When the Bharatiya Janata Party swept the polls in Tripura, celebrations quickly turned into horror as vandals brought down a statue of Left icon Lenin.

Its ripple effect was felt in Tamil Nadu – BJP leader H Raja put out a post on Facebook threatening to vandalise statues of Dravidian Periyar. Within 24 hours, a Periyar statue was damaged in Vellore district’s Tirupattur.

This prompted a backlash across the state, with several clashes between protestors and the police reported, and almost 300 people getting arrested.

Raja took down the post and apologised for it, blaming his Facebook page admin for it.

Things calmed down for a few weeks, however, two more incidents were reported in quick succession – another Periyar statue was vandalised in Pudukottai district and a bust of Savitribai Phule was damaged in Telangana’s Sircilla.

Now, pre-eminent writer Perumal Murugan and celebrated Carnatic singer and activist TM Krishna have joined hands and composed a song on the issue.

Perumal Murugan penned the lyrics and TM Krishna has sung the song.

Here's the song. Find the lyrics below.

சிலைகள் எல்லாம் கலையின் வடிவம்

கலையே காலம் போற்றும் செல்வம்    

S​tatues are works of art

​Art that is the wealth of time

அலை மோதும் கற்பனை கொண்டு

விலை யில்லா உழைப்பில் வடித்த      

W​ith boundless imagination

​Priceless labour did sculpt

மலைமேல் கோவிலில் மறைந்து நின்று

மனதை மயக்கும் கடவுளர் எனினும்

சாலை நடுவில் சிறந்து நின்று

சரித்திரம் பேசும் பெரியார் எனினும்   

B​​e it the ​g​od who enchants

from the hilltop

​Or P​eriyar, who reminds us of our past

standing tall in the middle of the road