(by Macaulay Perapulla)
No matter how intractable and frustrating the debate around Farm Laws may seem, one of the fascinating side effects of this deadlock is the resurgence of cultural identity that has been happening in the wake of farmer protests.
Who would have thunk that punjabi music scene – with all its misogynist lyrics and feet-thumping-music- would find a new cultural renaissance with the ongoing farmer protests in Punjab?
Listen to Bir Singh here
Or Listen to Ranjit Bawa here:
These words, I am told by my enthusiastic punjabi friends, speak of the cultural ethos of the land, and have received tremendous response from the next generation with its life affirming lyrics.
Closer home, I sat up when I first stumbled upon Enjoy Enjaami in my Youtube music feed
How do you tell the story of your roots?
For Arivarasu Kalainesan, more commonly known as Rapper Arivu, it is a story of his grandmother Valliammal and his ancestors who once migrated during the British Colonial times (19th century) to Sri Lanka. It was their bloodied efforts with humongous human costs that resulted in the establishment of tea, coffee, and coconut plantations.
When they had to return back to their home country after working there for two generations, they returned home to the sad realization that all they knew is to pluck tea leaves. And so they migrated towards the hill regions in Tamizhnadu – Ooty, Koodaluar, Kodaikanal- and toiled their way to earn a livelihood.
“Enjoy Enjaami” is a watershed moment in Tamizh independent music. As a musician who runs a non-profit on discovering your roots, besides working on agriculture, I am thrilled on all fronts.
It tells the painful story of one’s roots, the struggles of landless laborers whose plantations burst out in abundance while keeping their throats starved (My rudimentary translation barely does justice to words like these “தோட்டம் செழித்தாலும்.. என் தொண்டை நெனயலயே…”)
It is a painful-and-celebratory marriage of dirge folk music (oppari) and rap.
Perhaps, you may call me a rose-eyed optimist. Are we witnessing the resurgence of independent music that beautifully marries the timeless ethos of the land with timely forms of the times we live in?
Are we witnessing the birth of original indie music that is both ancient and new?
I dearly wish it were the case.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Eswar
March 13, 2021
Thanks, Macaulay Perapulla for writing this.
After listening to Enjoy Enjaami and Arivu talking about the song, I came across, coincidentally, a post about a book – Music: A Subversive History. The post is an interesting read about the history of music, but the below lines, in particular, resonates with what Arivu spoke about the song and your post.
‘In a sentiment that calls to mind Iris Murdoch’s astute observation that “tyrants always fear art because tyrants want to mystify while art tends to clarify,” Gioia frames his approach:
At every stage in human history, music has been a catalyst for change, challenging conventions and conveying coded messages — or, not infrequently, delivering blunt, unambiguous ones. It has given voice to individuals and groups denied access to other platforms for expression, so much so that, in many times and places, freedom of song has been as important as freedom of speech, and far more controversial.‘
https://www.brainpickings.org/2021/03/02/pythagoras-sappho-music/
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Sanjay Shankar (@sanjayshankar)
March 14, 2021
@Macaulay Perapulla: “ Are we witnessing the birth of original indie music that is both ancient and new?”. I think so. It’s also refreshing to see ARR launch this platform and have the first song be from Santosh, Dhee and Arivu. I think this is going be great along with the festival (Yaall). I can’t wait for more content emerging from this platform. The non-film music scene in Tamil has had a false start or two. Something tells me it’s going to be different this time.
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Madan
March 14, 2021
Great post. There has always been an extremely soulful and mellifluous side to Punjabi music that still seeps out every now and then.
I am sure you’ve heard Bhulla Ki Jaana; it created a splash back in the day.
And of course, Amit Trivedi’s magnificent Ik Kudi.
On a more playful note, Trivedi’s own Luni Hasi. A very creative fusing of bhangra with sort of funk-rocky grooves.
At one point, the national face of Punjabi music was O P Nayyar but multi decade domination of Bhangra pop has sadly relegated that side of their music.
