On Music Freedom Day, marked to celebrate how music is a potent tool for upholding human rights, we speak to four Indian artistes who espouse the same values in their tracks
There is a recent online video in which Mumbai-based musician Saba Azad is sitting in a café in Delhi, where she had gone to show solidarity with anti-CAA protesters. In it, she's seen breaking into an impromptu musical version of Hum Dekhenge, the Faiz Ahmed Faiz poem that has become an anthem of sorts for the movement. And the sort of passion she arouses in her listeners highlights how music is a potent weapon in the armoury of people who seek to bring about a peaceful revolution against perceived oppression. It's not just Azad, though. There is a whole wave of musicians trying to drown out the tide of hate that's emanating from the CAA kerfuffle. So on Music Freedom Day — celebrated on March 3 every year to mark the role that the art form plays in upholding fundamental human rights and freedom of expression — we speak to four local musicians who have consistently championed these values through their songs and lyrics. All of them have recently come out with tracks that act as a torch lit for peace. Here, they talk about how music adds fuel to that fire, keeping the flame alive in the process.
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Going for the jugular
It's in the very nature of punk music to cock a snook at the powers that be. The artistes hold the authorities hostage with irreverent lyrics that strip them naked, as is the case with Mumbai outfit The Riot Peddlers's recent EP, Strength in Dumbers. Front man Arun Singh Ravi tells us, "It talks loudly about how religion is detrimental to society and our progress as a nation when it actively subjugates the masses, and how Muslims are the target of oppression in our country at present." He adds that punk is founded on the ethos of revolution, struggle and anti-authoritarianism. "It is music designed for people who like to rebel."
Fave protest song: Enemy by First Blood. "I love the message and energy."
A rap on the knuckles
Mumbai hip-hop crew Swadesi toppled political fence-sitters from their ambivalent positions with Chetavni, their debut album, released last month. Saurabh Abhyankar aka 100RBH, one of the group's members, describes how they have consistently addressed social issues through rap music. "I hail from Amravati, where many women in villages aren't allowed to work or marry who they want to. But if I tell them straight-up how wrong that is, they might think that I'm being preachy. That's why I embed such messages in my songs because then the music initially entertains them, while they later think about the lyrics, hopefully changing their mindset thanks to what the words convey."
Fave protest song: Tracks by Milind and Anand Shinde that talk against casteism.
A sweet takedown
Turn towards music composer Ankur Tewari if you are looking for sugar-coated tracks with lyrics containing the bitter truth. His music often embodies inoffensive pop sensibilities. But he pulls no punches when he writes lines like, "Sab jala hain, poochhte ho, hain narazgi kya," in the song Mohabbat Zindabad. "A chant can be perceived as aggressive. But music is more palatable, at least the kind I make. When you are expressing your thoughts through a song, even people who don't agree with you wouldn't see it as a threat. They would feel as if you are trying to reach out to them," Tewari says.
Fave protest song: Sumit Roy's Poorn Swaraj, about freedom of speech.
A call for Peace
In 2017, Deepak Peace had launched a track called Hey Mr Prime Minister. But a year later, he found it removed from a streaming platform after a user complained about it being offensive towards Narendra Modi. That didn't stop Peace from pointing fingers, though. In fact, he'll launch a track called Muzahira today itself, in which the musician will live up to his adopted surname. Peace says, "Every movement like the anti-CAA one reaches a plateau, so you have to take it to the realm of pop culture to keep the conversation going."
Fave protest song: Bob Dylan's anti-war anthem, With God on Our Side.
Head for this gig
An Andheri venue that hosts weekly gigs every Tuesday is dedicating this evening's edition to Music Freedom Day. Catch a bunch of acts bring the stage alive, including The Dharavi Project, Laxmi Bomb, Sidd Coutto and hip-hop duo Bamboy and 100 RBH.
On Tonight, 9 pm onwards
At The Little Door, Veera Desai Industrial Estate, New Link Road, Andheri West.
Call 9899928776
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