Curtains will be drawn on the 76th Republic Day celebrations with the Beating Retreat ceremony scheduled for Wednesday at the iconic Vijay Chowk. The ceremony will feature a captivating performance by bands from the Indian Army (IA), Indian Navy (IN), Indian Air Force (IAF), and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), as they play 30 iconic Indian tunes for the audience, including President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, other Union Ministers, senior officials, and the general public.
The event will kick off with the massed band playing the patriotic anthem “Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja” followed by tunes such as “Amar Bharati”, “Indradhanush”, “Jai Janam Bhumi”, “Nati in Himalayan Valley”, “Ganga Jamuna”, and “Veer Siachen” by the Pipes and Drums band. The CAPF bands will perform tunes like “Vijay Bharat”, “Rajasthan Troops”, “Aye Watan Tere Liye”, and “Bharat ke Jawan”.
The Indian Air Force band will present “Galaxy Rider”, “Stride”, “Rubaru”, and “Millennium Flight Fantasy”, while the Navy band will play pieces like “Rashtriya Pratham”, “Nishak Nishpad”, “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”, “Spread the Light of Freedom”, “Rhythm of the Reef”, and “Jai Bharati.” The Indian Army band will follow with “Veer Sapoot”, “Taqat Watan”, “Mera Yuva Bharat”, “Dhruv”, and “Faulad Ka Jigar”.
The massed bands will then perform “Priyam Bharatam”, “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon”, and “Drummers Call” before concluding with the ever-popular “Sare Jahan Se Achcha” played by the Buglers.
Commander Manoj Sebastian will serve as the principal conductor of the ceremony, with Subedar Major (Honorary Captain) Bishan Bahadur leading the Indian Army band, M Antony, MCPO MUS II, conducting the Indian Navy band, and Warrant Officer Ashok Kumar leading the Indian Air Force band. The CAPF band will be conducted by Head Constable GD Mahajan Kailash Madhava Rao, while the Pipes & Drums band will perform under Subedar Major Abhilash Singh. Naib Subedar Bhupal Singh will lead the Buglers during their performance.