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H. Prasanna
March 14, 2021
Thanks for writing this, @Kannan. It is heartening to see Arivu’s grandmother’s story told so well. The song did work for me; music video, lyrics, and vocals. But, I wouldn’t call it independent music. I am afraid the production value and the banner (things that are distinctly limited in independent music) would have carried the song without Arivu’s part of the story. He adds authenticity to the story, but he is still part of the background.
Please share your story. I (and probably others here) am interested to know about your non-profit also. It sounds awesome.
I don’t follow/know the independent music scene as much as you, probably. But I know a friend who is an independent artist doing really good work without widespread recognition. Here’s her latest:
The lockdown has hit the independent music scene really hard, all around the world. I read this article about an independent street performer in Canada that was heart-rending:
https://www.openculture.com/2021/02/little-kid-grooves-to-zz-top-while-waiting-for-the-bus.html
And I feel Pa Ranjith’s Casteless Collective is doing a good job putting these artists and their stories front and center. Recently one of their performers got featured in BBC top 100 women of 2020:
https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/gaana-singer-isaivani-casteless-collective-bbcs-100-women-2020-list-138339
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krishikari
March 14, 2021
Loving all the recommendations.
This concert was amazing. It was very emotional. Look at the astounded famous faces in the audience.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 15, 2021
@Easwar. Thank you for sharing this link. It made me reflect on my subversive past. I haven’t read this book. Will check this out. Maybe it has to do with the greying hairs of the post-thirties. In my life journey, I’ve seen far too many activists who have burned themselves out and Artists (with a capital A) who think that art is best to be created only in the realm of music. And most of them are driven by a strange need to burn themselves out either in the altar of music or in the heat of their ideologies. Having once been an angry environmental activist, I feel very sorry for them. And I wonder if there could be activism of another kind that doesn’t burn you and also nourishes the world. Activism that is not driven by the heady and delirious energies that you get when you say “F**” You to the nerve centers of power. An Activism that heals the world as much as it heals oneself. Maybe it has to do with my foxy instincts (Remember Isaiah Berlin?) that never get settled doing one thing. I always keep doing multiple things.
Having worked closely with artists, I have found it fascinating to watch how they think that art can be created only in the realm of music. This creates a strange entitlement that you think the whole world owes it to you for you to create music. I don’t know if art needs to exist only in music. Or can it be experienced in almost every fibre of life and being.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 15, 2021
@Krishikari I wonder if you had the time to look at the earlier comment in that other thread I had made in response to your question on solutions beyond conundrums. It’s fine if you don’t want to respond. Given the barrage of comments happening in the BR universe, I just wanted to make sure that you saw it.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 15, 2021
@Sanjay Shankar. I didn’t know about Yaazh festival. Will check it out. Hope you’re doing well! How can I forget you – the one- who introduced me to the wondrous world of winamp? 🙂
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 15, 2021
@Madan Chicken Khurana is one of my favorite tracks. All the tracks are absolutely riveting. “At one point, the national face of Punjabi music was O P Nayyar but multi decade domination of Bhangra pop has sadly relegated that side of their music.” I didn’t know this. Haven’t heard much of old Punjabi music. I became more interested in their music strangely when many of my friends kept giving me updates in the Tikhri Border – the epicenter of the protests. I began to track their cultural milieu closely.
