Gaana

Gaana is a type of song in Tamil, Hindi or any other Indian language. It is music that is unique to Tamil culture and South India, initially originating from North Madras, Chennai. Gaana Bajana is used for singing during festivals or other occasions. The Gaana is started in death home side. It is similar to Rapping.

It is characterised as a fastbeat song, with less emphasis on meaning, sung at a celebration. Initially, this was very popular with Indians from Chennai to relax while doing stressful work. It gained further popularity when a few songs were used in Tamil cinema. Though the song sung does have lighter meaning, there are a few unique signifiers of Gaana which include:

As it gained momentum in the Chennai culture, it became inevitable for the troop singers to sing some Gaana songs in any orchestras that were arranged for a wedding reception, an organized event, college cultural programs, like saarang, techofes, and even in the celebration of Ganesh chadurthi.

Students from most of the colleges in Chennai and surroundings will sing the gaana in the bus and train they use to commute to college from their home. They choose buses or trains because singing attracts the attention of 'the figures', a term used in Chennai for pretty girls, and they need the metal or windows of the vehicle to generate a beat.

A famous gaana Music Director is Deva, and recently the singer Ulaganathan became popular with the Chithiram Pesuthadi song. British Tamil artist M.I.A. popularized the style on her album Kala, particularly the songs "Boyz", "World Town," and "Bird Flu", mixing it with other styles of music in creative ways.

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