NEW YORK: America isn’t the only country that knows how to spin and export fantasies. Indian pop culture is thriving in the United States. Nightclubs have picked up tabla rhythms, basement bhangra parties are packing crowds, Bollywood disco classes have boomed and Indian artists like Tina Sugandh are making a musical living in the Big Apple.
Rappers have started tapping into Indian music and the summer hit song Rock the Party by the Bombay Rockers has a pulsating bhangra beat and has given Indian music broad American appeal. The Bombay Rockers consisting of Danish duo Navtej Singh and Thomas Sardof just finished touring the US and performed their signature brand of hip-hop and Bhangra in sold-out concerts in New York.
In May last year, a major American label signed on New Jersey musician Tina Sugandh, after the chief of Hollywood Records Bob Cavallo took a shine to her singing and tabla playing. “My goal is to introduce mainstream America to some new sounds. I think it is time for our beats to shine,” said Sugandh, who believes Indian music can match America’s fascination with salsa.
A group of Indian hi-tech workers living in the Washington area just put together an east-meets-west H1 Bees concept album that the musicians dub “curry rock.” The English, Hindi and Tamil multilingual album which has seven tracks gets listeners smiling with its light-hearted take on coming to the US.The title track, also called H1Bees, follows an Indian worker through the grind of acquiring a visa, travelling to America, and settling into life here. The musicians involved in the H1Bees project say they now want to figure out a way to market their curry rock back home in India.
Raised in New York by Punjabi parents Rekha Malhotra aka DJ Rekha gets New Yorkers dancing at night clubs that transform into Bollywood discos. “I attend her bhangra basement parties at least once a month. Indian music is just so alive — it gets your feet tapping," said 26-year-old Patrick Levinson, an accounts executive with Eternal Financial Services.
Outside the nightclubs, gyms across the US, including the hugely popular Bollywood Axion and chain of New York Sports Clubs, are offering “bhangra masala” aerobic and dance classes.There is a serpentine queue to get into Indian dance instructor Pooja Narang’s Bollywood Axion in Manhattan’s bustling Times Square. “I probably get 60 to 70 emails and 20 phone calls every day from people wanting to sign up,” admits Narang, who moved from Toronto to New York four years ago to teach Bollywood-style dance.
“I have got doctors, teachers, financial analysts and professionals from different backgrounds in my class. Half my students are desi and the others are Americans — a mix of whites, Orientals, Hispanics and African Americans. A lot of my students tell me that they find Indian music and Bollywood dance routines colourful, energetic and joyous. The rhythm gets people going,” she added.
Brought up on Bollywood musicals with a Sikh Punjabi family that burst into bhangra at parties, Narang is passionate about her Indian roots and is expanding her business from Times Squareto Washington, upstate New York and Jersey. “I am planning to branch out to other US states as business is good,” said Narang.
While Indian music has hit the mainstream, immigrants and first generation Americans form a strong core to the fan base.Narang said; “The boom in Indian music is here to stay.Indian musicians like Bombay Rockers, Tina Sugandh and Punjabi MC have a big desi fan base but they are also recognised by Americans.”
“India’s pop culture and music has reached out to American audiences with films like Monsoon Wedding and Pride and Prejudice. I just finished working on Karma, Confessions and Holi which wrapped up shooting in New York — the music in the film will create waves,” predicted Narang.
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