Bye-bye Nipah song targets lingering fear on disease

Key points
  • The video received more than 21,000 viewers on YouTube in just three weeks
  • Doctors and volunteers who treated or attended to Nipah patients appear in video
The Bye-Bye Nipah crew

Kozhikode: The authorities had recently declared that the state is free of Nipah virus, though anxious people in hard-hit areas of Kozhikode and Malappuram were hesitant to mingle freely in public spaces. To address the lingering fear, a video album was released by a few artists here and was aptly named 'Bye-bye Nipah'. The video received more than 21,000 viewers on YouTube in just three weeks.

“People from Kozhikode and Malappuram faced 'ostracism' (as Nipah fever raged). Even after no fresh Nipah cases were reported from the district and doctors announced it was safe to travel, by taking some precaution, people were afraid to do so. Kozhikode is known for its crowd, especially on the beach and Mittayitheruvu (SM Street). The streets and malls were literally devastated. There were also rumours that some employees at a mall was affected and people should not go," said Regilesh Kumar, the artist coordinator of the music album.

"We are a group of artists organised under the banner Movie Chamber of Malabar. We decided to do something to alleviate the fear among the public. Everyone was ready to produce a video album for free and promote it. We took just three days to finish shooting and song was composed in just one-and-a-half hours,” Regilesh added.

Doctors and volunteers who treated or attended to Nipah patients appear in the two-minute album which was shot at malls and on beaches. “The team first spread the song through WhatsApp and Facebook groups in low-resolution format, two days before launching it on YouTube on June 16. We selected those popular locations which were deserted when Nipah fever was at its peak. With the punch line 'Bye-bye Nipha', we wanted to spread the word that the land is cleared of Nipah, and it is safe to come out like before,” Regilesh revealed the motive.

The album composers were honoured by the state government at a function organised at the Tagore Centenary hall, Kozhikode, recently.

Bye-Bye Nipah crew: Lyrics – AP Shajikumar, Music - Sai Balan, Singer – Bibibal, Camera – Jagadeesh Kumar, Jagan V Ram, Illoosh Thattari and P Anvind; Editing – Santhosh Ram; Creative support – Ashar Ali, Sajal Muhammed, Rajeev, Shajith Paikkatt, Bageesh, Prabhasankar, SN Rajeesh and Premraj.

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