Kaun Bataye? – a crowd-sourced video single by Delhi-based band Dastaan LIVE – asks who will provide answers to why religious animosity still continues to brew in India. Presented in a modern pop-rock format, this song-poetry addresses the Partition, the 1984 riots, the Babri Masjid massacre, and other violent communal issues till date.
Among the Dastaan LIVE band members, Jagtinder Singh Sidhu does the lead vocals. Sumant Balakrishnan and Shubanshu Singh accompany him on guitar and provide background vocals with Pinak Mokashi and Sudheer Rikhari. Bassist Anirban Ghosh and drummer Nikhil Vasudevan set the beat for the song.
Co-Founder, Anirban Ghosh aka Baan, found these verses by an anonymous poet on a blog in 2004. “I have tried hard to locate the poet. If you find them, please get in touch with us at dastaanlive@gmail.com,” requests Ghosh. Over the years, Baan put together a rough structure for the song. “At the beginning of Dastaan LIVE, I helped refine the existing structure to what we have released today.
We recorded it at the erstwhile Ghar ka Studios prior to the pandemic and re-mastered it in May 2021,” shares Balakrishnan aka Bala, the other Co-Founder, who adds, “This single lets us vent out our frustration at current events in the country. It is about the fact that the more things change the more they remain the same.”
On where the problem exists in our democracy, Baan says, “We feel strongly about wanting to live in a more equitable and just society, and have open conversations and opinions about the happenings around us.” The highlight of this song is the video. Around mid-May, the band uploaded a poster on their social media pages, asking those interested to be part of the video to write in.
Those who did were asked to send video entries of questions they have for India, which were then stitched into the final video. In these clippings, you can see people doing an array of dance movements and in diverse attires, holding placards asking questions like “Is India still a democracy?’
“This song belongs to the public, who keep raising their concerns and issues, and asks questions they want answers to. Since the video was conceptualised and executed in the second wave, we requested everyone to shoot at their convenience.”
Excerpts from Kaun Bataye?
Dharam kahan, Imaan kahan hai,
Khuda kahan, bhagwaan kahan hai?
Aaj bhi kal ke jaisa kyun hai?
Aaj bhi kal ke jaisa kyun hai?
Kaun bataye kisse pooche, Sab to hai insaan kahan hai?
Jale hue yeh ghar kiske hai?Kate hue yeh sar kiske hai?
Naaze aur khanjar kiske hai?
Yeh khooni manzar kiske hai?
Aaj bhi kal ke jaisa kyun hai?
Aaj bhi kal ke jaisa kyun hai?
Where is religion? Where is faith?
Where is god? Where is the almighty?
Why does nothing ever change?
Why is today the same as yesterday?
Who do these burnt out houses belong to?
Whose are these severed heads?
Who do these daggers belong to?