If we were to tell you that the rise of independent hip-hop music has been exponential in India over the past eight years, you’d probably say, “Hmph, tell me something new.” It’s unlikely that you aren’t familiar with breakthrough rappers like Divine and Naezy, and you have probably been meditating in a Himalayan cave if you haven’t heard of Gully Boy, the Bollywood hit based loosely on their journeys. 

But you’d possibly raise an incredulous eyebrow if we told you that there has been a beatboxing community that has burgeoned simultaneously with the rise of hip-hop music in the country (though it’s far from reaching the latter’s exalted status just yet). Like B-boys and girls and graffiti artists, practitioners of the art form have got a new lease of life as the overall hip-hop culture has entered the lexicon of mainstream culture. And now, they will get a further fillip when the final round of The Battle of Beatboxers — a nationwide competition — culminates this weekend at a Nariman Point venue.