If proof were required that musical styles can blend, then the Beating Retreat ceremony that Sunday evening dazzlingly concluded India's annual Republic Day celebrations is a masterly example of the fusion of Indian and western military music.

For a little over an hour and under a clear blue sky, 1,000 bandsmen of the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force unveiled an amazing musical repertoire that borrowed from the past and blended with the present.

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the supreme commander of the armed forces, was the chief guest at the function, that was attended by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his cabinet colleagues, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the three service chiefs and a host of dignitaries.

There are purists who do not agree with the fusion of the music, maintaining that only one of the two styles should be adopted but their numbers are gradually dwindling because the Beating Retreat has proved over the years that the blending can be seamless and serves to enhance both schools.

Even so, a little more thought could have gone into selecting the Indian marches.

"Sam Bahadur" that commemorates India's first Field Marshal, Sam Manekshaw, who led the Indian Army to its biggest ever victory in 1971 in what was then East Pakistan, was the perfect opening by the massed bands, but down the line, the music often flagged.