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DU Beat in Conversation with The Threshold by M.D. Pallavi and Bindhumalini

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In this insightful conversation with DU Beat, artists M.D. Pallavi and Bindhumalini discuss Threshold—their collaborative project born from the 2017 “Under the Raintree” women’s festival—where music becomes a dialogue on gender, identity, and self-expression. Performing at the KNMA Music Festival, day 3 on October 11th, they explore women’s voices across time and culture. As they beautifully say, “a lamp on the doorsill sheds light both inside and outside”—a fitting metaphor for their art that bridges tradition and introspection.

DU Beat-  You describe threshold as a musical conversation between two artists. First and foremost, how did this collaboration come about, and what does the idea of ‘Threshold’ mean to each one of you, especially in the context of music and your personal journeys?

Bindumalini – Threshold started with the specific women’s festival curated in Bangalore called the Under the Raintree Women’s Festival in 2017. Pallavi was asked by the main curator of this festival to curate the music section of this 3-day festival. The last day it was all about the duet. The curator had also put up a condition to Pallavi that apart from curating the whole festival, the music part, she also had to be one of the performers. That is when we collaborated for the first time, and Pallavi invited me, and our conversations could not be away from the context of women, which the whole festival was about, and from there, conversations started about gender and women. That’s the genesis of ‘Threshold’.

M.D. Pallavi: And Threshold, if I may continue with what Bindu said, there’s a poem that we picked from Lingama, who belonged to the 12th century, which talked about a lamp on the doorsill shedding light both inside and outside, and that’s what Sharana is also trying to achieve: to look both inside and outside. So that we thought was a very apt title for what we are also trying to do.

 

DU Beat- Gender is central to your performances. Could you share how your personal experience as women and artists influences the way you interpret or reimagine traditional or contemporary songs?

M.D. Pallavi- For a long time I was unaware about the lens of gender in my music or in the work that I was doing, but gradually, say in the last 15 years, I became more aware about the poetry of who it is written by, and I also became more aware over the years of how to see the delicate differences between the male and the female perspectives. And in this project we are particularly focusing on poems and songs written by women, and it has helped us understand in a way how different these poems are even though they are very similar to the ones written by men.

Bindhumalini: I would say in my house, it was my grandmother and mother who laid the path for me, and it was not like anybody was supporting them as such. My grandmother started her journey in music after the age of 45, and she saw in music an anchor which held her together through various aspects of life. So for me whatever I have received in terms of art from my house has been through women only. But as Pallavi said, even I was not told to look at things from a gendered way, from the lens of a woman as such. Slowly it started to come into my awareness, and then doing research and creating this project was an eye-opener in many senses.

 

DU Beat- So you are choosing the narratives and voices of women especially, which are unheard. How do you usually select these texts and poems, and when you started, how much time did it take to curate them?

MD Pallavi: Firstly, we started to look at stories of women who had sort of broken barriers in terms of music and came out into the world. And it could be about people lesser known or about people we knew but did not know about this side of them, and then we could also sort of just present them with the same text, similar kinds of poems, which disseminate the same ideas. We also try to draw parallels between songs and stories of women from different time periods and places. For example, will there be any similarities between the struggles of a woman from Morocco or a sex worker from Karnataka, or are there any parallels between La Ded in the 14th century saying something which is similar to what Mudupalini is saying in the 18th century in the court of Travancore?  And we have a stone assembly found by researching for this.

 

DU Beat- I also wanted to know from both of you if you come from the same musical traditions or are trained in different musical traditions, and if yes, then how do you negotiate these differences in the musical vocabularies?  Also, while performing together, do you seek to retain your individuality, or does that subsume itself under this larger project called ‘Threshold’?

Bindhumalini: Well, that’s interesting because, definitely, our individual trainings helped us in certain ways. At the same time, both of us are aware of the possibilities, the potentials and also the limitations. So if you see the threshold, a few things drive it. There is a Hindustani bandish that we perform, and in that case, if it’s a tradition-driven performance, then we try our best to do justice to that. But at the same time there is a complete freedom for self-expression, and mostly it is given by the energy that we establish and the emotion that we perform at that point. The third aspect is a bit tricky. We sometimes represent certain ethos of some musical traditions, but we are not really the practitioners of that at that specific moment, but we sing it, and in that moment it’s mostly us, but it may point at something. While we are being true to ourselves, at the same time we might also be hinting at something from which we are trying to draw it.

M.D. Pallavi- I would pretty much repeat what Bindu said. And the fact that both of us enjoyed doing experiments. And the fact that we both have learnt classical form, so there is a grammar that we both fall back on, but there are times when we are beginning the rules and presenting them, and then there are some points when we are being very loyal to our forms. And it is very difficult to find a collaborator who can co-conspire with you in all of this, and in that way we are both very lucky.

 

DU Beat – You will be performing at the KNMA Music Festival, and it is themed after ‘Voices of Diversity’. What does this diversity in music mean to you, and how do you see your work contributing to a larger dialogue about inclusivity in art?

M. D. Pallavi- When we talk of diversity, we need to see diversity of artists on stages, and a lot of the times what happens is that music festivals mostly repeat the same kind of artists. So I think it’s very important they look for diversity both in terms of performers and art. Also, while creating it, it is important to think of the experience one wants to give to the audience, and that’s why it’s also very important for festivals to be open to possibilities in terms of providing different experiences.

Bindhumalini: Let us take note of these curations mostly happening in the urban spaces, and the audience are also of a certain kind. My experience of diversity has definitely been in these kinds of spaces, but also what I have really enjoyed is when I had gone into rural India, and their diversity has a different shape. The experience is totally different when I go on yatras or in villages which are on the border of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and there are the kind of people who become your audience – from the children to the men and the women – and then it’s happening the whole night. Then there are local artists. That is what diversity looks like to me. I don’t know if this really answers the question, but I felt like sharing the experience.

