A 10-minute drone show involving around 1,000 drones fabricated through indigenous technology will, for the first time, be a part of the Beating Retreat ceremony scheduled to be held on 29 Jan, said the ministry of defence on Friday.
“A novel drone show will be one of the major attractions of this year’s ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony. For the first time, the show has been made a part of the ceremony to commemorate 75 years of Independence, being celebrated as ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’," the ministry said in a statement.
The drone show has been organised by a startup ‘Botlab Dynamics’ and supported by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and the Department of Science and Technology.
In addition to this, the ministry said that another attraction of the ceremony would be a projection mapping show to commemorate 75 years of independence. The show, of around three to four minutes duration, will be showcased on the walls of North and South Block before the end of the ceremony.
It also informed that a total of 26 musical performances will enthral the spectators with foot-tapping music played by the bands of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
“The entry band will be Massed Band playing the ‘Veer Sainik’ tune. This will be followed by Pipes & Drums Band, CAPF Band, Air Force Band, Naval Band, Army Military Band and Massed Bands," it said.
A 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 Logon’. The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of ‘Sare Jahan se Acha’.
The ceremony will be presided by President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Ram Nath Kovind at the historic Vijay Chowk. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence minister Rajnath Singh will also be a part of the show.
‘Beating the Retreat’ is a centuries-old military tradition dating from the days when troops disengaged from 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 retreats.
Drumbeats 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, ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony creates a mood of nostalgia of the times gone by.
