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Beating Retreat 2023: The foot-tapping martial music played by the armed forces filled my chest with pride.
As far as I remember, it was the cold winter evening of ’96 when the thumping martial music on the television caught my attention. The three wings of the Indian military were performing at the Beating Retreat ceremony and the 5-year-old me was glued to the screen. As the hour-and-a-half-long ceremony concluded, I was enchanted by the performance of the men in uniform. I was left in awe of the rhythmic beats of drums & trumpets. Since then, it has become an annual tradition for me to watch the Beating Retreat ceremony held at Vijay Chowk, on Raisina Hill with the North & South Block Secretariat Buildings serving as the background. Coming from the small town of Siliguri in northern West Bengal, Doordarshan was the only way I could watch the Beating Retreat Ceremony. As the years went by, watching the ceremony on the television was the only way.
So, last year in January, when the stars finally aligned, I decided I had to watch the event live. I was on a business trip to New Delhi, and I had planned my trip in such a way that I could take the time out to witness the grandeur of the Republic Day Parade with my own eyes and the lively Beating Retreat Ceremony. For the uninitiated, Beating Retreat is a traditional ceremony that follows after Republic Day ceremonies. This spectacular event culminates the four-day-long Republic Day celebrations and is held annually on January 29 at Vijay Chowk.
I have detailed my experience of the Republic Day parade in New Delhi here (hyperlink to Republic Day – New Delhi blog), and in this blog, I have talked about the Beating Retreat ceremony of 2023.
On a gloomy day, after having an early lunch at the iconic Karim’s Restaurant in Old Delhi, I took the Delhi Metro to reach the Central Secretariat metro station by 2 pm. As I was walking up to Vijay Chowk, I looked up to see dark grey clouds hovering over the venue. I thought if the ceremony would get postponed because of the weather or feared the worst – what if it got cancelled? After getting through the security check, I was on my seat by 3 pm. I didn’t even realise that I had arrived an hour early. Fear of the event getting cancelled was at its all-time high as it started drizzling. But then, even with drizzle, the event started as soon as the President arrived. I began to realize that these showers wouldn’t be able to dampen the spirit of Indian military forces. Usually, this is how the event goes by:
Before I go on to share my experience at the Beating Retreat Ceremony, here’s a quick backdrop of the ceremony. Following India's independence from the British in the 1950s, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made their first trip to the country. Major G. A. Roberts of the Indian Army came up with the plan to celebrate the arrival of the British Royalty. He came up with the unique idea to conduct a show displaying the massed bands from different wings of the Indian military. This was the first time when the Beating Retreat ceremony was held, and thus a lifelong tradition began.
Seated under the pouring sky, holding an umbrella, my experience at the Beating Retreat 2023 is surely one for the history books. As it continued to rain, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu arrived and welcomed her was the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh.
Soon the music bands of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force, along with the bands from the State Police and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) walked in. Together they played around 29 Indian tunes. Even with the continuous downpour, the men in uniform played without missing a beat.
Popular tunes like the “Agniveer”, "Almora", "Kedar Nath", and "Sangam Dur" set the tone for the evening. Soon, thumping beats like the "Queen of Satpura", "Bhagirathi" and "Konkan Sundari" were played which made me forget the rain for a brief period.
As the Air Force's band walked in and played tunes like "Aprajey Arjun", "Charkha" and “Vayu Shakti" the crowd began to cheer. Popular tunes like "Ekla Cholo Re", "Hum Taiyyar Hai", and "Jai Bharati" by the band of the Navy enchanted most of us in attendance.
As the ceremony was ending, one of my favourites of the lot - the Army's band marched in. They played tunes such as "Shankhnaad", "Sher-e-Jawan", "Bhupal", "Agranee Bharat", "Young India", "Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja”, and “Drummers Call”.
But the most memorable moment of the ceremony was when the bands started playing "Aye mere watan ke logon”. Not only did they play with the lights on their instruments but what added to the environment was the lights were switched off, which cast an ethereal spell on the Vijay Chowk.
As per the memoranda, a drone show was scheduled to happen at the end of the ceremony. However, the same was cancelled as the weather gods decided to spoilsports. I was talking to a reporter, who told me that as many as 3500 drones were supposed to conclude the event. But this never materialised because of the bad weather.
After the President of India, Droupadi Murmu left, it was the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi walked up to the crowd and greeted us. It was a great experience to see the leader of such a position taking time to see and greet us with such a heavy downpour.
In the era of the internet, the Beating Retreat Ceremony is streamed on the Doordarshan National YouTube channel. However, in case you want to watch the way I used to watch it while growing up, then you can surely watch the Beating Retreat Ceremony on the Doordarshan National television channel live.
But, having seen the ceremony live, I feel the only way to truly appreciate servicemen playing their instruments is to watch them weave magic at Vijay Chowk in person.
After having an enthralling experience at the Beating Retreat Ceremony in 2023, I have ensured to make myself available for 2024. Even though the rains tried very hard to dampen my experience at the Beating Retreat, the foot-tapping martial music played by the very brave souls in the Indian defence filled my chest with pride and respect for the troopers.
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