Sithara Krishnakumar’s band Project Malabaricus comes up with a song and a campaign for the environment

‘Arutharuthu, Arutharuthu’ sung by Sithara Krishnakumar’s independent music band Project Malabaricus is the latest number from her album Rithu. She calls it an “anthem for the environment”.

An earthy, rocking number in praise of the flora, fauna and natural resources that sustain life, the lyrics emphasise what should not be done in order for these natural wonders to be preserved for generations to come. Directed by Sumesh Lal and written by BK Harinarayanan, the song urges listeners not to take Nature for granted and exhorts listeners to respect environment and the elements that sustain us.

“For far too long, we have taken Nature’s blessings as a given. Many a time, we were not even really aware that our actions, small though they may be, would have a cumulative effect and harm our only home. Even a chocolate wrapper thrown carelessly should have been avoided. This attitude of ignoring or overlooking the results of our exploitation has to be stopped. Now is the time to stop, think and act. Once in a while, Nature reacts and that reaction, though infrequent, can be extremely destructive. The song reminds us to prevent Nature’s wrath by respecting our resources,” says Sithara.

The singer believes that music is one of the powerful mediums to reach out to people and make them listen and introspect. “While thinking about an interactive song, this word ‘Arutharuthu’ (Don’t do it) came into our thinking and the lyricist composed a poetic number around it,” she adds.

With Liboy Paisley Kripesh and Vijo Job on the guitars, Srinath Nair on the keys and vocals, Ajay Krishnan on the bass and Midhun Paul on drums, the band had made a name for itself for their songs that are rooted in the soil. “Our EP Rithu has the first Malayalam songs to be out in Dolby Atmos. National Award-winning sound engineer Sreejesh Nair has mixed it. Each one of the numbers is environmentally and politically relevant,” Sithara explains.

People’s campaign for nature

To reinforce their message, Project Malabaricus has come up with a campaign that asks listeners to document instances when they come across pollution of any kind, or activities that goes against the spirit of the song.

“We hope to sensitise listeners and make them conscious of the thousands of ways our actions are impacting the environment. We are requesting listeners to look around them and say ‘Arutharuthu' and send videos to sitharasprojectmalabaricus@gmail or tag the Instagram page @projectmalabaricus on your Insta reels. Although the last date for the campaign in April 5, we hope to keep it going till June 5, World Environment Day,” says Sithara.

She says they have been receiving hundreds of videos every day and, eventually, she aims at getting in touch with the authorities for some of the videos. Motivated by the response to the song and the video, Sithara asserts she plans to sing this number as a signature song of the band at every concert of theirs.