R-Day festivities end with Beating Retreat
New Delhi : January 29 is the day India performs its Beating Retreat ceremony every year.This ceremony officially denotes the end of Republic Day festivities and is performed after three days from Republic Day. It
The ceremony opens with a parade by selected contingents of the armed forces set to scintillating performances by the various armed forces bands. The parade climaxes with all the bands playing in unison.
As the bands fall silent, a lone trumpeter picks up the moving tune ‘Siki a mole'. After this performance the hymn ‘Abide with me' is played by the Massed Bands. This hymn, said to be Mahatma Gandhi's favourite, is a permanent feature of the ceremony.