KOCHI: While most of us complain of boredom while at home, safe and sound, there are many NRIs who don’t have this luxury. Miles away from their native place, they are fighting this pandemic with all the will they have. A group of Malayalis living in Qatar have come together to make a song that resonates with the current times including the lockdown, social distancing and the resilience of people rendering essential services.
The song named ‘KL -3’ is an ode to the way Kerala has responded to the crisis. The video, featuring slides containing the work of government officials and healthcare workers, is backed by thoughtful lyrics that convey, “this is not the time for religion and politics”. Rohan George Joy, the singer and an auditing professional, who was part of a church choir, says the idea emerged from the thought that human beings need to motivate each other during these trying times. “Our initial thought was to make a cover of a classic track. But then we decided to make an original. We enquired with friends online, and brought together a bunch of people who were interested,” says Rohan.
“Our families are worried about when they will get to see us again. It matters how we keep each other positive right now,” he says. The entire song was made digitally, with singers, editors and video editors working remotely to put it together. The crew comprises people from different professions–accounting, sales and engineering. Most of them have been on lockdown for weeks now.
The lyrics have been penned by Nithin Varghese Thomas, music comes from Nijith K Thomas. Joju Kurien and Rohan are the singers while background music and programming was managed by the team’s friend in Kerala, Roy Thomas Cherian. The edits were carried out by Melvin Philip and Febin Varkey Varghese and camera was handled by Bijo Abraham and Kelvin Philip.