CHENNAI: As catchy as ‘Enjoy enjaami’ or ‘Kaathu mela’ may be, these Vada Chennai songs aren’t just entertainment — they’re voices of resistance too. And now, with world tours and global gigs, indie and folk artists from north Chennai are taking their stories and sounds to the international stage.
The global audience enjoys folk music genres such as gaana, kuthu, and oppari, which discuss themes of caste, culture and history, as they see them as a means to explore a culture, says folk artist manager Mukesh Amaran.
South India has a unique aesthetic, which is why it is going global, says OfRo (Rohith Abra ham), record producer, founder of Atti Culture. “For the longest time, indie music was emulating west ern sounds, but now, as people are adding their cultural roots to the lyrics and music, it has become a genre. Global music artists inspire me, but I don’t relate to the stories in their songs. So, I take that aes thetic and fuse it with the sounds and words of my land. I believe it is important for people to tell their own stories and experiences.”
Paal Dabba (aka Anish) mix es gaana, kuthu, and rap into a sound that’s rooted in his everyday life. “My slang and my conversations with friends shape my music,” he says. His Makkamishi (meaning “cool”) and ‘Kaathu mela’, he adds, are full of north Chennai slang. “I’m an introvert, so music lets me express myself. Being recognised for my work makes me feel strong. I hope more people experiment with traditional Tamil folk genres and blend them with rap or hip hop.”

Reality shows such as Bigg Boss Tamil too have helped spread the mu sic by turning the spotlight on Paal Dabba, gaana singer and member of the band The Casteless Collective Isaivani, folk playback singer Velu Murugan (known for the song ‘Otha sollala’ from the film ‘Aadukalam’), and artists Asal Kolaar and Jeffry. They may not have won the title, but it helped their music reach audiences in Dubai, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore where the show is popular.
Asal Kolaar (aka Vasantha Kumar) got into music right after school, and got his first break with his 2020 track ‘Jorthaale’ that hit 10 million views in two weeks. Bigg Boss then took him from indie artist to collaborations with Anirudh Ravichander, Santhosh Narayanan, Yuvan Shankar Raja and G V Prakash. That led to a role in Rajnikant’s ‘Vettaiyan’ and global gigs. He is gearing up for a concert with artists Pradeep Kumar and Andrea Jermiah.
Gaana and Tamil rap share common themes — caste, labour struggles and identity — which make them powerful mediums of expression, says Mukesh. “These songs carry the weight of history, culture and resistance, which is why people connect with them.”
The movement of resistance goes back to the 1950s, says Chellaeperumal A, folklorist and retired head of the department of anthropology at Pondicherry University. In the early 1900s, south Madras had become a hub for Carnatic music, with sabhas cropping up in Mylapore and Adyar.
“Brahmanical entities slowly began controlling Carnatic mu sic to promote Sanskrit and establish a sense of supremacy,” says Chellaeperumal. Even the word ‘Carnatic’, he says, had nothing to do with religion or gods and means ‘ancient’ in Manipravalam, a 17th century literary dialect that combines Sanskrit and Tamil.
“While performing keerthanas in sabhas, Tamil was replaced by Telugu, and the derogatory term ‘tukadas’ or extras was used for Tamil performances. On seeing the deliberate attempts by brahmins to suppress Ta mil music, a group of philanthropists from Chettinad stepped in. T Raja Annamalai Mandram, where Tamil music and non-brahmin folk artists found a place on the stage, was thus founded by banker and philanthropist Raja Annamalai, in 1958,” says Chellaeperumal.
North Chennai, home to industrial workers and labourers, soon embraced gaana music. Originally performed at community rituals, particularly two weeks after a per son’s passing, gaana gradually expanded beyond the neighbourhood, and became a folk genre that voiced the struggles of marginalised communities, characterised by its energetic beats and raw lyrics, says Chellaeperumal. The indie music scene is one of the most rapidly growing industries, so much so several artists are turning down cinema offers, says Rohith. “But the one thing lacking is collaboration. The industry is small and it’s almost as if people are scared to collaborate for fear of losing their spot. If they overcome this, I believe it will become a welcoming space for upcoming artists.”