Polls on a song

‘‘Why shout one’s lung out? Music appeals to all ears,’’ said Abdul Rouf, who was accompanying a rally at busy Lal Chowk in Srinagar. He said heads turn in the direction of a poll convoy fitted with loudspeakers and playing songs.

Campaign heads devised separate plans for rural and urban Kashmir. A local singer said folk-based tunes using sarangi, harmonium, rabab and gadha were played out to villagers, and pop-based numbers, recorded on keyboards, were belted out in urban areas. Of course, care is taken to punctuate the music with the party’s name, slogan, symbol and candidate, he said.

A long list of leading Kashmiri singers were available to do the honours: Gulzar Ganai, Manzoor Shah, Omar Khan, Ejaz Rah, Imran Latief and others. A singer, who refused to be named, said rivals NC and PDP had approached him. But he played it safe and turned both down.

‘‘They promised money. As an artiste I thought it was in bad taste to sing such stuff,’’ he said. ‘‘Besides, if you do, the singer fraternity denounces you.’’

Recording is easy in Kashmir, he said, after a number of private recording studios came up lately. Srinagar boasts some such as RaviMac, Filvid and Music Inn, and Anantnag has Radio World. ‘‘Another recording studio, Kashmir Audiovisual, for instance, is convenient for NC. It’s adjacent to the NC headquarters, Nawai-e-Subh Complex, at Zero Bridge,’’ he said.

Asked if singers too join campaign convoys, he said they don’t. ‘‘Their voices travel everywhere. Because singers are heard on radio, TV, and at concerts, their voices are recognised. But they are tagged with political affiliations later,’’ he said.

Asked if it wasn’t a violation of copyright rules, a senior Radio Kashmir official said: ‘‘It’s not within rules. You can’t lift tunes like that. But anything is possible in poll fever.’’ He said parties never approached Radio Kashmir for permission.