Avantika Sunderlal- Week 10


SUMMARY- MUSIC
My first realisation was that I wasn’t even aware about the lack of representation of Dalits in the sphere of music. Their music is an example that shows us about how scarcely they are represented in every sphere and despite having beautiful albums these bands are not popular. In todays day and age when some like “Dhinkchak pooja” can go viral, it is strange that very few people have heard of these musicians. The lack of awareness and representation of Dalit music is akin to their existence in our lives; extremely essential but not respected or applauded. Their struggles and realities of the atrocities they face are a part of their music, maybe that is the reason we don’t listen to them. The truth is always bitter. The Dhamma Wings band motto is “The band for truth” I heard their songs called “Jai Bhim Se” which is a tribute to Babasaheb Ambedkar, wherein the lyrics thank him for his contribution to Dalits and his continuous fight for equality. The song was shot in the Ajanta and Ellora caves.
We celebrate all the leaders that fought for our independence and helped shape independent India. However, we do not listen to a single song related to the man who drafted our constitution. We pride ourselves to be a diverse nation with several languages, religions, and cultures. The singer/lyricist wrote and sang the abovementioned song in three languages – Hindi, Marathi, and English. Even if one isn’t able to understand two lines in the song, one is sure the comprehend the other two. We sing along to songs from different countries, songs we don’t even know the meaning to. It’s time we started listening to both Dalits and Dalit musicians.

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