Siddis of India: A Cultural Evening at NGMA Bangalore

Panel Discussion at NGMA-B

When I got the invite from NGMA-B (National Gallery of Modern Art – Bangalore) for a cultural program related to Siddis, the first thing that came to my mind was whether it was on a weekday or a weekend. Many of their earlier programs had fallen on weekdays, and I was not able to attend. Fortunately, this one was on a Saturday. I made a note in my mind and closed the email invite.

Siddis are an ethnic community of African origin. They are descendants of Bantu people from East Africa, who were brought to India as slaves, soldiers, and mercenaries for the Deccan Sultanates, and as seafarers who later became settlers. Perhaps the most famous Siddi in India is Malik Ambar.

I first came across the word Siddi when I read about Malik Ambar long back. Born in 1548 in Ethiopia, Malik Ambar came to India as a slave and became a soldier in the Ahmadnagar Sultanate. He quickly rose through the ranks and became regent (administrator) of Sultanate. He is remembered for successfully resisting the expansion of Mughal Empire into the Deccan during the reign of Jehangir. Malik Ambar founded a city called Kadki, which his son Fateh Khan renamed Fatehnagar. Later, when Aurangzeb conquered the area, he renamed it Aurangabad. Since the recent governments are on a renaming spree, I checked whether there was any plan to rename Aurangabad. Looks like government already did it in 2023; new name of the city is - Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The city Malik Amber founded is the largest city in Marathwada region of Maharashtra.

Siddi's Dance at NGMA-B

Again, I came across Siddis again while reading about famous Murud-Janjira Fort (off the coast of Raigad district in Maharashtra). This was one of the most powerful forts in India. Siddis rebuilt the original wooden fort built by fishermen here using stone in early 1100s. They Siddis controlled it for next eight and a half centuries, withstanding repeated attacks by powerful Marathas. They retained control until India’s independence.

So, it was very exciting to attend NGMA-B program about Siddis. Unfortunately, due to notorious Bangalore traffic, we missed the first session on a film about them. Instead, we started with snacks they had prepared. Among them was a special pakoda made using a small leaf and a couple of other items. I asked about the leaf, and they told me the name, but I cannot recall it while writing this article. Online searches bring up many images and names of different leaves, but not this exact one.

After snacks came a panel discussion, where two leaders from the Siddi community, along with others involved in the Damami initiative, shared their thoughts. Damami is a women-led homestay project in Lingadabailu village, Yellapur taluka (Uttara Kannada, Karnataka), located in Western Ghats. The word Damami comes from a traditional Siddi musical instrument of same name.

The Siddis today are mostly located along the coastal areas of Western Gujarat, Karnataka (Uttara Kannada, Dharwad, and Belagavi districts), Goa, and the Konkan coast of Maharashtra. They also have a small presence in Hyderabad as well. Siddhi's religious affiliations are mixed – depending on the region, they follow Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity. In Gujarat, Karnataka, and Goa, they are recognized as Scheduled Tribes. In Karnataka, they are additionally classified as a PVTG (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group).

Contrary to their powerful past with Murud-Janjira, Siddis today face significant challenges. Living in rural and forested areas, they struggle with poverty, economic hardships, and social marginalization. Their population size is also declining. Even though the panel discussion was short, the passionate answers and statements by Mohan Ganapati Siddi highlighted the multiple issues faced by the community.

The program concluded with vibrant dance performances by the Siddi community. As I left the auditorium, I thought about staying in one of the homestays operated by the Siddis under the guidance of  Sanjeevani Rural Livelihood Mission. It would be an opportunity to experience life up close with an ethnic group of African origin, to see how they have assimilated into Indian culture, and to witness the traditions – dance, music, and instruments – that they still carry in their hearts from the other side of the Arabian Sea.

Sajeev

You can see recording of full program by NGMA-B here -> 'DAMMAI- Dreams, Drums & Roots | NGMA-B'

On reading

Four years ago, I took up Goodread's annual reading challenge and set a target of 36 books. I was quite confident that I would finish much more than 36 (three books per month). By the way, that confidence wasn’t backed by any past history (just my overconfidence). Twelve months came and went, but I completed only 5-6 books. Next year, I kept the same target; only to fail once more. Next year, target was reduced to 12 - and still fell short. Finally, this year, I decided not to set any target at all!!!

I’m not a voracious reader, but I do enjoy reading. If it’s a thrilling novel, an interesting work of fiction, or even biographies (that doesn’t try too hard to showcase the author’s command over language), I can finish it quickly. But when it comes to business, non-fiction, or self-improvement books - often written in dense, heavy language - turning the pages becomes a struggle. More often end up leaving those books half way and end up just another entry in my book shelf.

With the explosion of content in YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and other numerous apps; people’s attention spans reduced considerably. Reading books, however, is not about quick consumption — it requires committed, focused, quality time. The real question is, are we still willing to invest that time and find joy in it or just run after another two minute video?

At office, we have a book club. Out of nearly 900 employees, only about 25-30 show up for monthly meetings. Organizers tried different strategies to increase participation, but without any success. This may not be the case everywhere, but I seriously doubt if many book clubs see their membership grow significantly over time.

Amazon, which started as a platform to sell books, still sells plenty of them, as do many other companies. Yet, with the rise of social media, infinite scrolling, and an ever-growing number of online creators, more people are hooked to the instant gratification of videos rather than the slow, deep world of books.

I must admit, I too consume a lot of online videos on politics, travel, technology, interviews, movies, long and short clips of different kinds. But after moving to new home recently, I thought of subscribing to a few print magazines. Electronic formats save paper and environmentally friendly; but reading a magazine end to end on web is not same as reading a printed copy. Sites  like Audiable are great too, but I often find myself forgetting the beginning by the time I reach the end. This may not be the case for everyone, but it is for me.

So, I finally subscribed to Mathrubhumi daily newspaper and its weekly magazine; also India Today, Caravan, and a couple of others. Last week, Mathrubhumi Weekly arrived with its Onam supplement, and I’ve been reading both in my free time. To my own surprise, my screen time has dropped significantly, and I now find myself turning more pages under the balcony light at midnight than staring at a mobile screen.

I don’t know if this phase will pass and I’ll drift back to binge-watching Netflix, Jio Hotstar or Amazon Prime. But for now, I’m trying to be more selective about online content and hoping to increase (or at least maintain) my current level of reading printed books and magazines.

Sajeev