Spectacular drone and laser show at the Beating the Retreat ceremony at Rajpath left the spectators and television viewers spellbound across the nation on Saturday.
The indigenously designed, manufactured and conceptualised drone show staged for the first time also propelled India into the top group of nations having the capability to put up a show of this scale and magnitude. The US, China, and Russia are the other three nations with this capability.
The laser show put up at the North and South Blocks at Vijay Chowk was also the first. It showcased the achievements of the nation to mark the 75th year of Independence and “Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations.
The Beating the Ceremony also had another first as the “Abide with Me” hymn was dropped and the function ended with the military bands playing “Aye Mere Watan ke Logon”. Since 1950, “Abide with Me” signaled the culmination of the Beating Ceremony. Lata Mangeshkar sang the immortal “Aye Mere Watan Logon” song after the 1962 India-China war.
The drone’s display lasted nearly 15 minutes. More than 1,000 drones lit up the sky in perfect synchronisation over the Vijay Chowk showcasing the nation’s aspirations and achievements. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) formed the image of Mahatma Gandhi, a map of India, and the majestically moving lion depicting “Make in India”.
The dazzling show was the brainchild of Boltab, a start-up of the Indian Institute of India (IIT), Delhi.
These two shows enthralled the viewers in addition to the foot-tapping music and classical renditions that are there every year at the ceremony.
The ceremony is a centuries-old military tradition, dating back to the days when troops disengaged from the battle at the sunset. As soon as the buglers sounded the “retreat”, the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms, and withdrew from the battlefield.
The ceremony is performed every year on January 29 and marks the end of the Republic Day celebrations.
More than 1,000 participants from the three Services and the paramilitary forces played 26 tunes. President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and the three Services chiefs were among the audience at the Vijay Chowk.
A host of new tunes were added to the ceremony to commemorate 75 years of the country’s independence
(being celebrated as Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav). These included “Kerala”, “Hind ki Sena” and “Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon”.