It was a long conversation with social scientist and professor Tejaswini Niranjana that led filmmaker Surabhi Sharma to make a film on Jamaican music. The two discussed how Indian labourers in the mid-19th century reached the Caribbean by boat carrying their music along and leading to new musical styles. “Trinidad has about 45 per cent Indians, and their music is an interesting mix of sounds of Indian music that they took from Bhojpuri-speaking workers, mixed up with African rhythms. It makes for a fascinating subject,” says the 43-year-old Sharma.

A performance at Kingston, Jamaica