Amid the quick tete-a-tetes, loud meetings and crazy sloganeering, there is a rhythm that somehow hypes the music of elections to a synchronous high. An interplay of instruments creates this rhythm. Yet, amid all the high decibels, the power of Kerala’s very own melam stands out.
From chenda, dhol and other istruments, campaigns reach a crescendo when the decibels from high-energy beats rises along with the summer temperatures.
Sarath C’s Sri Sankaranarayana Kala Samiti is one of the many groups that operate in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, actively during the election time. “We are already booked in three places for kalashakottu,” he says.
Chenda ules supreme during electioneering, says the melam artist.
“It bridges boundaries between the accessible and the inaccessible. During election season, as the enrgy rises, it connects the public and the candidates. The language is loud and clear, crisp and concrete. Hence, the instrument and its accompaniments have long been a part of election campaigning,” he says.
When it comes to the fury of sound, there is no party bias, says Kattakkada Ambu Asan of Kattal Sri Bhadra melam group. The 40-year-old team has been getting more offers now than before during the elections.
“Earlier, there used to be just around four or five players who would assemble for the kalakshakottu (the final-day extravaganza) from each party,” he says.
However, now, it is quite a spectacle that requires a battalion of artists. “We are being called even to accompany the candidates on their campaign trail,” he says, hinting at the road shows which have the melam leading the campaigning convoy.
“And it is not just the plain chenda betas in vogue now. The aim is to hype the election fervour and create an adrenaline-high ambience. So, we are asked to play traditionally highwire tunes,” says Sarath.
The Singari Melam is hence the choice during election meetings for its fast tempo.
“Rhythm for other melam types such as panchari and pandi are usually played during temple festivals, but for elections, the mood has to be thumping, wild energy and very rustic,” explains Gopan C, a chenda artist who runs a small group, Krishna Arts.
Also, during campaign meetings, the crowd must be kept engaged, so that it does not get weary while waiting for the candidates to arrive, he says.
“During Kalashakottu, it is more about loudness. So, it is usually Singari melam and thullal kottu that is played. Nowadays, we also use the Nagpur dhols and Tambola especially during the Kalashakottu, as the instruments can swell the mood to a headbanging high,” Gopan smiles.
Chenda melam aside, the election gala shows also have an increasing space for band groups (known across Kerala as band sets).
“Earlier, it was merely for campaign meetings that band sets were used,” says Selvaraj D, who runs the Udaya Band Group in Neyyattinkara.
But since the past few years, the team has been included in the Kalakshakottu, and road shows too, along with the melam teams and folk-art groups that stage Theyyam, and Pookkavadi.
“We are told to be at the spot two hours before the campaign event to create the mood. And this means our choice of music needs to be peppy. So, it is usually fusion music and new numbers that we play now, and for this, we go beyond our usual paraphernalia and include dhol (local drums), flute, and violin, etc,” he says.
He claims to have got many calls for Kalashakottu this year, for which, if required, he will split up his four groups of 18 persons each to send them for the events.
Use of new instruments, too, is being considered now to amplify the energy, claims Selvaraj. “Emphatic loudness is key,” he observes.
Sailaja Parmar from Bengaluru, who runs a percussion group, agrees with Selvaraj. “My team has a base in Kochi, and we were approached by the election campaign teams from Kerala to provide the Punjabi dhol. We could not meet the requirement because the money offered was not enough to send the team from Bengaluru,” she claims.
For the parties in the campaigning spree, the inclusion of artists is not just to pep the crowd, but also to show that we care for the artists and their art,” says J S Akhil, Congress leader who manages campaigning in the Kazhakoottam constituency.
“We also have special packages in our manifesto for them. Their work is mostly seasonal, and this time, the elections are in addition to the temple festivals, which are revenue churners for them. Our policy is to help them cope with the everyday struggles they face. So, we include them more in our programmes where they even walk with candidates on the trail. And not just melam, in some places, we also have Ottanthullal and Chakyarkoothu artists performing during the campaigning,” says Akhil, also highlighting changes such as the use of ‘popper guns.’
“That too is an art now, which fetches around `1,000 for a gunshot for the performer. Such earnings are what sustain artists.”
Anoop Roy, who handles LDF’s campaign management in Thiruvananthapuram’s constituencies, claims the front has its own army of artists. One such is the ‘Friends of MLA bro’, which travels with the candidate, staging street plays, paava nadakam (puppetry), flash mob, and folk songs.
“We use minimal instruments. We stage these shows before the vehicle campaign begins,” says Sooraj Surendran, convenor of ‘Friends of MLA bro’.
BJP’s campaigns also include melam and band set artists, but this is not just to pep the crowd. “We enjoy every bit of the music. This is not a mechanical activity for us. In this hot weather, as we travel with the artists through the events and places, we feel a renewed energy,” says Girikumar V G, Valiyavila councillor.
The party has several avenues where it uses music groups to infuse energy. “We have events that are part of the campaigning like night walks and constituency visits where we mandatorily take the artists along in vehicles. Their rhythm sets our mood too as much as it does of the people whom we approach for votes,” he says.
As campaigning heats up, the band sets and melam groups are busy juggling temple gigs while preparing for the Kottikalasham on April 7. “It is just an hour of work on that day, but we have to move in huge numbers to the venue, all the while playing peppy numbers, along with the ornate Theyyams and Pookavadi groups. The pay we get for this varies from `25,000 to `30,000, and is an add-on to our income this season,” Selvaraj says.
So, in Kerala, election heat and chenda beats travel hand in hand, this time too, as always. Sibi Thomas, a melam aficionado and a party worker, sums up the feeling: “Melam is Kerala’s heartbeat. How can any festival happen without it? Elections, too, are festivals of democracy if you take the contest out of it.”