Credit: Special Arrangement.
Many heads turned in Cubbon Park on Sunday morning. The usually quiet bandstand was hosting a choral singing event.
Elders, young parents and children sat on plastic chairs arranged on the lawns. As the songs progressed from ‘We shall overcome’ to ‘Jingle bells’, listeners tapped their feet and waved their hands. Joggers and walkers paused to take photos as Sharon Chang and members of St Patrick’s Choir performed in the majestic backdrop of the High Court.
Cultural performances are back at the bandstand after a long hiatus. A Karnatik concert, a Bharatanatyam recital, and a choral performance have been held every Sunday since December 8.
A calendar of shows until January 26, 2025, is already in place. The weekly shows are free, with artistes performing pro bono as well.
Classical arts
Over a century old, the bandstand was initially built for British brass bands. After Independence, its use evolved to include patriotic and film songs, and Indian classical music, as well as dance, plays, and magic shows. However, by the latter half of the 20th century, the bandstand fell out of favour, and activities have been sporadic in recent years.
Heritage Beku, a citizen’s group that aims to preserve the city’s natural, cultural and built history, is trying to revive its cultural legacy along with the horticulture department of Cubbon Park.
Classical music and dance is the focus right now. The initiative hopes to introduce bhavageethe, sugama sangeeta and contemporary music, and promote young talent eventually.
The group started thinking of bringing performances back five years ago, says cofounder Priya-Chetty Rajagopal. The pandemic disrupted its plans. And this year, the group was busy opposing a proposal to build a 10-storey structure inside the park. The plan was eventually rolled back.
Military band
Veena maestro D Balakrishna is looking forward to playing at the bandstand this Sunday, surrounded by “pure air, the chirping of birds, and a green ambience”. He will be accompanied by a mridangam and ghatam artiste each. He plans to present morning ragas such as Chakravaka and Bowli. “Hope our music adds to the beauty of the park and walkers enjoy it,” says the 69-year-old.
His last musical outing at the bandstand was about 10 years ago, as part of Udyanadalli Udayaraga, a concert series hosted by the Kannada and culture department. Much earlier, in the mid-1970s, he would visit the bandstand as a listener. “I would go with friends, and over groundnuts, we would listen to light music,” he recalls.
Priya is glad to share that in “the true tradition of the bandstand”, a military band will perform in full uniform on the upcoming Republic Day. And subsequently too. “We have secured four dates,” she says.
Memories
Priya was about four or five when she first heard music at the bandstand. A band from the Madras Engineer Group (MEG), also known as the Madras Sappers, was performing. This was in the early ’70s.
“The band was dressed in duptars (tall headgear), red coats with dark blue trousers, and striped cummerbunds. They played beautiful music, including Hindi and Kannada film songs,” she reminisces.
She remembers the bandmaster. “He would make small, precise movements with his brass baton,” she adds. The grandeur of the show and the pride of being a “fauji brat” would make her heart swell, making her clutch her father’s hand a little tighter. Her father was an MEG officer.
Lawyer and heritage enthusiast Siddharth Raja was seven or eight when he heard a military band playing “formal, banquet-like music” at the bandstand in the late ’70s. During the research for his upcoming book on Cubbon Park, art historian Suresh Jayaram learnt that youngsters in the ’80s would play The Beatles and rock music here. Roopa Pai, author of ‘Cubbon Park the Green Heart of Bengaluru’, remembers catching Indian classical music and dance shows while walking her dog in the park in the recent past.
Every Sunday, 8 am to 9 am, Bandstand, Cubbon Park. Professionals can write to heritagebeku@gmail.com to perform
History
The bandstand was built to provide entertainment in the park for the British families living in the Cantonment. Historian Suresh Moona says it stood behind the present-day state central library. “It is among the few translocations of a historical structure in Bengaluru,” he says. The shift was necessitated because people would come, stand and cause traffic jams around the bandstand, he says.
The shift took place in the early 1900s, according to Poornima Dasharathi, founder of the heritage walk company
Unhurried. It is reported that British and Mysore military and police bands would perform there in the early days.