Vijay Chowk in the heart of the national capital reverberated with the sound of captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes as military and paramilitary bands performed at the Beating Retreat ceremony.
President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Droupadi Murmu arrived at the venue in the traditional 'buggy' adding to the old-world charm of the event that traces its origins to the early 1950s.
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and several union ministers, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, the three service chiefs, senior officials, besides the general public are attended the mega event.
The Raisina Hills "will witness all-Indian tunes" which will be played during the Beating Retreat ceremony, the defence ministry had said in a statement on Sunday.
"The music bands of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will play 31 captivating and foot-tapping Indian tunes before a distinguished audience," it had said.
The Beating Retreat ceremony 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.
It 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. Colours and Standards are cased and flags are lowered. The ceremony creates nostalgia for the times gone by, it said.