MUMBAI: Amidst the unnecessary FIRs on stand-up comedians and media joining the bandwagon for TRPs, two agencies and several artistes have come together for a collective effort that would potentially help the cause concerning the Maharashtra-based farmers further.

Delhi-based artist management agency – Big Bad Wolf – has joined hands with the volunteer-driven group called Pyaas.org for a noble cause – #paani - that involves two live shows at the ‘antiSocial’ venues in Delhi and Mumbai. Live shows need artistes, and out of complete goodwill, eleven performers have joined the initiative in order to create awareness about the situation in the drought-hit areas of Maharashtra. Speaking to radioandmusic.com about how the initiative came to being, founder of the Big Bad Wolf, Dhruv Jagasia said, “We were approached by Sameer Thakur, the former intern at the Big Bad Wolf, to collaborate with his agency – Pyaas.org – and the two agencies acknowledged the urgency to carry out something like ‘Paani’.” Big Bad Wolf represents reputed and respected musicians and acts from across the country that includes Indian Ocean, Karsh Kale, Midival Punditz and few others. Two artistes belonging to the agency – stand-up comedian Sanjay Rajoura and psychological illusionist Karan Singh – will perform at antiSocial Delhi.

Initiatives involving ‘no-profit-whatsoever’ factor often discourage venues and musicians from participating and contributing, but as Jagasia explains - people still have faith in each other. “It took me as long as thirty seconds to convince these artistes to perform. Musicians like Tejas Menon, Sidd Couto, Ankur Tewari and others did not even think twice before associating themselves for the cause. No matter how big the (alternative) music industry grows, it continues to work as a family.”

The ease of communication continued when the two agencies contacted Riyaaz Amlani-owned ‘antiSocial' - the live music extension of Hauz Khas and Khar Social. “Riyaaz’s heart is at the right place. He is one of those guys who ensure the people visiting his chains always feel at home. And his attitude reflects on the people working for him.”

The shortage of time towards the execution of #paani resulted into few eleventh-hour arrangements, however, Jagasia sounded confident about the turnout. The ‘Indian Ocean’ manager also believes brand associations for the cause could have derailed the process, and acted as an obstacle. The entry fee of Rs. 500 and the line-up of artistes at the two venues would attract enough urban youth for a successful conclusion, the two agencies believe. Moreover, the amount received through the entry fees will be matched by another NGO ‘Give India’, thus doubling the ultimate collection.

Over 15,000 villages are facing hydrological drought and almost 13,000 villages reel under agricultural drought, and Paani.org’s Sameer Thakur hopes everything turns out as planned. “GiveIndia, is a non profit organization that has agreed to help us facilitate the donation, and also match the amount we raise. So we are ideally looking at raising something close to 1 - 1 and a half lakhs, which once doubled by GiveIndia, would become 2-3 Lakhs. Anything above a lakh, would be reasonable in my opinion. We have tried to keep our targets as realistic as possible." Noted personalities from the music industry have raised questions regarding the government’s shortcomings towards the solution for the crisis, and few weeks ago, lyricist Varun Grover and the founder of OML donated money to a NGO to improve the situation in their respective capacity.

The first #paani gig will be held at antiSocial Delhi on 2 June featuring stand-up comedian Sanjay Rajoura, illusionist Karan Singh, poet Aditi Angrias, electronic act Komorebi, Blues/Jazz act Soul’d Out, composer Dhruv Visvanath, Aditya Balani’s electro-pop act, multi-facted artist Pratyush Pushkar. On 9 June, #paani initiative will reach antiSocial Khar (Mumbai) with performances from indie act Tejas Menon, Ankur Tewari (of the Ankur and the Ghalat Family fame) and Tough on Tobacco’s Sidd Coutto.

The two events will begin at 7 pm on the respective days.