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In the age of CAA, words are the weapons on the tongues of wounded artistes. I witnessed the power of poetry first-hand at Mumbais Spoken Fest, where Varun Grover reiterated, Kaagaz Nahi Dikhayenge and Faye DSouza asked, Is the government reading the Constitution?

Last weekend, the grassy lawns of Jio Gardens played host to another edition of Spoken Fest. Under the thick envelope of soothing poetry and flowing conversations featuring artistes of all sorts, there was a belligerent undercurrent of rebellion. Theanti-CAA,anti-NRCprotests that have permeated Indian society ever since December wove their way into a festival pulsing with creative voices. After all, Spoken Fest, last weekend, was a celebration of words in any form, a place where words belong.

Words then were weapons on the tongues of wounded artistes.Varun Grover, however, took his time to throw in his punches. The writer-comedian-lyricist charmed the audience with a little story on how he cracked the mystery of his tabloid going missing every morning during his early days in the city. Grover drew first blood by describing his matchbox-sized apartment as, Dilli police ke dil se bhi chhota tha

As Grover declared, Aur ab Kaagaz nahi dikhaaenge, a frenzied wave of cheer ran through the audience. Much to their delight, Grover had penned a couple of new verses of his anthem that has been lighting up nationwide protests:

Tum bhed bhaav ke chaalak toh,Hum samvidhaan ke baalak hainTum Khilji, Hitler, Tughlaq toh,Hum ik bachche ke gulakkh hain

Jo gulakkh baahar maati hai,Jo gulakkh andar chaandi haiTum gumma, loha, laathi toh,Hum Bhimrao aur Gandhi hain

As Grover declared, Aur ab Kaagaz nahi dikhaaenge, a frenzied wave of cheer ran through the audience.

As the crowd lapped it all up with claps and whistles, the plush open-air BKC venue could have been any of the dusty protest sites. For Grover, it was all the same, as was for his audience.

Phir ek din aisa aayega, tum prem se lais ho jaaoge,Hum Dekhenge gaao na gaao, khud bey-Faiz ho jaaogeUss din ki aas mein hum paagal, chup-chaap se chalte jaaengey,Hum kaagaz nahi dikhaaenge, Hum kaagaz nahi dikhaaenge

More applause, louder cheers. It seemed as if words were literally dispensing small packets of joy, hope, and strength. Earlier in the two-day festival, Delhi-based visual artist Sumit Roy had similarly electrified the crowd by rapping his band RollsRoys anti-establishment compositions, including Poorna Swaraj. Underlining the sentiments of a broken nation, the eerily prescient lyrics the track was released last April reflect the recent turn of events:

Poorna Swaraj Par shabdon pe laathi kyun;Poorna Swaraj sawaalon pe kyun ho bawaal?

At one point, Roy unified the crowd by continuously rapping Modiji and holding a particular finger up in the air.

In a poetry session with Mohammed Sadriwala, poet Rakesh Tiwari acquainted the audience with the prolificacy of 18th century Indian poet Nazeer Akbarabadis verses. Pointing to how inclusive the Father of Nazm was, Tiwari said, Humein secularism mat sikhaaiye, hum tab hi seekh liye hain. To illustrate his point, Tiwari recited Akbarabadis poem in praise ofLord Krishna, in which he alludes him to Allah. One line goes: Hai sab ka khuda, sab tujh pe fida Allah-o-Ghani, Allah-o-Ghani. Somewhere in its contemplative applause, the crowd appeared to appreciate the simplicity of Akbarabadis times.

Given that most writers, poets, story-tellers have an opinion on the troubled times we live in, Festival Director Roshan Abbas mentioned on stage that this edition of Spoken Fest reflected the mood of our times. This explains how behind all the podcasting workshops and pop culture discussions, a decidedly defiant force shadowed the event; then be it in Sabika Abbas Naqvis visceral, rousing poetry, or Tess Joseph, Sheena Khalid, and Aamir Aziz pulling off an English version of Kaagaz Nahi Dikhayenge.

From Peter Cat Recording Company sporting anti-CAA/NRC badges during their performances, to evenHarsha Bhogle, sneaking in a clever punchline during his conversation with Gaurav Kapur on cricket and memories. Recounting Mohammad Azharuddins miraculous innings driven purely by faith, Bhogle said, Sometimes faith drives you to violence I dont know why. On cue, the crowd erupted in applause.

From PCRC sporting anti-CAA/NRC badges during their performances, to Harsha Bhogle, sneaking in a clever punchline during his conversation with Gaurav Kapur on cricket and memories.

Lyricist Kausar Munir recited a poem in three parts, touching upon the three generations of her family grandmother, father and daughter punctuated by a haunting line:

Birth certificate hai magar, jaan ka kaagaz kahaan se laaunDeath certificate hai magar, pehchaan ka kaagaz kahaan se laaun

Towards the end of her poem, Munir had a powerful thing to tell her girl: Your place in this country is defined by the Constitution. It wont be denied by an amendment. Poet Hussain Haidrys words were more unsparing, asking the audience to not sleep:

Jo darr ke bhaagte hain hamaare sawaal se,Unsey jawaab maangna hai, soeeyega matJo huqm de rahe hain, huqumat ke nashe mein,Unka nasha utaarna hai, soeeyega mat

Befitting her profession and reputation, the most wholesome speech had to come from journalistFaye DSouza. With a premise devised funnily around a building gathering full of pliant, conservative Uncles advising her to toe the line, DSouza dropped truth bombs by the dozen. Corporate India is so afraid to tick off the government. They are worried their files might not move through North Block and they will be punished into not making as much money as they are used to. So they are completely silent.

Befitting her profession and reputation, the most wholesome speech had to come from journalist Faye DSouza.

Our streets are now littered with human rights violations, with attempts to change the fabric of this secular country, DSouza continued. Our streets right now are full of crime, and the people who have access to education, information, and communication, have covered those streets with a blanket of silence, she said, referring toKashmir,Assam,Jamia,JNU, andUttar Pradesh.

Playing off on the ridiculous apprehensions of the Uncle, DSouza said, Yes, Uncle, thats true. The government is tracking everybody, reading everything. A pause later, to a roaring cheer from the crowd, she asked: Is the government reading the Constitution? DSouza ended her piece on a high, recalling how the young stood guard for the Constitution through that cold winter night. The young kept us safe. The young stood and fought, she said. Uncle was with us in spirit.

Anand Holla

This article was originally published on Arre

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