Metro users in Bengaluru [Bangalore], India, are to be serenaded on their way to work by classical music. Speakers in all stations on the metro network will play Carnatic-style music – a type of Indian classical music associated with the southern part of the country – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It follows a successful trial that proved popular with passengers.
‘The music will be played in between the announcements as passengers wait for the train to arrive,’ said Bangalore Metro Rail (BMR) public relations officer U A Vasanth Rao. ‘It is a nice welcome to the people of Bengaluru using the metro daily. There is so much flavour to Carnatic music and I am sure it will be appreciated.’
The music began playing on Monday afternoon, and will be used at all 30 of Bengaluru’s stations by Wednesday, controlled from a central system at Byappanahalli Metro Station. BMR also has plans to experiment with music in other genres, such as Karnataka folk songs and Hindustani classical.
A similar system was adopted in 2012, but postponed until all stations in the network could be included.
