New Delhi, Jan 28 (IANS): The historic Vijay Chowk at Raisina Hills will witness 31 Indian tunes during the Beating Retreating ceremony on January 29, marking the culmination of 75th Republic Day celebrations.

Beating Retreat traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army indigenously developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands.

The Ministry of Defence said that the ‘Beating Retreat’ marks a centuries old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms, withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat.

“The colours and standards are cased and flags lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by,” the ministry said.

It said that the music bands of Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will play 31 captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes before President Droupadi Murmu and PM Modi.

“The ceremony will begin with the massed band’s ‘Shankhnaad’ tune which will be followed by the enthralling tunes such as ‘Veer Bharat’, ‘Sangam Dur’, ‘Deshon ka Sartaj Bharat’, ‘Bhagirathi’, and ‘Arjuna’ by Pipes and Drums band. The CAPF bands will play ‘Bharat Ke Jawan’ and ‘Vijay Bharat’ among others,” the ministry said.

The ministry said that the ‘Tiger Hill’, ‘Rejoice in Raisina’ and ‘Swadeshi’ are among the tunes to be played the band of the Indian Air Force, while the audience will witness the Indian Navy band playing a number of tunes, including ‘INS Vikrant’, ‘Mission Chandrayaan’, ‘Jai Bharati’ and ‘Hum Tayyar Hain’.

“This will be followed by the Indian Army band which will play ‘Faulad Ka Jigar’, ‘Agniveer’, ‘Kargil 1999’, ‘Taqat Watan’ among others,” the ministry said.

It said that the Massed Bands will then play the tunes ‘Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja’, ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon’ and ‘Drummers Call’.

“The event will come to a close with the ever-popular tune of ‘Sare Jahan se Acha’,” the ministry added.