Mumbai-based Dhamma Wings share the beliefs of Buddha and Ambedkar through song

Kabeer Shakya was all of 21 mdash with a degree in computer science mdash when he had a spiritual and musical awakening As is common for children in his community to do he set off to live the life of a monk in Bodhgaya for three months His family had suggested he experience this for a few days before joining work ldquoMy Thai teacher told me that the teachings of Buddha were from India and asked me to read more about Buddhismrdquo says Shakya a Navi Mumbai resident The more he learnt its principles the more he was mesmerizedKabeer ShakyaSoon the deep connections between Buddhism in India and Dr BR Ambedkar became apparent ldquoI read about Babasahebrsquos role in bringing attention to Buddhism in the countryrdquo he says These beliefs were a gift Shakya says he realised and they needed to be shared with everyone The best way that he knew to make them accessible to more people was through the universal art of musicThat is how the Dhamma Wings came to be in 2011 Dhamma is the doctrine of the Buddha so the bands effort is to give wings to those ideologies It comprises of five members drummer Swapnil More bass guitarist Rahul Kamble keyboardist Srijit Banerjee lead guitarist Rohan Zodge and vocalist Shakya They have performed across India and parts of the worldThe songs incorporate the teachings of both Buddha and Dr Ambedkar separately ldquoBut at the same time we try to maintain the connection that because of Babasaheb the teachings of Buddha came back in the countryrdquo informs Shakya Their originals songs include lsquoJay Bhim Sersquo lsquoJai Bhim Nara Gunjersquo lsquoAo Milke Chale Buddh Ki Oarrsquo Blending melodious tunes with elements of rock lsquoJay Bhim Sersquo comments on the need for equality using English Hindi and Marathi lyricsldquoVirtuerdquo says Shakya ldquois the biggest lesson that I have learnt from both Babasaheb and Buddha It doesnrsquot matter how welleducated you are if you donrsquot have virtuerdquo Shakya also believes that it is important for an artist ndash as much as possible ndash to use their soapbox to talk about the issues rankling their country ldquoTake the examples of Michael Jackson and Bob Marleyrdquo he says ldquoIf you listen to MJs lsquoAll I wanna say is that they dont really care about usrsquo he is trying to raise a voice for people who were being suppressed or not being heard Or take Bob Marleyrsquos lsquoNo Woman No Cryrsquo They took responsibilityhelliprdquoThe main intention behind the forming of Dhamma Wings was to counter caste discrimination As such Shakya does not want the label of a lsquoDalit rock bandrsquo applied by the media and wants the group to be known simply as a music bandLooking back at their 10year journey the lead vocalist believes that the new generation ndash especially the youth in both urban and rural areas are much more aware about social issues According to him social media has also played a huge role in this ldquoEven mainstream media has made efforts to make every voice heardrdquo he observes ldquoEarlier Babasaheb was just identified with a particular community But now there is more awareness about the fact that his teachings are universalrdquo adds ShakyaThe band is working on a song called lsquoWe are because he wasrsquo next in tribute to Babasaheb As soon as we can shoot the video we will release itrdquo With April being observed as Dalit History Month all over the world Shakyarsquos message is that everyone ought to keep educating themselves about their surroundings ldquoPeople need to raise their voices when they see injustice happening around themrdquo More awakening is due