For the first time, the Beating the Retreat ceremony will have tunes based on Indian classical ragas in a bid to make the celebrations more ‘desi’.
In the last few years, the ceremony has seen massive changes to imbibe a nationalistic flavour. From replacing the classic ‘Abide With Me’ with ‘Aye Mere Watan ke Logon’, dropping Bollywood songs and now moving to Indian classical music, the elite ceremony is getting more localised.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to play four tunes for the ceremony based on the ragas. “We will be playing the tunes to give a more Indian feel and flavour to it,” Director of Music for IAF LS Rupachandra said.
Promising a fusion of sorts, Rupachandra said: “A tune that we will be playing is ‘Charkha’. It is based on Raga Bhupali and mixed with another Raga Mishra Khamaj. This would be the first time that any force plays raga-based tunes for the Beating the Retreat ceremony.” Rupachandra has been participating in the ceremony as contingent since 2005 and took over as Director of Music in 2019.
Ragas can be defined as a set of musical notes mixed together in a singing style. The word has been taken from the Sanskrit word ‘rang’ which means ‘colour’. There are 83 ragas in Indian classical music and six primary ragas.
The officials said the changes had been introduced after getting approval from the top brass. Bands of other forces such as the Army and Navy have not yet revealed their plans.
The Beating the Retreat ceremony will be held at Vijay Chowk on January 27 and 28 and culminate on January 29. About 120 musicians of the IAF will participate in the event.
Sources said other forces have also prepared tunes based on Indian music and more localised themes. A statement from the Defence Ministry states that “the ceremony of Beating Retreat creates a mood of nostalgia for the times gone by when colours and standards are cased and flags are lowered”.
“‘Beating Retreat’ 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. Colours and Standards are cased and flags lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by,” it said.
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