Reminiscing about his
early tryst with music, he said that he was once presented with Tagore’s
‘Geetanjali’ by his Hindi teacher way back in school on being visibly moved by
his rendition of Jagjit Singh’s soulful ghazal, ‘Honthon se chulo tum.’ Mehdi
Hasan’s ghazals would fill him with quietude as a kid - an anecdote his
legendary singers for parents from Assam, Archana and Khagen Mahanta once shared
over an interview. When he became more discerning of music, he could tell, it’s
the natural world – the mountains, the hills, the sea and the forests - that
would inspire his brand of music that came to be known as the ‘East India Company’
(EIC).
A leading national newspaper labeled EIC as a‘ folktronic’ band from the
region that commanded hearing. A bohemian at heart and a nature lover, this
artist’s songs carry a distinct sound borrowed from nature. ‘Junaki Rati’, his
first Assamese album was released in
2005, with a handful of new and old compositions and captivating lyrics, the
album captured the imagination of the Assamese independent music scene. But
like any new voice that needs hearing, the album mostly found acceptance
through word of mouth till it became a huge success in its second year and the
following years. His distinct and assured voice only needed to settle one thing
- his name - the poetic ‘Angaraag’ or his nick, ‘Papon’ – he consulted no one
else but Gulzaar on this, and the
celebrated poet had this to say: “Tu kuch bhi kar le, hain to tu Papon hi.’ And
that was the beginning of Papon becoming a household name with a body of
impressive compositions, stage shows, playback and production.
When the Indian version
of Mtv Coke Studio
premiered in June 2011 on Mtv India, it created a scaffold for live recording
of popular and old musicians and singers to perform collectively in a
customized style. It turned out to be a confluence of diverse
music genres - both vocal & instrumental - from traditional-eastern to
modern-western and from regional to folk. It opened the gates for
well-known singers from Assam such as Mousam Gogoi and the much loved Bihu
singer, Khagen Gogoi, besides artists from other regions. While Mausam created
a riveting experience in a ‘jugalbandi’ with Sunidhi Chauhan in the classic 'Bichua'
song, Khagen Gogoi got rave reviews for
his Bihu number ('Tip
Top')
with the Marathi ‘tadka’ by Shankar Mahadevan. And Papon ruled the roost with 'Pak Pak'
- the Bihu number - which got the highest number of hits for the entire season
of Coke studio – which brokered a special place for him in the new seasons to
come.
The 2nd season
officially aired in July 2012 on MTV India & Doordarshan. Every episode
featured a music composer with self composed tracks. With this season, Papon
turned producer for his song, ‘Tokari,’ sung along with Sugandha Garg which
found appreciation by leaps and bounds. But he was not just happy celebrating
the ‘obvious’ and the ‘expected.’ In an interview he expressed his desire to
move beyond what has already been done. In his characteristic disjointed
sentences, he shared, “Bihu tu hoi gol” – “Bihu has been done”, “now we need to
show the world what else we have got and how!” Keeping with the promise of
showing another facet of Assamese folk song and culture, he introduced Tokari/Tukari
song (the song sung with a single stringed musical instrument played with the
fingers, hence the name). The song became an overnight hit and the virtual
world buzzed with unprecedented hits and likes for this song.
Mtv Coke Studio’s third
season started in August this year and it is well into its 5th
episode. There will be a total of ten episodes with one composer in each which
includes: A. R. Rahman, Amit Trivedi,
Clinton Cerejo, Ram Sampath,
Hitesh Sonik,
Salim-Sulaiman and Papon. For the music aficionados
and Papon fanatics, 14th of September, 7 pm (IST), is the day when
Mtv will unleash an entire episode dedicated to celebrating regional and folk
music of Assam blended with flavors from other parts of India. As you gear for
the musically charged evening, here’s a sneak peek to what lies ahead: http://mtv.in.com/videos/promos/coke-studio-mtv-season-3/papon-simanta-dulal-teaser-coke-studio-mtv-season-3-100050531.html
Do not forget to share
your views and opinions about the episode on this page.
This post was published in: The Thumb Print Magazine
No comments:
Post a Comment