New on the block: Protest music to tune into this week

Poetry and songs have dominated street protests against the CAA and NRC. Here's the latest you can tune into.

As Hum dekhenge and Kaagaz nahi dikhaayenge resonated at countrywide protests, the genre of protest music seems to have a got a new lease for life. From rap to rock and everything in between, there’s music for everyone.

An anthem is born

Varun Grover’s poem Hum kaagaz nahi dikhaayenge has already been a protest anthem at several sites including the one at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Now, it receives the musical treatment from none other than Indian Ocean’s Rahul Ram. Nikhil Rao of the band takes to the strings and a video plays slogans from the protests in the background. The words overlap sometimes and the chord just make this anthem that isn’t being forgotten soon.

Language no bar

Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem Hum dekhenge has been recited, sung and turned into videos during the protests. However, it was recently at one such in Bangalore that noted singer MD Pallavi presented a version in translation, Naavu Noduna. The powerful voices and the Kannada lyrics have now found home at every protest in Karnataka. Its worth a listen.

Get up, stand up

Tamil rapper Arivu is known to say it as is and that’s exactly what he does when he wants to talk about the CAA and NRC. Sanda Seivom that translates to Let’s fight is a rap song has a catchy ring to it and has met viral fame on social media. The video is shot in a bare everyday setting, a terrace sometimes and unkempt bedroom at another makes it all the more poignant. The lyrics speak call attention to the exclusion of Sri Lankan Tamils from the list and of the laborious process of NRC laced with some humour. Let’s warn you, it’s quite the earworm.

Born in Baul

And it’s Varun Grover’s Hum kaagaz nahi dikhaayenge again, but this time it receives the Baul treatment. Saikat Mukherjee, a PhD student at Virginia Tech takes an old tune by Baul maestro Shah Abdul Kareem and turns into a heartwarming rendition of an already powerful poem. The tune and the words will leave you humming for a long time after a listen.

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