 

Read Also- DU Beat in Conversation with Bhushan Kargaonkar, the Director of Lavani Ke Rang

 

Image credits- Banglore International Centre 

 

Madhav Choudhary 

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DU Beat in Conversation with Wild Wild Women (WWW)

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“We want to talk about everything a woman goes through. We are here to make a community and make women feel heard.”  An all-women hip-hop collective from Mumbai, Wild Wild Women (WWW), are set to perform at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art Music Fest on 9th October 2025. In a conversation with DU Beat, they talked about breaking stereotypes in a male-dominated industry. In the quest to create music that is rooted in lived experiences, community, and empowerment, WWW emerges as a voice of hope, aspirations, and revolution for women in Indian hip-hop.

 

The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art will inaugurate its Music Festival on October 9, 2025, a four-day celebration of India’s musical diversity, featuring ten exceptional artists from across the country. As part of this vibrant lineup, Wild Wild Women will take the stage on the opening day, and we had the opportunity to speak with the collective about their journey, music, and message before their live performance.

Question: ‘Wild Wild Women’ is definitely a name to remember. Can you tell us the story behind it, who came up with it and what inspired it?

Pratika: The name kind of resonates with us as people who love being wild and free. It didn’t come from anything specific; Krantinari and HashtagPreeti just kind of conjured it out of thin air, and it stuck. It always reminds me of the Wild Wild West in a way. And yeah, we’re from the west coast of India, so there’s that little connection too. But ‘Wild Wild Women’ just felt apt for us, not just a single ‘wild’, but ‘wild wild’ to really emphasise how free-spirited and bold we are!

Question: Hip hop has traditionally been a male-dominated field. What has the experience of breaking into the industry as an all-women collective been like? Have you encountered stereotyping, and if so, how have you navigated it?

MC Mahila: Hip-hop has always been a male-dominated industry, and it’s been that way for a long time. But this power we have as Wild Wild Women—when we come together—it just turns all those barriers into dust. We’ve seen people throw hate at us just because we started as an all-female crew. They were scared we’d flip the game… and we did flip the game. We pushed through all those outdated norms that said women can’t work together for long, that it won’t last. We’ve even had people comment on our bodies, saying we don’t fit in, that we’re ‘too big’ or whatever. But by ignoring all that negativity, we rose above it; we made more music, we stayed together, and we flipped the game. That’s exactly what our track ‘Game Flip’ is about; it’s our statement that we’re here, and we’re changing the game.

Question: Where do you see the hip hop scene in India heading? Artistically, what do you feel Wild Wild Women brings to the current scene?

#HashtagPreeti: The hip-hop scene is heading towards a really important milestone. A few years ago, or even before that, hip-hop was seen as something very male-dominated. If you thought of a rapper, you’d automatically picture a man. It was hard for people to imagine women in that space. Back then, a lot of male rappers only talked about parties, alcohol, girls, bling, and that whole luxurious lifestyle. But that’s not the full picture. Hip-hop actually comes from the grassroots—it’s about street culture, about real life. In India, hip-hop has brought attention to street artists and communities and to all the elements: skateboarding, beatboxing, graffiti, rap, and knowledge. Hip-hop is no longer just a sub-genre. It’s at the forefront now. It’s what people are listening to.

That’s where WWW comes in. We bring something that’s never been on the table before, something that was needed. We’re here to change the narrative that women can’t be rappers. But honestly, you can only really understand what WWW brings when you experience it in person. We’re not just five rappers on a stage. What we do makes people think about society, about gender, and about how they see women. I can’t put it into just a few words. You have to hear the lyrics. You have to watch the show.

 

Question: Wild Wild Women is often highlighted as an all-women collective with a focus on empowering women of all ages. Do you ever feel pressure to create art specifically with this purpose in mind? Does it ever feel limiting to your artistic expression?

HashtagPreeti: As Wild Wild Women, we’ve kept everything open for ourselves creatively. It’s not just about WWW; we each also work on and release our individual projects. But as a collective, we do stick to certain topics, because that’s our purpose. If no one else is going to talk about these issues, then we will. And it never feels like pressure. All our artistic expression finds its way into both our personal lives and our music.

Honestly, it takes a village to do what we do, especially in a country like India, where very few women and girls have a platform like this. We know how lucky we are to have this opportunity, and we don’t take it for granted. Also, we’re not limiting ourselves to just women empowerment as a theme. We’re experimenting and exploring a lot more; we want to talk about everything a woman goes through. We’re here to build a community, to make women feel seen and heard.

Question: What has been Wild Wild Women’s main inspiration in creating music? Are there any specific artists or voices that have been our go-tos?

JQueen: I’d say our biggest inspiration is Wild Wild Women itself. Even though we’re five female rappers, along with two breakdancers, a mural artist, and a skateboarder, all our goals are aligned; we know where we want to go, and we’re pushing to get there.

We’re not just rappers; we’re messengers of the people. Each of us is an individual artist with our own identity, but we always come together under one roof. We understand each other, we lift each other up, and we make sure everyone’s goals are supported. In the beginning, it wasn’t easy. Not everyone wanted to help us. But now, we’ve created our own space, and we’re killing it. And we always knew we would.

Right now, it’s India… But soon, it’s going to be international. Wild Wild Women is coming your way—so get ready to handle the heat!

 

Read Also: JNU Establishes Animal Welfare Society

Image Credits: Wild Wild Women

Anjali Paruvu and Anjali Kumari Jha

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[email protected]

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“I PROTEST: A VOICE FROM HOME”

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We remember, and we memorialise the grief—for it needs to be heard. Let’s sing and let them hear the voices through words that are hard to digest. In Kashmir, music is art, and it is survival. From MC Kash to Zanaan Wanaan, the weight of memory lives.

