Bringing to life Kabir’s timeless philosophies through their music, Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café assists the rediscovery of the 15th Century Indian mystic poet in a contemporary setting. What started as a solo venture by singer-songwriter Neeraj Arya has now grown into a band of five, featuring Mukund Ramaswamy on violin, Raman Iyer on mandolin, Viren Solanki on drums and Britto KC on bass. Hailing from Mumbai, the band recently performed at Bengaluru’s Hard Rock Café and took time out before their performance to talk about their journey and love for Kabir.
At a time when music is meandering into the mundane, the renditions of Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café provide a refreshing change. The band’s folk rock vibe fused with Kabir’s message has earned itself a following especially among the youth and they’ve performed all over the country, with a special liking for Bengaluru. “So many wonderful musicians have come from Bengaluru like Parvaaz and the Raghu Dixit Project so that base for independent musicians is already here. You don’t find this kind of space anywhere else,” says Neeraj. Raman adds: “Here, they’re very open to all kinds of music and there’s no language or regional barrier because you have Kannada, Hindi and English all happening in the same space. We’re received with so much love here.”
They cite Shabnam Virmani’s documentary films on Kabir, her Kabir Project and Prahlad Tipanya, a folk singer of Kabir, as sources for their song material. Neeraj also says they travelled regularly to Malwa to meet with folk singers there. They now have a huge database of Kabir’s poetry. But the band only performs those that resonate with them and what they’re best able to interpret and explain to the audience. “We have people ask us what certain lines mean or they offer us their interpretations of what they mean so we need to be able to understand and explain the same,” says Neeraj.
While the band solely performs music based on Kabir’s poetry, they infuse it with a lot of different styles resulting in an eclectic and unconventional mix that’s hard to stop listening to. “Genrewise, it’s hard to define, but we’re a folk-rock fusion band and we infuse it with a touch of pop, Carnatic, reggae as well as incorporate some African beats,” says Britto. “But it’s all on a folk fabric because it’s the best way to get the message out and make it accessible,” adds Raman.
Apart from Kabir, they’re also constantly inspired by other musicians like Ilayaraja, Bulle Shah, Prahlad Tipanyi and even Bob Marley. Raman believes, “Bob Marley and Kabir were essentially the same people just at different places at different times because they represented the masses, preached the same messages and created movements that rose as a result of social angst.”
When questioned about Kabir’s place in today’s context, they believe that the universality of his message transcends all limitations. Neeraj says, “There are no boundaries with Kabir, his philosophy is just as relevant today as it was hundreds of years ago.”
So they keep their music honest and true to Kabir’s message, even offering interpretations of the poetry during their performances beckoning listeners to take as much away from the performance as they can but at the end of the day all they want from the audience is, as Neerajsays, “Just imbibe the energy and be happy.”
