Main Bhi Cockroach

cinematic, hybrid orchestral, industrial metal

[Verse 1 | half-spoken baritone | cello and viola ostinato enters | dhol on beat one only]
He said the word and closed the file,
it should have stayed in ink and dust.
A line on paper, filed away.
But someone read it out at night,
and someone typed it, someone laughed,
and by the morning it was OURS.

[Pre-Chorus | choir pads rise | metal percussion in half-time | voice opens]
Count us.
Count us again.
हम करोड़ों हैं.
We are more than your word.

[Post-Chorus | crowd chant only | stomps | dhol]
हम लौट आएँगे.
We come back.
हम लौट आएँगे.
We come back.
[Stop]
[Silence]

[Verse 2 | half-spoken | cello alone over tanpura | intimate]
A newspaper sneered a woman's name,
she printed it on her own front page.
A critic mocked a misty sunrise,
the painters wrote his sneer on posters.
Every word thrown down from above
lands in a hand that throws it back.

[Pre-Chorus | choir pads rise | voice opens]
Count us.
Count us again.
हम करोड़ों हैं.
We are more than your word.

[Bridge | sub bass and one viola | baritone low | questioning]
But listen to it from the inside.
रीढ़ या कवच?
A spine,
or a shell you grew
so nobody strikes you first?
[Stop]
[Silence]
[Spoken | gentle | direct]
Pick it up, or lay it down.
उठा लो या रख दो, फ़ैसला तुम्हारा.
Just don't let the word choose for you.

[Outro | everything falls away | cello and tanpura | baritone half-spoken]
One word in a high room, light as a wing.
It left his mouth.
It isn't his.
हवा हमारी है.
The wind is ours.
[Bansuri breath tone]
[End]

2430/7500

[Intro | solo low cello drone | tanpura hum | no drums] [Spoken | close-mic baritone | flat | quoting a voice from above] He said we crawl. He said we hide. [Stop] [Silence] [Verse 1 | half-spoken baritone | cello and viola ostinato enters | dhol on beat one only] He said the word and closed the file, it should have stayed in ink and dust. A line on paper, filed away. But someone read it out at night, and someone typed it, someone laughed, and by the morning it was OURS. [Pre-Chorus | choir pads rise | metal percussion in half-time | voice opens] Count us. Count us again. हम करोड़ों हैं. We are more than your word. [Chorus | massed unison chant choir | baritone lead | full dhol and industrial percussion | brass swells | chanted not shouted] [Call] मैं भी कॉकरोच! [Response | crowd] MAIN BHI COCKROACH! नाम दिया तूने, अब ये हमारा है. You threw the word, we carry it like a flag. [Call] मैं भी कॉकरोच! [Post-Chorus | crowd chant only | stomps | dhol] हम लौट आएँगे. We come back. हम लौट आएँगे. We come back. [Stop] [Silence] [Verse 2 | half-spoken | cello alone over tanpura | intimate] A newspaper sneered a woman's name, she printed it on her own front page. A critic mocked a misty sunrise, the painters wrote his sneer on posters. Every word thrown down from above lands in a hand that throws it back. [Pre-Chorus | choir pads rise | voice opens] Count us. Count us again. हम करोड़ों हैं. We are more than your word. [Chorus | massed unison chant choir | baritone lead | dhol and metal percussion | brass] [Call] मैं भी कॉकरोच! [Response | crowd] MAIN BHI COCKROACH! नाम दिया तूने, अब ये हमारा है. You threw the word, we carry it like a flag. [Stop] [Silence] [Bridge | sub bass and one viola | baritone low | questioning] But listen to it from the inside. रीढ़ या कवच? A spine, or a shell you grew so nobody strikes you first? [Stop] [Silence] [Spoken | gentle | direct] Pick it up, or lay it down. उठा लो या रख दो, फ़ैसला तुम्हारा. Just don't let the word choose for you. [Final Chorus | lift to E major | full choir | brass | dhol | grows by number not volume] [Call] मैं भी कॉकरोच! [Response | crowd] MAIN BHI COCKROACH! नाम दिया तूने, अब ये हमारा है. हम करोड़ों हैं! WE ARE MORE THAN YOUR WORD. [Outro | everything falls away | cello and tanpura | baritone half-spoken] One word in a high room, light as a wing. It left his mouth. It isn't his. हवा हमारी है. The wind is ours. [Bansuri breath tone] [End]

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