Traditionally the orchestra ‘band baaja’ was the main source of music for any social occasion. This though not accessible to all, was quite fancy in its own right. One might have childhood memories associated with their experience of this happening. This way of doing things was broken by the electronic Public Address system.
The ‘DJ’ or the PA system has become staple not only at metros but also at gigs/event/programs/ceremonies taking place in the remotest corners of the country. There is even a Bollywood song called “amplifier”. This electronic concoction has allowed people to pump the sound of their party no matter what the audience size or the purpose of the event.
Things have taken a bit of turn in Odisha on this aspect. The recent decision by the court to put a bar on loud music has made things a bit different for the event planners in this state. The roll of drums popularly associated with social occasions such as Dussehra and Laxmi Puja festivities are back.
Though the various pros and cons exist on this matter, it will be interesting to see the level to which this rule is integrated. One view of this situation is that these electronic devices have taken the jobs of traditional musicians. Some of them come from families where such an occupation is a family heritage. On this Musician Damodar Sadangi said “The drum-beating art that was pushed to the background not long ago, is apparently on the path to revival”.
Even though being in great demand since the court ruling, Traditonal drummer Harihar Goud said playing the dholki is still his part time profession. “We were getting hardly two to three orders for performance. Now it has tripled,” he said. On the other hand, this ruling was also a loss for those with vested interests in the PA services providing industry. R Ramamurthy, owner of a Berhampur-based band, found that the court ruling increased the competition he was facing. The money he had invested on various equipment such as amplifiers, speakers and other was likely to go waste. “The number of shows has gone down. We had procured amplifiers before the imposition of legal restrictions on sound limits. We are performing under constant fear of police crackdown,”
