In the large expanse of Delhi, Noorie goes underground and discovers MEETHA world. She meets KINARI, India's first transgender rapper whose razor sharp lyrics and hypnotic beats are an expose of labor, lust, identity and rebellion. Noorie travels along with Kinari and Mithran, her manager, who tell her about their quest to construct a trans imaginary, which is genre defying,shape shifting, radical and fierce.

***

In the past couple of years, KINARI has emerged as one of the foremost voices for the LGBTQ+ community in India's hip-hop scene. She celebrates her identity as a kinnar in her lyrics ("pretty avaz baby mai kinnar" on "PURRRRR") and also brings her firsthand experience in Portland's ballroom community to India (as on her debut EP Jimmy Vogue, released Nov 2021). Sampling disco tracks, riot grrrl rock, house music, clips from Paris Is Burning, and interviews with Indian trans activists consistently demonstrating a singularity of vision. Her hip hop mixtape 'Kattar Kinar', is a radical sonic expression of life in Delhi's Khirkee Extension. Intertwined with the beat of wedding bands outside her window, the coruscating pulse of gaana songs and cuts of Mari Selvaraj films, 'Kattar Kinnar' is a celebration of the present- a trans imaginary is found out on the streets, with the people, uncompromising and unafraid.

LISTEN: https://open.spotify.com/album/2xlj0leSV6hezgrmEgh0ac

RT Samuel (Mithran) R T Samuel is an editor and independent cultural producer working between London and New Delhi. He is the co-editor of the collection, The Blaft Book of Anti Caste SF.

***

Concept: Ekta & Angarika, maraa a media & arts collective

Voice of Noorie: Ekta & Angarika

Recordings: Gaurav Krishna & Ishan Gupta

Sound design: Gaurav Krishna & Advik

Design Concept: Ekta

Design & Illustrations: Thara Thomas

Video Podcast: Malavika Mishra

Production Support: Team Maraa

With support from Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan

Traveling east on the Darjeeling mail, Noorie meets Veecheet, the lead singer of a Nepali folk-rock quartet called Gauley Bhai. He tells her the story of the Gorkhaland agitation, an assertion of political and linguistic identity in the Kalimpong-Darjeeling-Teesta region. Of the ongoing resistance against the dams and highways that are encroaching on the area, and a search for cultural consciousness. Gauley Bhai's music embodies loss, love and longing, set against an everchanging landscape. Noorie discovers the power of music as a way of memory keeping, resistance and celebration.

***

Gauley Bhai (brothers from back home) is a Contemporary Folk-Rock quartet formed in 2017 when Veecheet, Anudwatt, Joe and Sidhant met in a studio in Bangalore. Their sound emerged from a shared memory of growing up in small towns- Veecheet, Anudwatt and Sidhant grew up in Kalimpong, and Joe in Calicut- and migrating to big cities. Their musical inspirations draw from sounds of childhood like Nepali folk (Jhalakman Gandharva, Bir Bahadur Biswakarma) and South-Indian Singari rhythms as well as blues, rock n roll and hip hop. The result is a sound that is strongly rooted yet nomadic.

JORO: https://open.spotify.com/album/5NZQMCVRrH98PwKonS4wRy?si=UX71Co78QaGi3m8vPFcTCw

Sunbari: https://open.spotify.com/album/6a6rMzNY6QEBcjJ7Cmu0rT?si=rmVlEM5VTpqui2u09EKSkg

***

Concept: Ekta & Angarika, maraa a media & arts collective

Voice of Noorie: Ekta & Angarika

Recordings: Gaurav Krishna & Ishan Gupta

Sound design: Gaurav Krishna & Advik

Design Concept: Ekta

Design & Illustrations: Thara Thomas

Video Podcast: Malavika Mishra

Production Support: Team Maraa

With support from Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan

Have you ever followed a song, a tune or a melody? Even though you cannot fully understand it, you feel a strong connection with it, as though you know it from a different life, a parallel reality.

Purbi was like that for Noorie, follow her search from the labour colony in Bangalore to the long train journey on Sanghamitra Express and all the way to Ara in Bihar. She feels at home even though she is meeting with Raju, Piyush, Sunaina and Sipahi, who take her through the different spirits and moods of songs from the Land of migration.

It is these songsthat keep people who have migrated to far away lands connected to their loved ones. The pain of separation is hard to express, but in their songs they are able to carry that pain out, so that people can find refuge and a sense of solace. Noorie finds Nirgun, a mood that sets the tone of her inner voice. Here, songs are passed on like life lessons,the memory for which is etched in the minds of the receiver forever.

