B-boys scramble for space in Mumbai | Media Gallery | DAWN.COM
B-boys scramble for space in Mumbai | Media Gallery | DAWN.COM.
A b-boy (or break-boy) is a male dancer who practices breaking or b-boying, the acrobatic hip-hop dance style. Breaking is a style of dance that evolved among Black and Latino American youth in the Bronx, New York, during the 1970s. It is danced to both hip-hop and other genres of music that are often remixed to prolong the musical breaks.
In Mumbai, it all started two years ago, when 19-year-old Akash, who prefers to be called Aku by his friends, entered the world of dance. “I joined a computer class where they offered to teach us Breaking,” he recalls.
Aku, a resident of Dharavi, is more than just a regular college-going student. He has been b-boying for two years. “Two years ago, HeRa taught us. We didn’t know anything. First we saw videos. I got scared that we would break our hands and legs,” Aku laughs.
“But don’t call it breakdancing,” he adds. The term breakdancing, though commonly used, is sometimes frowned upon by those immersed in hip-hop culture because the term was created by the media to describe what was called breaking or b-boying.
The boys don’t lack dedication, but they lack space. As the city has a space constraint, the boys are unable to afford to hire space. “We practise at Sion fort. We’ve cleaned up this space. But the authorities constantly harass us and drive us out of here. We have approached schools and colleges but they don’t want to entertain us,” laments Aku. – Text by Dilnaz Boga and photos by Pal Pillai.
Dilnaz Boga is an Indian journalist and the recipient of Agence France-Presse Kate Webb Prize for her work in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pal Pillai is an Indian photojournalist based in Mumbai.
SLUMGODS :: BATTLE FORT :: 2011 :: BOMBAY, INDIA :
SLUMGODS – India’s 1st Hip-Hop COLLECTIVE, combining B-Boys, B-Girls, Emcees, DJ’s, Graffiti Writers, Activists, Soul Rebels, and much more…embodiments of emotions and vibrations that cannot be defined in a language foreign to the motherland.
We are coming at you live from Bombay to LA, New Delhi to New York, Sri Lanka to Oakland…from us to the world.
Welcome to Hip-Hop in India. SlumGODS. cuz we were never dogs.
SlumGods work hand in hand with Tiny Drops Foundation,. For more information on SG, visit : http://www.slumgods.com
You can donate direclty to these YOUTH through Paypal HERE::
http://bit.ly/jnZXOk
SlumGODS was formed in a past life by B-Boy Not Afraid (Aku) [Dharavi - Bombay], B-Boy Heera [NewYork/Bombay/Delhi] + Mandeep Sethi [LosAngeles/SanFrancisco/Bombay/NewDelhi]
Music : Povan Beats
http://www.povan1.bandcamp.com
Visual Shots & Edits : Mandeep Sethi
http://www.mandeepsethi.com
http://www.mandeepsethi.bandcamp.com
For Direct CONTACT – [email protected]
B-boys India photos by Alexandre Dupeyron
Thank you Alexandre Dupeyron for taking great pictures for us and holding a ‘light graffiti’ workshop with us.
Mumbai Bgirl Ambarin in Jugaad Urbanism Film Series, NYC
Mumbai Bgirl Ambarin in Jugaad Urbanism Film Series, NYC
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/18787747]
AMBARIN
A film by Saurabh Monga & Netarpal Singh
Based in Mumbai, a city teeming and breathing off the sounds and movements produced by Bollywood, Ambarin chronicles the journey of a young, independent Indian girl trying to define herself and a generation, by looking to sounds and inspirations beyond Bollywood and Indian borders, through a medium of dance that was born in the slums of New York. Ambarin, a soft-spoken, 21-year-old Mumbaikar, is the first B-girl (female ‘breaker’) in India. Breaking, or BBoying/Bgirling, is a dance of both grace and aggression, predominately led by males, and is an ‘underground’ subculture for youth across the globe. For Ambarin to adopt this dance as a passion, and to want to make it a career, positions her against her family and—as a Muslim—makes her explore what is accepted of her based on her religion, only to push beyond obstacles and do what she feels is true in her heart.
Discussion and Q&A to follow with Nisha Mistry.
Jugaad Urbanism: Resourceful Strategies for Indian Cities
Set in the radically uneven urban landscapes of Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Pune, India, Jugaad Urbanism explores how the energy of citizens “making-do” is translated by architects, urban planners, and governmental and nongovernmental entities into efficient and inventive strategies for sustainable urban growth. From energy generating spinning wheels to the extensive skywalks of Mumbai – the exhibition highlights how “jugaad” interventions (a term in Hindi used to describe an innovative, resourceful approach) are challenging traditional spatial hierarchies and mechanistic planning principles.
The work of Indian artists, including Raqs Media Collective, will also be included in the exhibition, offering insights into the complex and oft cited “messy” urbanism of India.
tiny drops is born
Film by Isaac Pierre Racine & Lydia Zimmerman
Tiny Drops is an up-and-coming hip hop community center with locations in Mumbai and Delhi, India. Our mission is to provide children living in slums with an alternative creative and social outlet through cultural activities such as dance, music, and film. We draw specifically from the global hip hop movement, offering children the tools to focus on traditions of break dancing, DJing hip hop music, and filming and editing to match the pace of modern urban culture.
Mumbai and Delhi are hubs of contemporary culture in India, yet children of the slums rarely have a chance to interact or actively participate in the cultural expression that streams from across the world. These children spend most of their lives between over-crowded classrooms and jobs that do not recognize or value their individual strength and character. Tiny Drops aims to bridge this class-divided gap, allowing children to break through a rigid socio-cultural wall, and to give these children a greater sense of dynamic purpose in their lives.
Our goal is to create a space for children to be active participants in creating culture on their own terms and to use it to transform their communities. At the same time, we stress the importance of attaining a basic education as a means of connecting with an ever-evolving and empowered youth movement that is located both virtually and on-the-ground.
Hip Hop is rooted in the alternative expression of oppressed people in the Bronx and New York City, and has rapidly traveled to be uplifted by communities in Brazil, Palestine, South Africa, and beyond. It is a global youth culture that connects young people who struggle daily and historically with multiple oppressions, and offers an outlet on a journey of identity formation.
Tiny Drops derives its name from the beginnings of rain in a monsoon nation – drop by drop, the water accumulates, until it becomes a flood that can sweep up the whole community in its arms. In such a way, Tiny Drops aspires to encourage children to manifest their individual potential – whether as a life-long source of personal delight or in order to connect it with a collective purpose and expression.
