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The rebel musicians fighting India’s caste system

Tenma and Arivu are members of The Casteless Collective, a protest band from Chennai. After growing up in the lower castes, being part of the group has transformed their lives.

Tenma and Arivu are members of The Casteless Collective - an ensemble protest band from the city of Chennai in southern India. They channel their outrage towards caste oppression into song. Arivu has seen that oppression first hand growing up in a Dalit - sometimes called ‘untouchable’ - community, and rapping became his outlet. As The Casteless Collective they blend traditional Gaana music with hip hop and rock, to challenge the caste system through their music.

Colin Butcher is a pet detective based in the UK - he and his cocker spaniel Molly track down missing animals through scent-matching - Colin will get a sample of hair from the missing pet and Molly will sniff the animal out. In 2019 Emily Webb travelled to Surrey in the south of England to meet them and see Molly in action. Emily also spoke to Colin this week to find out why he and Molly have been busier than ever during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Music courtesy of The Casteless Collective and Gana Palani.

Picture: Tenma (left) and Arivu (front right) performing as The Casteless Collective in Chennai, 2020
Credit: Palanikumar Manisha

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Fri 8 Jan 2021 03:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 7 Jan 2021 12:06GMT
  • Thu 7 Jan 2021 18:06GMT
  • Thu 7 Jan 2021 23:06GMT
  • Fri 8 Jan 2021 03:06GMT

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