Jamaica Via New Delhi

The winds of reggae are blowing in India

01 March 2012
BIPLAB MUZIBAR RAHAMAN FOR THE CARAVAN
BIPLAB MUZIBAR RAHAMAN FOR THE CARAVAN

ON A SULTRY NIGHT in late September, scores of party hunters descend upon New Delhi’s latest live music venue in the self-consciously hip enclave of Hauz Khas Village. Inside, where the air is hash-sweet and the lights are low, a hundred or so sweaty bodies—bopping heads, flapping wrists—grind to the music. A familiar track comes on and the crowd responds with an appropriate level of enthusiasm.

“Let me see your hands in the air and make some fucking noise! Make some noise for your DJs!”

And the crowd does, thumping and jerking with even more vigour.

Aarti Betigeri is an Australian journalist based in New Delhi and contributes to media outlets around the world, including Monocle and the Christian Science Monitor.

Keywords: Delhi reggae Reggae Rajahs musicians sound system music history
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