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Madan
March 15, 2021
Macaulay Perapulla: I am sure you have heard OPN’s music but it just happened to be introduced to you as ‘Hindi film music’. Songs like Humdum Mere Maan Bhi Jao or Haaye Re Haaye (Kashmir Ki Kali) among many others were firmly rooted in Punjabi. There were even outright Bhangra songs too but they were played on tabla and dholak, not electronic drums (Dhaler Mehndi) and were a lot softer than what is associated with Bhangra today. The raucous Le Jayenge Dilwale from Chor Machaye Shor comes closest to today’s Bhangra and even that’s a far cry, being far more refined and organized.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 15, 2021
@H Prasanna I don’t know independent music much either. I am a musician, and once in a while, among other things, I do take time to try and make some music. I am not sure if Independent music has to be rugged enough to be called Independent music. I don’t have a handy definition of independent music. I felt that it was Arivu’s story all through, after going through the lyrics closely. My story and the nonprofit I run are pretty much encapsulated in the pseudonym I carry in these spaces. It is an attempt to reclaim my (and dare I say our) identity and roots beyond the legacy of Macaulay. I don’t know if you are addressing me as “Kannan”.I am not:)
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KS
March 15, 2021
Call me cynical, but I’ve never believed in the power of art in changing minds and transforming society. At best, its impact is that of a fart in the wind. But more importantly, it involves hypocrisy at every step of the way. Like fighting against social media giants by trending hashtags. All this activism through arts is kind of a safety valve, where a billionaire producer would himself fund such acts so as to distract people from his misdeeds and make them feel they are doing something. After all, raising awareness and “at least doing something” is often sufficient to mollify people, as opposed to making any real impact or change.
So leaving aside the power of art to rouse people into social consciousness etc., I’m curious how well such pieces stand on their own in terms of quality?
For instance, the casteless collective music was all hyped up as the true soul of our native people, the sound of this land, blah blah. When I tried listening to it, I found it to be crass and trashy, but if I say that out loud, I’m accused of being casteist.
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Padawan
March 15, 2021
In the late(st) edition of TIL, Dhee is the daughter of Santhosh Narayanan! 😲
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H. Prasanna
March 15, 2021
@Macaulay I agree about defining independent music as the way we see it, to each their own, and sorry I addressed you as Kannan.
For me, the ruggedness is indie. More than the budget and production value, I just felt anything produced by such a well-known brand might not be independent. For me, Indie artists frequently collaborate with brands, but they usually wary of the trappings that come with it. That is why most of their work is historically state sponsored, not-for-profit, or crowd funded.
For example, SaNa wasn’t the original music director for this project. The artists say that he came in and made it different (great). While it worked for me and sounded great, I wouldn’t call it indie for this reason alone. I have always seen indie as space where lived stories and personal experiences dictate craft.
Having said this, Arivu is free do what he wants with his music, and I agree with the crux of your commentary that this is great for the indie music scene.
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H. Prasanna
March 15, 2021
Back in 2010s, I used to frequent indie performances in Chennai. I visited the Himalayan Blues festival for a few years when it played during the early days of Phoenix market city. I also visited a bunch of performances around the city organized by the Russian Cultural Center, Alliance Francaise, and Goethe Institute.
I have some fond memories of being the only person in the audience sometimes with an ensemble performing fusion in an open air stage on sultry December afternoons in Chennai! (Not so fond for the performers, I think). I remember live performances of Maarten Visser (Sax), Krishna MacKenzie (vocals and guitar), Karthick Iyer (vocals), and bassist Mishko M’ba (who collaborated with almost all those indie bands):
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hari
March 15, 2021
The first time I heard this song I liked it. I’m a beats person. Lyrics gets filtered out. I had absolutely no inkling of what this song is all about. I re-listened to this again after your blog, still could not make heads or tails of it. Picturization has a major hip hop hangover. Like KS said I’m curious as to how these songs bring in the change?
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Yajiv
March 16, 2021
I must say that I am absolutely loving the song/track recommendations in these comments! Special shout-out to Prasanna & Madan especially. Some wonderful indie, fusion & Punjabi gems here.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 17, 2021
@Hari and KS,
While I did share my bit of cynicism, especially, in consideration of the health of activists and artists, I would no way dismiss these efforts for the potential it carries in giving voice to those who haven’t historically had a voice. Music carries with it a different “theory of change” ( If I can use that phrase) when compared to other mediums and expressions. And so, the premise of questions like”how these songs bring in the change” IMHO, is misleading.
