'Beating the Retreat' ceremony to be held tomorrow

As many as 26 performances will enthral the spectators with the foot-tapping music on this year's 'Beating the Retreat' ceremony, which will be held at the Vijay Chowk here on Monday.

The bands from the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the State Police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), will participate in the ceremony.

Out of the 26 performances 25 tunes have been composed by Indian musicians and 'Abide with me', will be the only western tune to be performed here tomorrow.

The event will culminate with the tune of 'Sare Jahan se Acha'.

18 Military Bands, 15 Pipes and Drums Bands from Regimental Centres and Battalions will be participating in Beating Retreat ceremony this year.

Major Ashok Kumar, will be the principal conductor of Beating the Retreat ceremony.

While Army Military bands conductor will be Subedar Major SK Sharma and the Navy and Air Force band conductors will be Master Chief Petty Officer (Musician-I) Ramesh Chand and Junior Warrant Officer Ashok Kumar respectively.

The conductor of the State Police and CAPF bands will be Constable Bhim Singh.

Buglers will perform under the leadership of Subedar Jagdish Giri and pipes and drums bands will play under the instructions of Subedar Major Num Bahadur Gurung.

The 'Beating the Retreat' ceremony is held here every year on January 29, marking the culmination of the four-day-long Republic Day celebrations.

The ceremony traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands.

'Beating Retreat' 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.