Beating Retreat Ceremony

Singh

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Vandemataram at Beating Retreat leaves audience mesmerised


New Delhi: A jugalbandi of tabla and shehnai along with military bands rendering Vandemataram mesmerised the audience at Beating Retreat ceremony, bringing the curtains down on Republic Day celebrations.

The celebrations came to a close as the Sun went down the Raisana Hills which was then lit up after lilting martial tunes and massed pipes and drum bands reverberated the air enthalling those gathered at the function at the historic Vijay Chowk.

Rendition of Vandemataram in a fusion of western and Indian classical style along with tabla and shehnai
titled Renaissance was the highlight of the ceremony. This was the first time that tabla and shehnai were included in the hour-long show.

The performance by the pipe and drum band members left the audience that included President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh enchanted.


The celebrations came to a close as the Sun went down the Raisana Hills which was then lit up after lilting martial tunes and massed pipes and drum bands reverberated the air enthalling those gathered at the function at the historic Vijay Chowk. AP

The ceremony saw 35 bands from three armed services in their colourful ensembles playing tunes like Sare Jahan se Achha penned by Iqbal and Abide with Me, the eternally enchanting hymn which was a favourite tune of Mahatma Gandhi.

Indian tunes were the flavour of the ceremony this year as 15 of the 22 performances have been composed by Indian musicians while just seven popular tunes by foreigners were retained, interspersed five times with Fanfare, a collage by buglers, and Drummers Call, a traditional performance by drummers.

Patil, the chief guest of the function and supreme commander of the armed forces, came from Rashtrapati Bhawan preceded by mounted presidential bodyguards at Vijay Chowk, where her arrival was sounded by 14 trumpeters, 32 buglers and 14 echo buglers followed by playing of national anthem and a tune 'Parameshwar', composed by Captain Mahendra Das NK.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, senior BJP leader L K Advani, Defence Minister A K Antony, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, Minister of State for Defence M Pallam Raju and Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia were among those present on the occasion.

The band members, marching in tune in their reds, olive greens, orange and navy blues, formed various shapes like star and interlocking circles, drawing cheers and applause from the audience.

The bands of Air Force and Navy followed the massed pipes and drum bands of the Army which played six tunes — General Tappy, Chipli Naach, The Hundred Pipers, Louden's Bonnie Woods & Brass, The High Road to Linton, and Queen of Hill.

The band members of 15 military bands, 18 pipes and drums bands and two bands of Navy and Air Force played the tunes before the flag was lowered amid retreat by buglers.

The Air Force and Navy bands played six tunes — Everest, Skylark, Rhythm of the Waves, Twilight,
Renaissance' and Sea Patrol. Massed military bands of the Indian Army also played Nakhreli Joban, Almora, Sarangi, Post Horn Gallop and Redetzky March.

All the massed military bands then rendered Vijayee Himalaya and traditional Drummer Call which was followed by Abide with Me, the eternally enchanting hymn, a favourite tune of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. The Buglers then retreated to the sound of Sare Jahan se Achha.

Following this, the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Parliament House, North and South Blocks along with other official
buildings in the Central Vista lit up, leaving the audience spellbound.

Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating back to 16th century England and was first used to recall troops when they ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield to return to their camps at sunset.

The ceremony here 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.

As the tricolour was lowered by a military personnel, camel-mounted troops on regalia atop the Raisina Hills retreated along with the bands and the corridors of power were lit up in magnificent lights bringing the 63rd Republic Day celebrations to a conclusion.

http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/fwir...treat-leaves-audiences-mesmerised-197335.html
 

Ray

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A background as to what is 'Beating Retreat'.

Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating back to 16th century England and was first used in order to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.

Originally it was known as watch setting and was initiated at sunset by the firing of a single round from the evening gun.

