How Daira’s ‘Jaadoo Bastar’ Tapped Into Chhattisgarh Tribal Stories

In July 2022, when Mumbai rock band Daira got the call to be a part of a workshop and perform with tribal musicians in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, there were understandably some presumptions.

Vocalist Piyush Kapoor says, “We thought should we go or not? Would they accept us, or would they say you’ve come to wreck our traditions? People think it’s a very violent place and that there are only Naxals there and you’d get kidnapped or something. People were very hospitable and very sweet. I think more people should go and explore that place. It’s very untouched and unexplored in that sense.”

After the workshop at Bastar Monsoon Festival organized by Bastar’s then-collector Rajat Bansal and the government of Chhattisgarh in July 2022, Daira decided they should go back and make five songs. The result is their new five-track collection of songs Jaadoo Bastar, featuring Bastar artists Lakheshwar Khudaram, Ablesh Kumar, Vineeta Pandey, flautist Rahul Raikwar and more.

Guitarist Shivam Pant says, “We had ideas for two songs after the jam during the workshop. The rest of the three songs came after going back there and rehearsing.”

The first song from the project, “Bailadila | Jaadoo Bastar,” was also released via the Chief Minister’s Office of Chhattisgarh’s YouTube channel. A song that extols the beauty of Bastar led by Khudaram, the Hindi lyrics of this one – and all the others on Jaadoo Bastar – were written by Alok Ranjan Srivastava.

Khudaram says in a written response that working with Daira was a new experience and hails them as “a pathfinder in taking our art culture forward.” He adds, “Innovation is needed to advance the art culture of Bastar. Folk Songs can be re-recorded with new sounds to make it appealing to new generations.”

Across other tracks, romance blooms on “Laal Pungaad | Meri Jaan” with Kumar and Pandey on vocals. “Gaye Chari Gala | Baawara Insaan” brings forward the shehnai-like mohri and introduces the song about life and nature’s cycles, the instrumentation and lyrics bearing a pastoral hue with flute. “Iya Kaye Hajaari | Mere Jaisa Hi” which opens the EP leads with reggae vibes, apt for a song about unity.

Khudaram notes that Bastar’s songs are for “every aspect of life,” from history to values, nature, emotions like joy and sorrow and farmer woes. “There is everything in the art, music and language literature of Bastar that provides an opportunity to humans to define the ideal of humanity,” the folk artist adds.

Daira have often carried a categorization of being an art-rock band, spawning mind-bending albums like the jam-driven Vipreet Buddhi in 2017. Kapoor says they’ve evolved far beyond that but did retain the lessons they gained from making an album like Vipreet Buddhi in terms of working on Jaadoo Bastar in the span of five days. To their credit, there’s also “Kahan Kahan” on this new album, which goes into a psychedelic aesthetic, prog riffs and all as they speak from the perspective of a god in the song about devotion.

Pant adds, “Over there in Bastar, it was a natural process. Since we didn’t have much time, we couldn’t risk getting stuck either. If things weren’t working, we wouldn’t spend more time on it. We’ve done that for quite a few songs.” They also worked through heavy rain and an open-air environment for recording, as opposed to a sound-proofed, studio setting. Pant adds, “It was still a fun, magical experience. It was pressurizing, so by the end of it, we were all crying.”

With Jaadoo Bastar songs all out now, Daira will also put out a nearly hour-long documentary film soon, one that goes into the process of composing, recording, and researching traditional folk songs.