Aditi Ramesh

The musician wins for spreading a message of returning to the sense of equality and acceptance we had had as kids

It’s been close to a month and indie musician Aditi Ramesh’s debut video, Shakti, is still being talked about. Why? Because it highlights a crucial message: the need to start educating kids about equality and acceptance at the school level.

The age of innocence

The song starts as a schoolgirl’s day dream and the lyrics urge you to let your walls down and see others as fellow human beings.

The idea for the video saw six rounds of rewriting, though it eventually took on a form of its own.

“I wanted to shoot it from a child’s perspective before she or he grows up to become jaded,” says Aditi, who moved back to Bengaluru during the pandemic. “The chorus addresses how we didn’t see differences when we were younger and it’s only later that we see differences and oppose them.”

The video is full of easter eggs which you can spot if you focus on the outfits. Such as the representation of non-binary people as well as a typical feminine person, with black and white colours. Aditi wears a sari with gloves, representing housewives, and there’s a blazer shot representing women making their mark in the corporate world and the equality women must still fight for.

Millennials vs Gen Z

The world is a very different place since today’s millennials were in school. “Kids are on social media at a much younger age and have body issues leading to eating disorders. There’s cancel culture, where you shut out others. And toxic arguments. But just cancelling anyone doesn’t help,” she says.

Millennials had their own challenges too. “There was pressure when it came to career choices. If you weren’t an engineer or doctor, you’re weren’t “good enough” and had to “settle” for something else. This has had a long-lasting mental health impact,” she says.

The video, which was shot with a fiveperson crew, also addresses tokenism. “For example, the LGBTQAI+ community largely gets attention only during pride month. This tokenism has become a big part of the world due to capitalism,” the former lawyer adds.

karishma.kuenzang@hindustantimes.com Follow @kkuenzang on Twitter and Instagram

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“KIDS ARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA AT A MUCH YOUNGER AGE AND HAVE BODY ISSUES. THERE’S CANCEL CULTURE AND TOXIC ARGUMENTS” —ADITI RAMESH

“If only we had the guts to tell strangers how much we loved them.”

Musician (top) Aditi Ramesh’s debut video, Shakti (above and inset), starts as a schoolgirl’s day dream and the lyrics urge you to let your walls down and see others as fellow human beings