Beating Retreat today: Three things to watch out for in spectacular ceremony

1. The country’s biggest drone show

According to an official curtain-raiser released ahead of the ceremony, a magnificent drone show comprising as many as 3,500 indigenous drones will light up the evening sky over Raisina Hill, synchronising to create innumerable forms of national figures and events. In particular, it will depict the success of India’s start-up ecosystem, the technological prowess of the country’s youth, and the potential path-breaking trends of the future, the release said.

The event will be organised by the start-up Botlabs Dynamics, which also put up a drone show at the Beating Retreat ceremony of 2022. Last year’s event, organised by Botlab and supported by IIT-Delhi and the Union government’s Department of Science & Technology lasted for 10 minutes and involved around 1,000 drones. The show, accompanied by synchronised background music, was the first time that drones were used, and was a spectacular success.

2. A first-of-its-kind 3-D projection

For the first time, a 3-D anamorphic projection will be organised during the ceremony on the façade of North and South Block, the government release said. No details have been provided of the show yet, but an anamorphic projection essentially involves projecting on a large surface a distorted image which, with the use of optical transformation devices such as mirrors or lenses, gives the illusion of reality.

3. Performance by military bands

This has always been the highlight of the ceremony. This year, 29 Indian tunes will be played by the music bands of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the State Police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), the official release said.

It said the ceremony will begin with the massed band’s ‘Agniveer’ tune, which will be followed by tunes such as ‘Almora’, ‘Kedar Nath, ‘Sangam Dur’, ‘Queen of Satpura’, ‘Bhagirathi’, and ‘Konkan Sundari’ by the Pipes and Drums band. The IAF band will play ‘Aprajey Arjun’, ‘Charkha’, ‘Vayu Shakti’, ‘Swadeshi’; the Indian Navy will play ‘Ekla Cholo Re’, ‘Hum Taiyyar Hai’, and ‘Jai Bharati’; and the Indian Army’s band will play ‘Shankhnaad’, ‘Sher-e-Jawan’, ‘Bhupal’, ‘Agranee Bharat’, ‘Young India’, ‘Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja’, ‘Drummers Call’, and ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’.

The event will come to a close with the ever-popular ‘Sare Jahan se Acha’, the release said.