Photography
BRASS BAJA
Tracing their history back to the British church and military bands of the mid-nineteenth century, the Brass band in India is a remnant of the country's colonial past and yet is now integral to its cultural weave, so much so that there are thousands of big and small bands across urban and rural India.
The ability of a brass band to create a temporal community through music makes them distinctive at weddings and other celebrations. The rhythm of the translated Bollywood songs unites the crowd, the band members, and the observers in a harmonious relationship or connection that makes them feel as though they are all together.
This body of Work consists of photographs printed 12x8 on Hahnemühle archival lustre finish paper and text of the Samrat band, which has been performing for 50 years In Ahmedabad. They are migrant farmers from a hamlet named Akola, in Amravati, Maharashtra, who travel to Ahmedabad during the wedding season, from December to April, and return to resume their farming Jobs. Similarly, the Milan band has an 80-year heritage passed down from Rafik Bhai's father to his sons.