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Jasmine Singh
The average debt of a farmer stands at Rs 8 lakh per family in Punjab, which has started a cycle of suicides — farmers being unable to repay the loans, take their own lives. Many Punjabi singers have now taken a creative route to make people understand the sad plight of farmers. YouTube has witnessed a sudden increase in the viewership of songs based on the debt-ridden farmers.
False image
Rami Randhawa and Prince Randhawa’s recent track O Jatt ridicules the false picture of jatt, which is usually portrayed in songs. The video director of O Jatt says, “Jatt has always been related to either a gangster or the one always carrying a dunali (a gun), but the matter of fact is that jatt is also a farmer who is debt-ridden and left with no option but to commit suicide.”
Sensitive take
It is interesting to note that out of 100 Punjabi singers, 95 come from a farming background! And this seems just the right path to pay back their zameen, their mother! Popular singer-actor Ammy Virk’s track Kheti is a sensitive take on the condition of farmers. The lyrics of the song — main tey siri ronde rahey, jadon khet di boli lagdi rahi — show the helplessness of a debt-ridden farmer. Says the singer, “As an artiste, it is our responsibility to talk about such situations since most of us come from a farming background.”
Yet another singer Jassie Gill’s extremely popular song Bapu Zimidar takes a dig at how only rich boys can fall in love, while those of farmers, who are always dependent on the fasal, can barely afford a scooter; so love is totally out of question for them. “A farmer lives on the produce and the entire family is dependent on it. In such a scenario, where will a farmer’s son buy gifts for his girlfriend?” he asks.
Burning issue
Sometimes in a light-hearted manner and recently more vehemently, Punjabi songs are leaving nothing to imagination to highlight the plight of farmers in Punjab. Songs like Fasal Vech Ke by Fateh Shergill, Khet- Real Story Of a Farmer by Gopi Singh, Jattan Di Asal Kahani by Harinder Sandhu, Kissan by Jaswant Gill are some of the tracks that are getting a high viewership on YouTube and also being rotated extensively on the social media.
Singers in Punjab take it as their moral responsibility to talk about the issue. “Artistes of my fraternity have sung songs praising the farmer, about their lavish lifestyles; now is the time to talk about his debt-ridden state,” shares singer Rami Randhawa. It is indeed time.
jasmine@tribunemail.com
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