SubDrift (Subcontinental Drift) Boston started its first Open Mic Program of the year with full spirit of enthusiasm at EMW Bookstore, Cambridge, MA, on the night of Friday, January 21, 2018 from 8:00pm to 11:00pm. SubDrift is a coalition of South Asian Americans who create momentary but meaningful stage to showcase their hidden talents and express their reactions to the politico-socio-cultural happenings around them through their creative talents.

Aditya Nochur, the master of ceremony and Bunty, the very spirited organizer behind the show greeted and welcomed warmly everyone to the program and encouraged the crowd to show their fervor by making noise on the occasion. Geetha Patil started the program by singing a Shiva Stuti and reading out a poem on Mother. Mrs. Neena Wahi, Manvir Singh, Haifa Badi Yousafzai, Hyder Kazmi, Payal Kumar read their humorous poems and entertained the audiences. Shajehan Khan and Warrick Moses presented their sensational instrumental piece to the audience and made them float in the soothing world.

Two well-known desi artists were featured at this program namely Josephine Shetty and Anjali Diaspoura. Josephine Shetty who runs an experimental pop music project called KOHINOORGASM and she performs under this name. She is an unusual desi artist who seeks to expand conceptions of multidimensional identity-based experiences by writing and performing reflections on complex histories and emotions. She has performed at universities, museums, festivals, and on recognized stages. Josephine Shetty rocked on the stage and entertained the audience with her unusual singing and dancing

The audience of the night got psyched for another featured artist Anjali Naik who performs under the name DIASPOURA. Diaspoura is a DIY downtempo electronic artist from Charleston, SC, now located in Chapel Hill, NC. she produces a strange energy by singing songs that depict the socio-political grounding that creates a new sound & story for the South. Her first album, released on a multi-media USB drive which is a documentation of her experiences as a lady of color buried in the deep South. She released "GTF" (get the fuck) on Inauguration Day, and continues to find solace and power through music. She currently performs along the east coast, and plans to release her new music collection in 2018.

Both these singers entertained the audience with their unique voices and wielded their style bravely with the music. Although their tones were pleasant enough, their distinction lied in the way they made their voice glide, shorten, elongate and stretch around the music.

“This space is friendly. People are willing to chat and share their ideas with you and recognize our collective identity which is unique in the world.”- One of the audiences told the reporter.

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