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How Mumbai's East Indian bands are preserving the culture of the community
Updated On: 24 December, 2022 10:56 AM IST | Mumbai | Tanishka D’Lyma
Seeped in nostalgia-dipped notes, the rich musical legacy of the city’s East Indian bands plays a crucial role in uniting and preserving the stories and traditions of this community
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The Jesus Band in action
On February 14, 2019, Melody Fereira was gifted a saxophone by her father Valerian Fereira aka Valley Master. This is how East Indian (EI) bands have survived, with music — a gift of love, tradition and culture — being handed down from family members or musicians within the hamlet. We visited the two residents of Uttan at Manori earlier this week, where the master’s band, Jesus Band Uttan, played for the EI Marathi singing competition.
Valley Master was drawn to music from a young age, watching the neighbourhood band play at wedding processions, Umbracha Panis, and EI singing competitions. “Everyone has a hobby. Music is mine,” he shares. Approaching the older boys to teach him, the master started out by carrying drums and playing smaller instruments like tambourines and bass drums. Valley Master, now 51, set up Jesus Band in 2015, but has been playing and teaching music for over 30 years. Today, the band has 12 members anchoring the drum set, trumpet, saxophone, keyboard, and bass and lead guitar.
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