THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Arikomban, the wild tusker, has been the talk of the town for the past few months. From fans groups to protests, netizens and animal activists are on their toes to bring the elephant back to its natural habitat. Aiding the movement in support of the jumbo, a Malayalam music video album, ‘Arikomban: Kalam Marupadi Thannukollum’, is getting ready for release. The first-look poster of the upcoming music video was released by its makers in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
Composed and sung by veteran musician Kavalam Sreekumar, the song has been penned by Kollam-based lyricist Pramod Kannan Pillai. Pramod wrote it as a poem a few weeks ago and approached Kavalam Sreekumar to compose its music as he wanted the world to listen to the poem in Kavalam’s voice. “By isolating the elephant from its natural habitat and herd, the humans are tormenting it.
We, humans, have forums to address our griefs and worries. But where will the animals address their grief? Why did he start to eat rice and vandalise the shops and houses? I have worked in a private firm in the food industry for around two decades. I understand the elephant’s need to find food. I feel empathetic to the animal and thus portrayed his worries as a poem in his point of view as a song,” explains the lyricist.
Kavalam Sreekumar is in awe of the track. According to him, the poetic lines nurture a concern for the animal. This, he said, attracted him to the project. “The poem was rich with rhythmic words and beats which is hardly seen in other poems at present. The powerful words conveying the pangs of Arikomban were very moving. I feel happy to be part of this video about the tusker,” Sreekumar said. The video is slated to be filmed at Chinnakkanal soon. It will be released in the coming weeks.