Powerful lyrics, coupled with a catchy rhythm, can do much to inspire and motive a crowd and further a cause. Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader Kanhaiya Kumar's 'Azaadi' chant and Faiz Ahmad Faiz's poem 'Hum Dekhenge' which reverberated across the country during the continuing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, are a few of the examples.
Now, Tamil rapper Arivarasu Kalainesan, popularly known as Arivu, has come out with a song ‘Sanda Seivom’, to urge people to come out against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Arivu, who had released an album—'Therukural'—last year in which rapped about a wide range of issues, including Hindi imposition and government apathy, begins his latest Tamil rap song with the words, “Lets fight, come forward Tamizha, let us fight. In the streets, let us fight. United as one, let us fight”
He goes on to invoke the names of B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar E.V. Ramasamy and urges people to respect all and adds, “killing constitution is a foolish act.”
“Who are you to tell me what I am....Is there logic in your law ,” he asks in the song.
Releasing the song on the YouTube page 'Therukural' he wrote, "In solidarity to the CAA protests happening all over the country and to the students who are sacrificing their valuable time and energy for a secular society and to save the constitution of India."
Born in a dalit family, Arivu grew up in Arakkonam, some 80km from Chennai. Growing up in a family without television and radio as his parents wanted him to focus on education, he was exposed to a lot of folk songs. According to a feature on him on Economic Times, Arivu also read a lot of Communist and Ambedkarite magazines in his childhood and started writing poems on caste and poverty when he was in school.
Arivu, who considers Karl Marx, Ambedkar and Periyar, as his literary inspirations, became more politically conscious during his engineering days.
He was part of The Casteless Collective, a band put together by popular director Pa Ranjith.
Arivu has written songs for 15 films, including one for Rajinikanth-starrer Kaala.
