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From
Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 19, Dated 12 May 2012 |
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| CULTURE & SOCIETY |
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PSYCHOLOGIES |
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‘Breaking has been big since Bappi Lahiri came in’
WHO He Ra (aka Netarpal Singh) has played a pioneering role in making B-boying, a street dance that is part of New York’s hip hop culture, popular in India. Besides promoting this new art form, his organisation SlumGods is also credited for teaching aerosol art, emceeing and DJ-ing to slum children.
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He Ra, 29, Dancer
Photo: Soumik Mukherjee |
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How difficult was it to make a concept like SlumGods popular in India?
I was teaching B-boying to some kids in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum. Once, I was walking on the road with a child from Dharavi and he said, “This is the street where Slumdog Millionaire was shot. I asked him if he’d watched the film, but he said, “No, I am not a kutta.” This made me think in terms of class differences and this is when I began to collaborate with a dancer from Dharavi and a Sikh rapper, Manjeet Sethi, from LA and established SlumGods.
How does racism affect an artiste and his impressions on life?
Our band member Wazulu was an orphan, adopted by a white family. He eventually ran away from them as he felt he didn’t fit into their mould. Racism, in fact, is very rampant in America. They say that racism doesn’t exist. Yeah, for you. You didn’t go to the airport and get singled out.
Do you think India will ever make a Step Up where you can have a vital contribution?
Even if we were to be offered a desi version of the film Step Up, we’d be extraordinarily underpaid. In a way, it will put our dance on the big screen. They’re not going to make a film on the reality — what we go through, why we practise for eight hours.
You recently held a workshop at Tihar Jail. How receptive were the inmates?
They enjoyed Hindi music. The rappers sang in Hindi. What was shocking was how some of them were so young. Like there was an 18-year-old guy serving a sentence of 35 years. A band member asked a prisoner what it was like staying in a prison. “Oh! It’s like you’re never taken out of the school.”
In a nation that still rolls to clichéd Bollywood music, how do you see the future of the art of break dancing and hip hop in India?
Hip hop is huge. Kids record in their houses and upload videos, that eventually get two lakh hits on YouTube. We have baaraats, so street-dancing is in our blood. This isn’t entirely a western concept. Breaking has been big ever since Bappi Lahiri came into Bollywood followed by Mithun Chakraborty and Govinda.
Bhanu Priya Vyas
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