This Republic Day, the inaugural edition of a multidisciplinary art showcase, will bring voices from marginalised communities to the fore through rap, comedy and art
A moment from the music video titled Jungle cha Raja
With the Coldplay-mania still running high in Mumbai, the vibe in the city is inarguably ‘all yellow’. But this weekend, the hue is set to shift. This time, it’ll be blue all over — the colour synonymous with the anti-caste movement in India. Blue Jam, a rap, comedy and art showcase organised by collective Blue Material Gigs (BMG) will witness voices from artistes belonging to marginalised communities scattered across India converge under one roof.
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Madhura Ghane
For Ravi Gaikwad, comedian and co-founder of BMG, the daylong festival has been a long time coming. “Rap is inextricably tied with comedy. In the 1990s in the USA, Black comedians and rappers ran the Def Comedy Jam show. It was a no-holds-barred collaboration that amplified their voices. Our idea is to organise artistes from the margins in India for a similar revolution through art,” reveals Gaikwad, who cites pioneers like Tupac Shakur, Biggie, and Jay Z as his inspiration.
An artwork by city-based artist Shrujana Shridhar, whose works will be exhibited at the event
On the promising line-up are artistes like Ankur Tangade, a Dalit and queer comedian from Maharashtra’s Beed district. “I grew up under the wings of my parents who are social workers. I was taught lessons in humanism from a young age. Our caste identity wasn’t a topic of discussion at home. Then I moved out and saw that my identity was tied to my last name. In hindsight, coming out as queer was easier than coming out as Dalit in my social circles,” Tangade says. Tangade will be joined by city-based engineer-turned-comedian Sumer More, Delhi-based Radhe Krishna and Gaikwad who will speak about their lived experiences and the absurdity of the caste system.
Aklesh Sutar (front centre) of Swadesi Collective with Warli residents of Aarey Forest in the music video of Adivasi. Pics courtesy/YouTube
Setting the tone for the celebration will be city-based indie music collective Swadesi, alongside rising talent like Madhura Ghane, a Kalyan-based rapper who introduces us to the genre of conscious rap. “I didn’t set out to write rhymes coloured in socio-political themes, but somewhere along the way, I realised that rap has a greater purpose than entertainment,” she says. Ghane’s single Jungle cha Raja, a look into the Adivasi community’s struggle to preserve the green lungs of the city, has already received applause from stalwarts like Vishal Dadlani and rapper Badshah. “For my latest single Haq se Hijda, I travelled to a settlement of trans-identifying individuals in Santacruz to understand their experiences. After all, it is their story. My songs are merely the medium,” she adds.
Ghane isn’t new to the stage. The 27-year-old has performed at public institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University and IIT Bombay by invitation in the past. “But a collective effort like the upcoming showcase is different. One voice might reach a handful of people, and stay with even fewer. But an organised, unified movement can bring change on a scale that we might have never seen before,” she reasons.
(From left) Sumer More, Ravi Gaikwad and Ankur Tangade
When the artistes punch up with their unfiltered un-minced words, they ought to break some glass ceilings — not a pleasant sight for venues, even metaphorically. “We have been told multiple times in the past that the nature of our show puts us in a grey area that many establishments don’t want to tread onto. Eventually, we started self-censoring and working around this roadblock. But with Blue Jam, we made no compromises. It is an unabashedly Dalit and queer platform where we will voice subjects that will make you introspect. Surprisingly, people seemed to have loved it. Our early bird tickets sold like hot cakes,” Gaikwad reveals.
While the event will be the first of its kind for the young city-based collective, it is definitely not the last. “This one is to show the world that we can put on a great show while speaking our minds out. Once we make our mark, we’ll hopefully be back every year with longer lineups and grander shows,” he signs off.
On January 26; 6 pm onwards
At AntiSocial, Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel.
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