It is a Thursday night and the recreation room of Rieber Hall echoes with the dense classical Indian harmonies of an on-campus a cappella group as it constructs songs for its upcoming performances.
This conglomeration of voices belongs to Naya Zamaana, a Hindi word meaning “The New Era,” the campus’s premier South Asian a cappella team. Consisting of 14 students of Southeast Asian descent, group organizers said they hope to bring a novel sound to the a cappella scene through their blending of Western music and various forms of Indian music, such as Carnatic, Hindustani and Bollywood.
Naya Zamaana was created in 2006 with a specific purpose in mind: to be the first college team in Southern California to compete in the national Indian a cappella circuit and to highlight the talent of UCLA’s South Asian community.
The team’s mission statement concerns blending various musical influences.
“Our goal is to bring the world of South Asian music and Western music together to create a new fusion art form,” said captain Karthik Chandran, a fourth-year psychobiology student.
Naya Zamaana often attempts to seamlessly combine the two musical styles within the same song.
The team’s live performances also display a great deal of diversity, with the team having previously performed songs by artists such as Michael Jackson, Black Eyed Peas and A.R. Rahman. Recently, the group has even added an entirely improvisational piece to its performances.
Members of Naya Zamaana describe singing as a form of release for them.
“It’s a way for us to escape from everything else in life,” Chandran said. “It’s something to get lost in. It’s a lot of fun.”
Creating such elaborate arrangements and performances requires a great deal of time and effort. As a result, members of the team often spend their weeknights practicing. The amount of time that the performers spend together has created a strong bond between them.
“We spend so much time together, it’s like having a second family,” said Sonali Vasa, a fourth-year mechanical engineering student. “We’re working together to reach a common goal. It’s like a home away from home. Getting to know everyone is a lot of fun.”
Naya Zamaana leaders also said they hope to use their performances to promote cultural diversity and a greater knowledge of Indian culture throughout the campus.
“It’s important to showcase our Indian culture,” said Aditya Prakash, a third-year ethnomusicology student who has been trained in classical Indian music. “It’s slowly making its way into popular culture with movies like “˜Slumdog Millionaire’ and songs like “˜Jai Ho.’ This is a way for us to bring Indian classical music into that same popular light.”
Since its inception, Naya Zamaana has been steadily gaining popularity, both locally and nationally. It has grown to encompass 17 members at its peak, though that number has decreased to 14 after three members graduated.
Recently, Naya Zamaana has participated in Anahat, a South Asian a cappella music festival, and the California A Cappella Festival. They will also be performing on campus at the Indian Student Union Culture Show on Saturday.
“We’re getting a lot of gigs now,” Chandran said. “It takes a while to get out into the world of South Asian a cappella, but we’re definitely getting to be well-known now.”