“Jahaji Music: India in the Caribbean” A Film Screening and Discussion with Surbahi Sharma Monday, April 23, 2012 – 6:00PM
From the mid-19th century, Indian laborers arrived in the Caribbean on boats, bringing a few belongings and their music with them, launching the beginnings of a remarkable cultural practice. This documentary by award-winning director, Surabhi Sharma, follows pop/rock/Indian/fusion recording artist Remo Fernandes as he travels to the Islands to discover the rhythms of India and find potential musical collaborators while weaving a story of memory, identity, and creativity. It is an attempt to make meaning of aspects of contemporary culture in Trinidad and Jamaica even as it is a witness to the nature of possibilities of artistic collaboration.

This feature-length screening will be followed by a discussion with Surabhi Sharma, an independent filmmaker whose work explores a range of subjects from music and identity to labor and globalization and women’s health. Her films have been screened at festivals throughout the world and have received awards at Film South Asia (Nepal); Karchi Film Festival (Pakistan); The Festival of Three Continents (Argentina); Eco-cinema (Greece); and India Documentary Producers’ Association among others. Sharma will also discuss her current work-in-progress, “Bidesia in Bambai,” which focuses on Bhojpuri migrants in Mumbai and themes of migration, music and mobile phones.

Sponsored by Global Studies at The New School in partnership with the India-China Institute, the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, and the Department of Anthropology at The New School for Social Research.