Indian tunes flavoured this concluding ceremony called the ‘Beating the Retreat’. As many as 18 of the 23 performances have been composed by Indian musicians; just five popular tunes by foreign musicians have been retained, interspersed four times with ‘Fanfare’, a collage by buglers, and the drummers call, a traditional performance by only the drummers.

Most of the tunes played by the Army’s military bands were based on Indian tunes. Two new compositions, - ‘Dhola Re Dhola’ by Maj Gen KN Bhatt and Maj N. Hussain and ‘Jitesh’ by Maj Khem Chand, were also played. Other tunes played included ‘Incredible India’, ‘Independence March’, “Young India’ and ‘Scipio’. Navy and Air Force band performed the tune of ‘Man of War’, ‘The Admiral Insignia’ , ‘Evening Breeze’ and ‘Through the Great Ocean’ composed by Lt Cdr SK Champion, and other tunes were ‘Astronaut’ and ‘Sound Barrier’ composed by MWO JA George.

The principal conductor of the Beating Retreat ceremony was Lt. Cdr SK Champion while military bands conductor was Sub Maj Inder Singh (Musician) and Navy and Air Force bands commander was MCPO (Musician) Ramesh Chand. Buglers performed under the leadership of Naib Subedar (Musician) Daya Ram Joshi and pipes and drum band played under the instructions of Naib Sub (Musician) Surinder Kumar.

‘Beating the Retreat’ has emerged as an event of national pride when the Colours and Standards are paraded. The 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. ‘Beating Retreat’ marks a centuries old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat. Colours and Standards are cased and flags lowered. The ceremony creates a nostalgia for the times gone by.