Left Front to go musical ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Kolkata, April 6 (ANI): In a novel mode of campaigning for election, 70,000 pieces of a CD are slated to be distributed across West Bengal for playing in villages, towns and cities to sensitize the masses.

The idea is to play the music at meetings, rallies and road shows before the Left front candidates start their campaign pitch.

'Karim Ekhon' (Karim Now) is the music CD commissioned by the Left Front's cultural organization 'Tuneer' in West Bengal ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The CD has eight songs, one of which narrates the story about Karim, representing the status of the minorities in the state.

Karim who is happy today. His mother is self-reliant and his aunts and uncles are building new houses in the village. Karim goes to school and has three meals a day. The new age has arrived, it declares.

The music used in the CD is soothing and relaxing. The instruments used in the composition are mostly traditional and rural like the Dhol (traditional drum) and violins.

Meanwhile, for the comrades, the CD is an extension of the Left's achievements in the last 32 years.

Lyricist Prannay Dutta penned the words about Karim, about farmers being misled by an unscrupulous opposition, about the 'Pardesi' (non-resident) divisive forces bent on dividing Bengal etcetera after conducting a three-month research project across West Bengal.

A team of 15 'Bauls' (Bengali folk wandering minstrels), who spoke to the common men about the various problems and issues on equal terms at railway stations, grocery stores, market places, villages and towns, did the survey.

The songs, set to music by Dutta, have been sung by leading singers like Lopamudra and Indranil.

Dutta, who has himself sung two songs, says that both as a social worker and a creative artist he was convinced about the need to make the music CD in favour of the Left Front.

Unless one is politically convinced about the issues, it would not be possible to write such lyrics, the composer says.

Tunes from the national anthem and songs like Jana Gana Mana and Saare Jahaan Se Accha respectively have been incorporated in the music of some of the songs, which Dutta asserts can also be sung as songs on national integration.

Kamal Kanti Chakrabory, a retired school teacher, said that the songs depicted the progress achieved in West Bengal under Left rule and how the opposition was trying to undermine the growth and development in the state.

While there is strong emphasis on 'Vote', 'Nirvachan' etc in the lyrics, the songs make no bones about what is being appealed for. By Ajitha Menon(ANI)