KOCHI: Emanmare song was born out of rebellion. In 2016 March, Martin, the lead vocalist of Oorali alternative folk band, was arrested by Ayyanthol police. Reason, his long hair didn’t quite fit their template of a model citizen. The incident, a pure violation of one’s democratic rights, sparked off many an agitation and the lines burning with dissent were born.
Penned and composed by Ranjith Chittada, its popularity hit a new high when it was was made part of recent hit Oru Mexican Aparatha. Now, the passion-packed song gets a new spin as Youth for Gender Justice, an informal gathering of writers, artists and activities, has gone for a sassy female version. “The original song is a revolt against the atrocities of the state, but ours is more like an outcry for gender justice,” says Aravind, the lyricist of the new song.
The video features a bunch of performers in front of Thrissur Corporation office, singing, dancing and declaring their rights. “We will roam the roads freely, go out in the night. We will crop our hair and wear leggings. We will not wear thali or thattam and we don’t give a hoot about those who try to question. We will hug, kiss and celebrate menstruation. It’s our body, our identity, our freedom...,” goes the song.
Sung by Pushpavathi, it received over 15,000 views in 2 days and could whip up quite an activity in social networking sites. “We have retained the original score, but changed the lyrics.
If the original song belongs to men alone, our version speaks for women and gender minorities,” says I Gopinath, who developed the concept of the video song. “Before shooting we contacted the makers of Oru Mexican Aparatha and Ranjith Chittada, who graciously allowed us to use the song for a good cause,” he adds.
Aravind says the idea stemmed at Kerala Sahitya Akademi campus, during one of their casual discussions. “There we have a circle of individuals who keenly observe Kerala’s socio-political scene. It came up during one of our talks and you can see many known faces in the album,” he says. Though the song addresses a spate of issues, the immediate inspiration was the attack against transgenders in Thrissur. “Their only crime was they were out during night hours,” he adds.
The song hit youtube two days back and Gopinath says the response has been mixed. Among a whole lot of positive remarks and words of appreciation, there are comments like ‘they are ruining God’s Own Country’. “Just as we expected, we were in for a lot of opposition and aggressive responses. There are people asking women to ‘stay women’, but the worst part is good Samaritans trying to patronise and advise. They are so sure that if women try to go out at night they will end up in some tragic situation. But when there is stray dog menace we control the dogs, not humans. I think the same is applicable here as well, after all what is the point in controlling victims?,” he asks.