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Home > Jukebox Archive > 1st October, 2014
Shor in the city - along with some sur and sargams!
Hello there!

       Vibrant. Orange. Earthy. Vivacious. Burnt yellow. Fiery red. Golden. Enchanting. If we were elsewhere in the world, this collection of words could all point to the sunset-kissed season of autumn. Here in Mumbai, on the other hand, they all point to Navratri! For the past week, the National Streets for Performing Arts (NSPA) team has been swallowed into the colour-coordinated masses descending en masse from local trains and buses, and pouring out onto the music-filled streets of our city! Here's how the NSPA has been involved in contributing some sur and sargams in the midst of all the shor in the city -
100 Thousand Poets for Change - and seven amateur musicians!
Traditionally, bookshops are shrines for beloved and hitherto undiscovered wordsmiths across the ages, and are stooped neck deep in the sort of silence best associated with discovery and wonder. However, Fort's Kitab Khana - from the 25th to the 27th of September - tweaked tradition by paying homage to poets and musicians for the global 100 Thousand Poets for Change initiative's Mumbai edition. Our Uttarakhandi lok geet performers beautifully complemented multi-lingual poetry narrations, Vidrohi lok shahirs spiritedly kicked off a day of women's poetry, and the Carnatic and Western Classical violinists' jugalbandi with a freestyle flamenco guitarist celebrated the global day for poetry by aptly proving that sometimes, poetry can be non-verbal! Mukund, Dakshina, Anusha and Rachel @ Hive
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"What an absolute hive of activity!" (aka When Coldplay met Karnataka!)
NSPA at Kitab Khana
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Sometimes, one puts the tip of one's toe in to test the waters, and sometimes one cannonballs right in! When we paired together veteran NSPA artists Carnatic violinist Mukund and multi-percussionist Dakshinamurthy with our newly recruited jazz and rock singers/guitarists Anusha and Rachel to jam together, we definitely plunged right into the deep end! The collaboration led to NSPA's pilot showcase at The Hive, a community space in Khar's Chuim Village, on the 28th of September. "Busking at the Hive" ran to a packed house that witnessed pure Carnatic Classical and contemporary jazz sets followed by an incredible jamming session that spanned Spanish melodies, the Sound of Music, playful multi-lingual vocals and thrums of the kanjira! We return to the Hive on the 4th Sunday of every month!
EVENTS UPDATES, COME OCTOBER
What do the Farmers' Market (Mahim Nature Park), Bhau Daji Lad museum's garden, Juhu's Pushpa Narsee Park, Bandra's Candies Cafe, MCubed Library (opposite Bandra Gymkhana), the Vashi bus depot, the Central Railways, the Mumbai Metro, Carter Road's seaside promenade, Malad's Evershine Nagar, Versova's Leaping Windows library and cafe - to name a few - have in common?
The NSPA's street musicians perform at all those venues across the week, making up over 200 hours in the month! All we need is for you to show up! You can start by witnessing -- 22 STREET MUSICIANS AT 22 RAILWAY STATIONS!

THE CAKE: We are collaborating with the Western and Central Railways on Oct 2nd (Gandhi Jayanti) for their Cleanliness Drive, and 22 NSPA street musicians will be performing at 22 Central and Western railway stations from 10 am - 6 pm for your pleasure! It has never been done before in the history of this initiative, or that of Mumbai's railways, and we couldn't be more excited! Here is the schedule explaining which artists perform at what stations on the 2nd - View Schedule >>

THE ICING ON THE CAKE: If you manage to spot our yellow tee shirt clad musicians and take photos and videos of them and their audiences - you could go on our new blog! Mail in your entries with your name and the station you were at, and the time you spotted the musicians to info@nspa.in - and be sure to title your mail "SPOTTED AT THE STATION!" You can also write a short piece on your experience of the performance and mail it in - you could find your way onto our blog and website as an honorary guest writer! Mark your calendars for the 2nd of October and come visit the railways!

WE'RE HIRING! We're a small team of 7 people, and we're looking to welcome more to the family! We're looking for Social Media Manager and Content Creator all rolled into one - someone to creatively manage our social media, and create content for the blog, website and newsletter! We're also looking for a musically trained and creatively inclined Art Intern who wants to explore the music scene in Mumbai, contribute ideas for our street performance and creative collaborations program, and help execute the ideas. Those interested can mail in their CV to info@nspa.in. Can't wait to hear from you!
Have a lovely weekend!

Yours,
The NSPA
 
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