E-Paper
Delhi?s quota of Sufi reggae
The new band Manthan is trying to make another statement as it is singing rock in the language of the masses.
They recently told the government: Aukat mein reh ke bol. OK. It was just through a song, sung in support of the striking doctors at the AIIMS campus on Monday. But it says a lot about the band Manthan, that knows how to send its message across through music.
Vocalist Vikrant Mohan says: "Through this song, we are trying to tell the policy makers to look at the situation from other people’s perspective."
New born Manthan is trying to make another statement as it is singing rock in the language of the masses —- Hindi even as Urdu-Hindi Pakistani rock bands invade the trite Indipop segment by the day. Euphoria had tried to do that some years ago but had soon turned into a sort of folk rock band.
Manthan is an amalgamation of musicians from four erstwhile bands of the city —- Mohan was with Every Mother’s Nighmare, guitarist Ish Anand was with 100 Octane, drummer Samrat Chatterjee played with Saptrishi and bassist Nikhil Bajaj belo nged to Psyekik Volts.
Manthan is currently working with the Sufi poetry of Amir Khusro and Bulle Shah, among others.
And while they have a reggae-tinged rendition of Khusro’s Chhap Tilak Sab Chhini and a rap version of Nit Kher Manga, they also have Machli, a fun-filled song on college life and Siskiyan, bordering on mid-life crisis. Anyone for Sufi rap or Sufi reggae?
