A line from ‘ Dhakk Dhaakk Dharti ’, a song that Shaan composed and Swanand Kirkire wrote for World Environment Day, goes: ‘cheenti ho ya haathi ho, sab mere jeevan saathi ho’. It’s Mother Nature saying, ‘from an ant to an elephant, all lives are dear to me’.
Kirkire penned the lines several weeks ago. And, Shaan had finished composing around the same time. So both were surprised to hear the news of an elephant's tragic death in Kerala a few days ago.
The elephant’s death apart, Shaan connects some of the recent catastrophes, including the Amazon forest fires, the Australian bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic to the Man vs Nature discussion. “I think it’s high time we as humans start becoming aware of how we exploit nature. We destroy forests for development and our own comfort. After a certain point, we should have stopped. But we stretched it too far. And, what we see now are the repercussions.”
“Nature doesn’t need us. There are already reports of air quality improving significantly… Mumbai [where he resides] looks like a tourist destination now! So, Nature can heal itself,” he adds.
The song, however, is more a celebration of biodiversity than an introspection of human actions.
‘Nature is everywhere’
Kirkire is an outdoors man. He prefers writing in cafes. He keeps changing places. So, it took a while for him to get adjusted to home confinement during the lockdown. “That is the thing about Nature. It is a great teacher. I have now learnt to write from home,” he laughs.
Nature is Kirkire’s favourite topic. So, it didn’t take long for him to write the song. “Of course, I would have preferred being outdoors. But Nature is everywhere. I keep seeing different species of birds every other day from my window. Even if you are just staring at a leaf, you see a lot of life happening there… an ant is travelling somewhere or a spider is building its web.”
The song is produced by Bhamla Foundation. It is supported by the United Nations and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The song’s video is choreographed by Shiamak Davar. It features Akshay Kumar, Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Taapsee Pannu, Maniesh Paul, Swanand Kirkire, Shiamak Davar with singers Adnan Sami, B Praak, Palak Muchhal, Papon, Payal Dev, Richa Sharma, Salim Merchant, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan and Shweta Mohan.
The song is available on Hungama Music, Hungama Play, Hungama Artist Aloud and other networks.
