Mumbai: October 30 is a date that will continue to haunt the people of Assam.
For on this very day last year, hundreds of innocent lives were lost in a series of highly powerful IED blasts that rocked various parts of the State. Though almost a year is about to pass since that day, the horror of the devastation and lives lost continue to linger in our memory…
Every Art, they say, has a purpose behind it. And music again is supposed to be the most authentic and potent chronicler of the times.
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Though there seems to be no end to bloodshed and hatred in our region, the regional musicians, driven by an unerring sense of passion and dedication towards their music, continue to sing and document the joys and sorrows of the common man.
As has been the case in the past, musicians of Northeast India, under the banner of Eastern Beats Music Society, will once again get together on October 29 to protest the ongoing violence and bloodshed and also to pay tributes to the victims of the October 30 serial blasts. The venue, this time around, is Rongtheang Village in Karbi Anglong and the occasion is the 1st Karbi Anglong Beats Contest.
Founder secretary of Eastern Beats Music Society and journalist Aiyushman Dutta said around 26 bands from Karbi Anglong are slated to battle it out in the unique beats contest – the first such contest organized there.
Eastern Beats Music Society chairman DN Dutt, who is also the Chief Information Commissioner of Asom, said that the show will be a tribute to the victims of the October 30 serial blasts. Dutt, who headed the one-man commission set up by the Assam government to enquire into the serial blasts, said, The October 30 blasts will continue to haunt the people of Assam for a long time. If the dread and terror finds expression in the voices of musicians and that too, at the grassroots level, there can be nothing better than it. The Karbi Anglong Beats Contest is a noble endeavour for it seeks to promote the musicians at the grassroots level and give them a sense of direction….
The Karbi Anglong Beats Contest is a big boost to musicians of Karbi Anglong, which is known to be the epicentre of western music in Assam.
Part of the 1st 4-day Rongtheang traditional dance and music festival, the Beats Contest is a new addition to the festival and is being promoted as one of the biggest festivals for the youth of Assam, more on the lines of Nagaland’s famed Hornbill festival. Aiyushman Dutta explains, We plan to make this show an annual affair and better ourselves with each passing year. We want to use this beats contest to bring our youth closer with their roots. Besides just promoting local musicians, it will also help acquaint our youth with their traditions as it is part of the glorious Rongtheang Festival…. The 4-day Rongtheang Dance and Music festival is presently into its seventh year now.
Around 26 local bands from Karbi Anglong are expected to battle it out for the winners trophy at Serhong Kup in Rongtheang Village on October 29. The winner will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 10,000, which will be sponsored by King of Tripura Maharaja Pradyut Kishore Manikya Debburman. Dark Horizon and DOTH (Guwahati) and Ragamuffin and Rok-rak
(Diphu) will be the guest bands.
Chaired by Chief Information Commissioner, former Asom DGP and veteran drummer DN Dutt, the Eastern Beats Music Society was founded by music critics Aiyushman Dutta and Debojyoti Koch to develop and promote the regional musicians right from the grassroots level. Besides organizing concerts, jamming sessions and gigs at periodical intervals, the society has also brought out the first music journal of Northeast India, Northest Beats, which is edited by Rashmi Narzary. The Eastern Beats Music Society was instrumental in organizing the first public jamming session of Northeast India and also for protesting the spate of bandhs in the Northeast on Independence Day with a jamming session on the roads of Guwahati on August 15 last. It also organized October Jam – the first pubic jamming session of Northeast India – earlier this month.