***

Raju Ranjan is a theatre artist and a jangayak. He comes from Farhada, and has performed all over India. He is aligned with several anti-caste and socio-cultural movements across India. Raju’s research practice considers diverse folk practices of Bihar through lives and struggles of folk artists and public performers.

Sunil Ram, better known as Sunaina, is a renowned senior naach artist from Chanakewatiya. They stopped singing and dancing due to old age, but continue as a percussionist. Raju urged Sunaina to return from his retirement as a singer and dancer-performer because only with their presence, we could explore the practice of Nirgun.

Sipahi is a naach performer from Kanaela. He performs at weddings and baraaths, festivals, political rallies, and in traditional folk programmes. Off season, he migrates to Talegaon to work as a rose picker.

Piyush is an artist and researcher whose work tries to locate how caste plays out in everyday life and deeper histories. Part of his work is creating collective productions of anti-caste discourse. He runs a research and production studio called zeropowercut.

***

Concept: Ekta & Angarika, maraa a media & arts collective

Voice of Noorie: Ekta & Angarika

Recordings: Gaurav Krishna & Ishan Gupta

Sound design: Gaurav Krishna & Advik

Design Concept: Ekta

Design & Illustrations: Thara Thomas

Video Podcast: Malavika Mishra

Production Support: Team Maraa

With support from Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan

In the aftermath of the 2023 flood, Noorie makes her way to the Teesta Highway Region. The water has left gaping cracks and sandy residues. The people in the area are rebuilding their lives with a quiet dignity. This isn't the first time. To take refuge from the pouring rain, she steps into a tea shop and meets Asis, Anil, Manoj, Sudp and Daniel, popularly known as the Teesta Troupers. Over cups of tea, they tell her what it means to grow up along the Teesta Highway, a story of corruption and hustle, infrastructural assault and resistance, belonging and uncertainty.

**

The Teesta Troupers are a collective of musicians, writers and rappers, that came to life in a jam room situated below a garage on the Teesta highway. 'Sound of Streets' , their debut album, reflects the dreams, hustle, longing and desires of young people living and working around the Teesta River and Highway. The album is dedicated to the young people of the Teesta region.The name 'Troupers' originate from members of a performing troupe, who are no strangers to difficult conditions in the line of duty, and know that the show must always go on.

***

Concept: Ekta & Angarika, maraa a media & arts collective
Voice of Noorie: Ekta & Angarika
Recordings: Gaurav Krishna & Ishan Gupta
Sound design: Gaurav Krishna & Advik Swamy
Design Concept: Ekta
Design & Illustrations: Thara Thomas
Video Podcast: Malavika Mishra
Production Support: Team Maraa
With support from Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan

Noorie crosses the desert

Trekking across a hot desert, Noorie hears a voice calling out to her, amidst the hot winds and shining sands. The voice sounds like it belongs to another century. It draws her closer, until she encounters Abdul Jaat & Ataullah Jaat, who gently guide her into the world of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and his poetry.

Bhitai is a 17th century writer and poet. His poetry travels across a vast expanse. As he writes, the listener can imagine Sindh and its neighbouring regions, travelling far with the Sindhi sailors (Samundi). Through his poetry, the canvas of ordinary people’s lives is revealed, like the cattle breeders and the pastoralists. He breathes life into landscapes, describing the geographical uniqueness of regions, cultures, traditions, animals, and the daily mysteries of life.

In this episode, Abdul Jaat and Ataullah Jaat, sufi musicians, sing the Dastaan of Marui and Madu transporting Noorie to the kingdom of Umarkot, where she encounters Marui. Marui belongs to the pastoralist community and is kidnapped by Umar who is bewitched by her beauty. She refuses to be tempted by the palace and its riches, stays resolute in her commitment to her homeland and yearns for the day she can return. Tune in to listen to Marui's story with Noorie!

**

Aarab Jat and Ataullah Jat I belong to the Jat tribe community of Kachchh, Gujarat. They are renowned sufi musicians, with an incredible knowledge and musical skill in performing Bhitai's surs and poetry. In this episode, they are joined by Asif Rayama, who has been actively studying and documenting Bhitai's poetry and its continuing relevance across the landscape of Kutch today.

