BENGALURU: A 1.50-minute video clip of an impromptu musical performance by students and teachers of the Mysuru-based Raghuleela School of Music at Terminal 2 of Bengaluru Airport, which was posted on X on Sunday, went viral garnering more than one million views. It was posted by retired Air Marshal Anil Chopra of the popular handle Aviator Anil Chopra.
The video showed over 50 women, standing and seated, singing aloud with many flyers recording the rendering. They were heading to Ayodhya for a pilgrimage. The song was ‘Dharmo Rakshathi Rakshitha’, a sanskrti sloka from the Mahabharata which means one who does not follow dharma is destroyed while one who follows it is protected by dharma itself.
Following the response on social media, the school later posted a video of a student dancing to a religious narrative which also received good response. The videos met with both praise and criticism.
Former MLA CT Ravi posted it on X saying, “Salute our Nari Shakti for proudly displaying Santana Dharma and its glorious culture.” Some posted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in the thread below the videos while a few stated that ‘Ram Rajya’ has arrived.
Objections were spelt out by a few over the sound, particularly since Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) is a ‘silent’ airport, which means passengers will be provided a noise-free and peaceful travel experience.
Rohit Jain posted: “Good so next time this is done by minorities don’t cy. They will also make sure to show their culture…” An X handle under the name Gemini said, “You don’t have to create noise in an airport, and that is nothing to be proud of. And there are many things to be proud of other than your religion. Get a lift bhakta.”
A few handles even called for the arrest of the performers for creating a public nuisance. Sunil Menon posted: “..if this is allowed at airports then all religions will do the same ... domestic and international travellers will burst our ear drums.