KOCHI: Released on YouTube by Collective Phase One in collaboration with Uru Art Harbour, ‘Chavunadappattu’ delves into the predicament of the underprivileged and marginalised in the wake of the lockdown
The first few frames show winding rail tracks from a fast moving train, while an almost ear-numbing train siren greets the listener. The frame then cuts to the weary faces of labourers looking directly at the camera as if demanding answers. In no time, John P Varkey’s stirring voice is heard. Released on YouTube by Collective Phase One in collaboration with Uru Art Harbour, ‘Chavunadappattu’ delves into the predicament of the underprivileged and marginalised in the wake of the lockdown.
As the pandemic shut the country, millions of migrant workers took to the streets in an onerous bid to walk hundreds of kilometres to reach home. On its way to becoming an anthem for the lockdown-induced migrant exodus and having been shared by the likes of Anand Patwardhan, Chavunadappattu or the Death-Walk Song or Mrutyu Yatra Geet, at its core, derides the complacency of affluent India.
“I was deeply troubled by the plight of migrant labourers. We, who belong to the middle class, exploit the underprivileged for menial jobs and as a house helps but our pity is of no help to them. In this context, I happen to come across a cartoon by popular caricaturist R Prasad which shows a boy looking at rail tracks covered in blood. The caption said something to the effect of ‘India lives in villages, works in cities and dies somewhere in between’.
Prasad extended Gandhi’s famous quote to convey a grim and painful reality. The cartoon stayed with me and I subconsciously started translating the lines into Malayalam. That was the take-off point for the song,” says lyricist and accredited poet Anvar Ali. Written by Anvar as a hybrid between a song and a poem, ‘Chavunadappattu’ starts with a haunting refrain which gains tempo as it progresses.
The team comprising Anvar, John, Dawn Vincent, Prem Shanker, Gopan Raveendran, Subramanian K V, Manoj Kannoth, Rinju R V and others was particular of coming up with an antithesis to a melody, a composition that was powerful and even disturbing. The video alternates between clips of migrant workers on their taxing journey home and a pained John emoting their plight.
At one point, he is seen bleeding heavily as if imbibing the agony and alluding to the incident in Maharashtra where 14 workers sleeping on train tracks were crushed to death by a train. “The composition has been done in a way that the song itself feels like an exhaustive journey. I have been collaborating with John since 2015. I knew his voice would be apt to convey pain; he is also comfortable with loud or high pitches. Initially we decided to just use the shots of the migrant workers from across the country sourced by Prem but John’s rendition was quite evocative so we thought of featuring him in the video. The shooting was done in Uru,” says composer Dawn Vincent of Adventures of Omanakuttan fame.
The chorus is equally powerful, creating a sense of doom and discomfort. As someone asks what the migrant identity is, the chorus replies India. The country’s name is repeated multiple times, as if no further explanation is required. Their dreams, their language and even their end encompassed in just that one word.
The song is, in fact, speaking to India herself and the condition in which she has left her most needy. Despite being a Malayalam composition ‘Chavunadappattu’ has a pan-India appeal with subtitles in English and Hindi. “It is my belief that works that deal with socially relevant subjects carry a political duty to be accessible to all sections. We wanted people from the Hindi belt to connect to the song so it was important that the lyrics were translated. We approached Varun Grover for the same and he did a commendable job. The translation captures the essence perfectly,” says Anwar.