Karma on Her Sleeve

The Beatles, Madonna, Taylor Swift - what these Western idols spanning different eras in pop music share in common, is their sourcing Indic philosophy-related themes for at least one or more of their songs. Indeed, apart from exciting worldwide interest, these songs have also drawn widespread criticism and controversy. The moot question is, who holds the copyright for such usage?

The answer is - no one. Anyone is free to quote, sing and comment on ancient Indic verses, philosophical concepts and chants, the way they interpret them, so long as the content is perhaps not overtly offensive. The latest such attempt to come under fire is Taylor Swift's number titled Karma, remixed with Ice Spice, one of the tracks in her Midnights album released in mid-2023.

According to critics, Swift portrays herself as being clean, and projects that good karma has made her happy and successful, whereas those who betrayed her (ostensibly her ex-boyfriends) are suffering the consequences of their actions.


Though some of the lines don't make sense (do they have to?), the song does get the message across that you do good and reap rewards; you do bad stuff and also reap the results. Why do we have to shred to bits what is nothing more than a creative outpouring, and completely mangle the poetic licence Swift takes to bare her heart and soul to the world?