Watch: At 17, Ginni Mahi has brought Dalit politics to music and become a Punjabi pop sensation
She wants to be a playback singer for Bollywood and 'also study up to a PhD and even beyond'.
She's got over 17,000 followers on Facebook. Her songs uploaded to YouTube have lakhs of views and she has been profiled by multiple news outlets: print, online and broadcast. And she's only 17. If you haven't heard of her yet, you're spending too much time on Pókemon Go.
She sings a fiery brand of music called "Chamar Pop", and is influenced by the writings of BR Ambedkar, the Dalit icon and the architect of the Indian constitution. The songs are a mix of Punjabi folk, rap and hip hop and are catchy, foot-tapping and always inspiring.
Meet Gurkanwal Bharti who goes by the name of Ginni Mahi.
And it's not just music. The young singer, who recently cleared her Class 12 exams with an aggregate of 77 per cent, told The Hindustan Times, “I’ll study up to PhD and even beyond."
She's also deeply religious and a lot of her songs are devotional hymns about Guru Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji, also a Dalit icon whose teachings are compiled into the holy book of the Ravidassia faith, to which Mahi belongs.
The video above is of perhaps her most famous song, now known as Danger Chamar, inspired by one of her friends telling her "chamars are dangerous." It's a sequel to Danger (video below).
Fan Baba Sahib Di, the song below, is her homage to Ambedkar. She sings, “Main thi Babasaheb di, jine likheya si samvidhaan (I am the daughter of Babasaheb, who wrote the Constitution)”.
In the video below, Mahi sings about fighting for your haq (rights). She sings, "Don't be silent because you are afraid. Babasaheb has taught us to fight for our rights."
