Beating Retreat ceremony today; 1,000 drones to light up sky

n a first a grand drone show will dazzle the sky above the national capital during the Beating the Retreat ceremony to be held at Vijay Chowk on Saturday as part of the countrys 73rd Republic Day celebrationsThe event will be graced by President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Ram Nath Kovind Other dignitaries including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will witness the showAccording to the Defence Ministry the 10minute drone show involving 1000 drones will commemorate 75 years of Independence that being celebrated as Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav It has been conceptualised designed produced and choreographed under the Centres Make in India initiativeThe drone show has been organised by startup Botlab Dynamics and supported by the Indian Institute of Technology IIT Delhi and the Department of Science and Technology the ministry saidDuring the show the drones fabricated through indigenous technology will fly up with synchronised background music played during the drone showMartial musical tunes with Indian fervour will be the flavour of the ceremony this year A total of 26 performances will enthral the spectators with foottapping music played by the bands of Indian Army Navy Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces CAPF the ministry saidThe entry band will be Massed Band playing the Veer Sainik tune This will be followed by Pipes and Drums Band CAPF Band Air Force Band Naval Band Army Military Band and Massed Bands The principal conductor of the ceremony will be Commander Vijay Charles DCruzA number of new tunes have been added to the ceremony to celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav These include Kerala Hind ki Sena and Ae Mere WatanKe LogonThe event will come to a close with the everpopular tune of Sare Jahan Se AchaThe Defence Ministry has included the patriotic song Aey Mere Watan ke Logo in the Beating the Retreat ceremony in an effort to make the event more IndianThe hymn Abide With Me has been dropped from the event as per the details of the ceremony shared by Indian defence officials Abide With Me was part of the ceremony held on January 29 every year as part of the culmination of the celebrations of Republic DayAey Mere Watan ke Logon has been chosen at a time when the hostilities with the Chinese are still on after a twoyear military standoff The song had become famous after it was sung by noted playback singer Lata Mangeshkar and written by legendary lyricist Kavi Pradeep for the soldiers who laid down their lives in the 1962 warAnother attraction in todays ceremony would be a projection mapping show to commemorate 75 years of the countrys independence The show of around 34 minutes duration will be showcased on the walls of North and South Block before the end of the ceremonyMeanwhile Delhi Police has fortified areas in and around Rajpath with multilayer security facial recognition systems and more than 1000 CCTVs in view of the republic day celebrationsVijay Chowk has been closed for general traffic on Saturday from 2 pm to 930 pm in view of the Beating the Retreat CeremonyAs per a traffic advisory from Delhi Traffic Police traffic will be closed between the following stretches from 200 pm to 930 pm on January 29 in view of the event Rafi Marg between Roundabout Sunehri Masjid and Roundabout Krishi Bhawan Raisina Road from Roundabout Krishi Bhawan towards Vijay Chowk Beyond Roundabout Dara Shikoh Road Roundabout Krishna Menon Marg Roundabout Sunehri Masjid towards Vijay Chowk and Rajpath between Vijay Chowk and C HexagonBeating the Retreat is a centuriesold military tradition dating from the days when troops disengaged from the battle at sunset As soon as the buglers sounded the retreat the troops ceased fighting sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield It is for this reason that the custom of standing still during the sounding of retreat has been retained to this day Colours and standards are cased and flags lowered at retreatsDrumbeats recall the days when troops billeted in towns and cities were recalled to their quarters at an appointed time in the evening Based on these military traditions the Beating the Retreat ceremony creates a mood of nostalgia of the times gone byThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever