When Mumbai's theatre and visual artists walked with state's protesting farmers

The protesting farmers on a pit stop at Vikhroli before they headed to Somaiya Ground on March 11 PicSuhel BanerjeeOn the night of March 11 when 35000 intrepid farmers from Nashik mobilised by CPI Maffiliated All India Kisan Sabha AIKS prepared to march from KJ Somaiya Ground in Ghatkopar to Azad Maidan the city of Mumbai attempted to make the last leg of their 180 kmlong journey as bearable as it could Among these concerned Mumbaikars was a group of writers and poets who go by the name Banned In the days leading up to the Kisan Long March Banned had been in the know of the procession that would terminate at Vidhan Bhavan in Nariman PointArtist Syed Amir Abbas Rizvi teamed up with filmmaker Suhel Banerjee to post on the social media accounts of Citizens for Justice and Peace through the night of March 11 PicAkhil VasudevanWhile we wanted to show our solidarity we wondered how we could make a difference says Mayank Saxena 33 a writer former broadcast journalist and one of the founding members of Banned Members Puneet Sharma a lyricist Revolver Rani and Indu Sarkar Rossi DSouza an activist musician and spoken word poet Ramneek Singh kept the farmers company at Somaiya Ground before they decided to march south that very night instead of the next day so that the ongoing SSC exams wouldnt be affectedLyricist Hussain Haidary with members of Banned Puneet Sharma and Mayank Saxena who joined the farmersrsquo march PicSneha KharabeBanned was joined by Yalgaar a collective of street theatre artistes that sang verses by poet Yash Malviya which begins on a determined note Dabhe pairon se ujaala aa raha haiPhir kathaon ko khangala ja raha hai Walking quietly the light is crawling in We are rethinking storiesMembers of protest street theatre group Yalgaar who joined the Kisan Long MarchPravin Mukta Swati UthaleacircAcircu00c2u0080Acircu00c2u0088Siddharth Baviskar and Dhammrakshit Randive PicNimesh DaveWith its emphasis on optimism the poem was apt for the occasion The farmers future seems uncertain The government seems to be listening to them but will it implement its assurances soon Hence we needed to boost their morale We told them ki sheher ke log aapse pyaar karte hain aur aapke saath hain says SaxenaSaxenas views are echoed by others who came forward to give a voice to the protesting farmers who were seeking the implementation of a slew of measures including a complete waiver of loans pensions and recommendations by the MS Swaminathan Commission on minimum support price Mumbais artistes composed poems created social media posters made short videos posted cartoons and memes on the farmers distressThe creative protestBanned which infuses Hindi verse with Western forms of music was formed in October last year with the support of Dhammrakshit Randive 29 an Ambedkarite who goes by the name Dhamma Randive also cofounded Yalgaar in 2015 In the last few years he has been part of protest rallies in the city through street plays and songs in support of the late Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula 2016 and against the gang rape and murder of two girls in Badaun 2014View gallery Mumbai All you need to know about the Maharashtra farmers protestRandive along with Yalgaar founder members Pravin Mukta Siddharth Baviskar and Swati Uthale treaded in the footsteps of the farmers Yalgaar which primarily performs in Marathi evoked a composition by Punebased Dalit activist and folksinger Sheetal Sathe on the issue of farmers suicide in Maharashtra titled Yeo Balich Raj There is something to be said about people singing about hosla badhana and keeping the protesters entertained says Randive When kalakaars participate in a movement they are not just motivating the protesters but also themselves We are able to find inspiration through the farmers stories he saysYalgaar comes in the rich tradition of resistance poetry and performance in Maharashtra with notable names such as Namdeo Dhasal Narayan Surve and Sambhaji Bhagat who are part of this legacy The genre is a vigorous voice for the Dalit communities the downtrodden and the marginalised rural poor mainly adivasi communities in Maharashtra Ramu Ramanathan playwright and director from whom the citys stages received Cotton 56 Polyester 84 says that Mumbai has always been rooted in such a tradition of solidarity especially through its student groups Be it Lokmanya Tilaks appropriation of Ganapati festivals to build up a cadre base for the Indian National Congress to plays about Home Rule or Ambedkari Jalsa when Dr BR Ambedkar worked here and spoke about untouchability and the Kamgar Rangabhoomi outside factory gates Mumbaikars have always been in the forefront he saysSpur of the momentDuring the Kisan Long March Ramanathan and his friends created snap video interviews and shot portraits of the farmers along with details of the taluka and the crop they grew in an attempt to put a face behind the numbers We used mobile phones and it was all guerrilla Nothing was planned he says He identifies three aspects to the spirit of the Kisan Long March There was the farmers own tradition of songs in their dialects the second was the slogans and party chants called lalkaar and lastly the ones by the urban artistes The average farmer at the march was elderly and they were walking at a fairly brisk pace This is like the Dandi March not a morning walk in Juhu The songs are meant to keep the march going and going strong Its about pumping in a bit of sugar he saysTheatre lighting designer Gurleen Judge and filmmaker Suhel Banerjee say that what was also worth noticing was the farmers own musical traditions on full display all through their journey Judge says that the sound of their indigenous wind and percussion instruments was almost electronic and just what was needed to keep up the rhythm People think that the farmers have been brainwashed and coopted by the CPI M But that is not the case Why is the protest peaceful Because the farmers know exactly what their demands are and dont see any need to be violent says BanerjeeThe filmmaker teamed up with his friend Syed Amir Abbas Rizvi a noted artist based out of Mumbai Banerjee made sure a continuous stream of images reached Rizvi who was at home turning the images into social media posters and memes Through the course of the night Rizvi posted these on the social media pages of Citizens for Justice and Peace CJP a citizens group committed to defending constitutional rightsA post that went viral and that many of us will remember showed two farmers holding hands under the yellow lights of Mumbai at 330 am a photo clicked by Banerjee Rizvi turned it into a poster that read Farmers walking silently so that Mumbai sleeps and our kids write their exams in the morningThe photo says Banerjee was indicative of the solidarity among the farmers who have patiently waited for years as both the monsoon and governments have failed them But nothing was planned says Rizvi It was all spur of the moment We heard the farmers had arrived and we just quickly did what we could Between Suhels photos and my posts there was only a 15minute time gap but we made sure there was enough for the social media masses when they woke up the next morning he explainsRed is a colourUttam Ghosh 55 an artistactivist who also contributed through posters both on social media and on ground says that the social media presence for the farmers was important especially since mainstream media was relatively late in reporting on the subject The farmers marching down the bend at Kasara Ghat was a turning point he says referring to a video shot by Dr Ajit Navale secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan SabhaThose who criticised the march as a Communist exercise have met with an argument through art All the artistes we spoke to believe that it doesnt matter whether its Communist red jhanda or Ambedkarite blue jhanda that we see the farmers need all the support they can get Their march is at the end of the day both exhausting and hopeful and it is summed up in powerful human visual imagery ndash those of their feetGautam Benegal animation filmmaker and artist says that the image of the farmers blistered sore feet their wounds exposed to the elements is one that will become part of some of the most powerful documentarian images we have seen be it from Bhopal during the gas tragedy or from Godhras riotsAs Randive said the kalakaar is moved There are now poems in Hindi English and Marathi that have been penned on the subject such as filmmaker Soumitra Ranades on his Facebook account piece that brings out details of the farmers he met on the march and Ramanathans Midnight Marching Song It is heart wrenching You cannot but feel moved as you see these farmers on their march The movement has given a voice to those who are considered orphans says RamanathanAlso read Maharashtra farmers protest in Mumbai This is not the end say 25000 agitatorsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide 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