An article in Bangalore Mirror got me curious about these kids who didn’t quite accept what destiny had in store for them. They wanted to write their own destiny.
Being uncertain about what reaction I would get for a photo-session, I called up Sritheren, the founder of Hip Hop India, under whose guidance these kids of construction workers are learning Hip-Hop. But Sritheren was more than happy and asked me to drop by the next day itself. Next day, I readied my Minolta, took about 8 rolls! (wanted to be ready for anything :-P) and took off to the Hip Hop India Studio in Koramangala, not knowing what to expect. How should I break the ice between us, will I say something to annoy them, should I plan the photo-shoot outdoors at a construction site or at the studio itself? These thoughts kept bugging me till I reached the spot.
The studio had a cool rebellious look to it with the bad-ass graffiti on the walls. One by one the kids started pouring in. As they entered the studio they confidently shook hands with me and smiled. A kid with an unkempt hairdo even got me a Mango Bite! So, they took upon themselves to break the ice and my apprehensions were finally put to rest. As if they knew exactly what to do, after a quick warm up, they did some cool moves to impress my camera… I am not sure if they can read or write, but they sure can play some groovy tracks on a computer! And everyone seemed to have a favourite of their own. After settling on one, they started off with their routine (I don’t even know the names of the moves), giving me lots of opportunities to get my clicks right. Not wanting to discuss about their backgrounds, I straight away got into my act.
Having practiced handstands for few days, I felt an urge to show-off my moves as well :-P. Seeing that I was not good enough, few of them came forward to help me out with few tips.
After an hour long session, it was time to leave. As I finally asked them their names, I was not expecting anything close to this –Sunshine, Mousie, Dre, Mixed Tape and Mr. Pop!
