The pipes and drums band of Kumudini Homes, a school in Kalimpong, will be the first from India to perform at the Basel Tattoo, a musical show featuring mainly military bands from around the globe, in Switzerland on July 15.

The 21-member contingent of Kumudini, including teacher-cum-mentor Priyadarshi Lama, was invited by the Swiss federal department of defence, civil protection and sports, organisers of the Basel Tattoo. It is considered to be the second biggest military music festival after Edinburgh Tattoo in Scotland.

Tattoos are primarily a form of military music. Kumudini Homes is among the few non-military bands and the only school band to be selected to perform at the Basel Tattoo.

“Queen Elizabeth is expected to be be in the audience,” beamed Rajesh Bhusal, an assistant teacher of the 88-year-old school.

Kumudini was the first school in Kalimpong to start the pipes and drums band back in the 1960s. Subsequently, other schools followed suit, and most of the higher secondary schools in the hill town have contingents of pipes and drums bands of their own.

The annual band display competition for schools on August 15 is the highlight of the Independence Day celebrations in Kalimpong.

The Kumudini boys will be leaving for Basel on July 9 with a warm send-off by band contingents from other schools. “This is not just a proud moment for our school, but for the entire Kalimpong district, the GTA area and the country as a whole….This is a big achievement for our school,” said Bhupen Karthak, the teacher in-charge of the school.

The organisers of the event, which is being held after three years of Covid-induced gap, seemed excited to host the Kumudini band.

“This year we’re going one better. For the first time in the history of the Basel Tattoo we are presenting a bagpipe formation from India: the Kumudini Homes School Pipes and Drums Band. Let yourself be surprised by the mixture of far eastern tones, Scottish sounds and humorous interludes,” said the organisers in their promo.