Memories of Beating the Retreat

Vandhana · Jan 16, 2008

A few days back, while listening to a Western Classical channel, they played the " Abide with me" hymn on it. And rekindled memories past of our very own Beating the retreat ceremony held every year three days after the Pomp and grandeur of the Republic day parade.

I always preferred this one to the 26th Jan celebrations and those days Doordarshan to used to telecast it live. I used to be amazed at the mastery of our Indian Forces bands (Army , Navy and Airforce) in varied tunes and what perfection they had .Especially the drummers solo, where all the drummers from the different bands used to come together and perform. It was a lovely and solemn display, this ceremony.
But the most poingnant moment of the whole ceremony , was right at dusk ( around6.00Pm) , when after all the bands had finished playing, a lone bugler used to play a soul stirring tune( cannot recall ) , followed by the whole band( all the particpants) playing the Abide With me tune. Goosebumps used to cover my skin everytime I hear them play this ,its so moving. And as they played the last refrains, there used to be church bells chiming in tune from somewhere. The whole scene fills you with a sense of spiritualism similar to what we feel when going to temples.
For the grand finale, the whole road, Rashtrapathi Bahavan and the parliament house all lit up in thousands of little lamps. Simply out of this world.
I do think the song sums it up so well " Sare jahan se acha, hindustan hamara" ......

I do wish to see this in person some day hopefully.
Do they still telecast this live on TV? I searched in vain on you tube to see if someone had uploaded this . Hope fully this year........

For those who want to listen to the Abide with me Hymn, here is a clip from You tube:

Anandchitra · Jan 16, 2008

You are very right..I too am amazed at the mastery of the Indian Forces Band and especially the drummers..They must have put in hours of practice into this..Nice topic Vandhana..

Shanvy · Jan 16, 2008

hi vandhana,
Good one with republic day nearing....

these programmes are still telecasted on doordarshan along with the parades.

The soulful tune is "siki a mole" on trumpet. and then the abide with me which is supposed to be a favourite hymn of mahatma gandhi.

An interesting fact of abide with me <small>was written by Henry Lyte, a vicar from Brixham Devon . He was dying of Tuberclosis and as he walked by the sea and heard the ebb and the flow of the tide and for the last time there, he watched the sun, he wrote the touching song.

Will definitely give you the link if i find one on the republic day....
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sunkan · Jan 16, 2008

very true it is very near and around the corner i must say, i also love those numbers being played and sometime the tunes are made by the staff themselves or by the previous or late ones, but on the whole it is pure entertainment of a different kind, don't you think men look more handsome in uniforms...i love to see them in uniforms and brass badges... sunkan

Cheeniya · Jan 16, 2008

Dear Shanthi
You amaze me with your browsing capabilities as evidenced by that info on 'siki a mole'. The trouble you take to furnish correct information in your FBs shows your intense dedication to IL.
Hats off to you, Shan!
Sri

Vandhana · Jan 17, 2008

Hi AC,
Yes , the precision of their coordinated beats, shows all their efforts and practice. The memories are hazy now. But i would love to see it again.

Vandhana · Jan 17, 2008

Hi Shanti,

I echo Sri, when he says you are amazing!!. Thanks for all the additional info. I do hope some one will upload it to you tube this year.

Thanks for stopping by.

Vandhana · Jan 17, 2008

Dear Sunkan,

Yes uniforms indeed make the men look more smarter. Its nice to know that the staff also compose some of the tunes. Well have a nice time watching the show this year.