Mukund Ramaswamy: Our mission is to plant Kabir's thoughts among people

With five members ' Neeraj Arya (vocalist), Raman Iyer (mandolin), Viren Solanki (djembe, tabla and drums), Poubuanpou Britto KC (bass guitarist) and Mukund Ramaswamy (violinist) ' the band lends its own renditions to the earthy Kabir baanis. In sync with the popular tradition of disseminating his teachings orally, they're doing so with the help of music, its most popular medium.
The two-year-old band, which creates organic music, is the brainchild of Neeraj who has been performing Kabir's poetry for six years. 'All of us come from diverse musical backgrounds and when I met these guys, I told them that I thrive on Kabir's poems. Owing to their universality, his verses resonated with all of us and we took to it,' says the frontman.
Explaining their band name, Raman says, 'Before the band was formed, Neeraj had performed with different people for various events. It thus became similar to a caf', a place best suited for conversations. Similarly, our songs too are interspersed with conversational verses and the popular phrase, 'Kehat Kabir Suno Bhai Saadho'.'
Resorting to the tamasha style of addressing the crowd, most evident in 'Hoshiyar Rehna,' it is reminiscent of your college katta.
On their a-ha moment: Their annual participation at the Malwa Kabir Yatra, which takes place in the hinterlands of India, is a major highlight. 'We've been performing there for the past few years in front of 7,000 to 8,000 people. All their lives are deeply rooted in Kabir's teachings and when they appreciate our work, we feel we've made it,' says Neeraj. Their collaboration with Vishal Dadlani on Dewarists was yet another turning point, which helped them enter the mainstream music scene.
On their brand of music: While the instruments they use are Western, Neeraj's vocals give the poems a freestyle folk flavour, a pre-requisite when adapting Kabir's work. 'At the core of it, we're performing poetry and embellishing it with our music. Our mission is to plant Kabir's thoughts among people,' says Mukund.
On their musical influences: Neeraj's rendezvous with Kabir began after he watched Had Anhad, a documentary on Kabir. His meeting with Prahlad Singh Tipaniya, who travelled all over the world propagating Kabir poetries, and Mir Mukhtiar Ali's works further changed things for him. Bob Marley is another significant influence in all their lives. They believe that Marley and Kabir have preached the same things in different eras.
On their way forward: The band has gigs lined up, the proceeds of which will go to Kabir Yatra followed by the tour itself. Their next big plan includes recording an album, tentatively in the month of March. 'We, too, want to make it to people's playlists,' says Neeraj.