Oorali’s Flood Express : Singing about unsung heroes

Otta mannuPetta nammalOtta jathiOtta vargamJeevana Poruthalil othu chernna porukar


Beginning today, the spirit of compassion and brotherhood that was in full view during the unexpected floods that ravaged the State in August 2018, will resonate across the coastline of Kerala.

Martin Oorali

and team are setting out on a musical journey in their

Oorali Express

to spread the message of harmony that turned the state into ‘People’s Own Country’.
Titled Oorali’s Flood Express, the project involves 10 members of this band using a bus to criss-cross 10 coastlines in six districts — Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram. This unique project, which is represented in the Kochi Muziris Biennale in the form of an installation, will celebrate the adventurous fisherfolk who risked their lives to rescue stranded families during the flood.

Martin lets on about their plan. “We would love to let the world know about the unsung heroes of Kerala whom we had always discriminated against, calling them as a group who smell of fish. We would also talk about their families who waited for their return when they set out with their boats for the rescue mission.”

Oorali

members would not just sing but also stay with these families for two days, interacting with them and incorporating the sights and sounds that they witness.

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Significantly, the team will begin the journey at Alappad in Alappuzha, which is now in the news for local people protesting against the mining of the region’s mineral-rich sand. “It is a land from where more than 300 people participated in the flood rescue mission. Our performance which is a melange of songs, music, games, laughs and so on is our way of expressing gratitude to them,” he says. The musician goes on to add that to remind everyone about how the flood made us think and understand our situation is very important. “It was a time when we discovered our humanity and ignored the love for materialistic possessions. Nothing is above human lives,” Martin explains.

Oorali’s Flood Express is planned to happen in three phases. “In the first phase, we will travel around Alappad, Vizhinjam, Valiyathura and Thankasserry. In the second, we will go across to Thrissur, Ernakulam and Malappuram and in the concluding one, we will perform at the the Biennale venue. Our performances will draw from our experiences during the first and second phase,” Martin says.

Their mode of transportation, the Oorali Express, is a major highlight of the project. The bus is a modified vehicle and a part of it opens up as a stage. The team had performed in the relief camps during the floods traveling in the same bus.
“We have been travelling and performing for a few years and people initially were unfamiliar of a culture where the artistes go, stay in a place, interact and then perform. Though we had seen nomadic artistes and gypsies and circus artistes doing this, the practice has ceased to exist the contemporary scenario. But now, we see people accepting us more than during the initial days,” Martin says, adding that art is for people and it is the common man who should enjoy it the most.

Oorali, by the way, is a character with origins in Padayani, a person who goes around highlighting the wrongs in the society. “We bring in music, art and theatre and improvise our work based on what our audience is like. Every song we sing is accompanied by a short story and a lesson for the audience,” says Martin. The journey is only beginning.