 

Music for me is a memory that connects me to the summers I have spent in Kashmir. But when I think of summer in Kashmir, I am not reminded of the brisk water of the streams we once swam in or the occasional cool breeze that quells the burning heat of the sun. My memories of summer are fogged by visions I struggled to make sense of—blood, bullets and bodies. That year, summer in Kashmir was no different. Protests in Kashmir were high—initially against the killing of three young men in the north-Kashmir town of Machil. However, the worst was yet to come. What unfolded would become one of the bloodiest massacres in Kashmir’s history. Protests had escalated after the killing of 17-year-old Tufail Ahmad Mattoo, struck by a teargas canister fired by the police while returning home from a tuition class on 11 June 2010. In the protest, 118 civilians—mostly young Kashmiris—were killed.

However, the weight of these memories would not be expunged by state power and media narratives—for this time they will be etched in history by sounds of resistance.

In the aftermath of the bloodshed, the tunes of grief vibrated throughout the valley. A young man from the streets of Srinagar inscribed his grief and gave it a voice. Bypassing the curfewed lanes and dodging the piercing gaze of the state watchdogs, MC Kash—Roushan Illahi—wrote his third song—one that was about to become the anthem of Kashmir’s fight for self-determination. This youth, neither an armed rebel nor a stone-pelter was about to distort the neatly crafted violent Islamist stereotype by the states. Being perceived and presented as violent, religious warmongers, the people were demonised by the state narratives, thus robbing them of their political and cultural agency. Protest songs in Kashmiri and Urdu had always been part of the movement; however, the language barrier did not let it traverse beyond the mountains. And then a cultural rebel, MC Kash, came with zero warnings. He became the face of hiphop in Kashmir and sung in the language that would cross oceans. His songs filled the cultural vacuum that was created due to decades-long unrest, voiced the voiceless and drew parallels with the struggle of Palestine.

“I Protest” by M.C. Kash expressed the collective oppositional resistance against the state. The last part of the rap names all the people who were killed that year. I Protest recorded the reality of Kashmir; it memorialised the injustices meted out against the valley.

“We won’t go down. When we bleed alive in the struggle, even the graves will speak… A Whole Village Gang-Raped, A Cry Still Lingers These are the Tales From the Dark Side of a Murderous Regime…”

MC Kash started a cultural phenomenon that has been taken forward by numerous Kashmiri artists that emerged in the 21st century amidst the tumultuous situation in Kashmir. These Kashmiri artists have absorbed every circumstance that has been etched in their visions. 

and forged a culture that has enabled them to articulate their deepest feelings, hopes, and dreams. Kashmiri artists could fill their verses with the beauty of Kashmir, but their songs instead talk of grief—for in Kashmir, even the most breathtaking landscapes are shadowed by barbed wires and bloodstained streets.

It is interesting to note that Mridula Sharma, a research scholar at the University of Manchester, talks about the contrast in the Kashmiri protest songs to the commercially produced protest songs in India, like Azadi from Gully Boy. The ending of Azadi dilutes the vision of the song and highlights the hollowness of the interest in claiming freedom as presented by the song. Also worthy to note is that the word Azadi has historically been used during protests in Kashmir and has been the slogan of the Kashmiri Movement. But the protest culture in the mainland has appropriated the word, disassociated it from its political context and sanitised the political struggle for commercial consumption by turning it into a marketable slogan. The song Azadi ends with “Give me Freedom”, rendering the call for freedom symbolic rather than actionable, thus turning it into a passive, consumer-friendly version of dissent.

Kashmiri songs of resistance, even in the wake of brutalities, censorship and state suppression, have approached the art with an optimistic outlook. The songs are mostly enriched with hope, a powerful refusal to succumb to despair over the ongoing violence. An example of such protest songs is Kashmir: Bella Ciao by Zanaan Wanaan (Kashmiri Women Collective). The song, an adaptation of an Italian resistance song, reclaims the linguistic and cultural identity even in the wake of censorship and suppression. It ends with the reassuring claims of martyrdom being successful.

 

IMAGE CREDITS: kashmirlife.net

 

Reeba Khan

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Netflix and Nap: A Tempestuous Allure

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It’s tempting to fall into unhealthy habits, but a balanced lifestyle is the key to a vibrant college life.

One enters college with an abundance of excitement, hope, and the most fun of them all, freedom. While this freedom provides opportunities for growth, it also brings with it a sense of carelessness. When you’re no longer answerable to Mom, you let loose. In most college students, this leads to the rise of some unhealthy habits. Being able to stay in bed and Zomato all the time may seem like a dream come true at first, but it inevitably invites problems.

However, that is not the only factor that could lead to the development of an unhealthy lifestyle. It’s also easy to feel so drowned in assignments, society work, or internships that there’s no room left for exercise or any hobbies for that matter. After a hectic college day, there is nothing more inviting than your bed. With an episode of your current binge and some pizza on the side. This becomes a routine that’s hard to break out of.

“The appeal of the taste of fast food is not the only thing that has kept me in the habit of ordering in almost every night. It’s also very convenient to not have to prep or cook meals. It feels like a quick fix after a long day.” -Vansh, a second-year student

Moreover, “broke college student” is a famous phrase for a reason. When short on budget, cooking the same instant ramen pack a few different ways to get through the week is appealing. Thus, many factors contribute to the rise of unhealthy eating habits among college students. Another major problem is that of little to no exercise. It’s difficult to make time for a routine. The norm of going late to bed and having to wake up early for morning classes keeps one in the cycle of feeling tired throughout the day. Pulling all-nighters consistently and then drinking tons of coffee to survive, skipping meals, and not exercising are therefore common elements of a college student’s lifestyle. The allure of it all is heavy. But this lifestyle is unfortunately not sustainable. How do we beat it?

