Meet tribal woman, daughter of bus conductor, left job at Infosys, became rapper for..., her inspiration is...

Rap is that form of music that has been created for voicing critical issues which the marginalised Black community faced in 20th-century United States, the music included features of a resistance and protest like defiance and rebellion. The same inspired Madhura Ghane who started singing to bring awareness regarding the most crucial aspects of the country, the happenings that affect people among the youth.  

Madhura Ghane comes from Mahadev Koli Adivasi community in Maharashtra and was born in Kalan. Her use of rap singing is particularly targeted to social media savvy youth. Her rap provokes memories of icons like Dr BR Ambedkar and highlights critical issues like farmers’ struggles, transgender rights and more which the youth often miss to notice, leave alone understanding of the subject.  

Left IT job to continue rapping 

She goes by her stage name Mahi G. Madhura has known herself to have belonged to forests with a rich culture. Daughter of a bus conductor, Madhura is living the life what many desire, an engineering degree, job at Infosys, which she has now left, but is following her heart, that of writing songs and singing. She continued to write songs while she worked at Infosys.  

In an interview with the Indian Express, she explained why she started rapping. “I think rap is a music form that allows us to express our strong emotions in just a few words. For me, it is a powerful art form that can be used to display rage or aggression. I wanted to write a rap during the farmers’ protest, I felt like experimenting with the art form because the youth today have little interest in politics and national issues. But it all started in 2019 when Gully Boy was released. The art form was trending, and the youth were enjoying it. It is when I decided to rap because I wanted the youth to know about what is happening in the country.” 

Help community by raising awareness 

During the same interview she revealed that her community “lack awareness” about many government schemes which provokes her to make them aware through her songs. “I want to make my community aware of these things, slam fraudsters who misuse such schemes through my art form. I try to help them.” 

Talking about her inspiration, Ghane said, “My first rap-writing experience began in 2019 during the farmers’ protest. If any issue hits me or leaves me thinking, I write a rap about it. I don’t want to write about myself and open up about my struggles with the world. I feel every artist should be responsible because their songs are consumed by all age groups, as mobile phones and the internet make entertainment easily accessible.”