Never before than in these gender-riddled times, have issues related to womanhood seemed more relevant. Not surprising then that the big names in the music and dance fraternity have thrown their weight behind the production of a concept-based music video Baale , (girl) which aims to celebrate the wonder phenomenon a woman is.
Melodious music, soulful lyrics, stirring rendition, and arresting visuals converge in an abstract narrative, endorsed by the exponents of art.
Shruthi Namboodiri, lyricist and founder-director of World Music Festival Foundation (WMF) that has produced the audio-visual panegyric, pens evocatively, Ey azhake alayaal ( beautiful girl, you unfold and revel like ripples) Ey abhaye porulaay (the strong one, you be the essence/substance of my soul); it’s her paean to the woman.
“It is a humble attempt to honour and celebrate womanhood through music and dance. The project intends to recognise classical dance forms and to honour renowned dancers from different classical dance genres by presenting them in the video,” says Shruthi.
The video features Bharatanatyam exponent Meenakshi Sreenivasan, Koodiyattam practitioner Kapila Venu, Odissi dancer Arushi Mudgal, actor Rima Kallingal expressing contemporary dance, Haripriya representing Kathakali and Nanditha Prabhu showcasing Mohiniattam. The haunting music and rendition is by composer-singer Sudeep Palanad and female renditions are by Ranjini-Gayatri, Sujatha Mohan, 76-year-old Kalyani Menon, 11-year-old Shreya Jayadeep and Deepa Palanad. Well known violinist Bhavyalakshmi, guitarist Sumesh Parameswar, and flautist Raghu Nadhan play the instrumental version.
“It’s a work of art,” says Nanditha and believes that such products should be reference points that highlight the inherent strength of a woman.
She was drawn into the project after listening to the music. The brief to her was to enunciate the song from the images that came to her mind on listening. “The best part was that I was not directed, on the contrary I was given complete freedom to express the beauty of the lyrics and the music. I chose to visualise baale , the girl, in the song as myself.”
“ Baale is set to music that is immensely uplifting and liberating. It evokes compassion, tenderness and inner strength, which in essence is the very nature of woman. It is in her freedom that I believe in ,” says Meenakshi Sreenivasan.
For Arushi Mudgal who does not know Malayalam, the language of the song, it was the theme and the lilting music that caught her interest.
“I personally don’t take up any social issues in my dance. Women empowerment is a topical subject but I am not anti-male. A man can face as much trouble as a woman. I am against injustice and for humanity.”
Haripriya chose to interpret the song in terms of motherhood. “Not motherhood in a limited sense but woman as the mother of the universe, a mother who thinks about everything around her.”
She believes that the current scenario of fear that confronts a woman is because society has pushed itself to an extreme position of over protecting the girl child. “Empower them rather than protect them. Let them travel, let women join unconventional careers. We need to give them physical and mental strength to brave the world,” she says.
The image of her mother was inspiration for Shruthi who conceptualised the tribute. “The first face that crosses my thoughts is my mother's. The lines of Baale were born from the beautiful relationship I share with her. Baale is none other than me. While writing the lyrics I put myself in her shoes and began thinking from her perspective. I believe a daughter is her mother’s alter ego. The poem stands for all the daughters of the world. It sings the essence of womanhood. The song also reflects my social responsibility towards womanhood.”
Son of famous Kathakali singer Divakaran Palanad, Sudeep has music in his veins. As co-producer he too looks at the art work in terms of social responsibility. He says, “I believe that this song is the best gift that I can dedicate to the entire womanhood. For me the woman is way higher in hierarchy than the man, for the qualities that she possesses. There is nothing as beautiful as watching a little girl smile at you.”
The project began when the co-founders of WMF - Shruthi and Sudeep Palanad - were thrilled by the riffs of a Spanish guitar and wished to fuse the western notes with Indian classical scales. A tune was born when Sudeep gave a different interpretation to Carnatic raga nalinakanti and its Hindustani counterpart tilak kamod . Shruthi’s lyrics aimed to match the beauty of the fusion notes. “We initially saw it as a signature tune for WMF and now see it as an anthem to womanhood.”
Calling it a winning piece Sumesh Parameswar embellished it further. It was enhanced by the delicate touches of Bhavyalakshmi’s violin and Raghu Nadhan’s flute. Sudeep sang the main version of the song that appears along with the video. The song, produced under the banner of World Music Festival Foundation is supported by music director Bijibal and will be launched in Kochi in February.