It’s important to start at the fundamental level and correct your basics. Build your day around a healthy sleep schedule, eat at the right time, and start incorporating at least some exercise throughout the week. As cliché as this might sound, your elders are correct. Doing this will significantly improve your quality of life and help you focus better on your goals. You don’t need some rigid instruction table to help you achieve all of this. Start slow and be soft with yourself. It’s also okay to maintain some flexibility. You do not need to cut Netflix or McDonald’s out of your life (duh, how could we ever?). Just practice moderation with it.

“After college hours, it feels unsafe for me to travel to and from a gym in the city. So, I’ve made it a point to wake up a little extra early in the mornings to do yoga. This way I get some exercise done every single day.” -Gauri, a second-year student at KNC.

While waking up early is definitely not the best suit for many of us, here are some things that you can do to start living a better and healthier life. When you get hunger pangs at odd hours, have fruits for snacks instead of reaching for a packet of chips. They’re yummy and healthy, plus super convenient to grab. Replace your caffeinated beverages with better alternatives that also serve as a refresher, such as milkshakes. When you do need to order in, pick healthier options as opposed to fast foods. For exercise, try to include movement in the little day-to-day tasks. Walk around on your study break instead of sitting in bed. Take the stairs instead of elevators wherever possible (the metro station maybe?). Discover a safe road/park near you and go for the occasional walk while on the phone with family or friends.

There are innumerable little ways you could create a better lifestyle for yourself. Making conscious choices regarding nutrition and exercise will take care of you both physically and mentally, improving academic performance and overall quality of life. Pave the way for a balanced and fulfilling college experience that sets you up for success in the long run. Cheers to doing better!

Featured Image Source: Pinterest

Read also: Health and Wellness Guide for Busy College Students

Arshiya Pathania

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DU Societies: Online or Offline 

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As a semblance of normalcy begins to return to functioning around us, Delhi University performance-based societies choose to go offline with their workings – a decision that risks alienating outstation students who are still hesitant to return to campus. Read on to find more. 

Delhi University sees a diverse crowd in all terms. The play of privilege has come to the forefront in the era of the digital divide. We witnessed students committing suicide, leaving education, and going to all ends to just afford a phone or laptop for studies. In this phase, where do the cultural societies of Delhi University stand?

In the online scenario, all the performing societies were forced to operate in the online space, as a result of which we saw many online productions, audio plays, and virtual open mics. But the transition phase in DU societies has begun even before the colleges are officially reopened. A few months back a lot of performing societies started functioning offline, some with or without permission from the college authorities.

These mainly comprise drama societies, music and dance societies which need offline spaces to carry on with their operations smoothly. But since DU is not a university of Delhi students only, the question that ‘Do DU societies belong only to Delhi people?’ seems pretty valid in a scenario where outstation students are being repeatedly sidelined by the indiscriminate move to go offline with functioning.

Just a few days back Mood Indigo, the fest of IIT Bombay, organized the prelims for its street theatre competition, where some of the prominent societies performed with their productions like Ibitida, Hindu College, Hansraj Dram Soc, Kahkasha JMC, Lakshya, Kamla Nehru College, Anubhuti, Sri Venkateswara College, and many others. DU Beat talked to Simran from Hansraj Dram Soc to understand their take on conducting offline practices and workshops in collaboration with other societies.

We first years came into the society to perform and sadly it was not happening. Offline practices were essential for us to learn how DCTC worked as we will soon become seniors and the onus of training others will be on us.”

An outstation member of Kshitij, the street play society of Gargi College which organised an offline workshop in collaboration with Hansraj Dram Soc, on grounds of anonymity, shared their views with DU Beat,

If we talk about outstation students, someone who has never seen their college, for them, online meets are everything, that screen becomes more than just a screen. Offline meets are not fair to them, and they cannot be expected to travel long distances to attend, it is just not fair. They are missing out on experiences and lessons because of the circumstances. In the end, it comes down to whose perspective you choose to see – that of the helpless first year or the third year who will choose the offline mode due to the sheer rigour and space it allows one to work in.” 

The culture of performing societies is surely a source of pride for the University of Delhi but another thing that the nukkad nataks propagate is the call for equality. In such a situation, when being in Delhi means being able to experience the societies, aren’t these societies becoming elite spaces? Various outstation students, who can afford to be in the city for internships or societies have moved here already, so who is actually being left behind? For these answers, we talked to Jai Mahajan from Shunya, Ramjas who shared his society experience.

Being in an online space has affected theatre but we are trying our best to level the playfield. Shunya is trying to come up with a fusion of both online and offline work. Surely people in the offline mode are learning and adapting quickly, but it’s up to seniors how they balance the collaboration.” – Jai, a member of Shunya, Ramjas

In the month of November, Shunya conducted its first series of month-long offline workshops. Students across departments and years from the college attended the workshops, which were conducted by incumbent and erstwhile members of the society on a wide range of topics relating to theatre. But the attendees also included a large number of outstation students who flew down to the city specifically to attend these workshops. Although safety precautions were adequately taken for the same, the decision to conduct these workshops in the offline mode, which many society members too could not attend, still remains under question.

As the auditions of performing societies were conducted in the online mode in the time of the digital divide, it already pushed out students from backward sections of societies. Several talented students could not audition due to unstable internet, and some had to travel elsewhere just for the sake of giving their auditions. And after that exclusion, the dispersion of outstation and Delhi students brings forth the question of representation. Performances talking about the evils of caste and class while propagating on those same foundations are making a farce of the art form.

