Mumbai Musicians Rally Together to Protect Aarey Forest with Gig Series Awaaz Do

In a bid to address social issues that plague Mumbai, event company 4/4 Entertainment is launching a brand new gig series titled Awaaz Do to help contribute towards and solve the problems at hand. The first edition is aimed towards saving the city’s Aarey Forest from being completely wiped out and is slated to happen on January 31st at Mumbai’s FLEA Bazaar Café.

On how the gig series came into the works, 4/4 Entertainment co-founder Nikhil Udupa says, “We’ve been always perturbed by the events going down at Aarey and have thought about how to make a meaningful contribution to the #SaveAarey movement. As we spoke, the idea grew into tackling urban problems that affect all of us including music fans and gig goers.” The organizers have also tied up with NGO Vanashakti and Youth For Aarey for the initiative and Udupa says, “They [Vanashakti] have been at the forefront of the Save Aarey movement and have been driving it legally via various notices to the High Court, National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court to fight for the forest and rivers of Mumbai.”

The lineup for the show features city-based acts such as folk rockers Ankur & The Ghalat Family, fusion outfit Maati Baani, multilingual hip-hop group Swadesi, electronica artist Avi and Prakash Bhoir & the Aarey Collective. The event will also include talks by conservation speakers and activists like Nikit Surve and Stalin Dayanand. Singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari says, “I personally feel that if there is any saving for this world it is going to happen through arts and especially through music.” He adds, “It’s not about infighting with each other, it’s about working with people and in the heart of hearts even people who disagree with your methods, they understand the situation is grave and it’s time to join hands and work together and save the environment and save the forest.”

All the revenue made from the gig through ticket sales and donations at the show will go directly towards Vanashakti. Udupa says, “50 percent of the funds raised through this event will be used to meet the legal expenses and [the] rest of the funds will be spent on creating awareness ”” through posters, videos, events and conferences ”” about the destruction of our natural resources, the climate, and the health emergency it is leading us to.”  

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