Mumbai based 'Rubber Band' strikes the right chord for social causes

Rubber Band performs live

The idea of busking is as commonplace in the West as a group of bhajan singers is in a Mumbai local. But it's rare to find a person on an Indian street singing songs with a guitar slung around his shoulder. Yet, the genesis of acoustic outfit Rubber Band goes back to the day of the Mumbai Marathon in 2008, when businessman Rohit Chabria sang guitar-based songs with a bucket placed in front of him, hoping to collect money for an NGO called Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA).

"The next year, I asked some of my school friends who play music to join me. And we decided on the name Rubber Band because we can stretch ourselves to accommodate any number of people. We have been performing at the marathon for eight years now, and sometimes have 20 to 40 kids joining us," Chabria says.

He adds that the outfit also collaborates regularly with another NGO called CanKids, which works towards raising awareness about children with cancer. "We just played a gig for them this Thursday, when a car rally was also flagged off. The drivers will travel through Mumbai to Nashik to Aurangabad and a few other places, spreading the NGO's message," he continues.

Chabria also tells us that the band - which mainly plays covers of rock hits - is performing an opening set for Irish folk group The Kinkellys at a city venue tonight. "It's been two years since we've been playing public gigs outside of charity shows, though playing for a cause remains at the centre of what we do," the vocalist says, revealing how the ethos of the band remains the same as that day in 2008 when he turned busker to do a good turn.

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