It's rhyme for a change

Ahmer Javed performs at a gig. Pic/ Shubham Kukreja

Srinagar-born rapper Ahmer Javed has a suggestion for the Indian politicians who oversaw the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir. He wants them to visit his hometown, ditch their security personnel, and take a casual stroll in one of the areas that have been worst-affected by the lock-down that's still in place. "That's when they will understand how Kashmiris actually feel. They will sense the burning frustration," Javed says, his voice dripping with cynicism over the phone from Delhi, since his obvious allusion is that the locals would hang the ruling party's leaders out to dry.

But ahead of a gig he will play in Mumbai as part of his maiden India tour, the musician also adds that this feeling of helplessness isn't new in the Valley. Removing Article 370 is only the latest in a string of what he calls injustices. Javed would know. His uncle, Aijaz Ahmed Dar, was one of the first separatists to be killed in Kashmir in the 1980s, which was the catalyst for the tumultuous era of militant insurgency there in the '90s. Javed wasn't born then. But the episode still rankles him to such an extent that he poured his heart out in a track titled Uncle, dedicated to his relative.

Then there is the incident from 11 years ago that involved his elder brother, Imaad. The latter had gone out to buy milk when a prevailing curfew had been relaxed for a couple of hours. But the car he was in was accosted at a barricade near his house. "Tu hi hai na jo 'azaadi' chilla raha tha? Kisse azaadi chahiye tujhko?" the armed personnel there asked Imaad before proceeding to assault him, even though he pleaded innocence since it was a case of mistaken identity.

So these are the sort of episodes that flow from his pen when Javed sits down to write his verses, which flowered after he shifted base to Delhi from the limited confines of Srinagar. But he tells us that it's not just about the personal. "I look at Kashmir as a whole when I think about the state. Man, trust me, I have heard some really gruesome and messed-up stories. There's an area called Anchar [a suburb in Srinagar] where soldiers break in to houses, take stuff and burn rations. So the people there have dug these trenches in the ground to prevent the night raids. But tell me, is there any point in living in humiliation, living like slaves?" the 24-year-old asks, before proceeding to give us a glimpse of what life is like in the Valley while the current lock-down is in place.

Basically, people sit around at home doing nothing. "The TV started a few days after August 5 last year [the day Article 370 was abrogated] and I remember laughing while watching the news when I was home for a month. The propaganda was embarrassing. I mean, they tried to paint a picture that everything was normal during Eid. And when the international media reported the ground reality, they called it fake news. The truth is that a place like the Press Club in Srinagar is a sh't show right now since people are out of work. Even businessmen are shifting to cities like Delhi to look for jobs. What can we really do, though? If I leave to protest on the streets, I will be shot. So it seems like a battle we have already lost, and if we just manage to survive through this, we will win."

Those are some dire words coming from a youngster who confesses that he doesn't feel like he belongs anywhere anymore - not even Kashmir. The angst that's built up in him over the years found expression in Little Kid, Big Dreams, his scorching debut album that he'll perform at the Mumbai gig, along with some new material. Javed tells us that he hopes the authorities do something that's in favour of the Kashmiri people and then broadcast it with the same vigour as they have other news. The first thing he'd ike to see is demilitarisation. He says, "It's traumatising to see your rights being snatched away, but that's how it's been in Kashmir for many years. Why is the lock-down still on? Why can't we be like Delhi? Why don't we have equal rights? And why can't we just go about our daily lives?"

ON February 27, 9 pm
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Pay rap-t attention to these musicians

It's not just Javed. There are regional rappers from across the country taking potshots at the authorities of late. There is Kaam Bhari (in pic) in Mumbai, whose track Ayo burn singes the government. Kolkata has Adiacot, who wrote a hard-hitting track called Bik gayi hai gormint. And Tamil rapper Arivu's Anti-Indian is Chennai's contribution to this list.

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