Madara’s ‘Mareech’: How the State Blinds Society

Last month, hip hop artist Rahul Negi aka Madara released his very first song ‘Mareech’ on YouTube. The song is a political satire which takes a jibe at viewers for turning a blind eye to the social evils plaguing society.

The song, along with the video, sheds light on the plight of farmers, communal tension, censorship and how development projects are trumpeted to divert society’s attention from the real issues. The artist, hence, repeatedly cries “tu chup kar“, as the camera shifts from one frame to another.

The track, which has been produced by Resonare and mixed and mastered by Seven & Seven, also has a mythological undertone, says the artist.

‘Mareech’, the title of the track, was the name of a character in the Ramayana who turned himself into a golden deer to catch Sita’s attention.

“I am trying to depict the government as Maareech and our people as the innocent Sita. They [people] think of the government as the golden deer where they are not able to see the other side or the motive because they’ve been distracted from the real issues,” says Negi.

He closely follows politics and wants to use his art to spread awareness. As a rapper, he writes about social evils, injustices and the country’s innumerable problems. Hip hop, he says, has historically been an intrinsic part of revolutions and he wants to take the legacy forward through this latest song.

“I want to educate or make people aware of the current issues and the ones we have been made to forget and to make them realise that if we don’t understand it now, our country won’t remain what Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and many freedom fighters sacrificed their lives for,” he said.

While he isn’t sure whether this song will make any difference, he is hopeful that people will gradually know the motive behind the song and understand it. He will be releasing more such songs in the coming months.

Featured image credit: YouTube screengrab