Grime Riot Disco: Mumbai's subversive dance party
The first clue I received for the Grime Riot Disco was via a tattered poster glued askew to a electric junction box in a Bandra by-lane.
The distinctly NoBo-kitsch rendition of an androgynous desi disco-freak immediately took me back to the streets of New York City.
I took it as a cheeky, tenacious herald of an impending guerrilla movement in Mumbai.
Grime Riot Disco is a recurring party supported by a small collective of passionate volunteers and like-minded artists.
The first party took place in November 2010, in a past-its-glory-days club in Khar’s Hotel Ramee Guestline, as a result of several conversations between Monica Dogra, lead vocalist of Mumbai band Shaa’ir + Func, and Anamika Singh of New York City-based event management company Flirteve that’s now set up shack in Mumbai.
“There’s a community of incredibly talented alternative artists and musicians in the city, but not enough venues supporting the kind of artistic expression that reflects them," explains Dogra. "If I wasn’t going to the kind of parties I wanted to, how could I blame others for complaining about the lack of a scene?”
Nightclubbing in Mumbai has become restricted to big clubs that charge exorbitant cover charges, operate a couples-only policy (no matter how well-intentioned or well-dressed a stag you are) and play standard commercial music.
Realizing that cheap booze, groovy tunes and a clean vibe in an unpretentious, safe and welcoming space were key ingredients to their ideal party -- and that they were far from alone in their idealism -- Dogra and Singh set out to create the “anti-party” party, naming it Grime Riot Disco: three words which, they felt, perfectly captured Mumbai’s grungy, explosive beauty.
The idea was to take over small dive bars or past-their-cool-date pubs with otherwise girl-unfriendly and spotty patronage, and give them a cool electro-grit makeover for a night.
The venue would welcome the business; the crowd the low entry charges, affordable drinks and fresh sounds. Making it an invite-only event helped keep the media and non-dancers at bay.
Dogra and Singh -- along with Wetheppl graphic designer Kunal Lodhia -- threw the second Grime Riot Disco party on March 26 in a Bandra dive called Bollywood Mischief, and counted some 200 attendees -- enough for an energetic party vibe and yet not so many as to become an uncomfortable sweat-fest. And this in spite of the apparent absence of a guest-list policy at the door.
The DJ lineup included Mayur of Bandish Projekt as well as DJ Ruskin, whose funky mashups had the crowd bouncing and smiling non-stop.
Disco couture by sporting participants completed the picture, making for a good night out despite the customary 1:30 a.m. shut-down.
I haven’t had that good a time dancing at a Mumbai party in a long, long time.
Like The Wall Project or the Gay Bombay Parties, Grime Riot Disco is a response to Mumbai’s growing hunger for alternative urban expression.
It’s yet to be seen how long and far this idea will go, but it’s certainly a notable entry in the evolving by-dark cultural landscape.
In a city that’s quick to chide and slow to bless, it’d be refreshing to discover enough dedicated volunteers and artists to keep a party like Grime Riot Disco going and growing.
Grime Riot Disco parties are due to take place once a month. Follow Grime Riot Disco on Facebook to find out when and where the next one is scheduled.