An order from the army of James II (England), otherwise James VII of Scotland dated to 18 June 1690 had his drums beating an order for his troops to retreat and a later order, from William III in 1694 read "The Drum Major and Drummers of the Regiment which gives a Captain of the Main Guard are to beat the Retreat through the large street, or as may be ordered. They are to be answered by all the Drummers of the guards, and by four Drummers of each Regiment in their respective Quarters". However, either or both orders may refer to the ceremonial tattoo.

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In India it officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities. It is conducted on the evening of January 29, the third day after the Republic Day. It is performed by the bands of the three wings of the military, the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. The venue is Raisina Hills and an adjacent square, Vijay Chowk, flanked by the north and south block of the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's Palace) towards the end of Rajpath.

The Chief Guest of the function is the President of India who arrives escorted by the President's Bodyguards (PBG), a cavalry unit. When the President begins to arrive, a Fanfare is sounded by the trumpeters of the Brigade of the Guards on their natural trumpets, and then the PBG commander asks the unit to give the National Salute, which is followed by the playing of the Indian National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana, by the Massed Bands, and at the same time by the unfurling of the Flag of India on the flagpole right at the Vijay Chowk.

The ceremony was started in the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army developed the ceremony of display by the massed bands in which Military Bands, Pipes and Drums Bands, Buglers and Trumpeters from various Army Regiments besides bands Navy and Air Force take part.

Ceremony

The ceremony starts by the massed bands of the three services marching in unison, playing popular marching tunes like Colonel Bogey and Sons of the Brave. The Fanfare by buglers then is followed by the bands of the Indian Army marching forward in quick time, then breaking into slow time, then by the 'compound march' involving movements to form intricate and beautiful patterns. The massed military bands, again, breaks into quick time and goes back to the farthest end of Raisina Hills. Then the Pipes and Drums of the Indian Army play traditional Scottish tunes and Indian tunes like "Gurkha Brigade", Neer's "Sagar Samraat" and "Chaandni" . This band also does a compound march. The last bands to perform are the combined bands of the Navy and the Air Force. This part of the ceremony ends with their compound march. One such beating retreat ceremony by the Armed Forces bands was during the 1982 Asian Games New Delhi closing ceremony for which the credit goes to retired Indian Army's Music Director Late Harold Joseph, Indian Navy's Jerome Rogrigues and Indian Navy's M S Neer, one of the greatest musician, conductor, composer and instrumentalist of the Indian Armed Forces bands, who had led the massed bands at the ASIAD 82 closing ceremony.

The three band contingents march forward and take position close to the President's seat. The drummers, mostly from the pipe bands, give a solo performance, known as the Drummer's Call. A regular feature of this pageant is the last tune played before the Retreat, when the National Flag is lowered. It is the famous Christian Hymn written by Henry Francis Lyte, Abide With Me set to music by W. M. Monk and one of Mahatma Gandhi's personal hymns, has remain part of the ceremony over the years when many other foreign tunes were phased out to make way for Indian tunes, especially during the 2011 ceremony. The chimes made by the tubular bells, placed quite at a distance, creates a mesmerizing ambiance.

This is followed by the bugle call for Retreat by the buglers, and all the flags are slowly brought down. The band master then marches to the President and requests permission to take the bands away, and informs that the closing ceremony is now complete. The bands march back playing a popular martial tune Saare Jahan Se Achcha. As soon as the bands cross Raisina Hills a spectacular illumination display is set up on the North and South Blocks of the Parliament building. As the PBG's horse mounted troops arrive back in after the bands leave, the band stops to play the National Anthem again as the President receives the final National Salute for the day by the PBG, before the President and the PBG depart with the bands leading the way, by then now dispersed on the Rajpath and near the India Arch (now India Gate).
 
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pankaj nema

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It is a very beautiful ceremony

I love it

It must involve a lot of patience , practice and hard work
 

Ray

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All this military pageantry still stirs my soul!
 

W.G.Ewald

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^^
Security personnel equipped with P-90 in 5.7mm, I think.
 

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