Simply put, a gully is a street. A street that for outsiders represents squalor and dirt but for the ones who live on this street, the gully represents a culture, a way of life that allows for expression, albeit a different kind. Unknowingly to the rest of the world, these gullies have slowly transformed from being normal streets to sites of music, food and dance that has taken the world by storm in recent years.
Gully Boy sent shockwaves across India and created a community of rap and hip-hop lovers. Gully boys across the world use local slang in their expressions to generate a sense of what their ‘hood’ is like. It is only in the past few years that gully culture has gained importance and to provide more scope for understanding and participating in this environment, Breeze has chosen for its theme this year ‘Global Gully’. We wish to celebrate gully cultures across the world and bring them to you, our guest, a taste of not just food, which will be delicious, but also music, dance and fashion that will blow you away.
As you enter the gully we have created especially for you, just remember to bring with you tonnes of excitement and curiosity as you will most probably lose yourself in the music, food, noise, colours and hustle that every gully represents. Think of it as a Holi of more than just colours. But a Gully can also be a hangout spot, a place you’re comfortable in, a place you bring your friends to and jam. It can mean different things for different people. A gully could even mean the space around a person who is playing an instrument, singing or dancing on the street just to earn another buck.
In these three days you will be open to participate in several events across sports, technical and cultural categories that have been organised by the Breeze team. Quizzes, graffiti, street plays, stand up comedy, debate, slam poetry and Masterchef are among a few in the cultural sphere. Athletes can head over to the basketball courts and football grounds to test their strength and stamina. If you are a techie, my friend, do not miss out on registering for the hackathons and robotics events against others like you. Win or lose, you truly have won by participating but the real winning is in the fabulous cash prizes we are giving out. DO NOT miss out on registration and discover yourself and your talents in events you have never participated in before. It never hurts to bring a crowd to cheer you on too!
For most of us, gully culture might be a relatively new concept but for many others it is their entire lives. We hope to create a bigger community that invests in and respects this beautiful and emotional culture. It never was just rap or hip-hop or graffiti art, it is the way these arts were created and still practised today.
