World Music Day: Lucknow’s all-woman band inspiring social good one song at a time

LUCKNOW In a world where item songs sexualise women for quick fame, they chose to write songs that contribute to female empowerment; in a world where rockstars often dress like Met Gala celebrities on stage, they chose a traditional saree; and in a world where meaningless rhymes are frequently making it to the list of chartbusters, they are winning hearts with meaningful songs that highlight social evils.

They are the ‘Meri Zindagi’ music band from Lucknow — which currently has five ‘household’ women who set the stage on fire everywhere they tour. Started in 2010 with modest resources by Dr Jaya Tiwari, the band has, so far, performed in 50 cities in more than 550 concerts. Their rising popularity assumes great significance not just because they are India’s first all-female music band but also because of their principles.

“Despite popular demand and lucrative money, we don’t perform Bollywood songs. We only perform the songs that we write and compose. Social change and not money has been our motivation. We would never promote songs with lyrics that deride or sexualise women,” said Tiwari. Instead of choosing quick money by agreeing to perform Bollywood songs, all members of the band juggle their passion for music and social change with a regular job for financial stability.

Another striking feature about the band, as mentioned earlier, is that they only perform in sarees. “We don’t want to dress flashy and come across to our audience as distant personalities. On the contrary, we want to become the voice of those who have been suppressed, wronged, or just neglected. When we perform in sarees, regular household women identify with us,” said Tiwari.

Sharing the journey of her band, Tiwari said, “It started with three women and one guitar in 2010. We used kitchen utensils as music instruments during our initial days. We would think of the lyrics and the rhythm of our songs while doing household chores.”

For its groundbreaking work in raising awareness towards social issues, the band has received several awards from government, social, and private organisations. The band is credited with creating jingles for 1090 Women Power Helpline, Women Honour Cell, and a song for Mahila Bal Kalyan Vibhag which was launched by the chief minister himself. Recently, the band performed for the Indian Army in the Union territory of Kashmir.

While the band has fans across the country today, its members had to face enough obstacles just to set things in motion initially. “I remember how hard it would be for us to find a place and time for jamming sessions. Sometimes, it still is. We couldn’t do it in our houses as others would get disturbed. So, a lot of times, we jam together in public parks,” said Tiwari.

Delving into the creative process of the band, Tiwari added, “We believe good ideas can strike anywhere and at any time. Therefore, our process is very organic. Like our song ‘tempo-rickshaw’ was written after one of our band members had an unpleasant experience during a public transport ride.”

She added, “Our music is a fusion of Indian and Western. While our band may use rap music to highlight a cause, we also take inspiration from Uttar Pradesh folk music. Not all our songs highlight women’s issues. We also sing about the water crisis, pollution, and tobacco usage, among others. I also want to highlight here that just because our band raises women’s issues, it doesn’t mean that we are ‘anti-men’ in any way.”

In a similar vein, Niharika Dubey, who plays synth for the band, said, “After every concert, we feel like warriors fighting against social evils. Our instruments are our weapons. Our band gives a platform to women who can sing or play an instrument and are passionate about bringing a social change. I want to highlight the mission of our band through one of our songs — hum hi hain shakti, hum hi tarakki, humein garv hai, hum beti hain (we are the power, we are progress, we are proud to be daughters).”