What is Kaber Vasuki to the Tamil indie rock scene?

Singer Kaber Vasuki begins his Oorvalam tour in Chennai amidst a swooning audience. More shows in Coimbatore and Bengaluru are to happen soon.

At Kaber Vasuki’s concert in Chennai, the first stop of his maiden tour titled Oorvalam, everyone is friends with the artiste. At least that is what it feels like. What else can explain elaborate conversations and silly little jokes between the artiste and his audience of 300, as the guitarist changes patches on the side?

The audience and performers seem fine braving the heat while waiting for some sea breeze to settle at the Bharata Kalanjali Natya School in Taramani at 7pm on May 4. Despite the oppressive heat, nothing seems to deter the crowd, which watches the concert while singing ‘Suthanthiram oru dabba’ (where freedom is a box) sometimes with their eyes closed, sometimes to Kaber.

Even before he has gotten to fan favourites like ‘Rasathi’ and ‘Rockstar’, everyone is impatient. They prompt Kaber, and begin singing these songs on their own accord. Kaber interjects to ask, “Naa padalama? (Can I sing?).” Everyone is in on the joke so the audience laughs and allows him to continue. It is no longer Kaber’s concert. It is theirs.

Kaber’s passionate audience often comes for all his gigs and has a penchant for sharing. Very few are first time listeners. After concerts and meet-and-greets, one can see a posse waiting to tell the artiste tales about how he has impacted their life. “Last year at a meet and greet in Chennai, a young woman came up to me, hugged, cried and left saying she will speak to me next time. She was going through something. That one incident stayed with me for a long time but other such incidents of varying degree of intensity happen too. I didn’t know what to do. I am sensitive too,” the artiste says, after the concert.

Kaber says that people often discover his music when things are not working out for them. “They tell me that the music helps. If we were to classify me as an artiste in a Jungian sense, I would be slotted under ‘the healer’, but I didn’t intend for things to be that way.”

While the artiste’s impactful lyrics and vivid imagery provide solace for most, Kaber’s tracks are also riddled with mischief, often eliciting jeers. He says that before releasing his independent songs, he often asks himself “Is this who I am? Is this what I feel?”.

Is it this authenticity that makes him among the most celebrated rockstars in the Tamil indie music scene?