Revolution Evolution

Station Desi-fication

Like most New Yorkers, I decided to go club-hopping on the weekend after the magnificent fireworks display. But as I got down on the dance floor with my two left feet, I heard something awkwardly familiar. The primarily gora crowd went wild to the opening warped riffs of the retro craze, “Yeh Mera Dil” from Don. I was undoubtedly the only one who identified the Kalyanji-Anandji hit, because everyone seemed to recognize it as the opening to Don’t Phunk With My Heart, the latest No. 1 from the Black Eyed Peas (of Hey Mama fame). This is not the first time that BEP has used a desi influence in their music, as the Elephunk Theme is appreciably inspired by an obscure, devotional Illaiyaraja number. My only question is – where do these bands dig up these songs from?

This trend of desi-influenced vocal and instrumental samples, re-initiated in this decade by Truth Hurts (who sampled the now-overused Kaliyon ka Chaman in their track, Addictive, much to the exuberant shock of the garishly bedecked Bappi “Finally, they recognize my music” Lahiri), was sustained by several artists and producers in the US, including Missy Elliott and Timbaland. Then, Punjabi MC’s Beware of the Boys happened and voila, desi music became hot property, regardless of the fact that no one in the West had the slightest clue what the over-zealous Sardarji was blaring about. And no, I’m not going to use the cliché here. Well, maybe just once. Here goes. Of course, music transcends languages and borders. Sorry, that was irresistible. But, I digress.

My point is that desi music is finally on the verge of arriving, in the global sense (beyond Bhangra, which has carved a niche of its own). And by arriving, one implies reaching a musical destination beyond radio-quality vocal samples and tabla loops – a destination where our music is recognized as a whole, and given its own identity and space – quite like Salsa or Merengue, which are appreciated in their original element.

And one hallmark in this global awakening is the recent nationwide launch of MTV World, and its crowning glory, MTV Desi. In a land where channels like Zee and Sony Entertainment TV are categorized as minority programming, MTV’s creative crew had the ball-point pens to sketch out a revolutionary new concept – bringing international music to American audiences in their own distinct vehicles. MTV Desi is part of a triumvirate, along with MTV-K (Korean) and MTV-Chi (Chinese), and is poised to create a rivulet for South Asian music into the mainstream, and also act as a platform for South Asian artists in the United States. Thousands of people were awe-struck on July 9^th in Times Square (which is referred to by many as the center of the world) as the video of Rabbi Shergill’s Bulla Ki Jaana played on humongous electronic billboards to mark the launch of the channel. And what’s even more interesting is that the visionary behind MTV World shares a deep connection with my homeground, Dubai.

I met up with Nusrat Durrani, GM/SVP of MTV World recently and he said, “I was in Dubai from ’90 to ’95 and it continues to fascinate me. Dubai is a great example of how variant cultures can co-exist”. He shared the fact that the seed for MTV World was germinated when he saw the television launch of MTV India, while he was handling the Marketing Department of Honda at the Al-Futtaim Group in Dubai. With music interests as variant as Begum Akhtar and Bob Dylan, and a striking resemblance to Mick Jagger, Nusrat, a native of Lucknow, is credited with coming up the hard way during his 9-years with MTV and single-handedly driving the MTV World juggernaut from conception to launch. Although they currently piggy-back on their counterparts, MTV India, for content, Desi has recruited a couple of VJs and is developing local content. Although their heart is in the right place, only time and TRPs will tell whether MTV Desi does manage to achieve its place in the sun or fade out like a lullaby.

Spotted! Desi residents on the chic and expensive Upper West Side of New York (yes, all four of them) now have a delectable new food joint to call their own. After the success of the open-till-late, Calcutta-street food Kati Rolls in the West Village which has answered the prayers of many a post-clubber dying for food on a Saturday night, the newbie Roti Roll brings a very popular desi favorite to New York – Bombay Frankees. Although it does disappoint when compared to the sumptuous and one-of-a-kind original, its fun to see Indian food catch on in New York – not to mention, to watch the gora-folk down water by the gallon after the Achari Paneer Roll. Hee hee!