The song “Gemak Deela” by Iraj Weeraratne is largely a critique of the current political culture of Sri Lanka. It starts with a reference to an incident that took place in the Sri Lanka Parliament in 2004 where certain government and opposition parliamentarians clashed over the election of the Speaker of the House. In this clash, several parliamentarians including a couple of Buddhist monks who were members of the parliament got assaulted. This incident, which went down in Sri Lankan political history as one of its most shameful moments, renewed the ongoing discourse on the country’s political culture and democracy in general and the discipline of the people’s elected representatives in particular. The song “Gemak Deela,” which presents the story a corrupt politician and a supporter of his, is an artist’s contribution to this discourse.
| In my view, this song indicates a case where “art seeks to annihilate itself,” a case of “art against art.” The song attempts to annihilate itself by questioning the very form of song and problematizing its established boundaries as song. The song does this by incorporating certain dimensions, which are not usually associated with art in general and song in particular, into the very structure of the song. The introduction with which the song begins points to such a dimension. This introduction is journalistic in style and reminds the listener of political commentaries that they often get to hear on news channels. Although it is journalistic in style, the music that plays in the background tells the listener that what she is listening to is different from the usual political commentary. |
The torture scene that comes in the middle of the song is another “non-art” component that the song uses. The scene presents a realistic picture of one of the infamous methods that the police use in interrogations. The scene captures an under-aged member of the underclass being subject to torture by the police for peddling drugs. Torture is not an uncommon theme in Sinhala popular culture. In fact, many songs that emerge out of the cultural contexts defined by the recently concluded war and the communist insurrections of 1971 and 1988/89 approach and explore torture as one of their central themes. Those songs talk about torture using the art form of song. Compared to them, Iraj’s song is different in that it enacts torture, as opposed to merely talking about it, by incorporating a realistic torture scene into the song. This enactment of torture within the art form of song problematizes the perceived dichotomy between art and torture by placing each in close relation to the other and each in the context of the other. This, in my view, draws the listener’s attention to the form of song. It also creates a moment of “song without song.”
The way Iraj concludes the song points to another attempt on his part to push the boundaries of the art form of song. The song ends with an excerpt of a political speech made by Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga, the former President of Sri Lanka . In this speech, which is possibly one of the few sensible speeches made in the current political arena in the country, President Kumaratunga describes one major reason as to why Sri Lankan politics is in the pathetic condition that it is in today. The music playing in the background throughout the speech gives the speech a musical twist. Again, the Sinhala popular culture includes numerous songs that discuss various aspects of national politics, but “Gemak Deela” is probably the only song that approaches the theme of politics by incorporating a political speech into the very structure of the song. Through this component, the song problematizes another traditional dichotomy – the dichotomy between art and politics – by placing each in close relation to the other and each in the context of the other. It also draws the listener’s attention to song as an art form. At the same time, it creates a moment of “song without song.” The short excerpt of the Hindu bhajan ‘Raghupathi raaghawa raajaa ram,’ which is mostly associated with Mahatma Gandhi, that plays as part of the background music not only bestows a sense of mystical credibility on the President’s speech, but also interrupts the flow of westernized popular music in the song by introducing a touch of South Asian classical music. This interruption caused by the sudden introduction of South Asian classical music again draws attention to the structure of the song, thereby making the listener conscious of the structure of that art form.
The linguistic dimension of the song also points to an important way in which the song tries to push the boundaries of its own form. The journalistic account that comes in the beginning and the President’s speech represent a form of the Sinhala language that is more formal than not. This form of the language contrasts with the largely colloquial and “uncivil” and “derogatory” (from a purist’s point of view) form of that language found in the main body of the song. The code-mixing (Sinhala and English) that happens in the main body of the song also attributes the song an aura of indecency and degeneration. However, the small stretch of the Hindu bhajan “Raghupati raaghava raajaa ram” that plays in the background of the President’s speech introduces a sense of language-based distantness and linguistic sacredness to the song. The torture scene is marked by the absence of coherent language. The beep sound that repeats itself a number of times in the scene indicates that this incoherence is caused by an artificial censoring of language. This mix of linguistic styles generates a sense of confusion that adds to the confusion created by the mix of different forms in the context of the song.
Despite the drastic changes that Iraj introduces to the form of song, his work is recognized first and foremost as a song, a work of art. This work of art shows that art has the ability to accommodate realities that belong in domains that are “external” to art without losing its identity as art. This, to me, depicts art as an autonomous reality whose existence is independent of the forces that are external to art.
The way Iraj concludes the song points to another attempt on his part to push the boundaries of the art form of song. The song ends with an excerpt of a political speech made by Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga, the former President of Sri Lanka . In this speech, which is possibly one of the few sensible speeches made in the current political arena in the country, President Kumaratunga describes one major reason as to why Sri Lankan politics is in the pathetic condition that it is in today. The music playing in the background throughout the speech gives the speech a musical twist. Again, the Sinhala popular culture includes numerous songs that discuss various aspects of national politics, but “Gemak Deela” is probably the only song that approaches the theme of politics by incorporating a political speech into the very structure of the song. Through this component, the song problematizes another traditional dichotomy – the dichotomy between art and politics – by placing each in close relation to the other and each in the context of the other. It also draws the listener’s attention to song as an art form. At the same time, it creates a moment of “song without song.” The short excerpt of the Hindu bhajan ‘Raghupathi raaghawa raajaa ram,’ which is mostly associated with Mahatma Gandhi, that plays as part of the background music not only bestows a sense of mystical credibility on the President’s speech, but also interrupts the flow of westernized popular music in the song by introducing a touch of South Asian classical music. This interruption caused by the sudden introduction of South Asian classical music again draws attention to the structure of the song, thereby making the listener conscious of the structure of that art form.
The linguistic dimension of the song also points to an important way in which the song tries to push the boundaries of its own form. The journalistic account that comes in the beginning and the President’s speech represent a form of the Sinhala language that is more formal than not. This form of the language contrasts with the largely colloquial and “uncivil” and “derogatory” (from a purist’s point of view) form of that language found in the main body of the song. The code-mixing (Sinhala and English) that happens in the main body of the song also attributes the song an aura of indecency and degeneration. However, the small stretch of the Hindu bhajan “Raghupati raaghava raajaa ram” that plays in the background of the President’s speech introduces a sense of language-based distantness and linguistic sacredness to the song. The torture scene is marked by the absence of coherent language. The beep sound that repeats itself a number of times in the scene indicates that this incoherence is caused by an artificial censoring of language. This mix of linguistic styles generates a sense of confusion that adds to the confusion created by the mix of different forms in the context of the song.
Despite the drastic changes that Iraj introduces to the form of song, his work is recognized first and foremost as a song, a work of art. This work of art shows that art has the ability to accommodate realities that belong in domains that are “external” to art without losing its identity as art. This, to me, depicts art as an autonomous reality whose existence is independent of the forces that are external to art.