Monday, January 24, 2011

Hip Hop in the Slums and at the Gandhi Ashram


Yesterday was an amazing blessing. A day that will leave a deep imprint on the lives of the guests that came.
My life has been closely connected to the art form of hip hop over the past 15 years. And I really haven’t expressed that art form while living here in India. Yesterday, however, through the American Center at the American Consulate in India, we had Havikoro, a Houston-based hip hop group (breakdancing, beatboxing, djing and mcing) spend a whole day with our EKATVA kids as well as hundreds of our Manav Sadhna kids.
We started with a improvised breaking and beatboxing cipher in Rama Pir No Tekra (the biggest slum area in Gujarat, pop. 120,000).


Then we went to our Manav Sadhna community center, a beautiful gem in the middle of the slum, where the Havikoro group did a breakdancing workshop with our kids.













As well as a little freestyle session! 

We ended the day with a djing, beatboxing and rapping exhibition and workshop by Havikoro at the Gandhi Ashram with over 200 kids of ‘untouchable’ communities from Ahmedabad.






The kids were so powerfully charged with positive energy and gratitude for such a progressive and humble group to share their talent and love with them.

After the event, Virenbhai and I gave the Havikoro Group a tour of the Gandhi Ashram (and gifted each of them with an autobiography of Gandhiji)  in the late evening. In reflection of the entire day, the group expressed a deep feeling of gratitude. They were truly moved by their experience, the very human connections they made with the children all throughout day, the spirit of Manav Sadhna and the slum area. They were sincerely humbled and most importantly inspired. Chris and Marlin made it a point that they would sincerely want to come back to Ahmedabad and Manav Sadhna to share their talents with the kids for a longer time period.
The EKATVA journey is truly beautiful. But just like everything else in the world, it will come and go, seemingly unnoticed, perhaps, to most of the world. But we continue to walk in faith, that ripples of love and oneness will spread as long as our intention is pure.
I leave you with Mother Theresa’s heartfelt words:
“We can do no great things. Just small things with great love”.

8 comments:

  1. that is straight SICK son. i love it.

    One.

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  2. I LOVED watching these videos! Wow. You are doing such a wonderful job, Nimesh. Blessings to you.

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  3. This is SO AWESOME! Ditto on loving these videos!! So so so much love to you and the kids.

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  4. So touched !!!!!wonderful job....

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