**

Concept: Ekta & Angarika, maraa a media & arts collective

Voice of Noorie: Ekta & Angarika

Recordings: Gaurav Krishna & Ishan Gupta

Sound design: Gaurav Krishna & Advik

Design Concept: Ekta

Design & Illustrations: Thara Thomas

Video Podcast: Malavika Mishra

Production Support: Team Maraa

With support from Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan

The road to Teerhalli Betta in Kolar was like a time lapse. Noorie was lost looking at the boulders scattered across the hill. These boulders appeared like mythologies, lying around in precarious positions. How could volcanic eruptions create such magnificence? Who were the people living here before the volcanoes erupted? Come, follow Noorie quest all the way uphill, to the doorstep of Buddideepa, where she meets Durga and Narayanswamy who sing her stories of people, the land, the resistance that lives on. She gathers seeds of wisdom from the poetry and songs written by Kotiginahalli Ramaiah and Buddideepa becomes an eternal landmark in her memory.

***

Narayanswamy is a folk and protest singer, who has composed renowned poet Kotiganahalli Ramaiah’s poetry and writing.Combining myth and folk stories, the songs express the anguish and struggle of the Dalit community, in their experience of discrimination and violence.

Durga first entered the theatre playing the role of an ant in Kage Kanu Irave Bala. Since then, she has participated in various children’s summer camps in Adima, a theatre institute based in Kolar. She has also acted in various plays over the years including, Sunada Suttu, Yaaru Dodavaru, Wakitanarani, Late Pali Tribe, Nayi Thippa, Kannas Patreya Kyunalli Jagatambe, Sutta Tikata Devaru and Kade Gorakha. She recently acted in a play called Gangamma Neerinage Jade Henita Avle, directed by Kotiganahalli Ramaiah, which saw over 125 shows across Karnataka.

Both Narayanswamy and Durga also work at Buddideepa, a school for children started by the renowned writer and poet, Kotiganahalli Ramaiah, in Kolar. Alongside Theatre, Durga is also a singer, and performs regularly with various musical troupes.

**

Concept: Ekta & Angarika, maraa a media & arts collective

Voice of Noorie: Ekta & Angarika

Recordings: Gaurav Krishna & Ishan Gupta

Sound design: Gaurav Krishna & Advik

Design Concept: Ekta

Design & Illustrations: Thara Thomas

Video Podcast: Malavika Mishra

Production Support: Team Maraa

With support from Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan

What happens when a voice does not transition with the body? In Rumi's Riaz Room, nothing is as it seems.Having grown up learning Hindustani classical music, Rumi begins experimenting within its structures, when his gender and sexual identity begins to change. Rumi's Riyaz is rebellious and playful, genre and gender fluid. His voice reveals the characters of Raagas- as a jealous lover, a close friend, an elusive teacher. Tune in to listen to what Noorie discovers in Rumi's Riaz Room!

Rumi Harish is a trans man, musician, writer , playwright and painter. He has worked in social justice movements on gender and sexuality for the last 23 years. After years of being an activist and a committed musician, his therapist recommended he take up painting, as a way to express himself, during a period of transition for his voice. Over the years he has formed an inseperable relationship between painting and music. Rumi is deeply involved in developing queer and trans cultures of art and culture.

****

Concept: Ekta & Angarika, maraa a media & arts collective

Voice of Noorie: Ekta & Angarika

Recordings: Gaurav Krishna & Ishan Gupta

Sound design: Gaurav Krishna & Advik Swamy

Design Concept: Ekta

Design & Illustrations: Thara Thomas

Video Podcast: Malavika Mishra

Production Support: Team Maraa

With support from Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan

In the dead of winter, Noorie finds herself in the Kashmir Valley. Amidst the swirling snow, she is searching for an instrument, the Saaz E Kashmir, the sound of which has cast a spell on her. Walking through the streets of Srinagar, she is fortunate to encounter Arshad Mushtaq, Manzoor Ul Haq, Tahir Najar and Bilal Bhagat, folk musicians and theatre practitioners, who welcome her into their homes. Over cups of nun chai, they unravel the mysteries of the Saaz E Kashmir and trace the journey of Sufiyana, as a cultural memory and practice of faith and resilience for the people of Kashmir.

***

A big shoutout to all our musician friends who encountered Noorie and warmly welcomed her into their homes!

Concept: Ekta & Angarika

Voice of Noorie: Ekta & Angarika

Recordings: Gaurav Krishna & Ishan Gupta

Sound Design: Gaurav Krishna & Advik

Design Concept: Ekta

Design & Illustrations: Thara Thomas

Video Podcast: Malavika Mishra

Production Support: Team Maraa

With support from Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan