While in Kerala last week I came across a cartoon panel: A Mother is standing outside a closed bathroom door & is asking her son (who is in the bathroom) to stop singing the song & hum it instead because they'd be in trouble if Das ettan (Brother/Bhaiya Das) might hear them. OK I wish I had cut-out that strip as cartoon readings r pretty dum.
The particular ' Das ettan' they r reffering to is the famous malayalee singer- Dr. K.J. Yesudas. He is also the dude who sang the songs in the 70s Hindi movie 'Chit Chor'. Yes folks Yesudas is following the patented western technique of patenting anything & everything under our noses & the sun. Remember the US-basmati Rice & the German-Neem extract fracas? The renowned Gana' Gandharvan has been copyrighting famous classical songs & ragas left, right & centre. This means that every student of classical music would owe Das ettan a small thuga (amount). Some of these songs r centuries old & has shaped the present classical music scene. Copyrighting such works & that too something that he has not written is criminal. What is the world coming to?
So the next time u buy an Yseduas CD or tape, pirate it & distribute free copies to near & dear ones for the sake of propagating our rich musical heritage. Viva la Revolucion!
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