A Rebel’s Anthem
TARU DALMIA, 35, MUSIC ARTISTE AND ACTIVIST
‘How many souls di whola dem enslave
how many countries dem done invade dem come and dig dem owna grave
dem crushed deh by dem owna weight babylon come – dema use us like slaves’
-Comrades, The Bant Singh Project
FREEDOM TO SPEAK OUT He is one of the few Dancehall artistes in the country practising a genre, a variation of the popular Reggae, that is still largely unexplored in the country. “All art or cultural production should challenge people's perception in some way,” believes Taru Dalmia, also known by his stage name—Delhi Sultanate.
WHY REGGAE? “The charisma, black power politics and fierce anti-colonialism of Reggae music appealed to me,” says Dalmia. As a student of history (he is alumnus of Hindu College, Delhi University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi), he wanted a name that signifies where he is from. “It’s common in Reggae music for entertainers to adopt names that signify power. Often ghetto artists will add military titles to their names, such as General and Brigadier,” says Dalmia of the reasons behind his stage moniker.
SOUND POWER Through collaborations with traditional music artistes across the country—Bant Singh, a Dalit activist, and Gaddar from Telangana, as well as Odisha bard, Sallu Majhi, Dalmia’s music is a social commentary that tells the undiscovered story of the country. “The current regime is trying its best to find ways to control artistic output. If art was not effective, writers and artistes in India would not have be murdered and intimidated and there would be no attempts at gleichschaltung (standardisation of political, economic and social institutions) in the country,” says the artiste.
RECLAIMING MUSIC Dalmia, who is also part of Ska Vengers—a Delhi-based band whose music is a unique mix of jazz, ska, rap and punk genres— is currently on tour in the UK to promote the band’s new album, XX. He is also busy with the Bass Foundation Roots Sound System, launched in April this year, in an effort to reclaim the way artistes reach out to the audience, cutting through the layer of sponsors and venues.
FREEDOM IS “There is profound unfreedom,” says Dalmia, adding that “we live under matsya
nyaya, the law of the fish, where the big eat the small. We fear the strong and oppress the weak. That’s not how it should be and we need to take back control of our lives.”