Music band Karinthalakoottam’s ‘Malavaazhi’ is an ode to farmers and traditions

A seed that germinated within the crucible of the farmer’s protest in Delhi developed right into a music about reminiscences, protest and name to motion. ‘Malavaazhi’, a crowd-funded music video, launched by Kerala-based ethno music band Karinthalakoottam, is a melodious ode to farming and farmers.

The music, rhythm and lyrics of ‘Malavaazhi’ have a good time the seed as an emblem of evolution, civilisation and tradition. The music was composed primarily with native musical devices equivalent to otta, chenda, thudi, vadi chilambu and kuzhi thalam.

Karinthalakoottam focusses on reviving oral heritage and the music of the soil. Recollections had been mined for songs sung on totally different events in Kerala. Lyrics and music of these songs got a up to date contact and vitality, which derived inspiration from ritualistic efficiency artwork kinds equivalent to Theyyam, Karinkali, Kaalakali and so forth. Regularly, the band started writing their very own songs.

Lyrics for farmers

Throughout the second lockdown in 2021, the musicians led by Remyath Raman, an worker of the Kerala State Transport Company, needed to specific their solidarity with the farmers’ protests in Delhi.

Whereas the music talks about farmers who nurture the seeds from daybreak to nightfall and infrequently go hungry as landlords reap the advantages of their toil, the lyrics additionally have a good time the seeds. Woven into the lyrics are the names of greater than 25 native paddy forms of Kerala, equivalent to Aariyan, Ponnaariyan, Rajakazhama, Chitteni, Thavalakannan and so forth. Two stanzas focus simply on these seeds, says Vijeesh Karinthalakoottam, one of many singers. The final stanza of ‘Malavaazhi’ exhorts staff to face collectively to higher their prospects.

Renjith Raman and Vineeth Lal wrote the lyrics, that are a mix of native dialects. Vineeth scored the music. The vocals are led by Akhilesh Alath, Subhash Bharathan and Vijeesh.

The band delved into people tradition to compose ‘Malavaazhi’, which is rooted within the agrarian previous of Kerala. Malavazhi is the protagonist in Malavazhiyattom, an historic conventional artwork type with its origins in Central Kerala. The Pakkanar contemplate Malavazhi because the protector of seeds. For rural communities, such festivals weren’t only a celebration, but additionally about preserving their seeds, soil and the cattle for generations to return, says Vijeesh, who works as a highschool instructor in Palakkad.

Directed and filmed by Aghosh Vyshnavam, the lately launched music video, which was shot in a single day in a man-made forest close to Perinthalmanna, has been acquired nicely with greater than 119K views. Vijeesh admits that the video has come as a shot within the arm for the band, which has been languishing because of the successive lockdowns. “The music was recorded in November 2021. We had been unable to work with all of the musicians in Karinthalakoottam. We needed to make do with individuals who had been accessible to return collectively on the time,” says Vijeesh.