Bengaluru’s ongoing infrastructure issues have inspired a unique protest in the form of a satirical song titled Tax Me, created by a city commuter using artificial intelligence. The song highlights the poor condition of the city’s roads and calls for basic infrastructure to ensure safe and comfortable travel.
The song, developed by Punit Vara, a 34-year-old tech professional from Choodasandra, uses AI-generated lyrics based on his daily experiences, especially the challenges of driving along the badly damaged Doddamara Road to accompany his pregnant wife to medical appointments.
Tax Me serves as an anthem for Bengaluru’s commuters, including technology workers, parents, and auto-rickshaw drivers, expressing frustration over potholes, traffic congestion, flooding, construction, and repeatedly dug-up roads. A notable lyric refers to “Pothole number 27,” symbolizing the many potholes across the city.
The song stresses the basic services residents expect in return for their taxes, referencing income tax and GST, and calls for fundamental amenities such as pothole-free roads, usable pavements, reliable buses, and streets that remain passable during monsoon floods.
It captures the complex construction landscape with lines like, “Metro above me. Digging below, flyover beside me. Nobody knows where to go,” reflecting commuters’ struggles amid simultaneous metro, road, and flyover projects.
By transforming these urban frustrations into an AI-generated song, Vara gives voice to everyday challenges in a city renowned globally as a technology hub, highlighting the gap between Bengaluru’s international recognition and the persistent infrastructure problems faced by its residents.
