Artists need venues not pubs, we're giving them one: Nikhil Barua
Vivian Fernandes, better known by his 'street' name, Divine, started out playing fillers at college shows, rapping about life in the Mumbai slums. Today, his video Jungli Sher has over a million views and this boy from the slums performs to packed shows in London, has a label contract to his name and was the first Indian rapper to rap freestyle in Hindi for Charlie Sloth's iconic BBC 1 radio show. "No matter who you are or where you come from, talent shines through," says Nikhil Barua, owner, The Humming Tree about Divine, who will join fellow rapper Raja Kumari to launch THT 2.0, in the city this evening. And it’s a venue space to give artists the chance to do just that - shine.
The first floor at #949, 12th Main Road, opens out onto the all-important venue space (swathed in pink light for the occasion) and the stage itself. This is where the action happens, now free of the more boisterous appeal of a gastropub. The floor is divided into three spaces - the stage, a cafe that will double up as a bar in the evenings and a smaller smoking area. It's a "gates open at 7, bar-at-the-back" kind of of place, by Barua's own admission and it's something he's always wanted. "The last four years have been wonderful and we've gained a lot of traction but I want to do something different - a new, purely aesthetic approach in terms of supporting the arts.
The rigmarole of the FnB life has taken its toll on the highly creative Barua, who has spent the last year organising some of indie music's biggest events including Backdoors, which happened in Mumbai earlier this year. Four years down the line, during which time The Humming Tree has emerged as one of the most sought after performances and entertainment spaces in the city, Barua reckons it's time to revisit their philosophy - supporting the arts. The Humming Tree, which has shifted from the third floor down to the first, now centres around its venue space. Upstairs, a cafe serving a curated line of coffees and teas, should, Barua hopes, cater to Bengaluru's dynamic, young working population. "It's the perfect place to sit with your laptop with a cup of tea," he says.
"The idea is to be a venue space," Barua explains. "Yes, we were always that, but we were dealing with a lot of people who came in just for a drink or dinner. Now, if you come to THT, it will be for a performance." This, he says, throws open the range of performances the space can host, whether it's theatre on a Saturday night or a jazz evening on a Sunday - niche options that are a risk for mainstream spaces. "The music scene in India is full of promise, but it's at a turning point," he says. "Artists need to play at venues and audiences need to go out to gigs, not on nights out." This refrain is a familiar one amongst the artist community, with most city gigs taking place at pubs and bars. "80 percent of the people present are there for drinks or food, very few actually come especially for a show. This is something we need to change. There is a very strong presence of traditional arts in the country while pop culture still isn't taken too seriously. And it should."
For all this, the new and improved The Humming Tree provides the perfect ecosystem.
Meeting and touring the country with different artists from around the world opened Barua's eyes to the realities of a creative existence. "We were bringing down artists we really love and taking them around. We know now how much effort is put into a single festival or a tour," he remarks. That said, catering to a largely FnB crowd, where "angry customers are shouting about pizza," belies the sanctity of the arts. "There was a lot of inefficiency happening and that's not okay, when the artist and us, the organisers, have put so much into making something happen."
It all began, really, with Barua's passion for indie music - each offering on their cocktail list has been inspired by a song (Rambling Man by Laura Marling, My Shallow Lover by The F16s). "We began bringing down artists we really love and taking them around the country. The concept did so well that we considered the idea of doing international tours in smaller formats."
For all this, the new and improved The Humming Tree provides the perfect ecosystem. "We want to create a larger one as well, one that establishes connections with embassies and cultural collaborations with different countries," he says. "The tangibles are already there, we're simply connecting the dots!" Divine and Raja Kumari will perform at the launch party this evening. Guests will receive free drinks and goodie bags, but hurry - there aren't too many tickets up for grabs!
What: The Humming Tree launch featuring Divine and Raja Kumari
When: Nov. 24, 7.30 pm
Where: The Humming Tree, 1st Floor, #949, 12th Main Road, Indiranagar
