Coping with hard times: Migrant worker raps his way to fame
BHUBANESWAR:A 27-year-old Dalit in Odisha’s Kalahandi district has found fame with rap songs on migrant workers turning the focus on their plight after the lockdown enforced on March 25 to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
With the songs going viral, Duleswar Tandi, a 27-year-old science graduate and a migrant worker himself, is being compared to the character played by Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh in the 2019 Hindi film Gully Boy.
Tandi, who wiped tables and washed plates at an eatery in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, for a living, came back to his mudhouse in Borda village in March just a day before the national lockdown was announced.“as I watched the Covid cases grow in China, US and European countries, I could sense that it was matter of weeks before the virus comes to India. So I decided to come back,” said Tandi. Sitting at home without work and seeing the videos of migrant workers travelling in pitiable conditions stoked the inner angst in Tandi. After coming back, Tandi, who goes by the nickname Rapper Dule Rocker in Kalahandi, did a 2.45 minute rap video called Telling the Truth in which he vents his anger against the politicians, calling them thieves. In May, Tandi made a 3.5 minute rap video called Sun Sarkar, Sat Katha in which he raps about how Covid-19 and subsequent distress came as a rude jolt to migrant workers.“i rapped about how the migrant workers who had saved their hard-earned money lost everything in a matter of days after the factories and construction sites were closed due to the lockdown. All that the leaders were doing is giving us sermons instead of helping the migrant workers,” he said.
After hearing his songs, Odia singer Humane Sagar recently gave him ₹ 30,000. A studio also expressed interest in recording his music.