"Indian Tunes based on Classical Ragas" to be played in Beating the Retreat Ceremony 2023

New Delhi, Jan 28: Getting rid of the colonial mindset completely, the central government said on Saturday that the Indian tunes based on Indian Classical Ragas will be played at the "Beating the Retreat" ceremony this year.

 

It will be attended by President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held at Vijay Chowk, New Delhi on January 29. As many as 29 Indian tunes will be played by the music bands of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the State Police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF).

 

 

There will also be the country's biggest Drone Show, comprising of 3,500 indigenous drones. The magnificent drone show will light up the evening sky over the Raisina hills, weaving myriad forms of national figures/events through smooth synchronization. It will depict the success of the start-up ecosystem, and the technological prowess of the country’s youth and pave the way for future path-breaking trends. The event will be organized by M/s Botlabs Dynamics.

 

For the first time, a 3-D anamorphic projection will be organised during Beating Retreat Ceremony 2023 on the façade of North and South Block.

 

The Ceremony will begin with the massed band’s ‘Agniveer’ tune which will be followed by the enthralling tunes like ‘Almora’, ‘Kedar Nath, ‘Sangam Dur’, ‘Queen of Satpura’, ‘Bhagirathi’, ‘Konkan Sundari’ by Pipes and Drums band.

 

 

Indian Air Force’s band will play ‘Aprajey Arjun’, ‘Charkha’, ‘Vayu Shakti’, ‘Swadeshi’, while fascinating ‘Ekla Cholo Re’, ‘Hum Taiyyar Hai’, and ‘Jai Bharati’ will be played by the band of Indian Navy.

 

The Indian Army’s band will play ‘Shankhnaad’, ‘Sher-e-Jawan’, ‘Bhupal’, ‘Agranee Bharat’, ‘Young India’, ‘Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja’, ‘Drummers Call’, and ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’.

 

The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of ‘Sare Jahan se Acha’.

 

‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony at the Vijay Chowk on January 29th every year marks the culmination of the four-day-long Republic Day celebrations. It 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. It 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 nostalgia for the times gone by.