By Vijay Kumar Sah
Dhalkebar, Feb.1: Wedding bands, colloquially known as Band Baja, are a good source of income for many Chamar families of Madhes. These families, who work in other’s fields all year, celebrate the arrival of wedding season because it allows them to earn a little extra cash by playing musical instruments.
However, with people these days preferring to hire Disco Jockeys (DJs), Band Bajas have begun going out of fashion.

“DJs are the fad these days, even in the rural areas,” said musician Pavitar Ram, 57, of Mithila Municipality-1, Dhanusha, who has been playing in a wedding band for the past 25 years. “In a few years, we might not get any work at all.”

Until a few years ago, Pavitar used to earn Rs. 1,500 from every wedding he played at. He used this money to educate his four children and feed his family.
“However, this is just a memory now,” he said. “People no longer call us to play at weddings and even if they do, they do not pay us our asking price,” Pavitar, who lives in a mud house on a piece of barren (Ailaani) land, added.

Pramod Ram, 28, of Chhaghadiya, Ganeshman Charnath Municipality, also shared a similar experience. “I used to get Rs. 2,000 per wedding,” the piano player said. “DJs have replaced Band Baja at weddings. Work is drying up.”

Pramod informed that he only played at five weddings in January. Last year, despite the pandemic, he was called for 12. “We are getting less and less work every year. I don’t know how long we can last.”
Similarly, Satrudhan Sada, 48, of Bhangaha Municipality-2, Mahottari, got to sing at a single wedding this past month. “You may not find Band Baja at weddings these days but you will definitely find a DJ.”
“That tells you everything you need to know about the state of our profession,” the father of four said.

Ghuran Sada, manager of the Saraswoti Band Baja group, told The Rising Nepal that they needed to earn at least Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 100,000 per wedding to break even. “We need to buy musical instruments, uniforms and manage transportation for the musicians. All that costs around Rs. 300,000.”

However, Sada is forced to accept amounts of less than Rs. 30,000. “Because the alternative is joblessness,” he said.
Sada shared that wealthy families still hired bands to maintain their prestige but middle and lower-income families chose DJs.