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Rock to the naatch
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Indian Ocean gives contemporary quality to Indian sound while retaining its authenticity
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MUSICAL WAVES Indian Ocean’s oeuvre extends well beyond the naatch music
Why do they say that the band Indian Ocean plays fusion music? I heard it play for the first time last year and my credentials as an aficionado of music are absolutely zilch. Yet, as Ashim Chakravarthy’s raw, powerful voice drew me into the com
fort zone I instinctively knew the label did not quite fit. This was singing from the heart of the Hindi belt. People elsewhere in the country might not take easily to the earthiness exhibited by the brethren from Arrah, Ballia and Chapra. But in many ways they exemplify more than most others, the stubborn rootedness that defines us as Indians. Their oeuvre, of course, extends well beyond the “naatch” music. After all, the song “Kandisa” emanates from a milieu totally different from that of the Bhojpuris. Folk musicians from places such as Muzzafarpur are also not likely to equip themselves with Moroccan drums, electric guitars and percussion sets. But if the tonal quality of Indian Ocean’s music provides a guide, the Bhojpuri folk tradition would appear to make for a great part of its lineage.
This was the kind of music one had been waiting for. Sure, there are several bands that are fusing other strains of music with the Indian and some of them might well boast a musical education superior to that of Ocean’s foursome. Praise for one band does not imply lack of respect for the others.
In fact, the emergence of bands that give contemporary quality to Indian music while retaining its authenticity can only be welcomed.
Let’s be clear that film music is not a part of this discussion. One is talking of the bands that would make the college festival circuit in the 1970s and 80s.
They usually followed a route that was the direct opposite of the one taken by Ocean and its ilk. They were so firmly rooted in the western tradition that they probably found the transition too difficult. The times were probably like that. The university crowd’s collective consciousness would come alive only when the weather turned cool. Long hair, second-hand army jackets and heavily scented air were de rigueur at these festivals. The audiences seemed to demand that every such gathering become a replica of Woodstock and the musicians were only too ready to oblige.
But, it would so usually happen, some of the bands would try to slip their own compositions into the medley of CCR, S&G and Bob Dylan numbers and — depending on intoxication levels — the world would turn flat for the duration. They seemed unable to connect with the tastes, sensibilities, interests and concerns of audiences comprising middle to upper class Indians. This is not to say, as too many of my generation are wont to, that rebelliousness was very much in the air at that time. Nonsense! Not very many of us were seriously involved in the fiery movements of that period. What we did share was a culture of irreverence and hardly any musician gave expression to it.
So, Bhole! To Ocean and its ilk. The Indian music scene is finally rocking. But as you swing to the songs of Indian Ocean remember that the musical waves hitting you did not originate in the Caribbean. You will be swaying to the rhythms that rippled forth from the mouths and the dholaks of men sitting on chaupals by the banks of the Ganga and singing “Tu hille pathli kamar tho, pura jilla hille la! Arrah hille, Chapra hille, Hiillolaare Balliaaaa”.
KESAVA MENON
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
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Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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