If there’s one thing the “Father of the Nation”, MK Gandhi, would probably be tired of by now, it would have to be the endless use of his image for just about every cause and idea one can think of. The latest in that long series is a break dancing Gandhi who dances to a rap decrying the state of the nation.
A rap video by Babu Haabi titled "Bobocanta", uploaded on YouTube on September 3, decries the materialism and corruption that pervades the country today. With lines that talk about how money has become as important to live life as the air that sustains it, and about all the paths outside the straight and narrow, that exist for making money in the Indian city today, the song takes a dig at our current value systems.
In what will probably raise more than a few eyebrows, however, the song makes reference to MK Gandhi: “Kehte hain majboori ka naam hota hai Mahatma Gandhi” (They say resignation is Gandhi’s middle name). And a few lines later the song goes on, “Satyagraha se kuch na mila, jhooth ka jhanda lahraya” (Satyagraha got me nothing, so I was forced to raise the flag of deceit).
And if the lyrics were not provocative enough, the video features an animated version of Gandhi who break dances and flips over to do handspins, while what looks like the Parliament building burns in the background.
The artist behind the video, rapper Babu Haabi, is best known for lending his voice to songs like “Chitta Ve” and “Da Da Dasse” in the film "Udta Punjab". DNA quoted the rapper saying, “Unlike my anti-establishment rap which asks serious questions of the polity and society, other well-known rappers can't seem to think beyond women and booze. Yet people are questioning me and not them.”
Since being published on Saturday, the video has been viewed on YouTube nearly 2,500 times.
Watch the video here: