How Rishikesh Pandey’s music propelled Indore’s Swachh anthems

Indore: The infectious rhythm of "Ho Halla!", Indore's iconic Swachhata Anthem, is a familiar sound echoing through the streets as door-to-door garbage collection vehicles pass by. While Bollywood sensation Sonu Nigam is often credited for its popularisation, the creative force behind this and many other cleanliness awareness jingles is Rishikesh Pandey, better known as Rishiking.Beyond just writing and composing these melodic tunes, Pandey also lent his voice to most of these impactful anthems for Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Raipur, and Madhya Pradesh. Pandey, who began his career as a private tutor in his hometown of Panna, first showcased his musical talent by reimagining the "School Chale Hum" song for the Madhya Pradesh govt in 2016. The song was meant to increase the literacy rate by encouraging children to attend schools.Rishiking's musical contributions have been instrumental in fostering behavioural changes and promoting cleanliness. Key songs in this series include 'Vaanar Sena', which was released in 2016 to discourage open defecation. This song played a crucial role in helping Indore achieve its ODF (Open Defecation Free) tag. "Ho Halla!" and "Hai Halla, Hai Halla!", released in 2017, became the signature anthems resonating across the city. For Indore, his songs "Ho Halla Again" (2018), "Hatrick Lagayenge!" (2019), and "Chauka Lagayenge!" (2020) marked Indore's consistency in maintaining the country's cleanest city tag for many years. "Halla Bol, Aathvi Baar!" (2024), the latest anthem, celebrated Indore's seventh consecutive triumph, which just increased with the ‘Super Swachh League' win this year.Rishiking's influence extends beyond Indore. He also penned and composed anthems for the state of Madhya Pradesh, including "Jai Madhya Pradesh" (2018) and "Mera Madhya Pradesh, Swachh Madhya Pradesh" (2019). For Bhopal, his songs "Swachhata Ki Rajdhani, Bhopal" (2019) and "Mera Bhopal, Meri Jimmedari" (2020) became the capital's cleanliness anthems. Additionally, he wrote "Mor Raipur" (2019) for Chhattisgarh's capital and "Jai Jai Jabalpur (Swachhata Ki Lahar Chali)" in 2020.The popularity of these anthems has been boosted by the voices of renowned singers, including not just Sonu Nigam, but also Shaan, Javed Ali, Dev Negi, Payal Dev, and Shankar Mahadevan. "Cleanliness is not a compulsion, but its necessity," Pandey told TOI. "The cities that brought about the required behavioural changes in their citizens managed to set high standards in cleanliness, and I am happy to contribute to this mission through my songs and music." "I am very fortunate that my words in all these songs became very popular," he said. "From children to seniors, they know every word and follow it, thus making these songs Swachhata Anthems."