Revision as of 10:35, 1 February 2018

2016

The Times of India, Jan 30 2016

Beating retreat from tradition

The Beating Retreat ceremony in 2016 held at Vijay Chowk on 29 Jan evening saw a break from tradition. For the first time, there were bands from Delhi Police and central police forces apart from the massed bands of the three services. Also, there were Indian percussion and stringed instruments that held the audience in thrall till the end of the ceremony.

The event officially ended the 67th Republic Day celebrations, which itself began with a departure from tradition when a French military contingent marched down the Rajpath for the first time.

This time there were 15 military bands and 18 pipe and drum bands from across the various regimental centres and battalions. 26 compositions were played of which 20 were composed by Indians. There was a rendition of A R Rahman's `Bharat HumkoJaan Se Pyaara Hai' from the film Roja on Indian instruments like the tabla, sitar, santoor and flute.

The bands of BSF , ITBP and Delhi Police played symphonies like `Samvidhan', ` Abhinandan' and `Cariappa', much to the liking of the general audience.

Patriotic songs from Bollywood movies, both old and new, got the audience to hum along. One of the most liked performances was by Navy drummers who got the crowds on their feet with their modish and disciplined banging of the head as they played ` Admirals Ensignia-II' composed by US Prasad.

Major Karun Khanna (Retd) of Hodson's Horse, a veteran of the 1965 and 1971 wars, called it “absolute nonsense“ and an unfortunate thing to have happened. He had co-ordinated the Beating Retreat ceremony in 1974, 75 and 76.

2018

Departures from tradition

Paras Singh, With Bharat Mata ki jai & moonwalk, bands beat tradition, January 30, 2018: The Times of India

From ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ chants to Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, Beating the Retreat ceremony this year looked and felt different. It had a completely Indian flavour with the use of Indian classical instruments and scores, while the post-event illumination was also done differently. Broadly, one could say it was a departure from tradition.

President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in the presidential car, abandoning the use of the horse-drawn buggy that President Pranab Mukherjee had re-introduced in 2014. There were 26 performances this year of which 25 were composed by Indian musicians. The only western tune played was ‘Abide with me’, a hymn that was a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi.

Once the President took his seat, a faint melody was heard that gradually grew distinct as the marching bands came from the Rashtrapati Bhavan end. The composition they played was called ‘Indian soldiers’. Over the next one hour, 18 military bands, 15 pipes and drum bands and the tri-services band kept the audience enthralled. Indian tunes like Tejas, Veer Gorkha, Sher-e-Jawan and ‘The Great Marshal’ drew loudest of cheers from the crowd. The jugalbandi between the ensemble of Indian soldiers playing classical instruments - a concept introduced in 2016- was perfectly executed with the discipline and order maintained by the bands even while they made circular, spiral and serpentine formations.

Thundering slogans of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ by the soldiers participating in the ceremony after the ‘drummers call’ remained a curious topic of conversation among the audience. The adults in the audience tried to hum along familiar tunes like Vande Mataram, Saare Jahan Se Achha and Vaishnava-jan, children were impressed by the pomp and pageantry of the event. Yashasree Alankar (10) was fascinated by the camels while her father, Abhishek Alankar, loved the Michael Jackson-inspired moonwalk.

The Navy band presented ‘INS Nilgiri’, ‘Namaste India’ and ‘Jai Bharti’ compositions. They used ‘glowing drum sticks’ and the drums were decorated with white LED lights. With their special moves, the Navy drummers delighted the audience.

The post-event illumination was also different this time, which colour-changing LED lights replacing the usual sodium bulbs. Not everyone liked this change though. “It looks more like disco lights. Not something for such a solemn ceremony,” said Jalaj Malik.

The crowd loved it.