Democratic culture thrives only in a democratic state, writes folk singer Kovan

Kovan                                        
Folk Singer, Trichy

Music, especially folk music made for the masses, can be an instrument to propagate a new democratic culture through the art form. I started my career in Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on the technical side before I realised my true calling. To have a campaign which gives rise to a truly democratic culture, we need a democratic state. Within the last 20 years, we have sparked changes which people thought even political parties could not do, an ‘alternate element’, so to speak. The ideas for my music are borrowed from the agricultural class, their thoughts, quirks, ups and downs, and I use them as an example to lend simplicity and relatability to my music. People protest in a number of ways ––but the most powerful method is the one that will reach the masses. Currently, a lot of important issues are politicised and misconstrued by our government, such as the beef problem, casteism, honour killings, and selling off our natural resources to multinational corporations. I try to simplify these issues and put them into a song. Our organisation is a big one, and we do often get threatening messages and phone calls, but I know there’s no security to one’s life at any given time. Twenty years of work will have no meaning if I am afraid to tell the truth. And if everyone lives in the fear of death, the truth will never be told.