New normal and men of marching bands

A Pakistani wedding is often incomplete without the sound of beating drums and pealing trumpets, to which revel the merrymakers. Many a times, there is a boisterous wedding procession led by a marching band dressed in a riot of colours and patterns.

In more customary arrangements, the band marches ahead of the procession, playing celebratory notes all the way from the groom’s residence to the marriage venue. However, all that seems like talk a different world now. As the new normal changes the shape of things to come, today these merry men who had been the life of desi wedding scenes for generations struggle to find their place in the post-pandemic world.

“We consider ourselves as artists, but our family doesn’t see our work as a respectful profession,” said Raifq, who manages a popular marching band based out of the garrison city. “We practice for years and perform just like actors and singers do. The only difference is, while their work is termed art and is hailed and protected by cultural departments everywhere, ours is seen as a street act at best,” he added.

According to Rafiq, over the years, marching bands have gone from a wedding essential to a dying tradition left at the mercy of a few who truly value customs and ceremonies. But Rafiq’s business took its greatest hit during the coronavirus lockdown, which put all weddings and celebrations involving public gatherings on a hold for several months. “There was never a lot of money in this work to begin with, but we would still make between Rs5,000 to Rs15,000 per events in better times. There are no local parading groups in Islamabad, so we would be especially invited from Rawalpindi to lead processions in the capital. But then the coronavirus lockdown happened and our world has remained in a standstill ever since,” he lamented.

Although Rafiq, like his fellow bandmates held some hope during the early days of the lockdown, much of it was lost when the gravity of the matter became more apparent.

Like everything else, the event industry too has been adapting to the new normal. On one end, it has opened doors for innovative opportunities and businesses. While on the other, it has also been fetal to many practices of the past. Big fat celebrations with street processions and marching bands being the latter.

“There are hardly any weddings, birthdays or celebrations which require our services anymore,” said the band manager, talking about the decline of grand events in a time which favours small intimate affairs.

“But we still have ends to meet like everyone else. We invest a lot of money in buying imported instruments which come from England, France and Germany. The brass and copper instruments have to be regularly polished or else their appearance starts to fade, but we have been left with little use for them in the absence of events,” he told The Express Tribune. Some names have been changed to protect anonymity.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2020.