Can poets and songwriters work 'professionally' for political parties and still remain neutral?

Election campaigning in West Bengal has thrown a sharp question mark on the choices that writers and creative artists make. Even in a state where creative people have often had strong political alignments, the latest developments have come as a surprise.

The greatest talking point came in the past fortnight, when the acclaimed young Bengali poet Srijato – as well as songwriters and musicians Anupam Roy and Rupam Islam – agreed to write poetry and songs, respectively, extolling the virtues of the ruling Trinamool Congress.

Couched as paeans to the supposed progress made by the state during the five years of TMC rule, these were clearly meant to be pitches for votes. However, most of those who have signed up claim they’re doing this merely as professional assignments, and not as political statements.

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee had already co-opted the vast majority of the state’s film-stars and popular singers, fielding many of them as candidates. Besides MPs like Satabdi Roy and Tapash Pal, the party’s supporters, campaigners and candidates include actors Chiranjeet and Debashree Roy, singer Indraneel Sen, and poet Subodh Sarkar. Challenger BJP has been trying the same strategy, picking up some of the showbiz stars who had not signed up for the TMC – film stars Roopa Ganguly and Locket Chatterjee, for instance, besides singer Babul Supriyo.

Odd one out

Perhaps the most surprising move here came from the poet Srijato. Not only had he stayed politically neutral in the past, he had even used his poetry to condemn, in the strongest terms, some of the actions of the TMC administration in recent times – the government’s crackdown on the students of Jadavpur University in 2014, for instance.

Who are those that make the laws?
Who are those that wield the stick?
Our bodies may have fractured bones
Our hearts are strong, our blood is quick

All their whips can lash again
We might all be swept away
Still our fists will never slacken
As always, we'll shout today

People bring in other people
Resistance will form our lines
We are humans, so are you
The difference lies in our spines

— Translated from the Bengali

Later, in a series of poems titled Andhakarer Lekhaguchho (Writing of the Darkness), he had lashed out against the atmosphere of intolerance, hatred and bigotry in the country. And while these were not directed against the TMC, he quickly became a minstrel for the politically conscious but ideologically independent classes, articulating their unhappiness with the suppression of freedom.

At a recent literary meet the poet said he had refused an award from the state government on two occasions. “One was from Bangla Akademi in the aftermath of the Nandigram firing. I accepted the same award after there was a change of the party in power. But when the same party's government offered me the Sangeet Samman after the Jadavpur University unrest and Kamduni (gangrape and murder and mutilation of a 20-year-old college student), I had to say no," he said.

As a result, the disclosure that the same Srijato was now going to be writing poetry for the TMC came as a shock to many. On his part, the poet had argued that this is nothing but a professional assignment, no different, for instance, from the poetry he wrote about Radha earlier for a television channel.

The songwriters

Like Srijato, Bangla rock singer-songwriter Rupam Islam, whose public persona is that of a radical anti-establishment maverick, has been at the forefront of public protests without political affiliation. He had joined the rallies against the bloodbath at Nandigram during the Left Front tenure, and had also challenged the TMC during the Jadavpur University students’ movement in 2014 with powerful lyrics: “Power equals corruption and the throne equals Ravana”; or, “Give up your seat of power if you must misrule.”

But the rock star seems to have had a change of heart about the establishment, delivering two songs on prokolpo (schemes) and unnati (development) under the Mamata Banerjee administration. To be fair, this is not the first time: Islam had earlier composed a youth anthem for the TMC government.

As for singer-composer Anupam Roy, known for his melodious, soulful numbers, – he famously made his Bollywood foray with Piku – he is the conduit for a grand unification of singers for TMC. The song he has composed for the party in the run-up to the elections has been sung by some of the most popular singers in Bengal today, including Lopamudra Mitra, Srikanto Acharya, and Pratik Choudhury.

For a cause or for a living?

Ever since news of Srijato’s collaboration with TMC made headlines, he has been taking the barbs with a terse “I don’t need to explain myself”. But while most readers – and listeners – expect writers and musicians to stand by the political line in their creative work, it is the distancing from that work that has created confusion.

If Srijato, Islam and even Roy are, literally, singing praises for TMC, is it only as a professional gig, or do they believe in what they say? On the face of it, Srijato and Islam, at any rate, don’t. But will this dilute the integrity of the rest of their work?

Roy says he did not do it for the money, however, but because he couldn’t turn down a request from Kolkata’s favourite quizmaster Derek O’Brien, TMC’s national spokesperson and the party’s all-important hotline to the sophisticated urban young. “I have always been a huge fan of Derek’s,” says Roy. “Shob kichhu to takar binimoye hoy na (not everything is done for money).”

The Left parties, of course, have always had committed artists taking up their cause – but in those cases it was usually impossible to separate the writer or poet from the ideology. Over the years, though, people drifted away from the Left towards the TMC – among them being the poet Subodh Sarkar.

According to a musician associated with several popular bands, the TMC has been pumping a lot of money into the entertainment industry, effectively winning the support of those who make a living in this sector. “If you look at history, you will see, musicians have always survived on state patronage, ” argues another singer, refusing to be named. “Why blame us?”

Adds another musician, “It’s one thing to outrage on Facebook, criticising the government for an untoward incident, security lapse or strong-arm tactics. But it is a different matter to turn down a hefty pay packet and antagonise a powerful political establishment.”

Some of the artists drafted by the TMC have also argued that when stars endorsing colas or shampoos are not questioned whether they actually use those products or not, why should they be judged?

It’s important to remember, of course, that creative artists have to make a living. And, very often, poetry and music cannot pay the bills. As Srijato has been explaining repeatedly, it is his creative skills that are on hire – not his ideology. The question is: can readers tell the difference?