The iconic Vijay Chowk is all set to be reverberated with captivating Indian tunes during the Beating Retreat ceremony on January 29, 2026, marking the culmination of 77^th Republic Day celebrations. The bands of the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, the Indian Air Force and the Central Armed Police Forces will play an array of foot-tapping melodies before a distinguished audience, comprising President Smt Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Shri CP Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, other Union Ministers, senior officials and the public.

The ceremony will begin with the Massed band’s ‘Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja’, followed by melodious tunes by the Pipes & Drums band such as 'Atulya Bharat', 'Veer Sainik', 'Mili Jhuli', 'Nritya Sarita', 'Marooni', and 'Jhelum'. The Central Armed Police Forces bands will play ‘Vijay Bharat’, 'Hathrohi', 'Jai Ho' and 'Veer Seepahi'.

The tunes played by the band of Indian Air Force include 'Brave Warrior', 'Twilight', 'Alert', and 'Flying Star', while the Indian Navy band will play 'Namaste', 'Sagar Pawan', 'Matribhumi', 'Tejasvi', and 'Jai Bharati'. It will be followed by the band of the Indian Army playing 'Vijayee Bharat', 'Aarambh Hai, Prachand Hai', 'Aye Watan, Aye Watan', 'Anand Math', 'Sugamya Bharat', and 'Sitare Hind'.

The Massed Bands will, then, play the tunes 'Bharat Ke Shaan', 'Vande Mataram' and 'Drummers Call'. The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of ‘Sare Jahan Se Acha’ to be played by the Buglers.

The principal conductor of the ceremony will be Squadron Leader Leimapokpam Rupachandra Singh. The Indian Army Band conductor will be Subedar Major Prakash Joshi, while M Antony, MCPO MUS II and Warrant Officer Ashok Kumar will be the conductors of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force bands respectively. The conductor of the Central Armed Police Forces band will be INSP Chetram. The Pipes & Drums band will play under the instructions of Subedar SP Chourasia, while the Buglers will perform under the leadership of Subedar Manoj Kumar.

This year, the seating enclosures at Vijay Chowk for the ceremony have been named after Indian instruments i.e., Bansuri, Damaru, Ektara, Esraj, Mridangam, Nagada, Pakhawaj, Santoor, Sarangi, Sarinda, Sarod, Shehnai, Sitar, Surbahar, Tabla and Veena.

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VK/Savvy