Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Jan 22: Abide with Me, Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite hymn that used to be performed at the end of the Beating Retreat ceremony on January 29, the eve of Gandhi’s death anniversary, has been removed this year. Its absence in 2020 had sparked outrage, and it was reinstated last year.
The Beating Retreat event, held every year in the evening of January 29 at Vijay Chowk in Delhi, marks the end of Republic Day celebrations in India.
This comes a day after the government ‘shifted’ the ‘eternal flame’ from Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate to the neighbouring National War Memorial.
The official list of the 26 songs to be performed during the Beating Retreat ceremony does not include Abide with Me. The hymn had been played every year during the ceremony since 1950, however it was discontinued in 2020. The hymn was written by Henry Francis Lyte and arranged to the melody Eventide by William Henry Monk.
The celebration will begin with Buglers’ Fanfare, followed by the Massed Bands’ Veer Sainik and the Pipes and Drums’ six tunes. The Central Armed Police Forces’ bands will perform three tunes, followed by the Air Force Band, which will perform four tunes, including a special Ladakoo tune by Flight Lt L S Rupachandra.
The Navy Band will perform four tunes, followed by three tunes from the Army Military Band: Kerala, Siki A Mole, and Hind Ki Sena. Near the finish, the Massed Bands will perform three additional songs: Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja, Drummers Call, and Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon.
The Buglers will perform Sare Jahan Se Accha at the end of the event. A total of 44 buglers, 16 trumpeters, and 75 drummers will take part in the event.
Republic Day celebrations, which previously began on January 24, but will now begin on January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. This year marks the 125th anniversary of Bose’s birth in the country.
