Beating the Retreat, Closing ceremony of the Republic day Festivities
Beating the Retreat is a beautiful and very serene ceremony, which is organized by the three Armed forces of India, to mark the end of the Republic day festivities as well as to pay homage to the martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for their country.
About the Beating the Retreat ceremony held on 29th Jan
Beating the Retreat in India, is entirely a military action unlike the Republic day parade and marks the end of the Republic day festivities in India. Beating the Retreat is held on the thrid day after the Republic Day , is an entirely military function and is conducted ideally on the 29th of January every year in the evening, on the Raisina Hills. The venue for the Beating the Retreat ceremony is flanked by North and South blocks of the Indian Parliament. The military bands of the India army, air force and the Navy participate in this ceremony. For the people who love military bands and their music, this Beating the Retreat ceremony is a treat to watch. Usually the armed forces introduce a couple of new marches during this ceremony every year. 
Opening ceremony of the Beating the Retreat
President of India is the chief guest for the Beating the Retreat ceremony and comes with the full escort of the President's body guard which is a cavalry unit. As soon as the president arrives it will be hoisting of the flag and then singing of the song Jana Gana Mana, the Indian National Anthem by the three bands in unison. Description of the Beating the Retreat Ceremony
First all the three bands of the armed forces start of in unison, playing a tune for the march like Colonel Bogey or Sons of the Brave etc. Then the Indian Army military band on its own strikes up a Fanfare and there follows marching forward in quick time. They then break into slow time, and does the "compound march" in which beautiful patterns are made on the drill square, by the bands men positioning themselves, with well timed movements. The military band, again breaks into quick time and goes back to the farthest end of Raisina Hills.
Next comes Pipes and Drums of the Indian Army who play their traditional scottish tunes and popular Indian tunes like "Gurkha Brigade", "Chaandni" etc. The pipe band also does a compound march, and finally quick marches back to its original place.
The last would be the combined bands of the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. With them too performing the quick march, and the compund march one part of the ceremony is over.
As the sun sets in the horizon on the winter evening in the city of New Delhi, all the three band contingents come together marching forward take position close to the president's seat. The Drum Major assumes command and the drummers fall out and give a solo performance known as the drummer's call with the others maintaining complete silence. This would be followed by the lullaby as it is called, the conductor of this program could be anyone from the three forces that is the band master from the Army, Air Force or the Navy. About the Parayer song to mark the end of ceremony
The Duty of organizing the Beating the Retreat is shared among all the three forces on a rotating basis. The Director of the Music of the force which is organizing the year's event then gets on the dais to conduct the beautiful prayer song Abide with Me. The Sun having set further bringing darkness around, the parayer and the chimes of the bell coming from a distance makes the rendition and the event very serene. Closing Ceremony of the Beating the Retreat
This is followed by the bugle call for the Retreat and the flying flags are slowly brought down. The Band Master marches to the President and asks for permission to take the bands away saying that the closing ceremony is by then complete. The Bands then will march back to the popular tune Sare Jahan se Acha Hindustan Hamara. As the bands cross over the Raisina hills the illumination starts on the North and South blocks of the parliament as well as on the sky.
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