Drumroll for brass bands: Wedding season keeps Mumbai's iconic street musicians busy

George Edward Misquitta has been playing the trumpet since 1973, when he was still a teenager studying at the St Francis D'Assisi boarding school in Borivali. Misquitta gravitated towards the instrument because he had access to one at home. His father had been a trumpeter too, as part of a brass band called St Cecilia. Almost 48 years later, ‘Georgieboy', as he is fondly called by people, leads the ‘St. Francis Brass Band' and still exudes a tireless passion for the instrument. "I went to play for an Umbraacha Paani (an East Indian pre-wedding ritual) last night and returned home at 2:45 am," he informs. While they charge for the official time of 7 pm - 10 pm, the band clearly love entertaining people. "Since people are dancing and enjoying themselves, we can't stop. We go on playing."

It is hard for Mumbaikars to imagine a wedding in the city without a brass band. Various communities have their own bands and they play for various occasions. Misquitta's is one of many popular bands from the East Indian community - considered one of the original inhabitants of the city - that get busy during this time of year. Usually dressed in brightly-coloured uniforms, they blow trumpets, clarinets and saxophones and beat the drums, dhol, tasha and Nashik dhol. Their Pied Piper-like skills attract people to follow them and break into a dance in public, without a care in the world. Even though these groups have anywhere between 15 and 25 musicians, they charge a meagre sum starting at Rs 12,000, and go upwards based on how far they have to travel. While disc jockeys have been taking over the market, the live music played by brass bands has a different kind of energy and still enjoys demand from certain communities that believe in big celebrations.

George Misquitta started his 'St Francis Band' in 2002 after he stopped touring due to some family problems. Photo: George Edward Misquitta

Even as he speaks to us, Misquitta is at the ready in case he receives a call to play. "I consider myself like a fire brigade. Suddenly if I get a funeral call, I have to make a move," he says. The 64-year-old may love performing on the street these days but he has had his fair share of stage shows. He played with the Babla Kanchan orchestra and has been on a world tour while playing for Kalyanji-Anandji with Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan - all between 1979 and 2006. He also has fond memories of playing at Shivaji Park along with the Don Bosco brass band from Matunga, when Pope John Paul II visited the city in 1986. However, he had to give up playing on stage due to family problems and formed his own 16-member brass band in 2002; it is a tribute to his schooling days. As a full-time musician now, he depends on the wedding season between December to February for his bread and butter, and plays at funerals round the year.

Playing during the pandemic
Like for many others, the pandemic played spoilsport in 2020 for the brass bands in Mumbai, especially for full-time musicians like Misquitta who depend on the income to run their day-to-day life. "In 2020, December and January were booked for weddings and then this pandemic came in and everything was cancelled." Luckily, 2021 was a little different and he found solace in the fact that wedding celebrations returned and he has been as busy as one can be this season, while adjusting to new demands. "Nowadays, people tell me to bring fewer members of the band because of the pandemic," informs Misquitta. He has even got some bookings for February already. Music got him through the rough patches of the last two years. "When there were no orders, I kept my mind busy by practicing and didn't think about anything else," says the trumpeter, who practices for four hours every day.

George Misquitta played with the Babla & Kanchan orchestra and has been on a world tour while playing for Kalyanji-Anandji with Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. Photo: George Edward Misquitta

Elsewhere, in Vidyavihar's Kirol village, Russell D'mello has been busy too. The first pandemic year affected quite a few members in his band as "half of the staff are working other jobs but the other half solely depend on the band for their income". They held on to hope, however, and by October 2021, the band's fortunes changed as D'mello says people resumed bookings and they have been performing regularly since then, particularly last November and December.

Like Misquitta, 56-year-old D'mello, who plays the clarinet and leads the band, relies entirely on the brass band for his income. His passion for music has made him leave many jobs in the last three decades. The East Indian joined a band as a mere coincidence, when the boys in his village informed him that they were starting a band. He says, "The boys had already had a few meetings and when they called me, I simply joined them. I had already started working as a barman at the five-star hotel Horizon in Juhu and used to do break shifts 11 am - 3 pm and 6 pm - 2 am, so that I could make it for practice." At the time, he was fond of the drums and wanted to play it for the band but the slot for playing the clarinet was the only one available, and he immediately took to it.

D'mello has been with his 25-member band called 'Valentine Music Makers', since its inception on Valentine's Day in 1985. Soon after the musician who was training them left, he took over as the leader of the band, and hasn't looked back since. "I had mastered the scales quickly and started composing my own music too. Since I was in the lead compared to others, I ended up assuming that responsibility."

Russell D'mello has been playing the clarinet with his band 'Valentine Music Makers' since its inception on Valentine's Day in 1985. Photo: Russell D'mello

Love for East Indian music
Over the years, D'mello has seen a considerable change in music. While there was greater preference for East Indian music in the 80s, the tempo changed in the 90s and the 2000s with more Hindi and Bollywood music coming into the picture, as also the Nashik dhol instrumental. Misquitta and D'mello share a common favourite when it comes to occasions for music - the many rituals of East Indian weddings. "We play regularly in Kurla village where they follow all the traditions so it goes on for many hours compared to other villages like Kalina and Marol in the city," says the clarinet player.

Being an East Indian himself, the trumpeter adds, "Playing the theka (rhythm) is fun because not only do people enjoy dancing to it, but even we enjoy performing it." That sense of joy is also shared by Greenidge Nunes, another trumpeter from Bhayandar, who is a part of a family band called ‘Vailankanni'. Before Nunes joined the band with his cousins, he started by playing the bugle, followed by the bass drum but eventually moved to the trumpet. "Playing for the different parts of the wedding, starting with the Umbraacha Paani, Varumai and Paaspatni is fun," says Nunes, humming ‘varumai nigaali rastyala', a song played during the ritual. "There is also one ritual where the band invites relatives and the people in the area to dance with them during the Umbraacha Paani, which is a lot of fun," he adds, excitedly.

Greenidge Nunes (right) has been playing the trumpet for the Vailankkani Band Group since his teenage years. Photo: Greenidge Nunes

The many challenges of sustaining their families has made D'mello and Misquitta adapt with the times but they also see it as a learning experience. In fact, D'mello and his band practice the latest songs every alternate day, so that they aren't caught unaware when a certain kind of popular song is demanded. "Back in the day, we used to play the old numbers of ABBA and The Beatles but now there are more pop numbers," feels Misquitta. He adds, "Change is good for the musician because he needs to make improvisations." However, Nunes airs another kind of problem which is threatening the existence of these bands. He says, "The DJs have become very popular now and that is not good."

Fortunately for Nunes, he has another stream of income from his work as an assistant driller on the rigs in Qatar. Being on the rig every alternate month, he gets to spend enough time with them, when he is back. The 47-year-old even played in the 2021 wedding season before going back to work and hopes to play in the years to come. "Music is my hobby. I took up the trumpet in the 9th standard and have been playing since then," says the Mumbaikar, who has been an active part of the 15-member band for almost 32 years. Interestingly, Nunes and D'mello meet annually for a collective band, led by the latter, which travels to Vailankanni every year to perform at the church and proclaim their devotion to Mother Mary. They have been doing it every year since 1990 and were only stopped by the pandemic. In fact, D'mello has also been travelling with the band to Jhansi to play for St Jude's feast every year since the last five years.

Even as the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, the brass bands in Mumbai are going about their business, enlivening the celebrations of others with their art. Even though their income may have been uncertain and modest compared to modern bands and disc jockeys, it is the music that keeps them going, the very music for which they left their jobs or to which they keep returning from foreign shores.