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Rasta man! Rasta love!

Updated on: 31 December,2016 08:22 AM IST  | 
Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya |

A handful of bands that have kept Reggae alive in India speak about the Rastafarian faith

Rasta man! Rasta love!


Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley redefined Reggae and Rasta faith through his music in the early ’60s. PIC/GETTYâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088IMAGES


"One Love! One Heart! Let's get together and feel all right," Bob Marley - the connoisseur of Reggae - explicated the Rastafarian (a religion that developed in Jamaica around 1930) ethos back in the '60s. The movement began after the coronation of Haile Selassie I as Emperor of Ethiopia. The disciples are monotheists who worship a singular God known as Jah. The Jamaican singer-songwriter died in 1981 at the age of 36, but he cemented the philosophy that is still pursued by musicians.



Riddim Funktionâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Collective is the brainchild of Subid Khan (extreme right)


The Rasta society
"It has been a community over the years. Rasta stands for righteousness. You need to spread the message of love and equality. Don't let money and material pleasures rule your word," says Subid Khan, the guitarist of Riddim Funktion Collective. The Pune-based group is deeply rooted to the Rasta mores. Their attire (a mix of green, red and gold) endorses the faith. Any form of oppression is termed as Babylon culture. The language is English but it is heavily influenced by West-African dialects. "But it is not necessary to have dreadlocks and dress in a certain way. Rastafarian is a feeling within yourself," adds Khan, who decided to explore Ska - the originator of Reggae and Rocksteady.


Delhiâu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Sultanate (left) with Begum X in one of the performances of The Ska Vengers. PIC/the clique photography

He absorbed the vibe of the music and what it stood for. "There were hardly any Reggae acts in the scene. It inspired us to go for it," he explains.

Khan believes Reggae is evergreen. "People will forever relate to the message of unity. It also carries a lot of energy, you can even dance to it," he reasons. Riddim Funktion Collective have a few interesting tunes to their credit. The track, Coco Bongo, is about having a dance party on the beach. They cover artistes like Peter Tosh, Jah9, Groundation, Skatalites, Alborosie, Capleton and more. Their immediate plan is to keep content ready for a studio album.

Layers of faith
The Ska Vengers, from New Delhi, agree that there is harmony within the community but the sound is diverse. "It is a small family that pushes the sound in India. There are bands like Reggae Rajahs and Dakta Dub who have been a part of the same scene for years, like us. We are quite different with our approach. A scene is healthy if there is diversity in sound," says Delhi Sultanate (Taru Dalmia), the lead vocalist.


Reggae Rajahs

However, he doesn't pledge to everything related to the faith. But he thinks it is necessary to acknowledge them. "Rasta also says death to all black and white oppressors. Marley sings, Chase Those Crazy Baldheads Out Of Town. Chronixx talks about taking away the guns that politicians hand out to their cronies and giving them to his recruits. I don't necessarily subscribe to these views, but it is important for they pose a challenge and are not necessarily easy to come to terms with. I am not a Rasta, though I find it deeply inspiring. What is the logical conclusion of these words in India?" asks Dalmia, who first heard Reggae as a young immigrant in Europe. He started his sound system crew when he was 15. "I loved the uplifting sound of the genre. Most of the music we were exposed to earlier was white music.

Reggae spoke to us about things that mattered," he adds.

People view Rastafarian from different perspectives. "To me, being Rasta is being a warrior," says Dalmia, who also pointed out the significance of the colours. "Rasta also stands for full emancipation from mental slavery. Red stands for the martyrs and freedom fighters, green stands for jal (water), jungle and zameen (land), gold stands for the wealth and minerals of the land. If you ignore these things, I feel you are not a true Rasta," he says.

Nonetheless, his band is popular for fusing Jazz, Funk and Rap along with Reggae. Frank Brazil, their last release in 2014, turned many heads on social media. In the intro of one of their songs, Badda, they used sitar to prove their versatility.

Reggae Rajahs, another act from the capital, called the genre heartening. "It teaches you to be aware of your own actions in the world you live in. It is music for the soul. The songs are about feeling good, falling in love and dancing. It becomes a way of life," says Raghav Dang, one among the trio. "The Reggae scene in India has progressed a lot. We have festivals like Goa Reggae Sunsplashnow. I feel all of this combined will help generate more interest in Reggae over the years," he adds.

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