Ceremony to end with ‘Saare Jahan Se Achha’
New Delhi, January 28
Indian tunes based on classical ragas will be the flavour of ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony to be conducted tomorrow at Vijay Chowk facing Rashtrapati Bhavan.
President Droupadi Murmu will be the chief guest. As many as 29 Indian tunes will be played by music bands of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the state police and CAPFs.
The ceremony, which will have the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will be capped by a drone show comprising 3,500 indigenous drones. The show will light up the evening sky over the Raisina Hills, weaving myriad forms of national figures and events through smooth synchronisation.
For the first time, a 3-D anamorphic projection will be organised on the façade of North Block and South Block, the seat of the government. The event will come to a close with iconic tune ‘Sare Jahan Se Achha’. The ceremony marks culmination of the four-day-long Republic Day celebrations. It traces its origin to early-1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army developed the unique ceremony of display by massed bands. It 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.