ENJOY ENJAAMI

I actually found my way to the song “Enjoy Enjaami” because I saw an interview with Arivu in which he spoke about the layers nestling in the lyrics of his hit song. What really drew me to it was how Arivu spoke about wrapping elements of a lament (from the musical genre of oppari) and references to a history of caste oppression into a chant that celebrates solidarity and power. For instance, I can tell that there’s a connection being forged between the natural world (which is alienated from its territory by humans) and indigenous and Dalit communities (who have been denied rights to lands they have toiled over), but the translations don’t really let me understand the poetics of Arivu’s lyrics. Fortunately though, with Enjoy Enjaami there’s another way to appreciate the music — through video.

The sensibility that informs the song’s lyrics seems to run through the visuals of the music video, which now has more than 129 million views and 3.1 million likes on YouTube. This is not surprising. Director Amith Krishnan has made one of the most stunning music videos I’ve seen in ages for “Enjoy Enjaami”. Not only is it gorgeously shot, it reflects the idealism and richness of the lyrics. With its modern baroque aesthetic — women draped in gleaming fabrics and bejewelled right to the tip of their nails; men decked in gold and glam — the video subtly thumbs its nose at how Dalits and other oppressed, marginalised communities tend to be depicted in mainstream Indian entertainment as impoverished, hopeless victims. At the same time, the fertile dream landscape stands parallel to the rugged real landscape in which people toil, often for very little gain. The first is lush and exploding with colour while the latter seems to have had the colour leeched out of it. In the first, people dance; in the second, people work. Despite seeming disparate, “Enjoy Enjaami” shows these worlds are connected — through laughter, dreams, music and dance as a community remembers its past and dreams of a different future.

The dream landscape and the real landscape.

The elephant is usually depicted as a symbol of royalty, which makes this ring much more significant than simply a pretty accessory.

I love the way this scene juxtaposes two worlds through the two hands.

I think the lady in the centre is Arivu’s grandmother, whose remembrances are at the heart of the song’s lyrics.