Republic 2025: Attend this unique art showcase that highlights voices from the marginalised communities

With the Coldplaymania still running high in Mumbai the vibe in the city is inarguably lsquoall yellowrsquo But this weekend the hue is set to shift This time itrsquoll be blue all over mdash the colour synonymous with the anticaste 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 roofMadhura GhaneFor Ravi Gaikwad comedian and cofounder of BMG the daylong festival has been a long time coming ldquoRap is inextricably tied with comedy In the 1990s in the USA Black comedians and rappers ran the Def Comedy Jam show It was a noholdsbarred collaboration that amplified their voices Our idea is to organise artistes from the margins in India for a similar revolution through artrdquo reveals Gaikwad who cites pioneers like Tupac Shakur Biggie and Jay Z as his inspirationAn artwork by citybased artist Shrujana Shridhar whose works will be exhibited at the eventOn the promising lineup are artistes like Ankur Tangade a Dalit and queer comedian from Maharashtrarsquos Beed district ldquoI 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 wasnrsquot 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 circlesrdquo Tangade says Tangade will be joined by citybased engineerturnedcomedian Sumer More Delhibased Radhe Krishna and Gaikwad who will speak about their lived experiences and the absurdity of the caste systemAklesh Sutar front centre of Swadesi Collective with Warli residents of Aarey Forest in the music video of Adivasi Pics courtesyYouTubeSetting the tone for the celebration will be citybased indie music collective Swadesi alongside rising talent like Madhura Ghane a Kalyanbased rapper who introduces us to the genre of conscious rap ldquoI didnrsquot set out to write rhymes coloured in sociopolitical themes but somewhere along the way I realised that rap has a greater purpose than entertainmentrdquo she says Ghanersquos single Jungle cha Raja a look into the Adivasi communityrsquos struggle to preserve the green lungs of the city has already received applause from stalwarts like Vishal Dadlani and rapper Badshah ldquoFor my latest single Haq se Hijda I travelled to a settlement of transidentifying individuals in Santacruz to understand their experiences After all it is their story My songs are merely the mediumrdquo she adds Ghane isnrsquot new to the stage The 27yearold has performed at public institutions like Jawaharlal Nehru University and IIT Bombay by invitation in the past ldquoBut 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 beforerdquo she reasonsFrom left Sumer More Ravi Gaikwad and Ankur TangadeWhen the artistes punch up with their unfiltered unminced words they ought to break some glass ceilings mdash not a pleasant sight for venues even metaphorically ldquoWe have been told multiple times in the past that the nature of our show puts us in a grey area that many establishments donrsquot want to tread onto Eventually we started selfcensoring 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 cakesrdquo Gaikwad revealsWhile the event will be the first of its kind for the young citybased collective it is definitely not the last ldquoThis one is to show the world that we can put on a great show while speaking our minds out Once we make our mark wersquoll hopefully be back every year with longer lineups and grander showsrdquo he signs off On January 26 6 pm onwardsAt AntiSocial Mathuradas Mill Compound Lower ParelLOG ON TO skillboxescomENTRY Rs 499