Kabeer Shakya of Dhamma Wings, a Dalit rock band, uses music to highlight society's discrimination on the basis of caste and creed
Kabeer Shakya
Dhammaâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Wings maintains a flow of new releases, through their official YouTube channel, and they regularly perform on television
Long hair, stylish shades and electric guitars are easy pickings to identify a band. Kabeer Shakya, the founder and vocalist of Dhamma Wings, is no different, but his inclination towards Gautam Buddha, Dr BR Ambedkar and the Dalits sets him apart from the regular musicians in the band fraternity. "My intent is to spread the message of equality. Even after 70 years of Independence, Dalits are discriminated in India, which should stop," he says, ahead of his gig at Performing Resistance, an event by Godrej India Culture Lab that will explore the intersection between caste, history and musical traditions in Maharashtra.
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Shakya (extreme left) during his monk days at Bodhâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Gaya
The monk period
As a 21-year-old, Shakya went to a monastery in Bodh Gaya to learn the principles of Buddhism. "In our community, every kid has to live the life of a monk for a few days. I did it for two weeks. While learning the ideologies of Buddha, I realised that the problem of caste is centuries-old. He also suffered for taking on the responsibility of the rights of all communities" shares Shakya, who formed the band on his return to Mumbai in 2012. In the early days, the 28-year-old had difficulty scouting for musicians who believed in his vision. "We are born and raised in an urban setting; we haven't faced caste issues, but reading about the atrocities on Dalits in other regions of the country saddened me, especially in Uttar Pradesh. The upper castes are still troubling them," he adds. Shakya had to convince people to join his mission but soon, he felt that the passion should be natural. "I finally succeeded and today, my band has musicians from different backgrounds," smiles Shakya, who has been regularly attending talks and events on Buddhism and Ambedkar.
"The moment I started studying about Babasaheb, I understood the Dalit issue," he shares.
Kabeer Shakya
Lyrical inspiration
The band performs songs written by Shakya, and does renditions of old Ambedkar songs. "There are verses by old poets and singers like Waman Kardak and Shravan Yashwante. We rearrange them. Kardak was born a Dalit, later converted to Buddhism, and he was a follower of Ambedkar," says Shakya, whose recent release is Prabuddha Ho Manava. The other popular songs include Buddhang Namami and Jay Bhim Se.
The change in mindset in the US and Africa about colour inspired him. "They know that their forefathers were wrong, dividing people on the basis of colour, and have moved forward by learning from such mistakes."
The Navi Mumbai resident has a recording studio in Mankhurd, and will be releasing songs on a regular basis. "My next song is Democracy Zindabaad," he adds. At the concert, he will be introducing Mere Shivaba, a song dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji.
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