Mumbai’s after-hours go guerrilla

Mumbai's newest and most exciting parties are by-invite-only, low-profile dos that unfold at secret locations announced in select circles just a few days prior, and offer alternative music and hand-picked guests to dance and network with

Secrecy isn't normally what you'd associate with a party. If anything, drunken revelry, loud shenanigans and a feverish, in-your-face build-up is the stuff of a real party, most mongers would claim.

And they'd be right. Except that the newest party phenomenon that's washed over Mumbai in the last two months has little to do with public access, and everything to do with mystery.

The city has been grabbed by the underground party movement, with the arrival of French Tuesdays (FT) last month, a worldwide phenomenon of networking parties, and Grime Riot Disco (GRD), a Monica Dogra (Shaair of Mumbai-based Electronica duo Shaair 'n' Func), Anamika Singh (of New York-based event management company Flirteve) and graphic designer Kunal Lodhia initiative.

This, in addition to the already existing, active Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) party scene.
What connects these by-invite-only soirees is a common disappointment with the slightly jaded existing party circuit, an effort to meet interesting strangers, and be part of a more 'unique' experience that connects with the alternative music and dance the city has to offer.

"GRD was our response to the pretentious party scene of Mumbai. The very people who create the artistic and creative energy are often unwelcome at over-priced, high society clubs that cash in on the scene, and charge exorbitant entry fees. They aren't favourable to stags and have ridiculous dress codes. We all need a place to unwind and have a good dance," explains Dogra.

Blogger and music supporter Rayna Jhaveri, who attended a GRD party in March after spotting a tattered poster on a wall in Bandra, says, "DJs like Ruskin have an active role in GRD's organisation and hosting. They create an awesome vibe by playing music without commercial restrictions, which is really important if the alternative dance music scene is to grow in Mumbai."

It's not for everyone
Exclusivity, therefore, is key. As Goa-based DJ and model Ignatius Camilio puts it, "Most people who crowd clubs today are youngsters high on Bollywood and mainstream music. There's little on offer for those looking for a more unique, alternative party experience."

Fatigued with lack of experimentation, Camilio moved to Goa in a bid to create that experience for music and dance lovers at Cirrus, a club he set up at Anjuna beach in North Goa.

FT too started out in the 1990s as a small gathering in New York City, aimed to combat anti-French sentiment. Now, it's a global social network that hosts parties across 10 cities only on Tuesday nights.

Invites to most underground parties are sent via restricted social media groups (GRD has a Facebook group that you can join upon one of the organisers' approval), posters put up at select locations, and referrals by people in the know (FT works on a referrals system).

That's probably why you'll never see glossies plastered with pictures of Page 3 starlets at an underground bash.
And while the philosophy might smack of elitism, loyalists prefer to see it as elegance. Blogger Malini Agarwal of Missmalini.com believes it's a way to make sure only a certain slice of revellers mingle with like-minded people.

Talking of the FT launch party held at Lower Parel club Zinc last month, she says, "It weeded out unwanted people, gave the ambience a nice elegance and was a great way to network on an off night of the week."

Not everyone is gung-ho, though. A freelance journalist who was at the same do, came away unimpressed. "It's hardly underground when everything is so institutionalised and we are sent constant reminders about a formal dress code. The emphasis was on exclusivity, and the assumption was that a limited guest list would make for an amazing party."

Ditch the mainstream
The alternative pitch is in sync with the underground party movement abroad, where the culture evolved as a result of an exploration of indie and unusual music, mainly. "We don't play Bollywood music," says Nakkstar. "The whole point is to groove to the more different genres of music. At our parties you get progressive, house, lounge, retro, even disco," he says.

Nakkstar and J are the duo behind Salvation Star, a party management firm known for organising LGBT parties where straight guests are welcome too. Salvation Star sends out invites through text messages to a regular database. "Locations keep changing. We rotate from one club to another every month."

