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We Are Anarchy: The story of Lahooti Melo 2020
Hip hop, EDM and climate change activism enveloped the fourth edition of the Lahooti Melo.
Isn’t all art anarchic anyway? French writer Marquis de Sade once said, “Art is the perpetual immoral subversion of the established order of things.” Come to think of it, the mere act of creation is a subversion, an anarchic blow to the existing order.
Lahooti Melo 2020 made a similar anarchic statement. In a world (and particularly the country) where climate change isn’t considered a concern, The Sketches front man and Lahooti Melo founder Saif Samejo themed the fourth edition of the annual art and music festival ‘Eco, Not Ego’ and dedicated it to the environment.
Victorien Mulliez of FDVM at the Lahooti Melo 2020
© Lahooti Melo 2020
The three-day festival consisted of multiple panels where speakers from all backgrounds, social work, politics, academia, etc., gathered to discuss the environment crises in Sindh and across Pakistan. The panelists spoke about issues ranging from lakes and lagoons of Sindh and sustainable water management to the illegal cutting and crushing of granite-rich Karoonjhar mountain range in Tharparkar and the struggles of River Indus.
The Melo had a plantation drive to signify the importance of going green. Another segment titled ‘Litterally’ was a fusion of trash pickup and a dance party where groups of people gathered to clean the environment in the most fun way possible.
SomeWhatSuper & their funky renditions at the Lahooti Melo 2020
© Lahooti Melo 2020
Besides, when it came to music, the artists or anarchists performed with a ‘V for Vendetta’ to settle. Performances by Jai Ram Jogi, Royal Law, ACMA the band and others were a pleasant surprise. A few names returned from last year such as Chand Tara Orchestra, Kashmir and Hamza Akram Qawwal among others. The festival, as always, would be incomplete without The Sketches’ mega performance.
Hip hop dancer, Taishi entertains the crowd at the Lahooti Melo 2020
© Lahooti Melo 2020
Speaking of anarchy, it’d be a sin not to mention the hip hop group Anarchy. The Bboy Taishi-led ensemble enchanted the Hyderabad and Jamshoro crowd with a quite different form of entertainment, something they aren’t used to. In a moment of finding a connection with the crowd, Taishi asked them in Sindhi “Chha haal aahin?” (how are you?) and the crowd erupted in response.
The breakdance choreographed to the music of the likes of Indian rapper Divine and Prateek Kuhad among others was a yet-untasted recipe for the local crowd, yet it worked on some levels.
Hip hop dance performance by Taishi at the Lahooti Melo 2020
© Lahooti Melo 2020
The athleticism and the groove caught on quick and some locals even mimicked the moves on the ground, coming up with their own version of the hip hop dance.
SomeWhatSuper returned for the second time to offer their special desi EDM sauce.
Their funky renditions always serve to enliven the crowd. All of this is to say that before Lahooti Melo, the exposure of the audience in Hyderabad, Jamshoro and surrounding areas to electronic music was arguably minimal.
Through the Melo, they get to experience the kind of music they might not be used to. It will take time for people to accept and enjoy this, as they normally listen to what’s popular in the land. But this is the beauty of this festival. It introduces new things and is consistent about it.
SomeWhatSuper performing at the latest edition of Lahooti
© Lahooti Melo 2020
Two years of performing at Lahooti Melo annually, and the effect is starting to show. You could hear a group of friends standing by the Red Bull selling station talking about how SomeWhatSuper is the reason they have attended the Melo this year. It shows in the crowd response as well.
With each passing year, the scope of EDM grows. With each festival, the scope of hip hop grows. And with each performance, more people are mesmerized, intrigued and become fans of different styles of music and performance art.
Victorien Mulliez performs at the Lahooti Melo.
© Lahooti Melo 2020
It takes you back to the moment when Taishi rallied the crowd into screaming “We Are Anarchy!” Because we are. And so is Samejo whose brainchild, this Melo, has taken a life of its own.
Writer Alan Moore in V for Vendetta said, “Anarchy wears two faces, both creator and destroyer,” and “Away with our destroyers! They have no place within our better world.” The seed of the idea that we have to be the creators, not destroyers, has been planted. In the spirit of the hip hop ensemble, we are anarchy. We just need to be the right kind.
