The air in Jayanagar reverberated with the sounds of bands and bugle as more than 3,500 RSS swayamsevaks attired in traditional khaki-white dress, staged the ghosh - route march.
Two teams of band troupes started separately - one from MES playgrounds and the other from Rani Saraladevi School and converged at Kittur Rani Chennamma Stadium in Jayanagar, where they performed for a packed audience to mark the culmination of the three-day South Karnataka ghosh (band) camp.
After a gap of 34 years the RSS ghosh has returned to Bangalore. The entire route was donned by saffron and RSS flags and flower petals were showered as the troupe marched to the tune of various desi ragas.
The march was followed by a performance in which the swayamsevaks displayed various formations - diamond, chakra, swastika.
Addressing the gathering, RSS chief K S Sudarshan stressed the need for protecting the ancient dharma by inculcating discipline and patriotism among the younger generation. He called for the reunification of the Hindu society and blamed the British for distorting the meaning of ‘Hindu’ from that of a collective united society to that of a religion.
Later, to queries from reporters on Narendra Modi steering the BJP to victory in Gujarat, Mr Sudarshan said, “Everybody is happy and I am also happy”. To another query, he said, “Whoever wins should do good work”. However, Mr Sudarshan declined to comment any further.
Lt Gen (retd) N S Narahari and former Karnataka Police Academy director Y R Patil were chief guests. Police had made tight security arrangements for the march.