Designer by day, party pro by night, Nakkstar launched Salvation Star because his friends needed somewhere hip to party. The firm books elite clubs across Delhi and Mumbai, charging an entry of no less than Rs 1,100, usually redeemable against unlimited food and alcohol.

GRD on the other hand, picks night clubs that figure nowhere on the 'happening' radar, give them a d ufffdcor makeover to host a safe party that's not going to cost you more than a few hundred rupees to gain entry to.
The first party Dogra and Singh hosted in November last year was at Khar's Hotel Ramee Guestline, a budget hotel known more for its executive banquets than Electro nights.

"In Europe, the niche party culture is actually mainstream. Parties like these are theme and music-oriented, as opposed to the mainstream here, which is basically youngsters in a crowded club. There's nothing wrong with that but it puts older people looking for a different experience in the minority," says DJ Whosane.

Drugs? Not quite
And what about the popular perception that all secretive Indie explorations involving Electronica are little more than rave parties streaked with sex and drugs?

After all, GRD, by its very name, channels a more relaxed, even grungy vibe, with guests welcomed in flip flops and shorts, in direct opposition to dress codes imposed by city clubs that keep spare socks handy in the entry desk drawer for the spontaneous partygoer who turns up in floaters.

"Far from any dark notion of an underground scene filled with sex, drugs and shady characters, GRD had a really happy vibe. Most people belonged to the music, arts or nightlife scene. I went there with a bunch of girlfriends on our 'ladies night out' and we were totally comfortable ufffd there were no sleazy guys, the room was filled without being packed, and I felt relaxed enough to be in shorts and chappals," says Jhaveri.

Nakkstar too, rubbishes the notion. "At our parties, we are strict about substance abuse. That's not what this is about."

Dogra laughs. "Other pricey bars and clubs around the city catered to those things. GRD is good old-fashioned fun. Like-minded people come together to dance, smile, buy each other drinks, talk about their work, or play with the fake Afro wigs they are wearing, and swap fluorescent shades while they are rocking on the dance floor.u00a0 It's just the opposite of the fanciest club scene in Mumbai in the best way possible."

The almost 'oppressive' codes imposed by FT too, create an atmosphere far from the idea of hippies dancing in a haze of smoke.

As Agarwal describes it, "You have well-dressed, well-heeled people sipping on cocktails, making conversation, and gradually, hitting the dance floor."

How the West does it

Party in a nuclear bunker
Zizkov in Prague is home to many of the city's liveliest bars and nightclubs. Partiesu00a0 are sometimes conducted in abandoned nuclear bunkers that were built by the Communists in the 1950s. Originally intended to offer protection in the event of another World War, these bunkers, home to an intricate network of caves, are used by youngsters today to hold underground parties.

The place for techno
Berlin is one the best-known places in the world for electro and techno dance parties. Popular clubbing days are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and party revelries start around midnight and peak around 2 am. East German DJ Paul van Dyk has said the techno-based rave scene was a major force in re-establishing social connections between East and West Germany during the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Art, fashion and video parties
Melbourne is home to the Melbourne Shuffle, an underground dance style that originated at these parties. The bashes would also feature artwork, video art, d ufffdcor and performance. Many of them also feature people from the fashion industry, who make the clothes and accessories they sport.

What is French Tuesdays, and why do people want to join?
>>According to their website, French Tuesdays has more than 15,000 members worldwide with home bases in Miami, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
>>The Mumbai chapter has about 25 per cent expat members and 75 per cent Indians.
>>Current members can sponsor you to become a web member. The Mumbai chapter then decides if you are eligible to become a member. They claim to look for a balance of demographic and profession.
>>Mumbai chapter launched on April 26. Coming up next: a Delhi chapter.

Hush-hush publicity
Grime Riot Disco parties are usually publicised through social networking platforms or posters like these plasteredu00a0 in unassuming lanes of Mumbai's suburbs