Music, as I understand it, doesn’t exist in the “puram” world of logic and causation. Music exists in the “agam” inner lives of people where identity and culture create a strange mindmeld. Music pushes the boundaries of what is “legible”(To use a slightly academic term that comes from the fascinating work of James Scott). When a musician like Arivu writes these lyrics, he brings these untold/unheard voices to the spotlight. And such songs and the accolades it brings is a soothing palliative for the historical burden and pain of not having a voice, of living lives and tales that are yet untold, of inheriting cultures and heritages that are rapidly being disowned. Music expressions such as these serve a deep spiritual purpose of one gaining his foot on the ground, one that says, “I exist. This is my story”. Unless one has expressed oneself deeply through art, you can never come closer to understanding the ineffable joys of making art like these.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 17, 2021
@Madan Thank you for that interesting slice of history. It reminds me of listening once to a private gathering of a mystic Punjabi singer ( who had a flavourful background of working once in Scotland Yard in London) who sang such mellifluous kirtan songs that carried so much depth of being.
@Prasanna Thank you for sharing these wonderful pieces of music. I didn’t know this side of Krishna Mackenzie. Did you know he is a farmer growing traditional varieties that have long been forgotten in our lands? His farm and cafe is quite something. To come to your question, I am reminded me of my musical love affair with Pratik Kuhhad, someone whom I discovered through my rock music friends networks when he relocated to Delhi. I have heard his earliest tracks, and they carry that raw, rugged vibe. Today, I found this song after realizing that Barack Obama had listed it as his favourite tracks. Pratik has signed up with big labels – Does that mean his songs are no longer indie? I don’t know. His songs still carry that indie feel. Your definition resonates – “as space where lived stories and personal experiences dictate craft” – but so is the personal experience of someone like Arivu – Whether he signs up with labels or not, music of this non-film kind stretch a wide array of genres. It is very hard to pin them down.
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H. Prasanna
March 17, 2021
@Macaulay Regarding Krishna’s farming side, I think they introduced him as such in the live performance I watched. He is doing some good work, as I have seen on YouTube. Thank you sharing Prateek’s work. I enjoyed that piece. I will also check out his earlier work.
Let me say what I see as the difference between indie and other music another way. Branded music needs to be listened to repeatedly thousands of times by a variety of audience. So, whatever story the artist wants to say is bound by this repeatability. Indie music changes from preparation to performance, and within performances, based on how the artist sees music, collaborating artists, audience, etc. The artist is not worried about missing notes, repeating the experience of the audience, etc.
This is just me. I believe the artist has the final say in defining their music. If Arivu says it is independent music, it is Indie. I also feel big production houses co-opt terms like Indie to sell their music. I see value in that too. The studio is like a lab where the artist experiments thousands of times with their story, and they come up the version they think best tells their story. However, the lab also minimises/limits external influences, ruggedness.
Coming to relatively unknown artists or artist performing when they are small. They also have some independence, which the studio artists don’t. They can play the crowd, try different styles of expression, until they find what works. So, I prefer to call that indie which is not bound by the trappings of repeatability.
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hari
March 17, 2021
MP – My question was not meant to mislead, was a genuine question. Anyways you put it up very succinctly “Unless one has expressed oneself deeply through art, you can never come closer to understanding the ineffable joys of making art like these.” – probably an art “dhaddhi” like me can’t comprehend. I’m all for giving the voice to the downtrodden and if what you are saying is true then all the power to these artists to get their voice heard out. Peace out.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 18, 2021
@Hari Just to clarify, I didn’t mean that the question was misleading. I only suggested that the premise behind the question was misleading. Again, I am not making any holier-than-thou and therefore creating a binary between artists and non-artists. In my understanding, art exists everywhere. In the ways one designs code. In the ways one puts kolam. In the way one cooks. I don’t believe in the idea of calling art with capital A. Art is an expression that unfolds when one is in touch with the deepest part of oneself. And such art, if it is coming from that space, evokes the same response from those who are in touch with it.
