‘Zubaan’ crosses language barrier to tap independent musical talent

Nagpur: Two graduates from IIT-Bombay, a group of farmer families from Wardha and a poet from Katol are jamming in an agricultural field in Paradsinga, 60km from here. Together, they are trying to create compositions, unheard of.
Connecting independent artists from all over the country to introduce the idea of independent music is Zubaan, a movement started by 24-year-old Kavish Seth.In the ongoing land art festival at Paradsinga, Seth and Kovid Sonawane raised farmer issues with revolutionary songs. “With this collaboration, we tried to highlight their problems through their words,” Kavish said.
About one-and-a-half years ago, Kavish went for an 8,000km ‘Jagriti yatra’. During a halt at a village near Gorakhpur, he was playing guitar when some locals told him about Bhola Ram, a village man who is expert in playing baja.
Kavish approached Bhola Ram and the two started jamming and amalgamating tunes. “Something wonderful came up that day and it became the turning point for me,” recalled Kavish.
Soon after this, Zubaan was born. “We go to villages and cities in search of local independent artists. After striking a chord, we collaborate with them to compose fresh songs. To make their work reach the masses, we create public performing spaces,” Kovid said.
The idea took a little time to be accepted but is now serving the purpose. In the last three weeks, Zubaan has organized 8-10 live gigs in different corners of the country. “We try to hold at least four concerts a month. Sometimes we sell concert tickets, sometimes we work on ‘pay as you wish’ model. We have received contributions ranging from Rs40 to Rs24,000,” Kavish said.
Local artists not just perform in their hometowns but also travel for joint performances. “Mixing cultures and combining their and our knowledge produces an evolved music. In a country like India, we need to have an independent music industry,” the duo said.
Zubaan has discovered many artists from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Odisha and Maharashtra. The group has also been invited to Russia this month to partake in an international music festival. “Any local artist is an indie artist. To us, it doesn’t matter what language the song has or what kind of instrument an artist plays. Melodies can be different but the spirit remains same,” the artists said.