This was the last stanza added to a song originally written by Vinay Mahajan, a student of Ahmedabad’s Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in 1985, after brutal riots tore asunder the social fabric of the city in which he was studying. The demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the nationwide trail of violence that the lethal mix of religion and politics had dished out underlined the simple plea contained in the original song and inspired the last stanza. Mandir–Masjid had, in the late eighties and nineties, become India’s secular anthem for groups, individuals and activists; it’s verses being sung with verve at almost every meeting and show of solidarity against communal violence and mobilisations by fascist forces.

The verses, rendered in a haunting melody by the Mahajans, Charul and Vinay — today a husband–wife team tackling social issues through their music, under the banner of Loknaad — have, as the song travelled to every nook and cranny of the country, been in turn sung with zest and zeal, even revolutionary ardour, becoming people–owned, even if the by–line of the original lyricist went unacknowledged.

On a recent visit to Mumbai, Vinay and Charul shared their songs with members of the KHOJ and Sabrang team, converting a whole evening into an emotional and inspiring experience. Singing some of their recent creations, born out of the phenomenon of increasing communalism in Gujarat, while also sharing the thoughts and experiences that went into composing each one of them.

In 1985, it had been the sheer brutality of the violence that had influenced Vinay’s creative response. "I was just overwhelmed at all the violence around me. That’s what made me write this song". Today, too, a significant percentage of the couple’s renderings are on the issue of communalism, a moving protest against the brutality of attacks on Gujarat’s minorities and the callousness of the state in dealing with the issue. This promises to form the theme of the couple’s second audio cassette due for release in a few months’ time. "We felt that these songs — on various aspects of communalism and absence of harmony were required more urgently, especially in Gujarat. It’s just so frustrating to live in Gujarat right now. We felt it was very important for us to make this statement given that we live there, and produce a cassette exclusively on communalism right now," asserted Vinay.

"The atmosphere in the state is just so bad", continues Charul. "It’s not merely the systematic attacks against Christians; Muslim children are not given admissions in schools, schools actually schedule exams on Eid day or Good Friday, deliberately to send a prejudicial message!" One particular theme in these new songs is related to the selective investigations being conducted by the state government and other communal organisations on all inter–community marriages. "They’ve even opened a separate cell to register such marriages. Our song is in celebration of love and a protest against the state’s interference in love and personal relationships", says Charul.

Adds Vinay, "Since childhood we have been brought up on the proverb, Miyan Biwi razi to kya karega kazi…idhar to miyan biwi razi lekin pachees hazar kazi! (If the husband and wife are willing what can the kazir do? But here, the husband and wife are willing, but there are 25,000 kazis to reckon with!) If two people have decided they want to live together, why should anyone else interfere? Our song basically says that love, whether between a man and a

woman or between two friends, recognizes no boundaries of religion, or region or country.

Our song (Rabba yaar mila de re) is a lover’s painful cry for reunion."

Another song, Aao lakeeren mita den is a song devoted to creating peace between countries, with a special emphasis on India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. "We’re not talking about removing borders between countries", says Vinay. "We’re talking about creating a good and open relationship between them."

Today, apart from singing with a deep sense of social purpose, Charul and Vinay who have formed the Abhigam Collective, also offer academic consultations (through their respective professional expertise) on marginalised social issues. Vinay is an engineer who went on to do management studies and Charul is a professionally trained architect who went on to study planning. "We study various problems of the villages and towns of Gujarat allied with other non–governmental organisations working in the field. Problems like water shortage and irrigation, the problems related to the heavy industrialisation of the state, landless labourers… The words of the song emerge really only after deep study and research", explains Charul.

About forty songs in Hindi and Gujarati have emerged out of their studies and experiences. Some of the songs are short–lived ones based on an immediate event or issue. But, others such as Mandir, Masjid, Girjaghar…promise to echo in people’s hearts for a long time to come.

Of the lyrics that have emerged over the past six months, the issue of the state’s callousness towards human life drew inspiration from the inhuman response of the Gujarat government to the victims of the cyclone in Kandla last year.

"We had visited Kandla after the cyclone had hit the area. Ten thousand people had died because of a calamity that could have been averted if the state had lived up to its responsibility. We’d prepared a report on the situation. A lot of the people who’d died were not from the state. At that time, the government had declared 1 lakh compensation. To lashon ka bazaar lag gaya,(There was a marketplace of corpses)" explained Charul. "Whoever found a body would come up to claim the compensation. Our song uses the persona of a young child who worked for Rs.20. He asks, Where there is no value for my life, why have you priced my dead body at 1 lakh?"

"We think the first objective of our songs should be simply to raise questions in people’s minds about these issues, whether communalism or any other social issue. We don’t claim to have all the answers, but we have to at least get the common person, who has never even been exposed to these matters to firstly become aware and then, to think further. We can’t do this in a confrontational manner, only through gently provoking thought and compassion."

Last year, the occasion of a statewide convention to draw attention to the serious issue of child labour had the Mahajans compose a song that had the 400 participant children dancing on stage and their mothers backstage. As is typical of all their lyrics, the appeal is to emotion, creativity and a gentle, inescapable reasoning. Mere desh ka bachpan kho gaya hai…singing for the lost childhood of a nation that has become immune to the toiling hours put in by its children who are now asserting that their turn has come! They are also demanding their right to play, to read, to grow. The right to have a childhood.

Vinay has always had a penchant for penning lyrics, beginning with the school and group college entries in Gurdaspur, Punjab from where he hails. But little did he know then that this talent coupled with Charul’s own fondness for singing would enable them to exercise an unusual and creative career choice — writing and singing songs with an abiding message. "It was after we got married, Charul and I, in 1989, that we began thinking along these lines. First we thought of only writing the songs together and thought we might get someone else to sing them. But, then we thought…why not sing them ourselves?"

Neither Charul nor Vinay have received any training in singing or music though both have a natural aptitude for the muse. So, what made them choose the medium of song to promote awareness? "We both had some skill in singing, though no training. We chose singing as our medium because it’s simple. Our entire infrastructure is Vinay, myself, a dhafli, ghungroo and a scooter, and we’re ready!" says Charul.

Songs were an ideal choice as a medium for another reason as well. In a sub–continent with a rich oral tradition, they have, since aeons, been the most effective means of spreading messages of reform, revolt or change. In a society where the written word is inaccessible to the majority of the population due to lack of education, a vibrant and empowered social message through song is guaranteed wide appeal.

Inspiration and influence came from cultural forces like the Jana Natya Mandli and modern folk singers from Calcutta — Suman Chatterjee, Sapan Basu, Pratul Mukhopadhyaya; Gujarati poets like Vilas Ghogre and and the Punjab Lok Sabhayacharak Manch led by Gursharan Singh etc.