In my understanding, art works at a spiritual level of making someone feel secure from inside. And that feeling of security enables one to discover one’s potential. If a piece of art like this makes Arivu feel secure, I am super excited about what all he could dream about. Imagine the cascade effect it would have on several others who don’t have that voice right now.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 19, 2021
@Prasanna: ” prefer to call that indie which is not bound by the trappings of repeatability.” Aah! You’ve just announced that Kabir is one of the foremost indie artists of the country. There was a time when I was touring around and collaborating with a Kabir singer called Vipul Rikhi. And what we found was something deeply fascinating. Every Kabir couplet has been like an open source movement, each song has rebirthed itself in different parts of the country. As a classical musician, I hated to be repeatable. However, I think repeatability has become the name of the game given the digital channels that are involved in distribution of music. In other words, if a musician cares about reach, at some point he will have to be repeatable. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_wx4SVGzR6mstw_MgJ8bbA
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H. Prasanna
March 19, 2021
Vipul Rakhi’s performance is so cool! Yes, @Macaulay, completely agree. I went to an AR Rahman concert at YMCA a few years back. His singing/music was not on par that day. He admitted to the crowd that it wasn’t good enough, and thanked the audience for being really gracious to accept him as he is. He understands what his music means to these people. Mostly he has to perform his greatest hits, and we are happy to sing along. As a musician, he would have chosen differently. But that is how it goes when you’re too famous, you can grow, but your music can’t!
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Eswar
March 21, 2021
Macaulay Perapulla:
My knowledge of music and its history is very basic. So I am in no way qualified to talk about this. But if I have to speculate, one reason to believe that “art is best to be created only in the realm of music” is that music is one of the earliest forms of expression. Music also has a low entry barrier. This means it is the most democratized form of art. So it is not surprising for artists to believe that art is expressed best in the form of music?
Regarding activists that don’t burn themselves out, wouldn’t Gandhi fall into that category? I am sure more activists are quietly paving way for the future generation. Maybe I define activism differently?
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Eswar
March 21, 2021
On the topic of Art bringing change to society.
Among other things, Art is an expression of an idea. A metaphor for an idea is a seed. Like a seed, when an idea is planted, it can stay dormant and go unnoticed. Even when they manage to start developing, it takes a long time for them to reach their full potential.
In the article I linked earlier, Sappho is described as,
the inventor of the love song and the personal lyric, the first great beacon of women’s right to creative expression, and the first great champion of the right to love whom we love…Sappho kept the female pronouns in the beautiful and heartbreaking odes she wrote to the women she loved. In doing so, she pioneered a radical shift in musical culture — the permission to sing not about the gods, the seasons, and the wars, but about oneself
Sappho died in 570 BC. After 2000 years, her work is referred to discuss love beyond gender. In the same article, Maria Papova even highlights Sappho’s influence on a contemporary artist.
Andal is another example. Consider these translations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andal#Interpretations_by_Feminist. If the text is not misinterpreted, then Andal’s work sets precedence. In one of Ambai’s short stories, a woman describes a male body after making love. I don’t know if Ambai is influenced by Andal, but a society cannot challenge Ambai for expressing herself without challenging Andal first. Andal may not have intended to influence society, but by merely expressing herself, she has laid the groundwork to be inspired by the future generation.
Consider Pariyan in Pariyerum Perumal. He represents two ideas. An obedient, good-natured individual who doesn’t harm and avoid troubles. The second idea is that education is the only path forward for his people. The first idea of being good and obedient on its own is nothing special. But within the context of his background, the group he belongs to, Pariyan represents not just himself but also the myth of Nandanar. In the context of this discussion, a dotted line can be established from Nandanar to Ambedkar who dedicated (according to Stanley Rajangam) one of his books to Nandanar. In his dedication, Ambedkar describes Nandanar as the untouchable who earned his goodwill through devotion and obedience. It is probably not a coincidence that Pariyerum Perumal has a Nandanar song in the background in one of the scenes.
