Poems On Resistance: 'Bol', 'Basti Anthem' And 'Stage'

Hook -
Bol, kyunki lab tere azaad
Bol, krantikari ye awaaz
Bol, neta bantein ye samaj
Kholde pol aur karde unka pardafash! (2)

Verse [Shaikhspeare]
“Ya Allah” bol ya “Jai Shree Ram”
Mile sare dharm toh hai bana Hindustan
Hindu-Muslim saath, dete aman ka paigam
Insaniyat se bada na koi dharm na imaan!

Wo kare “divide and rule”, ab bhi tum gulam
Majority de lagan, minority ka katle-aam!
Bhediya ghoome yahan, bhed ke bhes me
Mar rahe kyun kisan, krishi ke is desh me?

Mehngai ki maar, mehnga petrol aur raashan
Neta karte na vikas, dete bhadkau bhasan
Naam ki democracy, yahan tanashahi shasak
Awaam ko ye baatein, jaanein ekta me taqat.

Dange ye karate yahan pe baat-baat par
Mare katein nirdoshon ko jaat-paat par
Kanon khada dekho yahan pe hanth bandh kar
Power ki ye bhook, insaan bana hai janwar !

Junglon ko kaat kar banana inhe metro
Ek kaam karo pure desh ko hi bech do
Kursi pe rehna bas hai inka Propaganda
News channel failate dar aur inka Agenda

Na tiranga, ye lehrate alag jhanda
Harkaton se inki bhaichare ko hai khatra
Inke khilaf awaaz, toh puchenge tera naam
Bol inqalab - “Bhagat”, “Asfaqullah khan”!

Hook -
Bol, kyunki lab tere azaad
Bol, krantikari ye awaaz
Bol, neta bantein ye samaj
Kholde pol aur karde unka pardafash! (2)

Verse [EPR]
Gunehgaar “Bilkis Bano” ke azaad hue
Phaasi lagni chahiye thi
par phoolon se kyu swaagat kare
Chadar tale betiyon ko mara
Na hifazat / Banne chali police,
Par petrol se jalaya unhe
Former minister ki scam sinister SSC
50 crores cash in hand, ED catching “Chatterjee”
Tirangey par bhi politics,
Communalism policies
Justice for “Moosewala”
In solidarity / rest in peace!

Kaate kyu jungalon ko?
Metro railway
Adani buying NDTV
Journalism tel me
40% increase NCRB ki data says
crime against women in the capital
a vicious web!

Scaw division ki zaroorat hai
Fast track court
Decision swiftly , the needed step

Har crime mein religious angle
Ask those in power
You’ll understand, their hidden plans

Panch saal mein paanch trillion economy
Paanch guna hai jumla aur pancho mein paach fucking thiefs
Vikaas chahiye? Jab sath hamare corruption
Neta hamare hadap le / gareebi wahi sadak pe

Bol
Sacchai jhoot se kyu darti hai
Bol
Na insaaf ki koi wardi hai
Bol
Muh kholne se phat ti hai
Conscious hip hop
bhi aaj Nehru ki galti hai!

Hook -
Bol, kyunki lab tere azaad
Bol, krantikari ye awaaz
Bol, neta bantein ye samaj
Kholde pol aur karde unka pardafash! (2)

Hook -
Speak up, for your words are still free
Speak up, this voice is revolutionary
Speak up, politicians divide this society
Unmask and expose them?

Speak up, for your words are still free
Speak up, this voice is revolutionary
Speak up, politicians divide this society
Unmask and expose them

Verse [Shaikhspeare]

Say “Ya Allah” or Say “Jai Shree Ram”
Where all religions coexists- that’s Hindustan
Hindu-Muslim together bring messages of peace
There’s no religion, no faith greater than humanity

They practice “Divide and rule”, and you are still slaves
The majority pays revenues, and there are genocides on the minority?

Wolves are strolling here, dressed up like sheep
Why would farmers die in a nation that’s agrarian?

Battered by inflation, costly petrol and ration
No development by politicians, only deliver provocative oration
Democracy just for the sake, here lies a dictator
knowing the power of unity, they divide the nation,

They kick up riots over trivialities
Innocent slaughtered in the name of caste and creed

Justice stands and merely watches with folded hands
For this hunger for power, humans have turned into animals?

They’d make metros by chopping up the forests
They must do one thing then, go ahead and sell the nation

To save their chair is their sole propaganda

News channels spread fear and their agendas?

Not Tiranga (Tricolour), they wave different flags
Their shenanigans pose
danger to the humanity
Voice up against them, they’ll ask for your name
You must say Inqalab- “Bhagat”, “Asfaqullah Khan”!

Hook -?

Speak up, for your words are still free
Speak up, this voice is revolutionary
Speak up, politicians divide this society
Unmask and expose them?

Speak up, for your words are still free
Speak up, this voice is revolutionary
Speak up, politicians divide this society
Unmask and expose them?

Verse [EPR]

The culprits of “Bilkis Bano” set freed
Who had to be hanged
were welcomed by garlands
Sleeping daughters were slaughtered
Burnt alive using petrol
No security! So much in the name of the police!

