Kavish Seth Offers a Satirical Takedown of Cultural Discrimination in ‘Hindi Bole’ Video

While it’s clear as day that we’re writing in English about a song that bats for Hindi speakers, there’s more than just linguistics at play while talking about singer-songwriter Kavish Seth‘s new song “Hindi Bole” and its comical music video.

The artist says about the release of his live favorite in a press statement, “[‘Hindi Bole’] is a satirical and fun take on the discrimination faced by Indians for not speaking in English. It emphasizes accepting our identity and being comfortable in our own skin.”

It was inspired by Seth’s firsthand encounters with how a person speaking Hindi at a public Q&A as part of a book launch in Mumbai was met with hostility in the room. “Many of the attendees, including his batchmates and seniors, exhibited judgmental behavior, which contrasted with their behavior back in college,” a press statement says about his experience. Written by Seth and performed at shows since 2016, “Hindi Bole” became a fixture at every gig, even as the artist gave it more shape when he traveled to Varanasi for the Zubaan Music Project, finding Bhojpuri artists to collaborate with.

In the music video directed by Yashwardhan Goswami, Seth and his band are seen performing in Timarni, a village in Madhya Pradesh, as well as Nagpur, Maharashtra. The performance footage is interspersed with stories straight out of the lyrics, where Hindi speakers are often at the receiving end of humiliation.

The jam-friendly folksy song is described by Seth (only half-seriously) as being in the Chabootara genre, taking its name from the communal space in Indian towns and villages where people often gather for sharing thoughts. “Chabootare pe ikattha hoke gaana bajana, samaajik bhavnao ko jagah dene ki jagah aksar chabootara hota hai (Gathering and playing songs and giving a space for open communication is often designated to be the chabootara)” he says.

The song brings together Timarni artists Ritesh Gohiya, Dheeraj Ghure and Dharmendra Nayak for harmonium, tabla and dholak parts. Co-produced by Samruddha R.K. in Mumbai, additional instrumentation came from percussioninst Roshan Aade on dholak (from folk-fusion act Folk Masti), Vishal Dhumal on harmonium, Ashish Biswas on tabla and bassist Sanglap Sengupta.

Watch the video for “Hindi Bole” below.