Beating Retreat Ceremony 2024: What To Expect, Live Streaming, Traffic Advisory, History And More

The Raisina Hills in the national capital will reverberate with the sound of captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes that will be played by military and paramilitary bands on Monday during the Beating Retreat ceremony.

The historic ceremony which takes place at Vijay Chowk in the heart of Delhi, marks the culmination of Republic Day celebrations.

The Beating Retreat ceremony is held three days after Republic Day. It officially marks the end of Republic Day celebrations.

The three wings of the Indian military -- the Army, Navy, and Air Force-- showcase the skills of their bands at the ceremony which is held at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi.

The President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Defense Minister, the three Armed Services Chiefs, and other dignitaries, besides the general public attend the Beating Retreat Ceremony.

The President is chief guest at the function. The ceremony officially begins with the national anthem being sung.

‘Beating Retreat’ 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. It marks a centuries-old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms, withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat.

Colours and Standards are cased and flags lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by.

The first Beating Retreat Ceremony in India took place on January 29, 1950, at Raisina Hills, where Rashtrapati Bhavan is located.

The music bands of Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will play 31 captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes before a distinguished audience, comprising President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh, other Union Ministers, senior officials and the general public, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The ceremony will begin with the massed band’s ‘Shankhnaad’ tune which will be followed by enthralling tunes such as ‘Veer Bharat’, ‘Sangam Dur’, ‘Deshon ka Sartaj Bharat’, ‘Bhagirathi’, and ‘Arjuna’ by Pipes and Drums band. The CAPF bands will play ‘Bharat Ke Jawan’ and ‘Vijay Bharat’ among others.

‘Tiger Hill’, ‘Rejoice in Raisina’ and ‘Swadeshi’ are among the tunes to be played by the band of the Indian Air Force, while the audience will witness the Indian Navy band playing a number of tunes, including ‘INS Vikrant’, ‘Mission Chandrayaan’, ‘Jai Bharati’ and ‘Hum Tayyar Hain’.

This will be followed by the Indian Army band which will play ‘Faulad Ka Jigar’, ‘Agniveer’, ‘Kargil 1999’, ‘Taqat Watan’ among others.

The Massed Bands will, then, play the tunes ‘Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja’, ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon’ and ‘Drummers Call’. The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of ‘Sare Jahan se Acha’.

The principal conductor of the ceremony will be Lt Col Vimal Joshi.

DD News will telecast the ceremony live from 4:45 pm onwards on Monday. Viewers can also watch the annual musical extravaganza on NDTV channels.

Beating Retreat Ceremony at Vijay Chowk will be streamed live on Doordarshan National's official YouTube channel. Viewers can also watch it through the embed link below:

The Delhi Police has made elaborate traffic arrangements for the Beating Retreat ceremony to be held at Vijay Chowk on Monday, officials said last week.

In an advisory issued on Friday, the police said traffic restrictions will be put in place from 2 pm to 9.30 pm on Monday and Vijay Chowk will remain closed to traffic.

Traffic will not be allowed on Rafi Marg between Sunehri Masjid roundabout and Krishi Bhawan roundabout, Raisina Road from Krishi Bhawan roundabout towards Vijay Chowk, beyond Dara Shikoh roundabout, Krishna Menon Marg roundabout and Sunehri Masjid towards Vijay Chowk, the advisory said.

Here's the full advisory:

(With PTI inputs)