MUMBAI: The winds of change are surely blowing over the region. Disillusioned with promises of freedom from the Indian â€?yoke’ and demoralised by the spate of bloodshed that has engulfed their lives, the youth of Northeast India have now decided that enough is enough! This was pretty evident from the recent Independence Day celebrations in the region, when musicians and artistes of Shillong and Guwahati came out in large numbers to celebrate their freedom.
The lead was taken by none other than quintessential Khasi guitarist-singer Lou Majaw who organized an unique â€?Freedom concert for Peace’ to celebrate the day and kill the demon of fear, which has engulfed the minds of the people, once and for all. The exotic musician with his shoulder-length salt and pepper hair has tasted international fame for having organized legendary musician Bob Dylan’s birthday fest in Shillong for 37 long years. And like the legendary crusader, Majaw too feels that there is a reason for all Art forms.
In order to encourage the people of Shillong to celebrate their freedom, the veteran musician organized the concert in the city’s busy Police Bazar point. “If we give the people a reason to celebrate who can stop them?” he questioned when asked whether the strikes called by militant outfits would deter the people from joining in the celebrations And to join Lou in the celebrations were experimental jazz band HFT and Blues band Fourth Element.
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A highly experimental jazz rock band, HFT plays a highly acclaimed improvisatory amalgam of jazz, rock and Indian classical sounds. A fusion of Blues, jazz and rock, the band has its own signature style, which transcends all established musical genres. On the other hand, Fourth Element is one of the very few soul/ R&B bands of the entire north-eastern region, a welcome departure from the usual rock-centric outlook of the local musicians here.
Meanwhile, taking a clue from the celebrations in Shillong, a few musicians of Guwahati also got together in the city to break the shackles of fear that had been holding them captive till now. The event, which was entitled â€?Freedom 2009′, saw the musicians bring out their guitars and motorcycles and jam together at the busy Commerce College point in the evening. More of an impromptu jamming session, the people in the area watched in awe as the musicians put up the freedom banner on the roadside and started strumming their guitars. But once Rabiul, Deepak and Joshua started the proceedings by singing evergreen numbers like Imagine, Freedom and Talking about a Revolution, it did not take long for the passers-by to join in.
One of the present musicians Syed Ahmed said, “We are just trying to spread the message of peace and love through the universal language of music. As musicians, we all want peace to prevail in our midst. Let’s hope this is a new beginning.” Cultural journalist Aiyushman Dutta, who was also present, “The freedom celebrations in Shillong and Guwahati are both symbolic of a new era in the history of the entire region; it reflects the desire of the people to put an end to the bloodshed and move ahead with life. More than the music, which is just a medium to drive home the point; the jamming sessions in both Shillong and Guwahati signify the victory of the spirit of Indianness that is inherent in all of us.”
