Beating Retreat Ceremony Ends With A 1000 Drones' Grand Formation

Bright and beautiful formations showing Mahatma Gandhi, mother earth, the tricolour and many more illuminated the firmament this wintry Saturday evening. Thanks to a multitude of drones.

Soon after the annual Beating the Retreat ceremony concluded with 'Sare Jahan Se Accha', a visual treat unfolded in the sky above Vijay Chowk in the national capital with around 1,000 drones accompanied by a poetic Hindi commentary about the country, its values, traditions and achievements.

From Mahatma Gandhi walking with a stick to mother earth to Indian map to the tricolour, the drones presented various formations. And the Hindi commentary made the show all the more appealing.

As myriad colours splashed across the sky, the larger message of unity came through the Hindi commentary when the drones made the formation of mother earth. Mentioning about India's values and traditions, the narrator highlighted the concept of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world is one family)".

The show by the drones, fabricated through indigenous technology, was the first of its kind at the ceremony. The show was organised by startup 'Botlab Dynamics' and supported by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Department of Science & Technology.

People who had gathered for the ceremony fixed their eyes on the sky as well as on the walls of North and South Blocks where a projection mapping or laser show depicted 75 years of the country's independence.

"It was amazing... the efforts of the startup in putting up the drone show is commendable," said Pooja Gupta, who had come for the ceremony.

According to Mahindra Singh, who attended the ceremony for the third time, said everything during the ceremony was really good and excellent.

After the dignitaries left, many people were seen clicking selfies and photographs, with some holding the programme card of the event.