Former Minister’s sinister scam- SSC
50 crores in hand, Ed catching a “Chatterrjee”

Politics in the name of Tiranga
Communal policies
Justice for Moosewala
In solidarity/ Rest in Peace?

Why chop the forests for
Metro-Railways
Adani buying NDTV
Journalism in tatters
40%increase as the NCRB data shows
Crime against women in the capital a vicious web!

There is no need for Scaw division?

Fast track court, Decision swiftly-
is the needed step?

Religious angle to every crime!

Ask those in power
You’ll understand-
their hidden plans

Five trillion economy in five years
Five times the rhetoric and all five of them fucking thieves
Want development? When corruption is with us!
Our politicians encroach, poverty stranded on the roads?

Speak up
Why should truth be scared of Fallacies
Speak up
For justice has no costume
Speak up
For voicing up creates a stir
Conscious hip-hop must also be
Nehru’s mistake??

Hook -?

Speak up, for your words are still free
Speak up, this voice is revolutionary
Speak up, politicians divide this society
Unmask and expose them?

Speak up, for your words are still free
Speak up, this voice is revolutionary
Speak up, politicians divide this society
Unmask and expose them

Shaikhspeare ft EPR, Bihar

(“Shaikhspeare” aka “Shaikh The Don”, born as?Aamir Shaikh, is an Indian rapper and songwriter. He hails from northern suburbs of Mumbai, and has established himself as one of the most influential and skilled rappers of his generation.)

Basti Anthem

In Basti, we brawl and stay brothers ?
Brimming with fervour, all of us
In Basti, there is love in abundance
From the thatched hut to the palace

Meet me in the akhara, we’ll dance the jhoomar
Visit me at home, I’ll feed you the dhuska
The Adivasis worship the sakhua tree
We’re content eating leftover rice

I say Johar to all, humble or mighty
I’m on the front line fighting for water, forest and land
When we dance to the beats of the mandar and the nagara
The whole of Jharkhand dances with us

Madua roti and mar jhor taste delicious
Nothing beats the beng saag chutney
And what do I say about the new Jharkhand?
Birsa lives here in every house

Riches and poverty are secondary
Fraternity comes first for us
Look at my body burnished through field labour
In winter, we warm ourselves at the bonfire

Look how full of love, this song of mine
Look at the tears flow like dew on wintry mornings
The soil of Jharkhand and the tribal blood
Living by the sweat of my brow, I have peace in my heart

I play hide-and-seek at night
I spin the top on my palm
Gulli-danda, pitto and thannu
Behold my aim in goli and guchchu

Our golden beauties are decked in red-bordered saris
We’re no less in our dhoti and gamchha
The entire village is my family
In every house live my father and mother

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Johar

—Translated from Hindi by Kaushika Draavid

????? ??? ???? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??

??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????? ???

????? ??? ??? ???? ????? ??????? ???

????? ?? ?? ???? ????? ???? ???

????? ???? ???? ???? ????? ????

????? ??? ???? ?????? ????? ????

???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ???????

?????? ??? ?? ??? ???? ??? ????

??? ??? ??? ????? ?? ?? ????? ?????

??, ???? ???? ?? ???? ??? ?????

????? ?? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????

????? ?????? ???? ?????? ?????

????? ???? ???? ??? ??? ??? ?????

???? ??? ?? ???? ?? ??? ????

??? ? ?????? ?? ????? ?? ??

????? ????? ???? ?? ??? ?????

????? ????? ??? ?? ??? ???

??????? ???? ???? ??? ?? ??? ???

??? ??? ??? ???? ?? ???? ??? ???

????? ?? ???? ??? ????? ??? ???

????? ???? ???? ? ??? ???

??? ???? ??? ???? ??? ??

??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ???

????? ?? ????? ???? ??? ??? ?????

???? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???

????? ??????? ?? ??? ???

?????? ????, ?????? ?? ????? ?? ???

???? ?? ?????? ??? ???? ??? ???

???? ???? ????? ??? ???? ???? ?????

???? ?? ???? ??? ?????? ????? ???

???? ???? ?????? ??? ???

?? ?? ??? ???? ?? ??? ????

??????????????????????

Aman Kachhap, Jharkhand

(Aman Kachhap?is a tribal rapper from Jharkhand.)

Stage

We didn’t go to the stage,
nor were we called.
With a wave of the hand
we were shown our place.
There we sat
and were congratulated,
and “they”, standing on the stage,
kept on telling us of our sorrows.
Our sorrows remained ours,
they never became theirs. ?
When we whispered out doubts
they perked their ears to listen,
and sighing,
tweaking our ears,
told us to shut up,
apologize; or else…

—Translated from Marathi by Bharat Patankar, Gail Omvedt, and Suhas Paranjape

Waharu Sonavane, Maharashtra

(Waharu Sonavane?is a Marathi poet, writer and social worker. He belongs to the Bhil tribal community and has made a huge contribution to society. Fondly called “Vahrubhau”, he lives in Shahada tehsil of Nandurbar district of Maharashtra???????.)