His music is not in French, but in Creole language and it depicts more about the conflict of the mind an individual of his generation faces, even today, after his island, Réunion turned into one of the overseas départements of France.
His music is not in French, but in Creole language and it depicts more about the conflict of the mind an individual of his generation faces, even today, after his island, Réunion turned into one of the overseas départements of France. Danyel Waro, speaking to this DNA, expresses his love for music, Maloya and the historical conflicts and changes his generation has seen and sometimes faces even today.
Explaining the circumstances in which he tumbled upon the traditional music of the slaves' Maloya, Waro said that, "Music was banned in our houses back then and was absent for a long time, until I heard Firmin Viry, who is still alive playing Maloya in the open. I swayed to it and realised that this revolutionary music was what I wanted to learn and play for my people. It helped me fill my senses with social and family life understanding and helped me find my own identification."
Viry's concert was organised by the Communist Party of Reunion (PCR) and Waro saw Maloya as a political weapon against the metropolitan power.
"This urge to fight against the conflict, politically and socially existing around me and the conflict of my inner mind pushed me towards reliving this traditional music and I slowly started composing my own numbers and musical instruments."
It was only post 1981 that Waro and many others in his league discovered the freedom to express. Waro said that, "Although black-white, we were declared free, but our minds were deeply impacted by our past and hence music helped us express our conflicts, thoughts and expressions."
"I used to partake in a lot many Indian religious processions that started becoming a part of our island, post settlements of Indians, Chinese, Indian Muslims and Africans. The religious processions carried out by Indians on the basis of their various deities, chapels and temples of these deities, has also helped me discover different forms and types of music which I could incorporate with mine", Waro says.
For 30 years, Waro has been practicing Hinduism and is also a fire-walker along with his other Indian counterparts back on the island. Son of a farmer, Waro continues to remain true to his tradition.
(Danyel Waro will perform at Vastrapur Lake today from 8pm onwards)
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