Make or break?

With breakdancing proposed as a sport for the 2024 Olympics, we ask how ready the country is to compete?

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Park in Navpada is one of the better ones in Andheri West. There is a pathway that circles all around it for people to walk. The shrubs are neatly cut. The grass is well-maintained. And there is a slightly elevated concrete platform at one end, which is in a smooth condition. That's where a few B-boys (the original 1970s term for break dancers, the latter phrase gaining currency only in the '80s) meet every morning to practise their moves. They get together around 8.30 am and carry on till noon, which is when the uniformed guard blows his whistle before shutting the gate for the afternoon.

These youngsters belong to B.E.A.S.T Mode Crew, a prominent Mumbai group that fosters a culture of breaking, the community's word for "breakdancing". We meet two of them — Shailesh Shantaram aka B-boy Sonic and Eshwar Tiwari aka B-boy Wildchild — on a Friday, to get an insight into the health of the community. The reason is that the dance form has been proposed as a new sport for the 2024 Paris Olympics. So, what we hope to find out is whether there is an organised structure to help breaking grow in this country. Are there any training facilities? Is there enough money to be made of it to build a career? And what's the government doing to ensure that India stands a chance of winning a medal five years down the line?

Eshwar Tiwari aka B-boy Wildchild

Nothing, is the answer to that last question. The powers that be still have a predictably woh-kya-hai attitude to breaking, as we learn after talking to the duo at the Andheri Park. "Government ko toh kuchh bhi nahin pata hai," 20-year-old Tiwari says, as Shantaram, 27, laments, "Woh hamari taraf dekh bhi nahin rahe hai. Look at a place like Korea in comparison. We were there in 2017 to represent India in the breaking world cup. And we saw that they have community centres to support [the scene], with help from the embassies. There are government agencies who select specific dancers to represent their culture at festivals in other countries. But most importantly, they put in investments, because the big problem we face here is the lack of financial viability."

He adds that a fixed monthly income — and it doesn't have to be much — would give families the confidence to let their children pursue the dance form. Breaking is one part of the hip-hop lifestyle and the community came into prominence in India around the same time that hip-hop music did, i.e. 2015. That's when BC One was first held in the country. It's a one-on-one B-boying championship, which featured four of the biggest global names in the field. Their moves took an interested audience's breath away. And several dancers were inspired enough to pursue it seriously.

Shailesh Shantaram aka B-boy Sonic

But what happened after that? Not enough, sadly. Some television shows tried to appropriate the style. But as Shantaram puts it, "Reality shows are not real since it's all about drama." A few brands tried to cash in on the hype. But apart from Red Bull, who are being mentioned here only for making a concerted effort to raise breaking's profile in India, others would pay in the form of merchandise, which is of little use compared to actual money. In fact, there were even some outright scamsters who surfaced around this time. "I can take a lot of names, but there have been organisers who have put together jams and when the time came for judges to be paid, woh bhaag gaye," he says.

So, what's the way forward then? If breaking is indeed selected as a new Olympic sport, what can be done to ensure that India stands a chance to compete for a medal? We put this question to Arif Chaudhary aka B-boy Flying Machine, the only dancer to have represented the country in championships across Korea, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Singapore. He says, "See, what happens is that when someone from our country goes abroad to take part in a world championship, he is all alone. We can't push the Indian scene if we have just one person representing us. But if we host a global tournament ourselves, people from many different countries will come here. And then we can observe them and push ourselves harder, because at the end of the day, we are still an evolving community."

This evolution, Shantaram adds, will get a further fillip if the government pumps in money and starts facilities like youth academies, and if there are more venues where a large audience can actually watch breaking performances. For, it's only when youngsters see for themselves how intricate and deceptively tough the dance form is that they will be influenced to give it a shot. Meanwhile, the community is mostly fending for itself. Its cash-strapped members are restricted to places like parks and studios to polish their craft. And if that continues to be the case, then our Olympic hopes will keep resting on the Sakshi Maliks and PV Sindhus.

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