“Doob Doob Jaana Mai Nai Tarna
Mai Tan Ankhan Band Kar Turna
Fadh ke Jutti Hath Vich Khadna
Mai Tan Ankhan Band Kar Turna
Doob Doob Jana Mai Nai Tarna
Maa Ne Meri Mai Nai darna”
These lines from the song 'Maa Ne Meri' composed
by Swaang, a Mumbai based cultural group, as a tribute to the
brutal Delhi gangrape victim of December 2013, are a constant reminder of the
struggle we have to wage to stop and resist violence against women and
girls.
The Kriti team had
the opportunity to bring Swaang to Delhi and Dehradun in solidarity to the One
Billion Rising Campaign, and Women's Day campaigns, so that many more can rise
to combat violence against women! As a team, that believes in promoting an
alternative culture of performing arts, for the Kritians, this April Journey
was dedicated to progressive music!
Swaang shares our belief that "art must be used beyond entertainment as every artist has a responsibility to be part of the change" and this made the journey even more amazing. Swaang members include actors, writers, music directors, musicians, and producers all working in different capacities in the Bombay film industry, but whose hearts continue to pull towards progressive politics due to their past associations with the same. Their repertoire includes protest songs based on the writings of legendery poets like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Dushyant Kumar, Gorakh Pandey and some original writings of the group.
Swaang shares our belief that "art must be used beyond entertainment as every artist has a responsibility to be part of the change" and this made the journey even more amazing. Swaang members include actors, writers, music directors, musicians, and producers all working in different capacities in the Bombay film industry, but whose hearts continue to pull towards progressive politics due to their past associations with the same. Their repertoire includes protest songs based on the writings of legendery poets like Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Dushyant Kumar, Gorakh Pandey and some original writings of the group.
On 1st April 2013, we
presented Swaang with its first music concert in Delhi, as part of an evening
of 'Laughing and Singing our Way Forward', organised by Sangat and Jagori with
the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. An evening highlighted by Kamla Bhasin's
feminist jokes, Sonam Kalra's mystical performance of the Sufi Gospel Project
and other feminist songs, the vocals, strings and drums of the nine member
Swaang troupe (Rohit, Swara, Ravinder, Pankaj, Brinchi, Indrajeet, Jack,
Manash, Bidrohee) had the audience of over 400 people singing and dancing
along till late that night.
The opening performance with Faiz
Ahmed Faiz’s "Chand Roz Aur" set the tone for the
evening, that struck many chords with songs on corporatisation, the poor and
homeless, children who labour, women and citizens...Merging music with poetry
is what makes Swaang stand out with the sounds they create, and on request,
they recited, ‘A river of Girls’ composed by Tishani Doshi for Save the
Children - a poem about the cries of the ten million and more girls who were
killed before being born...
This is not the cry
This is not the cry
of a beginning, or
a riverburied in the
bowels of the earth.This is the sound
of ten million girlssinging of a time
in the universewhen they were born
with tigersbreathing between
their thighs;when they set out
for battlewith all three eyes
on fire,their golden
breasts held highlike weapons to the
sky.
Keeping up with the spirit of the
show, the last song got everyone in sync as Swaang sang..."Tu Zinda Hai
to Zindagi ki Jeet par Yakeen Kar" and a medley of other oft
heard lyrics (including Damadam Mast Kalandar) ending with the
whole auditorium resounding with the sounds of Mahilayen Maange Aazadi,
Ladkiya maange Aazadi, Padhne ki aazadi, Kuch Kahene ki Aazadi....
many of us spend,while pondering on the 
vagaries of our politics and society, thinking of the homeless and poor on the streets with "Khwabon ke Hawalon se", and showing solidarity to the protest music of the evening. This performance was well received by JNUites, many of who share common grounds with progressive cultural groups like Swaang.
"cha.nd roz aur merii jaan faqat cha.nd hii roz
zulm kii chhaa.Nv me.n dam lene par majabuur hai.n ham
ik zaraa aur sitam sah le.n ta.Dap le.n ro le.n
apane ajdaad kii miiraas hai maazuur hai.n ham"
zulm kii chhaa.Nv me.n dam lene par majabuur hai.n ham
ik zaraa aur sitam sah le.n ta.Dap le.n ro le.n
apane ajdaad kii miiraas hai maazuur hai.n ham"
The programme was presented to a full hall of
500+ people, mesmerized by what they heard and saw, a first time experience for
most in that city! Dancing to the beats of the Swaang songs, clapping and
applauding the lyrics of the songs heard on the kind of democracy we have and
the high handedness of our governments, many school and college students as
well as activists and ex-army officers and wives spent an evening that was most
meaningful and heartwarming along with being entertaining. 
The contemporary
dance by Himani, Sushant, Mousumi and Vidushi on the song 'Break the Chains'
saw them perform "Svabhavsiddha"- a pledge to understand,
acknowledge and celebrate one's identity and self worth as a woman, with a
beautiful interplay of text, movement and dance. They were joined in the finale with a lot of
energy, dancing and balloons, celebrating the power of women to resist violence
and empower themselves, as the girls and boys danced to their
fullest! The audience was happy to see the groups working in
solidarity on violence against women issues and hoped that such efforts would
gain more ground.
Kriti Team thanks all the partner organizations and Save The Children for their support to make these events possible, and we hope to continue these protest and progressive art journeys....
Kriti Team thanks all the partner organizations and Save The Children for their support to make these events possible, and we hope to continue these protest and progressive art journeys....
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Photo Credits: Soumen Nath for Save the Children, Sharat Ponia, Anurag Verma for Kriti Team, Aakriti Gupta and others for Kriti Team
http://krititeam.blogspot.com
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