We can’t lose out on practice just because the colleges are online now. To get on the stage and win awards and experience that feeling of dancing in front of people cheering for you hoping that you win. To learn things online is really difficult, offline practice is of the utmost necessity if you want to bring the best out of your crew. There is no formal permission as such but socs have never totally depended on college to practice even when it was offline.” – A member of a dance society

DU performing societies have been known for their rigorous working, but the entire working process changed owing to the prevailing conditions. Talking about how his society operates, Tushar, a member of The Dramatics Society of Dyal Singh Evening College, Junoon said,

Most of the members of our society are from Delhi, offline meets are recorded, and activities are discussed in the online meets. The same activities are done in the online mode with some tweaks to make them feasible.”

Meanwhile, Jai from Shunya, Ramjas shared how audio plays helped them bridge the gap to some extent.

Some of our members are from Kashmir and places where there is low connectivity; for them, we practiced and explored auditory drama on phone calls.”

Shruti, the President of Lakshya, KNC, shared her society experience of working in the online mode. For better functioning, they divided the team into two where outstation members worked on the stage production, working with characters, while the Delhi students worked on street play.

At least some of the students would learn and know something; this year we are focusing more on learning and teaching.”

There are also various societies that chose not to function in the offline space. Siddhi from LSR Dramsoc shared her take on the issue,

Even though the offline experience was beautiful, we chose not to practice in offline mode since we have people from other cities as well in our society. We need to adapt to the times, and to pass on the culture, we talk about our past experiences and activities, so our juniors know about the working. DCTC as a group needs to think and engage in dialogue to come to a better and more feasible conclusion.”

While sharing her experience of being an outstation student, a member of a drama society said in a conversation with DU Beat,

It doesn’t feel like a team anymore; the production doesn’t feel ours. If offline working brings back the culture of theatre it also breaks the team apart in two. It’s a sort of slow coercion over outstation students to leave since we don’t play any active part. We feel like outsiders instead of outstation students, where we realize being in Delhi is a privilege that we can’t afford.” 

Despite the brouhaha surrounding the debate around offline and online functioning, there are societies that have accepted the online mode and have gone ahead with annua productions; for example, the Shakespeare Society of St. Stephens College performed their annual production for the year Chateau Manor House on Zoom a few weeks back. The reluctance of many societies to adapt to the same mode is, on one hand preserving the physical essence of these performance societies. At the same time, it risks non-functioning and becomes largely emblematic of the larger hegemony present in these societies to refuse to adapt to changing times and tweak and challenge procedural functionings that have been set in stone for years now.

Image Credits: Sabha, the dramatics society of St. Stephens College 

Read Also: The Rise of OTT: Destruction of The Theatre Culture?
Remembering Safdar Hashmi: Inquilab and Theatre

Kashish Shivani ([email protected]) 

Anwesh Banerjee ([email protected]) 

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Sign of the Times: The Stylish Cry for Equality

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A strong ballad that reminds you of the quintessential essence of Music, Harry Style’s Sign of the Times echoes our struggle for equality and keeps our hopes alive for the young must conquer. 

There’s a special thing about Music and lyric – it’s eternal presence; the ever long availability and it’s the ability to feed in artificial and human memory makes it a significant instrument to strike the chords of change that are hard to achieve otherwise. These crisp, short, hard-hitting words in sumptuous symphonies or in an amalgamation of rock and roll deploy a certain kind of adrenaline rush. Coupled with the popular stars who have an increasing base and reach, the theme of political and social relevance often finds a place in their approach and outset that promulgates important messages. 

From Beatles to Beyonce, music together with other performance arts has been an important tool to achieve social objectives, from racism to mental health and in dealing with events like elections and gun violence in the states. ‘Every revolution has a sound,’ the echoes of the modern struggle for equality is well observed in many songs but for many specific reasons I choose Harry Styles debut solo single ‘Sign of the Times.’

A subtle and splendid number from the ex One Directioner, was a surprise to many that harkens back to David Bowie transcending the 70s to modern geopolitical context, ‘Sign of the Times’ takes somewhat an eschatological end born out of the political suffering. 

The lyrics of the song are just like the untangling of the complexity of an extreme simpleton, basic words, strong sentences, construct hard phrases that leave ambiguous interpretations. The song is about the pangs of a dying woman who is being separated from her child after childbirth, she has five minutes for being all the moral and didactic to her child who needs to ‘conquer the world’ as the reality approaches, but is that it? In an interview with Rolling Stone, Styles talks about the ‘Fundamentals’ that inspire him for this piece, things like Equality, Human Rights. Styles compels us to think about these basic things that are often sought to be an obligation on the part of the authority are due essentials on the part of every single being. 

In a further exchange with the New York Times, Styles takes on the political upheaval and catastrophes ensuing the show of political superiority in the world, he talks how the outside chaos in the world can’t be segregated from his song. He says, “We’re in a difficult time, and I think we’ve been in many difficult times before.” Further quotes, “But we happen to be in a time where things happening around the world are absolutely impossible to ignore … It’s very much me looking at that. It’s a time when it’s very easy to feel incredibly sad about a lot of things.”

The current situation appropriately explains the lyrics and the feelings that a significant amount of population carries in times of distress, the sense of freedom, the idea of hope to calm the human emotions that are inevitable in a crisis as such. Sceptical about it? Remember the lines. 

“Just stop your crying It’s a sign of the times We gotta get away from here We gotta get away from here Just stop your crying It’ll be alright They told me that the end is near We gotta get away from here”

 

Image Credits: spin

Faizan Salik

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Arts & Culture

Sexism in the Pop Music Industry

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The pop music industry is booming with new music, new artists, and new releases. But the one thing that has remained constant is the deep-rooted sexism. 

Hardly any of us would be ignorant about the general consensus of the world on male pop groups or singers. Every conversation about BTS, One Direction, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes elicits the same scorn filled reaction from self-proclaimed music critics and experts- a passing trend, shallow music, etc. “They’re only famous because they’re pretty” is a popular belief, and it becomes important to acknowledge the not so subtle sexist undertones that lace this common misconception. 

