Rockstars at Anna Leela

At 9pm on Wednesday night,with an electric guitar in his hand and a dholak as an accompaniment,Dawar,who had stayed up there for about 10 hours,laughed off the deep tan and beads of sweat trickling down his face. “It’s very hot and I have a tan but I don’t feel very tired. People’s enthusiasm has kept my spirits high,” he said. “Plus I meditate,” he added.

Dawar is one of several musicians,who has captured the moment through his compositions — composing the famous Lokpal anthem Lokpal,Lokpal,pass karo Janlokpal . “This is an independent composition that was created by me on January 29,a time when the issue had just begun to brew. I had never expected this kind of response. I have seen an eight-year-old girl dancing to this song,and an 80-year-old grandmother singing it,” he said,adding,“I felt someone should take responsibility to make the term ‘Lokpal’ common,since not many knew about it. My aim was to familiarise people with the issue.”

A similar anthem has youngsters raving over it on social networking sites. Twenty-one-year-old graduate from Hindu College,Nickk,who swears by this ‘brand name’ rather than his real one,launched his version of Vande Mataram on August 15,and made it available for free downloads later. With a few Bollywood songs up his sleeves,the pop-rock crooner already has 20,000 followers on the Vande Mataram Facebook page.

“This is my modern take on Vande Mataram. Youth needs something contemporary to drive them — slogans or songs,” he said. It took him two days to compose the song,but Nickk boasts of more than 4000 downloads till date and an ever-increasing following on social networking websites. “Since I am a musician and also a part of the youth,I think I have made my contribution to the movement,” he added.

Then there is Mumbai-based indie-rapper Prozpekt,whose previous hit Kaisa Mera Desh,the ‘unofficial CWG anthem’ attacking the messy affair last year,was ranked number 3 on Youtube. On Thursday,he launched a song on the Lokpal issue. “This is a shorter composition that was launched online. It focuses on the Lokpal issue and the government’s dilemmas around it,” he said. The song,which is a rap,is called The Lokpal Free Style. “The youth will naturally catch it faster because they are well-acquainted with this genre,” he added.

Bollywood singer Kailash Kher also landed in Ramlila Maidan four days ago,and his brief,20-minute performance left the supporters asking for more. But for Kher,the issue has a deeper emotional meaning. “I had created a song, Ambar tak yehi naara goonjega,when Anna fasted in April. I had just come to know about him and his cause and decided to dedicate a song to him. I have neither praised nor condemned anyone. It’s not against government,but against corruption,” he said.