flag of India on the flagpole right at the Vijay Chowk.
The ceremony starts by the massed bands of the three services marching in unison, playing popular marching tunes like Colonel Bogey March, Sons of the Brave and Qadam Qadam Badaye Ja. The fanfare by the buglers is then followed by the bands of the Navy and the Air Force. This part of the ceremony ends with their compound marches involving movements to form intricate and beautiful patterns and concert pieces. Then the pipes and drums of the Indian Army play traditional Scottish tunes and Indian tunes like Gurkha Brigade, Neer's Sagar Samraat and Chaandni. The pipe bands also does a compound march and formation numbers. The massed military bands of the Indian Army perform last, marching forward in quick time, then breaking into slow time, then by the "compound marches".