The second idea in the movie, that education can lay the path for upliftment and liberation, even for someone from a lower caste, has its roots in Purananooru.
Vetrumai Therintha NaarPaal Ullum
Keezhpaal Oruvan Karpin
Merpaal Oruvanum Avankann Padume. (Purananooru – 183)
If you keep aside Pa.Ranjit and what he stands for, the underlying theme behind his promotion of North Madras Gaana songs and Castless Collective is to create a space for a kind of music that is overlooked. It is to illustrate the idea that music has more than one form. But this idea itself is not new. The precedence for this is in ‘Padariyen, Padippariyen’. The song puts forward the idea that there are other forms of singing alongside ‘Mari Mari Ninne’. The lines, ‘Yettula Ezhuthavilla, Ezhuthuvechi Padikkavilla’ can be seen as a direct reference to folk music. The Beef song of Casteless Collective, in a way, stands on the shoulders of ‘Padariyen, Padippariyen’ and ‘Padariyen, Padippariyen’ itself stands on those nameless folk musicians and their work. Even the name ‘The Castless Collective’ itself is from the past. It is a play of words referring to a term coined by Ayothidasar – “Saathi Pethamatra Thamizhargal” to refer to ‘Dalits’ in his works.
To state the obvious, I am not attempting here to establish a causal relationship between change in society and Art. Rather, I would like to think that the trigger for a change that’s happening today has its roots in the past in an idea expressed in some form. There are many ways to seed an idea and Art is one of them. Often seeding an idea alone is not sufficient. The idea requires reinforcing again and again, sometimes over millennia, through various forms. Art is one form of reinforcement. Finally, the idea that our ideas reinforce each other has its roots in an ancient concept, Indra’s net and the philosophy of Ubuntu.
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shaviswa
March 22, 2021
I am still wondering why this song is going viral. I could not listen to the complete song. Felt sad for the deterioration in the quality of music in Tamil films and circles (for all the hype of independent music, this song has people from the film world involved in it).
I played this song to my son wondering if my distaste for it is a generational thing. He found it more distasteful than I did. He gave me that quizzical look as to why I was even listening to this.
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brangan
March 22, 2021
shaviswa: Oh, I love this song and have been addicted to it from the time I heart the first sampled beat after the drums 🙂
But even in general, I just love Santhosh’s work.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 22, 2021
@Eashwar “So it is not surprising for artists to believe that art is expressed best in the form of music?
Regarding activists that don’t burn themselves out, wouldn’t Gandhi fall into that category? I am sure more activists are quietly paving way for the future generation. Maybe I define activism differently?”
It is not surprising, definitely. I am only bringing this up to address a fairly narrow view of art that presupposes that everything else other than ‘making music’ is for lesser mortals. I have seen so many artists who don’t want to change with the times. Perhaps, the dying artist is such a powerful trope that many artists want to give their real, breathing lives in service of that trope.
Gandhi is definitely not in that category. If you read his diary notes, he had mentioned that he foresaw him to live up to 125 years. He had few kidney issues and he was doing mudpacks and other treatment to address that. From whatever little I have read about Gandhi, one thing was clear. He saw no difference between one’s material, spiritual and political pursuit. The fascinating genius of Gandhi was this. Whatever was his deeply spiritual pursuit, was equally his pursuit of politics, and it also defined his materialism as well. He kept talking about his nature cure experiments and was deeply caring about the body. He would have lived longer, although sourly, seeing how India embrace Industrialism so uncritically, unlike how he envisioned in his fascinating “Hind Swaraj”.
