Dance and music are things that Caribbean communities cannot live without. But little do people know that the music that is now the heart and soul of the West Indians originated from Indian labourers who settled in Caribbean islands centuries ago.
‘Jahaji Music,' an Indian documentary by Surabhi Sharma, traces the musical history of West Indies and Jamaican communities through the eyes of Indian musician Remo Fernandes.
‘Jahaji Music' was an attempt to know more about the contemporary culture in Trinidad and Jamaica and also to experiment fusion between their music and our native one, said Ms. Sharma, speaking at the screening of the documentary, as part of the One Billion Eyes – Indian Documentary Film Festival here on Monday.
Her documentary is one of the 13 films selected by a panel of judges for the film festival. One Billion Eyes, organised by Prakriti Foundation, is themed ‘Festival.' “We select the themes by the alphabetical order. With this being sixth edition, we decided to call it Festival,” said Ranvir Shah, trustee of the Foundation.
The film festival received 30 entries and a jury comprising writer Azhar Tyabji, Bharathanatyam dancer S.Jayachandran, film and art critic Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan selected the entries.
The festival concludes on Thursday. The screening begins at 6 p.m. at Russian Cultural Centre auditorium.
Lectures and discussions are also part of the festival.
