Open House

Aimed at reviving Mumbai’s waning bandstand culture,the festival — now in its fourth edition and on till May 28 — is organised by the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “We have so much musical talent that does not come to the fore due to the steep prices of the commercial establishments. The revival aims to help them and also bring music to the people who don’t frequent pubs,” says Kavita Sharma,Joint Directory,Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Considered a novelty today,the bandstand culture in Mumbai,dates back to the 19th century. According to Sharda Dwivedi,a prominent chronicler of Mumbai culture,daily live music performances used to be one of the main source of entertainments for the city dwellers. “The military band played every evening on the Bombay Green,a vast 15-acre open space opposite the Town Hall in South Bombay (it became Horniman Circle Garden in the 1860s). The band would march from the office of the Town Major,located at the east end of Hamam Street up to the end of the Military Staff buildings in Fort,” says Dwivedi. However,as SB Singh of the Police Band points out,the band music was limited to marching tunes back then.

The culture evolved with the construction of new bandstands at Apollo Bunder,Yacht Club and other locations. After the departure of the British,this culture slowed down. By 1960s,the public performances ceased altogether for almost a decade. In 1970s,the Police and MCGM bands made a debut,playing tunes of popular Hindi films and covers of English bands.

The last decade has witnessed efforts to revive the culture through poetry readings and cultural performances with little success,till Bombay Chamber’s Bandstand Revival Project stepped in. The first edition of this corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative was held at Hanging Gardens in 2007-08. “The response was encouraging but the audience lacked the youth factor,” recollects Sharma. Over the years,it has managed to generate interest among the indie bands.

“We started with positioning one band each over 17 Saturdays but given the response,multiple bands performed each weekend,” recalls Stuart D’Costa of Something Relevant,which has been consistent on the scene. “After all,a public platform like this is hard to find,” he adds. The result,says Sharma,has been overwhelming. “The sponsors are keen to back the project. This year,bands like Dischordian,Shor Bazaar and Ankit Dayal have joined in too,” she says.

The youth may be at the core of the success but the Bombay Chamber is ensuring that they don’t lose out on the older audience. The music played by the bands is mostly melodious and includes covers of popular English retro bands. And the MCGM and Police bands also take requests from the audience.

The Bombay Chamber is keen to look beyond the traditional venues of South Mumbai. “This year,we added Dadar Chowpatty and Carter Road Amphitheatre to the list. Apart from utilising the open spaces across the city,we want to promote the culture of live music as entertainment. We hope to go further North in the coming years,” Sharma says.

Yet,Dwivedi feels that there is a long way to go before we can reinstate the bandstand culture. “These places offer a great opportunity to look beyond musical gigs and rope in the common man in various art forms like theatre,but these places remain underutilised. The Bandstand Revival Project,however,is showing the city the way.”