I am sure there are so many ways of activism. I am concerned about the popular kind which ends up inadvertently killing the activist in the altar of activism. Most activists, I see, are investing so much energy in opposition to an ideology that they have hardly energy left to construct something beyond what they are opposing. Perhaps, this is the reason why the wisest sage of our nation Gandhi begged us to fight for freedom from the British, but not hate Britishers. Because, when we hate somebody, we perversely start loving them, and eventually, start becoming like them.
Ofcourse, this is a generalized comment and I am not alluding this to any particular organisation.
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Macaulay Perapulla
March 22, 2021
@Easwar Just to clarify, When I say Gandhi doesn’t fall into that category, I am talking about the category of those who burn themselves out in the altar of activism. Of course, Osho made fun of Gandhi because he held himself too tightly, and did a lot of violence to himself and those around him, while espousing the ideals of non-violence.
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hari
March 22, 2021
Macaulay Perapulla it is a bouncer for me when you say question is not wrong but premise is wrong. Anyways, as I said earlier as well I do agree with your broader opinion of giving framework for all sorts of music to be heard. And if this song will help in that, more power to the artists. Peace out.
Eswar awesome comment. I strongly agree. All forms of music/art forms must be encouraged and patronized.
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shaviswa
March 22, 2021
@BR
I guess to each his own. I am just not able to appreciate this song. It is assaulting my senses.
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KayKay
March 23, 2021
shaviswa, and you know what? That’s PERFECTLY Ok! Am kinda with you and also KS in the sense that the Enjoy song didn’t work for me and the Casteless Collective concert didn’t do anything for me either. In the latter case, I found the voices a little too raw, the singing off pitch and the tunes hard to get into. Am very “meat and potatoes” where music is concerned, I gravitate towards melodies that bristle with gorgeous hooks. Very few “dappankuthu” or “gaana” songs in my playlist
I absolutely support the rights of all artistes to have a platform to showcase their work while maintaining my right not to engage with said work if it doesn’t appeal to me.
And I’ve said this before. For me personally, SaNa’s songs don’t work outside of the filmic context
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hari
March 31, 2021
Macaulay Perapulla here is a different perspective of the song – https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/how-the-visual-aesthetic-of-dhee-and-arivus-enjoy-enjaami-falls-short-of-its-gutsy-politics-about-dalit-landlessness-7249299/lite/?__twitter_impression=true, some of the points I do agree with the article.
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Macaulay Perapulla
April 1, 2021
Thanks Hari. I found the perspective very interesting. It clearly indicates the problems inherent in the content of the song and the form in which the song was picturized. As BR is wont to say, the “content” of the song required a different “form” – a different paradigm of imagination that doesn’t pander to the usual dictates of hiphop rap. Perhaps, Arivu didn’t have much a say on how the “form” of the song was picturized- bowing to the market demands which necessitate a form such as this to hit the viral charts.
“it is a bouncer for me when you say question is not wrong but premise is wrong.” Perhaps, I framed that statement incorrectly. I apologize. What I meant by “premise was wrong” was this- What are the underlying assumptions behind music? What does music even “do”? Should it even be expected to “do”? Can it only serve the purpose to simply “be”.
When I hear and play percussion for Kabir songs, making a mockery of Pundits and Mullahs during the 15th century, I often wonder, how did such a person could be born in such an age? How did those times create someone like him? Did his poetry come out of the necessity of his times?
Thank you for continuing to engage on this, despite that avoidable on-your-face disagreement comment of mine. I appreciate that. Cheers!
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hari
April 5, 2021
Macaulay Perapulla thanks for the response. Yes I did feel the song needed a different non-hiphop format. But without that the song would not have gone viral.
I think I kinda understand where you were getting with the premise. I most of the time let the song be and see how it impacts me. And I am never in a position to know how the musician wanted the song to impact me or anyone.
Oh my pleasure to engage with you man in whatever ways :), cheers.
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H. Prasanna
April 16, 2021
@KS I know it is really too late and too little, but still I thought of it, so here goes:
If you don’t like it because it is crass, is it crassism?
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