[bblost]

I think the cop acted perfectly fine and as someone over the age of 45, I am proud of my fellow "Uncle".

These kind of things can easily go crazy very fast and a decisive action was perfect.

[PreludeSH]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

Such "CIRCUS" happens all over Mumbai, in front of police stations, on crowded footpaths, busy roads, public gardens, waterfronts, everywhere and everyday, causing inconvenience to public. And this "CIRCUS" continues for hours!! Do they have necessary permissions?? NEVER !

But someone who just wanted to sing one SONG, was stopped citing "Public Nuisance"

I am pretty sure they wouldn't allow the above on Church street. What if that was Taylor Swift ? Wouldn't that create a disarray in the traffic and everything else ?

Onus lies on public to complain. I have done exactly same kind of complaints for noise from music. Call 112, lodge complaint. You get call within 2 mins from Hoysala patrolling vehicles and depending on their location (police station is very near to my house), everything is resolved within 5 mins.

[Simha.k]

Perfect action by the police.I must appreciate them.

People can berate and poke fun and admonish the police to have stopped such a big celebrity from performing on the streets. Imagine, had something untoward happened to him, these would be the same people to criticise the police first. A massive pile up of traffic and crowd is a nightmare in a city of 10+ million.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Let’s look at the cop response times for this 7 minute song sequence:

So within 7 minutes the following incidents have taken place:

(d) The complainant makes the call to the station gets through to the station in the first ring and conveys the issue. (Let’s give this 2 minutes - notice the crowd, panic, dial cops, get through in first ring and convey the info).
(b) The cop on the other side understands the issue without any need for repetition probably as singers like this Ed guy regularly create a nuisance on Church street.
(c) The cop gives this priority, stops all other work, calls his superiors, explains the issue to the other side who in turn understands it immediately checks his records and confirms there is no permission granted - (lets give this another 3 minutes - dial, get through, convey issue, take out relevant files, check for permission)
(e) That gives the local station another 2 minutes to stop everything they were doing, race to the spot through traffic to pull out the plug before that one song is over.

While I agree that there was something else that happened before or in the background that got this stopped so quickly, I don't think the above sequence of steps are valid.

1. To call the police, a person will not try to call the station, you call 112.
2. The call goes to the central control room which has a direct connection to the 200 odd Hoysala/Mobile Patrol vehicles stationed in various parts of the city
3. Church Street being in the CBD and being a sensitive area always will have a patrol car in the immediate vicinity-Most often parked in the street itself.
4. Also common to have cops stationed in the area.

In all probability the cops were already there, someone pointed it out, since the cops say they do not allow such activities on Church Street, there probably was no question of permission and he went and shut it down. Ed Sheeran's local organizers would have just assumed that no one will come and stop for 10-15 min and even if they do, the 'swalpa adjust maadi' line would work with the cops and probably told him they have got permission.

[anjan_c2007]

It does not bode well for our publicised "Welcome to India" message to Western popstars. The police could have tactfully requested Ed Sheeran to publicly complete the full song, since the star had started crooning "shape of you." And, they could have called more police constables for crowd management which in all likelihood triggered the police action. It was just a matter of five minutes and usage of the theory "might is right" in practice by the police could have been best avoided. Pulling the plug was uncalled for.

Ed Sheeran though has contested the police claim retorting by saying that he had the necessary permission. No doubt, this has made international news.

[Latheesh]

Good job and quick response by the police. That was faster than a pizza delivery. I once dialed emergency number and police arrived in 5 minutes same thing happened once with the electricity dept. as well.

[Venkatesh]

British singer-musician’s impromptu Bengaluru performance shut down!

[ghodlur]

I am surprised on the quick action by the Bangalore cops who generally takes eons to reach the place for all other reasons of nuisance. Maybe the palm greasing didnt happen as expected. Do the cops check the permits for the political rallies or the top shot convoy which are a nuisance of the top order. This to me is just the double standards followed by the law enforcers. Are the bangalore crowd who know the singer so unrurly that things could have gone out of hand, puts a question on the people of Bangalore isnt it?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Would the police in the UK have allowed a street side performance of Shankar Mahadevan(just for example) at an unauthorized public location in any city? So what's the big deal about Ed Sheeran? This "anything goes" culture must end- but the authorities have to put in their end of the bargain too by vastly expanding the scope to curtail other public nuisances in cities.

Not only in the UK but in most western cities anybody is allowed to do street performances. You don't need a license. Its called busking. Most city council, do have some local/by laws which will stipulate you are not allowed to make too much sound, cause to much distraction and so on.

This is Markus K. He goes all, over Europe to play his music in public. No license required. But just as Ed, the police have on a few occasions asked him to move on as he drew to large a crowd.

https://youtu.be/Z-rzPbq6pJ0?si=HMfofyw74VDqz2Cv

You walk the streets and squares of any major,,or small town anywhere in Europe and there will be performers, music and otherwise, all without a license.