A common feature of these singers and groups is their predominantly larger female fanbase. It is this demographic that automatically reduces their music to something that only ‘thirteen-year-old teenage fangirls’ listen to. And even if it is just thirteen-year-old teenage girls listening to it, why is it that it becomes a bad thing? One could say that every neighbourhood rapper in the past 12 years has had the same sad flow beaten to death over and over again, and yet with a fanbase that is predominantly male-centric, it becomes a thing of critic and is labelled ‘cool’. 

Anything that women and girls love is deemed hysterical, even though men and boys might have the same level of passion for an artist without being considered ‘frenzied’ or ‘mad’. Fans of artists like Eminem haven’t truly been sneered at for decorating their spaces with his merch, which unfortunately does not hold true for pop artists like BTS and Taylor Swift.

The biggest example of this has to be the global sensation Beatles. The band’s rise to popularity in the 1960s came to be termed as Beatlemania. The band was known for its ‘screaming female fans’ and was even dismissed early on as a fad. The fans, who were termed hysterical and their expression, which was termed as a mania probably says more than enough. Yet, almost seven decades down, they’ve only gotten bigger; The band that paved the way for fangirling is now termed a classic.  

The sexism in the industry becomes apparent when these artists are called homophobic and sexist slurs when their hard work and talent is reduced to nothing, when their sense of self-expression is labelled ‘girly’ because that makes them ‘less than’. And it isn’t just the artists who suffer too. As a male, liking these artists or groups makes the fans social pariahs as well. They are ridiculed and shamed for liking something ‘girly’. 

But that’s the notion that’s been established by the toxic masculinity perpetuated by society-  that men and soft emotions cannot coexist. That artists that rap and rock it out over dark, intense concepts are applauded in the same musical space where soft, peppy love songs are given a cold shoulder. 

 “I feel like the toxic notion that men are supposed to be rough and into ‘dark’ music is the reason why a lot of men only listen to rock/rap. Everyone somewhat enjoys pop music which is why it is pop. But revealing themselves as fans of easy, uplifting pop music does not align with their entire aura of being tough,” said a twenty-year-old male fan.

Sexism is not just limited to genres and artists though. The catchy songs hitting the charts reek of objectification, misogyny and in cases, even violence. Songs by popular artists like The Weeknd, David Guetta, Jason Durelo, have multiple lyrics objectifying women and calling them names. Eminem is known for producing music that talks about bashing gays and raping women, and well, he’s remained a favourite. Because, honestly, hardly any of us care about the lyrics when ‘the beat slaps’.

Evidently, in the industry, this sexism is perpetuated and sustained by the very industry itself- the artists and the fans alike. 

Feature Image Credits: Scopio

Satviki Sanjay

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Shreya Juyal

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Arts & Culture

The Melody of Happiness: In Conversation with When Chai Met Toast

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Meet the band, When Chai Met Toast , that embodies happiness and performs it in their music.

Kartik: The band name is a very creative fusion of Indian roots meeting western elements, so what kind of musicians or bands from India and abroad influence your music?
Ashwin: Actually, a lot of them! I mean, there is a lot of inspiration from English folk, but we are experimenting with a lot of other stuff as well, which includes English and European folk.
Achyuth: Not really folk, more like pop.
Ashwin: We do not want to really define ourselves into a category or genre, as such.
Achyuth: Some of the artists that we have been listening include The 1975, Coldplay; Coldplay is an all-time favourite.
Ashwin: There is Sufjan Stevens as well. There is a bunch of artists we listen to, and are inspired by.

 

Kartik:What qualifies as good music for you?
Achyuth: Anything that sounds good, I guess.
Ashwin: Very difficult question!
Achyuth: Anything that is true, actually. Anything that comes from the people, whatever genre it is. Something that comes from within.
Ashwin: I will be very honest. More than what qualifies as good music to me, what my ears hear as good music is what I like. For instance, you cannot really ‘name’ good music or music that you like. You are not very fond of something at one point, and other times you love something. You cannot really classify or clarify what good music is, and we have not really given it a thought, so I think there is no generic or specific category of good music.
Achyuth: For me, it is anything that has some soul to it, in whatever way. It can be any artist, but as long as there is passion, there is good music.

 

Kartik: Your songs are multilingual. Notably, the transitions in the languages are very smooth in the songs, which make the composition very cohesive. How do you think the audience reacts to this aspect of your music?
Achyuth: First of all, we are glad you think so!
Ashwin: We have heard positive reviews till now, thankfully. Nobody has as yet, thrown anything negative at us. We try not to force the elements into a song just because the song has to carry out something which is multilingual or some meaning that has to be conveyed. We try to keep whatever we write as what it is.
Achyuth: The fact that we all speak multiple languages helps. So, we are not really restricting ourselves. If we want to convey something through a song in Tamil, we have the freedom to do that, because Ashwin knows how to speak Tamil. It gives us many options, as a band.

 

Kartik:I was just listening to your latest song, “Nee aara”, and I loved it! This is your first Malayalam single, please tell your listeners about the song and what it means.
Achyuth: Thank you very much! It starts off with self-introspection, and then it moves into the ideas of new beginnings, in various metaphorical forms.
Ashwin: In one sentence, it is like understanding your mistakes and then trying to rectify them, and finding what is wrong with you. It’s about finding the new you, to some extent.

 

Kartik: Do you guys have any just-the-band or personal rituals to do before performing on stage?
Ashwin: We definitely pump each other up!
Achyuth: There is like a band-huddle before the performance.

