Thursday, 13 July 2023 | PURNIMA BISHT | DEHRADUN
The Maska Baja Band which started with an aim to showcase the musical talent of the home guard jawans last month is garnering appreciation from the local people as well as tourists visiting the State. The band gave its first live performance on June 8 this year and since then has been performing near Mussoorie diversion from 6 PM to 8 PM daily. The heavy rains have also not dampened their enthusiasm and the band is performing live during the usual timings.
The band was formed under the leadership of Inspector General of Police, Kewal Khurana and its origin story is also quite remarkable. Khurana told The Pioneer that the role of home guard jawans is considered secondary in police but when he got the charge of the department, he noticed that many personnel have varieties of talent.
He said, “Since it is permissible to take up another profession while being a home guard, many jawans spoke about their passion and talent they pursue or have pursued. We formed the first motorcycle bravery squad of the State with such talented jawans. Similarly, we also got to know about the inclination of many jawans to music. They revealed that they have also worked with musical bands. We decided to form our own band to present jawan’s talent to all.”
He said, “When we decided to form the band, we wanted to give interested jawans proper training. We found two trainers in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) who trained them for two months.” Khurana said that there are a total of 21 members in the band at present of which 12 members are females. On the question of how the band was named ‘Maska Baja’, the IG said that when the band was formed, several officials recommended many names. “One of them mentioned ‘Mashak Baja’ which is traditionally played in mountainous villages of the State. This connection with the State’s culture struck a chord with all and the band was eventually named as Masak Baja,” added Khurana.
He said that the band practices regularly and plays varieties of songs including folk songs, Garhwali and Kumaoni songs, Bhajans and Hindi songs among others that appeal to people of all ages. He said that the band has received an overwhelming response from locals as well as tourists in the past one month. He said, “Currently the band performs live near Mussoorie diversion where we have created an enclosure for performance. The band performs 16 to 17 songs daily. It is also performing regularly during the rainy season too. We will also start live performances in Mussoorie and other prominent locations of Dehradun soon.” “The band is not just a medium to showcase the talent of jawans but it also entertains people and the floating tourist population.
Their performances also inspire others to be dedicated and disciplined in their respective endeavours in life,” added Khurana.