There are tonnes of YT video about these sort of musical street performances. All perfectly legal. There are also quite a few YT videos where street performers were joined by celebrities who happened to pass by!

https://youtu.be/7lepUcfjm3U?si=KZu8UlK8O-899jp9

Lots of airports, railroad stations and so on feature “public” pianos. Anybody can sit down and play. Now and then celebrities have been known to play these public pianos as well

https://youtu.be/YUkmavvYOrs?si=Jf99k6vpUWDG-HfC

Jeroen

[landcruiser123]

Absent any malicious intent, a large crowd of well meaning fans people can have some serious consequences if not managed properly. Not just in India, but anywhere in the world.

If there wasn't enough security/necessary permissions, it is better for the police to err on the side of caution in a place like India. Rather cut the singing short than have diplomatic strain should something untoward happen.

[naikameya]

I believe we should promote such performances, and there should be parks and places where such things can be officially performed with a basic set of permissions.

Everything Western is not necessarily better, and even if it is, it will not always work in India. While many such art form displays happen in India and are ignored by police even if illegal, let's not forget the context.

The law may be categorized as a nuisance, but it is more about crowd control. Context is the king. Beggars and other street performers do not attract crowds, and if they do, police shoo them away. India is a densely populated country. Most places in Western countries where such musicians perform are cordoned off for vehicles, and with low population density, there is no chance of stampede. In India, it is a problem. If organizers do not have permission, their insurance may not cover them in case of an unfortunate incident.

A little off-topic since we quickly declare Indians to be unmatured. This has nothing to do with a mature crowd. Here maturity is about what you are used to and nothing about how good or nice a person you are. For example, many folks in Western countries wear their outdoor footwear in their houses and on beds or stand with footwear on seats. It is not a lack of maturity; they don't have dust, and it is okay to do so in their culture.

[PreludeSH]

Originally Posted by naikameya

I believe we should promote such performances, and there should be parks and places where such things can be officially performed with a basic set of permissions.

Everything Western is not necessarily better, and even if it is, it will not always work in India. While many such art form displays happen in India and are ignored by police even if illegal, let's not forget the context.

The law may be categorized as a nuisance, but it is more about crowd control. Context is the king. Beggars and other street performers do not attract crowds, and if they do, police shoo them away. India is a densely populated country. Most places in Western countries where such musicians perform are cordoned off for vehicles, and with low population density, there is no chance of stampede. In India, it is a problem. If organizers do not have permission, their insurance may not cover them in case of an unfortunate incident.

A little off-topic since we quickly declare Indians to be unmatured. This has nothing to do with a mature crowd. Here maturity is about what you are used to and nothing about how good or nice a person you are. For example, many folks in Western countries wear their outdoor footwear in their houses and on beds or stand with footwear on seats. It is not a lack of maturity; they don't have dust, and it is okay to do so in their culture.

Maturity is about getting permission and performing If not, you are taking chances and should be ready to face consequence. I don't understand why we are sulking that it reflects bad on city or country.

MG Road has the Rangoli cultural centre where such things are allowed. Its not that we don't want to allow such things or we are not matured enough. Still, you would have to go through proper channels.

[sunilpthomas]

Although I agree with everyone on the fact that "since there was no permission, what the policeman did was right' legally, I would still say that this is the kind of police highhandedness which we see in India. These same cops who "acted swiftly" will absolutely refuse to file an FIR if you go to the police station to register any complaint. They would cast a blind eye on any sort of illegalities on a daily basis. I have had multiple experiences on such cases. There was multiple instances of roads being blocked by construction materials, where I have complained to the cops and they say that "please talk to BBMP, nam kelsa alla saar." And if we ever complain to the cops, it takes hours for them to turn up, unless you are calling them regarding a major crime.

Church Street is NOT a residential layout for someone to complain as soon as they see a crowd, Also, as mentioned above, "busking" or street performances are normal practice the world over, and regularly happens in the same Church Street too. So if we want to believe that the cops did what they did for the love of the law, puhleez, gimme a break.

This was just a cop acting over zealous and creaiting a bad reputation for we as a people across the globe. The more we normalize this, the more such issues will start popping up, without any stopping of all the actual public nuisances like politician's birthday rallies and religious processions.

[aashishnb]

One never knows.
The entire thing could've been orchestrated by the PR Team to generate publicity. The organizers are well aware of all permissions required and are very adept at getting them.

Off topic : permissions are required even for normal processions, etc. Mostly they give it without much fuss.

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by sunilpthomas

Although I agree with everyone on the fact that "since there was no permission, what the policeman did was right' legally, I would still say that this is the kind of police highhandedness which we see in India. These same cops who "acted swiftly" will absolutely refuse to file an FIR if you go to the police station to register any complaint. They would cast a blind eye on any sort of illegalities on a daily basis. I have had multiple experiences on such cases. There was multiple instances of roads being blocked by construction materials, where I have complained to the cops and they say that "please talk to BBMP, nam kelsa alla saar." And if we ever complain to the cops, it takes hours for them to turn up, unless you are calling them regarding a major crime.

This is exactly why I have a problem with all this but this is a reflection of Indian society at large where literal forms of abuse would be deemed 'ghar ki baat' but minimal forms of affection would be considered inappropriate. The police are part of this society, so this is exactly how I'd expect them to behave.