In Pics | Beating Retreat 2022 culminates with drone show, martial musical tunes

Indian Armed Force bands perform at the Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Saturday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO) (HT_PRINT)Premium
Indian Armed Force bands perform at the Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Saturday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO) (HT_PRINT)
 1 min read . Updated: 30 Jan 2022, 06:24 AM IST Livemint

A thousand drones lighting up the sky in various formations over Vijay Chowk left the audience spellbound at the 73rd Beating Retreat ceremony

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To mark the culmination of the Republic Day celebrations, the customary Beating Retreat ceremony was held at Rajpath, Delhi on Saturday. This year the main attraction of the ceremony was the drone and laser show. A thousand drones lighting up the sky in various formations over Vijay Chowk left the audience spellbound at the 73rd Beating Retreat ceremony. The 10-minute drone show was planned to commemorate 75 years of Independence.

Martial musical tunes with Indian fervour were also the flavour of the ceremony. Twenty-six performances enthralled the spectators with foot-tapping music played by the bands of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

Besides, the massed band played Tunes of newly-inducted "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon", composed by C Ramchandra, and lyrics by Kavi Pradeep. The song was written to commemorate the supreme sacrifice made by the Indian soldiers during the 1962 India-China war. It is for the first time, the Republic Day's Beating Retreat ceremony's hymns 'Abide With Me' have been replaced with 'Ae Mere Watan ke Logon'.

"Beating Retreat" is a centuries-old military tradition dating from the days when troops disengaged from the battle at sunset. As soon as the buglers sounded the "Retreat", the troop 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. Colours and Standards are cased and flags lowered at "Retreat".

 

President Ram Nath Kovind and others stand for the national anthem during the Beating Retreat ceremony, at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi
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President Ram Nath Kovind and others stand for the national anthem during the Beating Retreat ceremony, at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi (PTI)
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchange greetings during the Beating Retreat ceremony. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also seen.
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President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchange greetings during the Beating Retreat ceremony. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also seen. (PTI)
The north and south blocks, the government seat of power, stands illuminated during the Beating Retreat ceremony at Raisina hills.
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The north and south blocks, the government seat of power, stands illuminated during the Beating Retreat ceremony at Raisina hills. (AP)
A view of laser projections during Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk, in New Delhi.
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A view of laser projections during Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk, in New Delhi. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)
Drones form formations to commemorate the 75 years of Independence over the north and south blocks, the government seat of power, at Raisina hills during the Beating Retreat ceremony, in New Delhi.
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Drones form formations to commemorate the 75 years of Independence over the north and south blocks, the government seat of power, at Raisina hills during the Beating Retreat ceremony, in New Delhi. (AP)
President's Bodyguards during the Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi.
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President's Bodyguards during the Beating Retreat ceremony at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)
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