Carnatic music & sound of nature do jugalbandi

Bengaluru: Gana Hejje, which means a figurative footprint of music left on the earth, was organised almost on an impulse at Lalbagh Saturday morning.Karnataka Ganakala Parishat, the organisers, is a 50-year-old cultural community focused on propagating the art of Carnatic music. It felt the need to reach out to the common folk at an all-accessible location to do what it does best — immerse in music. KGP president RK Padmanabha called upon his singing peers to gather at 8.30am in Lalbagh to make a subtle appeal to the locals — music-loving or not — about spreading the joy of art and culture in spaces truly removed from the everyday clutter of the 9-5 city life. Walking around the large park, the singing group slowly turned into a crowd of 300 that looked like it was on its way to a protest. “We presented 10-11 classical compositions and the crowd really enjoyed being amid artists and singers in a place where there was no noise, no disturbance, but only the sound of music from us and nature,” said Padmanabha.The group walked for about one and a half hours and also found time to chat, make new friends and have a happy start to their weekend. It was the first time that such a ‘musical walkathon’ was organised in the city, KGP said. Lalbagh officials were informed about the event just a day or two before. They encouraged the idea and some even joined the walk. The crowd comprised some KGP members, other musicians, music connoisseurs, students, regular walkers and so on. Padmanabha said he thought about this in January but knew he’d have to wait for the Republic Day flower show to conclude before mobilising his team.“The singing was not practised; it was instantaneous. The atmosphere it generated was cheerful and hopeful. We wish we can do something like this at least once every year,” he added.The walk concluded with KGP offering breakfast: A meal of upma, bisibele bath and kesari bath was served to all the gleeful faces that already had their heart full with the charm of music.