In tune with the bonhomie and camaraderie that was on display between the Chief Ministers of Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the past two days is a song for the tough times rustled up by Malayalam lyricist Rafeeq Ahammed and iconic playback singer S.P. Balasubramaniam.
The song, Orumichu Nilkkenda Samayam... [Time to stay together...]. which was released by the singer on his Facebook page on Thursday, has become a hit with Keralites and Tamils alike.
It was on Friday that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described as ‘siblings’ the people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu while rubbishing reports about Kerala mulling closure of borders between the two States.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami warmly responded to Mr. Vijayan on Twitter, hoping that the companionship would grow.
Mr. Vijayan recalled that Kerala and Tamil Nadu were bound together by culture, fraternity, and language. “It is those who cannot understand this deep bond that spread false information. We can stay together and overcome these challenges,” he responded in Tamil. The Tamil-Malayalam bonhomie evident in the song was a result of SPB’s mission to come up with COVID-19 songs in many Indian languages, says Rafeeq Ahammed.
“He said he was spending time at home singing and posting COVID-19 songs in different languages. I’m at home too. So, I wrote the lyrics and sent it to him a few days ago,” he says.
SPB had sung COVID-19 songs in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada before setting Mr. Ahammed’s lyrics to tune and crooning it.
