Slumgods : Pt. I

B-Boying or what you may know as Breakdance

Is a form of dance embedded deep within Hip-Hop Culture

And today, in Now Delhi

It’s educating and helping kids, who by default are enrolled into the School of Hard Knocks

Every society the world over

Is divided into those with privileges and those without

That is just the inherent nature of the beast that is society

Those with privileges, have them just by virtue of the comfortable life they are born into

Where everything one needs is provided for

be it quality education,

or those pointlessly annoying shoes with lights, which, for some reason, became extremely popular when I was growing up

Necessity vs Luxury?

Those born without basic privileges of life, are also often the ones forgotten

Our rigid socio-cultural divide makes most cultural interactions inaccessible for them

Our system further pushes them into lives lacking individuality or any creative outlet

So how does one bridge this gap?

Creative learning and community building become a major part of the solution

And books aren’t the only way one can learn

Tiny Drops is one such solution

It provides children living in slums with an alternative creative and social outlet

through cultural activities such as dance, music, and graffiti embedded in Hip-Hop Culture

It provides a safe haven for children who are exposed to extremely harsh living conditions from a early age

And gives them something positive to put their mind and energy into

It is a space which attracts children from 8-18 years to come and develop a solid foundation in any of these artforms so that they can use these skill sets and fulfill their dreams

It is run by volunteer mentors who provide guidance to the kids with personal one on one interactions based on respect and friendship

Netarpal ‘Heera’ Singh is one such Mentor

He is one of the most active names in the Indian B-Boying Community

And was instrumental in setting up Tiny Drops in Mumbai

With others in Mumbai, he initiated several slum kids in the Dharavi slum, one of the wolrd’s largest Slum clusters, where the centre is now run by the kids themselves.

Now based in Delhi, he mentors at Tiny Drops in collaboration with the NGO Khoj, who provide the children with a space to practice in Khirki VIllage. Khoj also helped immensely in organizing the first ever ‘Park Jam’ in Delhi

Usually they Practice in the space provided by Khoj in Khirki,

but from time to time, you might spot them flying in the air in the gardens in front of the malls in Saket…

As a result of this initiative, now there is a very rapidly growing BBoying Community

Which was quite evident when Now Delhi showed up at the Cypherholic Jam, a B-Boy competition with individual and crew Dance-offs

Atleast a few hundred kids of all ages showed up, rearing to go..

Watch Slum gods Part II Here