When a Little Drummer Girl, Mathura’s Ram Lila and Beats Of Dalit Resistance Became Our Earworm
Aga Bai Tasha: Ganesha’s Drummer Girls
In Mumbai, revellers dance to the tunes of drummer girls as they bid adieu to Lord Ganesha every year. Ahead of the Visarjan, we threw a spotlight on 11-year-old Vainavi Mohite, one of the city’s youngest Nashik Dhol players, as she prepped for all the fanfare and farewell.
Allah aur Bhagwan: Rashid Miyan Ki Ram Lila
On Dussehra, we brought to you a story of syncretism from Mathura’s famed Ram Lila, where we met Rashid Qureshi, the man who has been singing there for the last 37 years.
Jai Bhim- The Beats Of Dalit Resistance
On BR Ambedkar’s death anniversary, we documented the fascinating story singers Sheetal Sathe and Sachin Mali were declared Naxalities in 2011 for giving voice to the Dalit community. They’ve paid a heavy price, but they continue to sing their songs resistance.
Related Content
-
Music Strings Was More than Just a Rock Band, It Was a Reminder of Our Many Shared Roots with Pakistan
It would be naïve of us to pretend that the fault lines between India and Pakistan did not exist or were any less deep back in 2004. But there were still moments when we were able to find a meeting ground, a convergence between our shared roots and cultures. Strings is a reminder of those times.
Add to list -
Music How Taylor Swift Bottled 2020’s Ennui in Two Sublime Albums
Taylor Swift is the modern queen of yearning, offering up a folk fantasy for a new generation in “evermore”. Who better to come forward as the voice of 2020, a year that we have all lived in the subjunctive tense, thinking of what might have been?
Add to list -
Music To Speak of Sahir, Was to Speak of Amrita: The Poet of Unfulfilled Love
Sahir Ludhianvi and Amrita Pritam’s tale encompassed euphoria, misery, and everything in between. Yet, when the vagaries of life drew them apart, they chose to craft an alternative reality with another – a love that is liberating. When I first fell in love with a girl, a love that I knew would go nowhere, it was Sahir’s words that I turned to.
Add to list -
Music Every Time You Listen to Mohammed Rafi, You Realise He Belongs Everywhere, to Everyone
If there were to be a physical manifestation of what “being timeless” looks like, Mohammed Rafi would be it. “Tribute to Mohammed Rafi” is a permanent fixture in most taxis in Mumbai and you’ll find his famous classics on the playlist of a backpacking hipster in Himachal.
Add to list -
Music What Lata Mangeshkar Means To Millennials, Who Did Not Grow Up Listening to Her Songs
Lata Mangeshkar’s voice defined my grandmother’s youth. I belong to a generation that often rejects new Hindi film chartbusters in favour of indie and international music. Yet, after the last shot is downed and the last EDM track played, it is Tai’s tender “Lag Jaa Gale” that can still make a millennial emotional at four in the morning.
Add to list
English
Hindi
Comments