Beating Retreat at Wagah Border

Attending the beating retreat ceremony at Wagah

When you are speechless and feel an adrenaline gush while watching the army parade, that’s when you are at Wagah Border, Amritsar. After fretting over not being there even once, this was the first visit for husband. YouTube has endless videos of the beating retreat ceremony at Wagah Border yet it is a different feeling to witness the same in person. 

What’s special at Wagah Border

The event named beating retreat ceremony takes place every day at Wagah Border in the evening. The gates of two counties, India and Pakistan, are opened and the respective flags are lowered. Prior to lowering the flags, security personnel from both sides march to the gate, thumping their feet, showing their aggression and pride for the country. Higher the foot in the air, louder are the cheers. This military practice takes place between Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistani Rangers, amidst huge cheering crowd at both sides. 

The synchronized march
The synchronized march

Exactly where

The town of Wagah lies on the historic Grand Trunk road between Amritsar and Lahore. Merely 24 km from Lahore and 32 km from Amritsar, Wagah also serves as a good transit terminal and a railway station between both the countries. Since the bordering village of Attari is 3 km from Wagah, its also called Attari border.

Beateting retreat ceremony begins
Beateting retreat ceremony begins

Getting there

For the records, I had visited Wagah Border twice and each time I witnessed something new. This time (on the third visit) I witnessed new constructions, more seating capacity and of course longer queues. Reaching the venue is a task in itself. If you do not have a pass, its advised to reach the venue as early as 2 pm. If you have a pass issued by any Army “connection” of yours, you have to patiently wait for your pass number to be called out. Our pass number was called out around 3:15. When we reached Attari Border, our worst nightmare came true disguised as traffic. You also have to pay toll before reaching border parking. 

Wagah Attari border
Wagah Attari border

It was quarter to four and we were unable to park the car. Seemed an entire country was here to watch the beating retreat ceremony. Husband parked the car at a crammed up roadside spot,  like thousand others had. We jumped into action and fled through the numerous VIP check points flashing our id cards and confirming our names on the list. The security personnel at Wagah work round the clock and managing crowds of thousands is not an easy job for sure. The least we can do is cooperate with them and not argue when they ask to maintain discipline.

The crowded amphitheatre
The crowded amphitheatre

The VIP pass is no guarantee of a fixed seat or closer view. That’s exactly what happened with us. By the time we entered the amphitheatre, the front seats were full. We got a place somewhere in the last few rows. It was difficult to watch the parade and taking pictures was next to impossible from there. But the vantage point gave a good view of the Pakistan side. This is how we find positive things among negative.  

Crowd on both the sides
Crowd on both the sides

The ceremony

Lady officers opening the Beating Retreat ceremony
Lady officers opening the Beating Retreat ceremony

The show started with lady officers marching towards the gate followed by cultural programs, canine unit march and BSF soldiers’ parade.

The K9 unit
The K9 unit

The show emcee, clad in white, encourages crowd to cheer up and give a tough competition to Pakistan. The decibel level reaches a new high with every hand signal of his. As the crowd goes berserk competing with hoots from Pakistan, you can feel the contagious energy gripping you. 

The Indian strength
The Indian strength
The star of the ceremony- The energetic emcee
The star of the ceremony- The energetic emcee

The soldiers march ahead, in perfect sync, saluting the national flag and standing tall with pride at the border gate. In come the BSF officers to face Pakistani Rangers raising their feet high in the air and thumping with full might. The thump is followed by caressing the mustache or adjusting th cap, with an air of smugness. The officers show their aggressive side, also meant to warn the rival country what we are capable of. They convey the “mess not with me” message through their eyes and body language.

Pakistani rangers
Pakistani rangers

Meanwhile crowd from both sides cheer up with slogans praising their country. At sundown the flags are lowered, representing peace and harmony in spite of the conflict between both countries.

Lowering of flags
Lowering of flags

Adieu

With that the beating retreat ceremony at Wagah Border came to an end. As the crowd prepared to leave, all my enthusiasm died seeing so much garbage left behind. Is patriotism only shown with slogans and cheering up for BSF? What happened to the basic civic sense? It is extremely sad and disturbing when the fellow country people behave so. The plastic and garbage littered by the crowd are cleaned by the BSF admin staff. What’s patriotic about it?

Keeping the security in mind, BSF security personnel ask people to leave ASAP. They did not let us contribute by cleaning up the staircase. It was against the protocol.

Since the streets were jam-packed, it took us more time to leave than it had taken to arrive.

P.S– We visited Wagah Border on 31 Dec 2017. 

Keep in mind

-You are not allowed to carry your handbag. Keep them in your hotel or car. Phones and DSLR are allowed. 

-Phone networks remain jammed for obvious reasons. Large groups should keep together. For those who get separated, they can request for free announcements at dedicated booths.

-Carry your own water bottles because bottles sold inside are expensive and unhygienic. Please trash them in dustbins. Littered place is a common sight there. Please refrain. 

-Let the traffic clear before you make your way back. The noise, pollution and warm weather can create lot of confusion, stress and temper. The return way is more confusing and not the same that you take while arriving. All you need is patience and keep calm. 

-Unbearable heat during summers can make your visit difficult here. Carry caps, hats, eye glasses, sufficient water and wear comfy cottons. 

To reach Amritsar

Railheads from major cities connect with Amritsar. Tourists from nearby states can hop onto a Vovo bus or drive to the Amritsar. It takes 8 to 9 hours from Delhi NCR to Amritsar by road. Public transport options are available from Amritsar for onward journey to Wagah. You can drive too.

By the way this post made it to the most popular list on Indiblogger home page.