 

Kartik: How many shows have you done in the last one year? Which show has been the best in terms of audience and the derivative artistic gratification?
Achyuth: Around 80-90 shows. All of them were great shows.
Ashwin: As for the latter part of the question, I think both of us might have differing answers, let’s see.
Achyuth: Weekender Pune 2018 was a great one.
Ashwin: Oh, then it is the same. We played our 70s set for the second time at Weekender Pune.
Achyuth: We were still learning our parts for that, but we managed to do well, I guess.
Ashwin: Narayan on violin, Prashant on bass, along with trumpets, we had a proper ball of a time. It was great to see five thousand people in front of you, while Joe Satriani was playing on the other stage. The sound was amazing, thanks to Yogi for mixing that day, Guru did an amazing job with lights as well. It was a crazy good day for us, altogether.

 

Kartik: Can you describe what do you feel when you’re performing on stage and a massive crowd jams to your songs along with you?
Achyuth: I think that’s what we live for.
Ashwin: Yes, we dance with them. And live the moment, that’s it.

 

Kartik: So how would you describe this feeling in one word?
Ashwin: D-E-D, DED, a very millennial term. (laughs)

 

Kartik: What are your views on failures and/or criticism? And what do you think stays with the audience, the artist or the art?
Achyuth: The art definitely.
Ashwin: I think both. Like when the artist feels the art is when the people feel the art.

 

Image Credits: Adithya Khanna for DU Beat
Image Credits: Adithya Khanna for DU Beat

 

Kartik: All the band members have had professional training in Indian classical music. In times of rap and hip-hop, and pop rock, where do you think Indian Classical music is leading to?
Ashwin: It’s leading to world music, buddy. Bands like Agam, and Shadow and Light and so many other independent artists are working on Carnatic and Hindustani music. There are a lot of jazz singers who are blending Carnatic music with jazz. Carnatic music is in a completely different scale altogether than what we think is Indie.
Achyuth: There is immense potential in the genre. It’s already massive.
Ashwin: Totally, I mean a Carnatic music show in Singapore selling more than 2500 tickets that is the substance of the genre.

 

Kartik: In a lot of your music videos, there is a running metaphor of creative and artistic blockade, and coming out of it. One of these videos that has stayed with me is that of the song “Believe“. What are your views on creative expression and its ability to transgress social obligations or expectations?
Ashwin: That’s too tough for me, man! (laughs)
I have been doing music for ten years now (professionally), and I have been learning from almost twenty years. It is definitely a very difficult task coming from a state like Kerala, to build up something what we are trying to do. There is always this hurdle, always this blockade that hits you, and you don’t know what you have to do. You have to find out the right door to move across. It’s not like you sign with a label and you are there. It gets very difficult when you are independent, when you are doing everything by yourself. Within the band, all of us have certain roles, and it becomes this division of creative people, coming together and doing so much together. Everybody’s struggle to get out there speaks for freedom of creativity. We have also come from different social backgrounds. My father worked in a bank, and later retired as an architect. So, we have to tackle all that when we are doing something like curating music on a full-time basis.
Even though our parents and families support us in whatever ways they can, there’s always this element of social obligation that comes to the fore.
Achyuth: Our listeners also relate to it. (the struggle)
Ashwin: At the end of the day, whatever you are doing, you need to be happy with it.

 

Kartik: Which conveniently brings me to my next question. When Chai Met Toast identifies itself with ‘The Happy Project’, it focuses on creating music that makes the listener happy. How do you think it impacts your credibility and influence as a band in a Rockstar-world obsessed with romanticising sadness?
Ashwin: Funny, funny part! (laughs)
See once you are broken, hope for one day that you will be happy. Life is all about it, is it not? I mean if there are songwriters who are writing about this state of being broken, we are trying to get out of it.
Achyuth: I think you can call our music being on the ‘positive’ line. We are looking at the brighter side, even when we are talking about a break-up, for instance.
Ashwin: There are a lot of other factors that get into you in the form of anxiety and depression, now that is entirely different. There is another thing. Generally, in music, we do not wish to depend on emotions too much, right? Every emotion has its own set of feelings that it gives out. But think of this: somebody for instance, thought that she would die of cancer, but having worked hard, she comes out of it. She has definitely channelised her positivity in that fight. She discovered herself, and fought it back. So, it’s always greener on the other side, we just have to look at the green from our side, and just go for it.

 

Image Credits: Saubhagya Saxena or DU Beat
Image Credits: Saubhagya Saxena or DU Beat

Kartik: In an interview you talked about a school in Kashmir (Haji Public School) wherein your song “Firefly” is now sung by the students in assembly. What was your reaction to this discovery and how great of an achievement do you think it is for you?
Achyuth: I think, things like these make what we do, all the more worthwhile. I cannot give it a word, for sure, but the spontaneous reaction to the news was: immensely gratifying. To see our art reaching out and being accepted and loved by people who are like miles away. There have been multiple schools across the country like Patna and Kerala, where students have sung our songs. This is another part that makes our music meaningful. There are no age barriers, our listeners’ ages range from six-year-olds to seventy-year-olds.

Kartik: Please tell us about your upcoming album, tours, and shows.
Ashwin: We are working on the album. Pre-production is going on, song-writing is going on. We are trying to figure out when we are going to release it. We are also trying out different things, and experimenting with new elements and instruments.
Achyuth: We do not know, as yet, when exactly it will be ready, but it is definitely on the cards.
Ashwin: One thing that we know for sure is that we are all very stoked and looking forward to the fun that the process is going to be.
Achyuth: As for the shows, we will be playing at three shows in North India this month. We have not played in North India in a while. We have performances in Delhi, Chandigarh, and Jaipur. Tours are still being planned out.

 

Kartik: How do you like performing in the North Indian states?
Ashwin: There is no barrier such as North Indian states. We love performing everywhere. People accept our music, they come and dance, they have a happy time, we have a happy time. Everybody has their own share of happiness, and we just enjoy that whole ground of people singing and dancing. There is no differentiation as such.
Achyuth: For us, we are equally happy when we are playing in any part of the country. Anybody who loves music is loved by us.

