The air at the Sir M Visvesvaraya District Stadium has been a mixture of beats of bass drums, side-drums, bugles and flutes gelled with recitation sounds of learners the last few days.
The week-long band set handling training organised for 80 physical education teachers from all over the district by the Bharat Seva Dal was brought to a close on Sunday.
The experience under the guidance of the Seva Dal was unique for the teachers, many of whom were completely unaware of the nature and functions of the Seva Dal and even hesitated to deal with its activities.
Now, during the special band set handling training camp, however, they were found to follow the instructions and guidance of the trainers from the Seva Dal with single-mindedness.
In many cases, it was like the feeling of a child, who had listened to a poem about a flute, learning to play one itself as an adult. The alternating movements of the fingers on the outlets in the wind instrument, in combination with the flow of air, bringing out sounds they had only heard long back or from an expert was mind-boggling for the teachers.
The guard of honour with the men and women in uniforms playing the band sets during Republic Day and Independence Day programmes has always been an inspiring sight. Also, that the band organs were introduced for the disciplined soldiers during the British era was unknown to many. The knowledge that the sounds symbolised not merely noise but a sense of patriotism and discipline gave the trainees at the stadium goose bumps.
“The Seva Dal had trained about 100 teachers during a similar camp organised eight years ago. All schools had also been given band sets, most of which were, however, barely used. This year the Seva Dal trainers focused on teaching how to use the organs. We hope the schools use the equipment henceforth and even teach the children who to use them,” said V Manjunath, Kolar District Convenor, Bharat Seva Dal.
Standing in disciplined postures, yogasana, flag honour, recitation of patriotic songs, prayers of religious harmony, band practice and personal hygiene have been the main focus of the training sessions. The well-organised movements to be followed during flag-hoisting, how to tie the flag before hoisting, how to hoist the flag, the flag tribute to be paid, imbibing leadership qualities have also been taught to the physical trainers at the camp, added Manjunath.
“The camp started on a pretty dull note, but picked up colour as we moved on to band set handling training. Most of showed enthusiasm to learn and also to teach the students in our respective schools how to play the organs,” said Tara, a physical education trainer at the Sundarapalya Government Composite Pre-university College, Bangarpet taluk. “Some of us knew how to tie a flag before hoisting, but the kind of discipline to be maintained during the hoisting was a new lesson for us,” she added.
“The camp has taught us to look beyond merely sports and physical training,” said Shivalingappa, V J J Manohar of St Mary’s School, KGF, and Shridhar of Government Middle School for Boys, Srinivaspur. “We just look forward to returning to our schools and passing on the information to the students,” they said with enthusiasm.