A New Era of the Mob

Did you know that a few students from SH College were part of 
the Flash Mob at Oberon Mall this month?

Well, if you don't even know what a Flash Mob is, 

here is Raj Kumaraswamy of II BA English Copy Editor 

who tries to explain it and its cultural significance

  

Please do click on the following link before you read further                                                    

 http://youtu.be/N_PN8bjmC54

                                
Now, that is what I call a pulsating public spectacle! 

Well, before you jump into the conclusion that those were just a bunch of local dancers performing in a recreation centre, let me explain the scene. What you have streamed through just now is an internet phenomena of the Twenty First Century, called ‘Flash Mob’. The term came into existence in the early 2000’s and was first experimented in Manhattan, United States (obviously, where else  could it be!)

The widely accepted meaning of the word ‘Flash Mob’ is that it is the performance of a predefined action; typically a brief dance by a group of people gathered at a public place who disperse rapidly after the event has concluded. But in actuality, Flash Mob is not just about dance even when Internet provides you with a great lot of Flash Mob dance videos. Flash Mob can be anything that sends a memorable message with the help of a few minutes’ entertainment. It is organized using Social Networks, Viral e-mails or websites to inform the members of the venue, time, practise sessions and such details.

Since your unrest suggests me to stop doping ‘Wikipedia stuff’ and get down to business, let us go back to our video clip. That particular video clip covers Kerala’s first and biggest ever Flash Mob, in terms of  the number of participants, and the campaign for settling the burning conflict over Mullaperiyar issue, organised at Oberon Mall, Cochin, on 16^th December 2011. It was inspired by the huge success of the Rang De Basanthi Flash Mob number organised at Chhatrapati Shivaji terminal (CST), Mumbai, which honoured those who died on 26/11 attack. However, the Cochin Flash Mob could not hold a candle to its dramatically organised counterpart which kept the essential surprise element for a Flash Mob, until the music started from nowhere and which was such a down-right dhamaka so that many witnesses, regardless their age, joined the dancers and grooved madly to the tunes.

Yet the 150+ dancers of various age group ranging from 8 to 52 stupefied the Kochiites who were enjoying shopping as the Santa rang the Christmas bells. The witnessing crowd was up-staged and had a gala time enjoying the bouncy-animated dance. It was after the event, which was tag lined ‘No-Hate Mate’, the underlying message of the vibrant celebrations which read ‘Not Keralites, Not Tamilians, But Indians’ was revealed along with the logo on beautifully handmade banners. To emphasize the theme, the group brilliantly chose our National Anthem to conclude the event which was rocked by a Contemporary, Hip Hop and a couple of Bollywood dance numbers.

So how did the Flash Mob fever, starting from Mumbai, hit the shore of Cochin via Delhi? It all happened as a result of sincere determination and pioneering of two hard-nosed youngsters - Sharath George Benny, an MBA student and Mathew John who work with a city firm. “Sharath and I wanted to do something on the Mullaperiyar issue", says Mathew. "We wanted to give the people a clear perspective of the issue and the Flash Mob in Mumbai happened, and we felt that it would be the best medium to showcase our message to our brothers in Kerala, Tamilnadu and the rest of India.”

Along with sheer determination, a good team of organisers and participants, they proved that it was indeed a ‘Mission – Possible’, (which was initially considered an impossible venture). When we are at this, I have to say that a cool bunch of students from our college deserve appreciation for taking part in this praiseworthy initiative. They are Lekshmi Danendran, Mahesh Chitraprakash, Stenin Joshi, Adithya, Maxon and Ciciley Santhosh.

Though the impact a Flash Mob can have on a life and death issue like the Mullaperiyar conflict is open to question, I would like to be quite optimistic and get inspired by what the master-brains of Cochin Flash Mob shared with media: “Let us not forget over water and safety concerns that we are not Keralites, not Tamilians, but we are all Indians.”

If you would like to see a couple more of excellent Flash Mobs, just click the following links: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cftW6YMVMI4&feature=related (Why This Kolaveri in Auckland!)

                                                      
http://youtu.be/7MiMAt-J54U

                                                         
http://youtu.be/Iyt16efRrBo