Musical extravaganza organized by Eastern Command

Kohima: As part of the ongoing Vijay Diwas Celebrations, an enchanting musical extravaganza was organised by the Eastern Command on 14 December at Prinsep Ghat. A conglomerate of military bands consisting of Brass, Pipe and Jazz enthralled the audience with their rendition of martial and patriotic tunes. Honourable Governor of West Bengal, Shri Keshari Nath Tripathy was the "Chief Guest" and Lieutenant General M M Naravane, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal, General Officer Commanding in Chief Eastern Command, was the "Guest of Honour".

Martial music or military music is a specific genre of music intended for use in military settings. Much of the military music has been composed to announce military events as with bugle calls and fanfares or accompany marching formations with drum cadences, or mark special occasions as by military bands. However, music has been employed in battle for centuries, sometimes to intimidate the enemy and other times to encourage combatants, or to assist in organization and timing of actions in warfare. Depending on the culture, a variety of percussion and other musical instruments have been used, such as drums, pipes, bugles, trumpets or other horns, cymbals, triangles as well as larger military bands or full orchestras. Although some martial music has been composed in written form, other music has been developed or taught by ear, such as bugle calls or drum cadences, relying on group memory to coordinate the sounds.

Indian Army has a rich history of martial music. The evening commenced with "Sam Bahahdur". Apart from the martial music the Band Display had a fair sprinkling of patriotic, Hindi and Bengali numbers which added variety to the function. The melodious music juxtaposed with the grand setting of Prinsep Memorial added to the ambiance of the event and was appreciated by all.

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