Beating the Retreat marks end of R-Day celebrations
by Sutirtha Sanyal

      New Delhi: The Beating the Retreat ceremony marking the culmination of Republic Day celebrations was held today at the Vijay Chowk here. The function was attended by President APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the three chiefs of armed forces along with a host of other dignitaries.

    The ceremony began with the unfurling of the tricolour by President Kalam and the presentation of the National Salute by the President's Body Guard, which was immediately followed by a rendition of the National Anthem by the military bands. After sounding the bugle, Massed Band, Pipes and Drums, Naval, Air Force and Military Bands played the different compositions marking the Beating Retreat ceremony. What was unique about this year's Beating Retreat was the inclusion of three new indigenously composed martial tunes, 'Indian Soldiers' (Quick March), 'Bombay Sappers' (Quick March) and 'Suman Sarit' (Slow March), featuring in 'Beating the Retreat' ceremony. Fourteen military bands, 12 pipes and drum bands and 68 buglers from various regiments of the Army, besides a band of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force took part in the ceremony this time. The ceremony ended with the retreat by the buglers. All flags were lowered and the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the South Block, the North Block, the Parliament House and the India Gate were illuminated. The President, General JJ Singh, Admiral Arun Prakash and Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi took the final salute followed by a rendition of Iqbal's 'Sare Jahan Se Accha', to bring to end this year's Republic Day celebrations. The Beating Retreat is a part of the rich heritage of military customs and traditions, symbolising the convergence of military music, smart and agile movements and the traditional attire worn by the military bandsmen. It is an old military tradition dating back to the days when the troops disengaged from battle at sunset. As soon as the bugles sounded the 'Retreat' the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield. It is for this reason that the custom of standing still during the sounding of retreat has been retained to this day. The Colours and Standards are cased and flags lowered. Adopted by Major Roberts of the Indian Army in the early 1950s, the Beating Retreat has, over the years, emerged as an event of National pride when colours and standards are paraded and honoured and has been receiving overwhelming acclaim at the National and International level.

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