BENGALURU : When Ed Sheeran joined a motley crew of teenagers wielding paint buckets and oil cans for a performance, it wasn’t the usual pop star collaboration. But then, Dharavi Reloaded isn’t your average band. This group of young musicians from Mumbai’s Dharavi – often considered the largest slum in the world – have spent the last decade creating rhythm out of discarded waste material. Their recent performance on The Great Indian Kapil Show, which aired on OTT on May 18, alongside the British pop star was nearly a decade in the making.
“I started listening to Ed Sheeran in 2014 and was fascinated by his talent. I got a chance to meet him backstage in 2015, where I told him about my passion project – Dharavi Reloaded. He was impressed and expressed interest in collaborating someday. Fast forward to 2024, I got in touch with him again, and through various resources and connections, we made it happen. Dharavi Reloaded and Sheeran performed together on The Great Indian Kapil Show,” shares an excited Abhijit Jejurikar, a Bengaluru resident and the founder of Dharavi Reloaded. “When I heard he was coming to India in 2024, I wanted to do a meet and greet and show him the progress the kids have made. His team suggested we collaborate, and The Great Indian Kapil Show was the perfect platform. It was a dream come true for any artiste, especially being a fan of Ed Sheeran and driving social impact with the kids. Ed Sheeran, himself having come from humble beginnings, believes music can happen from anywhere. Collaborating and performing with him was a manifestation of our dreams,” he adds.
Borne out of Jejurikar’s desire to create a platform for the youth of Dharavi, shortly after he moved from his hometown Pune to Mumbai more than a decade ago, Dharavi Reloaded takes inspiration for its music from the prime economic activity of the area – recycling waste. “When I moved to Mumbai, I was working as a marketing professional. But as a musician, I always wanted to give back to society. That’s when I started this band. My purpose was to give a platform to slum kids from Dharavi, showcase their talent, and create a bond between communities through music. Dharavi being the largest recycling hub, I thought it would be cool to make music using waste materials like drum barrels, oil cans, paint buckets, water bottles, etc. That’s how the band began, and we started performing in Mumbai. As the band gained popularity, we began performing across India. This platform has really helped these kids grow, gain confidence, and earn a livelihood,” he shares.
The band’s sound is as distinctive as their instruments. Drum barrels, water bottles, and oil cans are repurposed into bass drums, snare drums, and a myriad of other percussive elements. The resulting sound is raw, energetic, and undeniably infectious. Elaborating on their performance, Jejurikar says, “It’s an engaging and interactive percussive act where the kids, Sheeran, and Kapil Sharma performed together. I conducted the entire act, showcasing different percussive acts with a juggler between two groups. This collaborative performance was a segment in the show, towards the end.”