 

Kartik: Now that you have a huge following as a band, where do you see yourself in another five years?
Achyuth: Hopefully playing outside India as well, I don’t know.
Ashwin: To be honest, would love to win a Grammy, but that might be too much to ask for. We would love to play at international festivals, that would be great.
Achyuth: Yes, spreading our vibe, now that we have reached many people in the country, and making difference in whatsoever way we can in the larger community.

 

Kartik: Will we be seeing you anytime soon in some University of Delhi fest?
Achyuth: You should be telling us! (laughs)
Kartik: We would love to have you!
Ashwin: Oh, we would love to play there, as well! It is very mutual.

 

Feature Image Credits: When Chai Met Toast via Facebook

Kartik Chauhan
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DUB Speak

Editorial: No, DU, I Did Not Read ‘That’ Book and You Can Calm Down About It

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A year in this space has made me question my personal notions- what kind of diversity do we have? And is the presence of diversity the same as accepting it- those who bring it to the University of Delhi (DU)- with open arms? Read a take on the culture of shaming in a space meant for diversity.

For a University situated in the Capital of a nation that sells itself to globalisation with the tagline ‘Unity in Diversity’, cultural, economic, and social diversity is always a good self-promotional point. However, if you have been in DU for even a semester, the rose-tinted lenses wear off soon enough. We may have students from all over the country and beyond, but our academic and cultural spaces have not learnt the rhetoric of respecting the history that comes with different family and socio-economic backgrounds.

An average day in an English literature classroom in a  college considered ‘intellectual’- like Lady Shri Ram College- involves professors coming in class, throwing names of critics (mostly foreigners, usually white), and expecting students to have read them. An academic space is meant to challenge you, and to inform you about things you were formerly ignorant of. But the sighs of disappointment, ‘how do you call yourself educated’, and steely eyes filled with judgement when one is unaware of what the professor is speaking of; all are methods of shaming that do more damage than the promised ‘good’. 

It is unfairly ignorant to only speak of professors and classrooms as the harbingers of this attitude, since our own friend circles play a significant role in this process. We, as young-adults stepping outside the comfort of our homes, seek a sense of self-worth and validation from our friends. When belittled for listening to a certain kind of music, or for not having watched or read a movie or book considered ‘high art’, it is inevitable to lose faith in our intellectual capabilities. To be told that you need to have done specific, mostly privileged, and expensive things in order to fit in, is not only elitist, but also a form of childish bullying that all of us have been subjected to.

Most of us have not grown up with our fathers playing vinyl records of Bob Dylan or The Beatles to us as kids. The tag of a Grammar Nazi (wrong on every level), that we wear as a badge of honour will never encourage somebody to learn better English, but will be a reminder of the inefficiencies in their background. It says something about their history, over which they did not have active control, but it defines you as a person- an elitist who does not wish to be kinder and more empathetic.

To recognise that there are conditionings different than your own is a significant aspect of mental maturity that DU colleges fail to instil in us. Challenging us academically or giving us a plethora of resources to learn from is the thing one seeks, but DU’s rather popular culture of shaming us into learning is psychologically flawed, and ethically problematic in a time when we are learning and unlearning the caste, class, and cultural privileges and meritocracy. It is true that DU is not the only place where the culture of shaming is prominent and propagated, but when I think of DU, I think of diversity. To have diversity comes with the need to accept it, and I know our classrooms can change for the better. Arundhati Roy said, “To love. To be loved… To try and understand… And never, never to forget.” (If you have not read her, it’s okay. Take this as my recommendation, if you were looking for one?) I hope, DU does not forget its role and duty to diversity- intellectual and of all kinds- and understands that we are all learning, and we can do with a little kindness.

Anushree Joshi 

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Admissions 2019

DU Admissions 2019: ECA Schedule and Guidelines Out

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After the declaration of results, several rounds of admissions to follow in the supernumerary seats of the ECA category.

On Monday, 15th July, the University of Delhi (DU) announced the schedule as well as detailed guidelines for aspirants seeking admission to its colleges under the Extra-Curricular Activities (ECA) quota.

The University conducted the Preliminary rounds of trial for fourteen categories of the ECA quota from 25th June 2019 to 5th July 2019. The results of shortlisted students to appear for the Final round of trials was released on 6th July 2019 and the Finals were conducted from 9th July 2019 to 14th July 2019.

Schedule for Registration and UG Admission via ECA quota Image Credit: Delhi University
Schedule for Registration and UG Admission via ECA quota Image Credit: Delhi University

According to the recent information uploaded on the DU website, the result or the merit list prepared after the Finals, will be notified on 17th July, 2019 at 5 pm. After which, there will be several rounds of registration and admissions for candidates whose names figure in ECA Merit Lists – four rounds have been scheduled so far. Aspirants should note that each college will conduct its registration process separately, and that there is no centralisation of this process. Therefore, they will have to apply separately to each of the colleges they are seeking admission to, during each of the registration and admission rounds.

The first round of registration is scheduled from 18th July 2019 to 20th July 2019, and the colleges will release their first notification of admitted candidates on 22nd July 2019 by 10 am. The candidates who secure admission in each of the rounds of admission, are required to pay their fees on the DU portal by 3 pm on the next day of taking admission.

There are 1,050 seats up for grabs under the fourteen categories according to the DU’s Bulletin of Information for candidates seeking admissions to Undergraduate programmes. The varsity has also specified that a maximum of five percent of the total seats in a college have to be put up for admission under this category.

Lastly, the aspirants seeking admission under ECA must keep in mind that they are required to carry all relevant documents in hard copy for the admissions procedure, and will also have to sign a bond on a non-judicial stamp paper, committing to take part in that ECA activities of the college, throughout their stay in college.

Feature Image Credit: Rishabh Chauhan for DU Beat

Bhavya Pandey

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