RJ, actor and podcaster Puranjit Dasgupta, better known by his stage name Mantra, left Indore for Delhi in 2003. But he carries the city in his heart, and his art. "The humour [back home] is different, so is our style of talking. We speak Hindi in the most beautiful way possible.
When I used to host shows in Delhi and later Mumbai, and say things like 'kripya kar ke', people would be amused. But I was not trying to speak fancy Hindi, that's just the way we Indoris speak."
Raj Shamani
It comes as little surprise then that social media's biggest game-changers are emerging out of Indore. Historically, it could have started with MF Husian, who spent his childhood in Indore. Then came the OG Indori, Rahat Indori, who was born as Rahat Qureshi in 1950, and died last year. Indori was known for his soulful poems. These days, stand-up comedian Zakir Khan, and music director Sneha Khanwalkar are among the OGs, and 2021 also paved the way for Indori musician Osho Jain, influencer-entrepreneur Raj Shamani and creator Aanchal Agrawal, who recently launched her own merchandise line. The advent of social media—Indore accounts for 12 lakh mobile Internet users, out of the 1.2 crore users in the entire Madhya Pradesh circle—has given the talent pool a huge boost.
Indore, says Mantra, has been the hub of cultural events. Clubs like The Yeshwant Club, named after the late Maharaja Yeshwant Rao II Holkar, and Sayaji Club and Hotel, named after Late Maharaja Sayaji Rao III Gaekwad of Baroda, long provided platforms to art and music talent in the region. The city also has a flourishing rock and metal music scene. Nicotine, one of the city's earliest and most popular bands, is widely known for being the pioneer of metal music in Central India.
Osho Jain, singer-songwriter
But, the change to "cool" happened in 2000, when the first private radio channel in the country launched in Indore, Mantra feels. "I had hosted that first show, and I think [it's around then] that the city was inching towards modernity," adds Mantra, who runs a production house that specialises in audio dramas.
Jain, who is known for his soulful lyrics and melodies, returned to Indore briefly from Mumbai during the pandemic. He says that he knew he wanted to be a poet when in school. "My father is an astrologer, but he was also a tabla player. Growing up, we talked of raagas and shayars. Most people in Indore talk about poetry—no one knows where that comes from, but it is just part of us and how we live. Maybe, it's also because of stalwarts like Rahat Indori.Like me, several Indoris have taken up writing. I graduated in mass media from Indore University. Most production houses in Mumbai have at least one person from my college. But since the canvas is small, we prefer moving for better opportunities to Delhi and Mumbai," says Jain.
Jain, however, offers a more romantic explanation for why Indoris love poetry. "In Mumbai, if I love someone, I can meet them and express everything easily. But in a small city like Indore, it's not so easy; so many feelings stay in the heart. Because you have so much inside you, you have so many more stories to tell. The city has made me and my music very unpretentious and raw. It's the way it is—very grounded," says Jain, who says he has seen several creative art schools open up in recent times to cater to growing demand.
Raj Shamani, 24, has a million followers on Instagram, who take his advice on Metaverse, NFTs, and all kinds of money matters. Though Shamani grew up in a business household, he nonetheless liked attending kavi sammelans and magic shows. He feels that being an Indori has made him more informal—he can break into a conversation with anyone on the street. "I think most people who are in the arts, are very aspirational, and see it as a ticket to get out of Indore, which is a small city compared to Mumbai. So they aim to become creators, or join Bollywood," he says, while explaining why Indoris are flooding the influencer and artistic scene.
Shamani also adds, "What Indoris also do right is that they give in to the pleasures of life. They are laid back. Every evening, they think about how they want to spend their time culturally.
And that's what has eventually shaped us."
