The young man with an old soul

Dharmesh Parmar aka MC TodFod made his debut in 2015 with Su che karvanu, a Gujarati rap song. His integrity made him stand apart, say colleagues

Last week, Aarey forest lost one of its champions. Rebel, rapper and activist Dharmesh Parmar, 24, popularly known to music fans as MC TodFod, died of a heart attack. One of the few rappers to work in multiple languages, including Gujarati, his verses spoke of caste discrimination, communal violence and corporate greed. "Hume na pasand ye khota vikas, na hai tum jaise choron pe vishwas. Metro banane ukhado tum zhaad, jab zhaad na bachenge kaise loge saans," is how he began his verse in The Warli Revolt, a powerful bilingual track by Mumbai-based multilingual hip-hop band, Swadesi, in collaboration with Adivasi activist from Aarey Milk Colony Prakash Bhoir and The Aarey Collective. It went on to become a sort of anthem during the widespread protests by citizens and environmentalists that broke out against the destruction of the Aarey forest in Goregaon to make way for the Mumbai Metro car shed. "The words of the song kept playing in my head when I got the news [of his death]. He spoke of breathing free; he's gone too far away from us," says Bhoir, 54, a resident of Ketlipada in Aarey, who has dedicated himself to drawing attention to the importance of preserving the forest and his community habitat. Calling Parmar an old soul in a young man's body, Bhoir says he was mature and intense. "His thoughts deep dived into social evils, and were translated into music. I found that very inspiring."

Rapper Tony Sebastian, aka Stony Psyko from Dopeadelicz, calls Parmar a genius. He was younger than most of his contemporaries, but wise beyond his years. "He did a lot of tracks themed on society. Even during the cyphers [freestyle rap session], he'd perform verses that spoke about his community, the issues that our country was facing. It seemed to affect him personally. In fact in his first track, Su che karvanu [What do we do?], he was referring to what the common man could do to participate in the destiny of this country," remembers Sebastian, 30.

MC TodFod created his last track titled Truth & Bass in March with Rutu Ballal

It was, in fact, this track that got the hip hop frat to sit up and take notice. At a time when the focus was on Bambaiya Hindi and English rap, Parmar had chosen to write in his mother tongue, Gujarati. "[Back then] no one was representing Gujarati rap. His death is a loss for the Gujarati rap scene," says Sebastian, adding that the respect Parmar earned had to do with the quality of his music, but also because of how he conducted himself. "He had talent of course, but I think his integrity made him stand apart. I never heard him speak ill about someone. It was all about showcasing his skills, showering love and having a good time," says Ankur Johar, aka Enkore, adding that the young musician's rebellious nature was evident in his personal life, too. "He was the same outside the studio. Music wasn't entertainment for him; it was art, a reflection of society and the community. He was present at so many protests, whether it was to protect the Aarey forest or against CAA-NRC. In that sense, I think he truly represented hip hop."

While writing was Parmar's forte, his colleague also remember him for his performance skills. Abhishek Dhusia says that he learnt Konnakol, the art of performing percussion syllables vocally in Carnatic music. "It is like folk music where you can emulate your voice in the tha-ki-ta rhythm. When he would write his verse incorporating the Konnakol style, it became a completely different rhythm."

Stony Psyko and Prakash Bhoir

Rutu Ballal, aka Chromaderma, with whom Parmar worked to release his last work, Truth & Bass, says the musician lived up to his moniker. "‘Tod fod' was what I would say his performances were. Years ago, we were doing our first show together at The Den in Bandra. It was supposed to start at 10 pm. I asked him to come over an hour early so that we could practice. It was 10.15 and he was nowhere in sight. I got on stage and began to perform, when suddenly he arrived, picked up the mic and performed in the most natural, organic way. No one would've known he hadn't practised. He was born for hip hop," says shares Ballal, 42. The honesty he lived with reflected in his music. "He sang exactly what he saw and thought. I'll miss that about him."

Music writer and critic Amit Gurbaxani calls Parmar's journey impressive. "Many saw him as a mentor, which is quite something, considering that one sees a lot of rivalry in hip hop. I think the fact that he was a mentor speaks volumes about why he was considered integral to Mumbai's hip hop scene. He was definitely one of the acts to watch for and one of the fastest rising rappers on the scene."

With inputs by Nidhi Lodaya