Music all the way

Saswati Kaushik
WHEN local boy Amit Paul recently missed the top crown by a whisker in the Indian Idol III competition, a hugely popular television show, all of Meghalaya seemed to go into mourning. In the run-up to the contest, the campaign supporting him went from strength to strength and, notably, the underlying differences between the tribal and non-tribal populace were forgotten as the entire state rooted for Amit, proving once again that music unites. The state government went to the extent of declaring him the official ambassador of harmony and love for the state. Even today, in every corner or eatery in Shillong, Amit’s poster is seen displayed proudly.
The hill capital of Meghalaya has always been a musical hub of sorts in the North-east. But while Western music once dominated, today Bollywood-style singing is also fast catching up. Now Shillong also figures in the international music circuit of performing artists. It has played host to well-known American singer Eric Martin, formerly of the group Mr Big, reasserting its position as the favoured destination for international music bigwigs. Martin enthralled the city with his new band members after the original Mr Big band disbanded in 2002. To add to the delight of the audience, Amit Paul sang the famous Mr Big song, To Be With You with Martin. Vocalist of local band SnowWhite Timmy Kharhujon also jammed with Martin for another blockbuster number, Wild World.
If Michael Learns To Rock, Air Supply and Paul Dianno, formerly of Iron Maiden fame, were among the names that figured in the long list of international stars performing in Shillong over the last couple of years, another heavy metal band from Brazil, Sepultura also rocked Shillong a few days after Martin’s performance as part of Kingfisher Metal Fest 2007.
To dismiss the doubts of any pessimist who still questions Shillong’s top rank in international music concert diaries in India, the German heavy metal band, Scorpions, will open their India tour with a performance in Shillong in December as part of their world tour to promote their new album, Humanity.
Reckoned to be one of the biggest musical shows ever in the eastern region of the country, the organisers are expecting a much bigger turnout than the consecutive shows of the band in Bangalore and Mumbai.
“This (North-east) is an area where Western music gets its due respect. Shillong is gradually emerging as an international music destination. The audience here knows the music, the songs and the lines. It’s a great feeling for the performer,” says Farhad Wadi, CEO of E18 group, promoters of the event.
Organisers say that the event, expected to budget over Rs 1 crore, will even surpass the MLTR concert held here a few years back. The local promoters of the concert say that despite the infrastructural hiccups, Shillong has successfully outbidded Aizawl of Mizoram, another music-mad capital of the North-east, and Kolkata in hosting the show.
That’s not all. Last year, the town engraved its name in the Guinness Book of Records when as many as 7,951 percussionists beat drums in a synchronised manner to a tune called Positive Vibrations composed by local musician Rudy Wallang, beating the previous world record of 7,727 drummers assembled in Hong Kong in 2005.
The record trail has not turned cold yet. On 26 October this year, Shillong hosted the largest ensemble of guitarists, 1,730 in all, strumming in perfect rhythm to Bob Dylan’s timeless number, Knocking on Heaven’s Door. In the process, they knocked off Kansas City’s record ensemble of 1,721 guitarists in June this year as the largest ensemble of guitarists playing in a synchronised manner for over five minutes.
From veteran musicians in their 60s to toddlers of four years, all assembled with their guitars to take Shillong’s name into the Guinness records with music lovers from the other North-eastern states also chipping in to make the numbers. The youngest participant, four-year-old Ashly Budnah from the city’s Malki locality, came to the venue with all of his family members to make the event memorable
The record may be under threat from another such attempt in London soon but the very fact that a small town in a remote part of India can give big metros a run for an entry in the record books by itself speaks volumes for Shillong’s love for music.
If anyone had questions on the choice of a Bob Dylan number for the latest record attempt, he needs to track the massive fan following the music superstar has in Shillong, with “grand old man” Lou Majaw — a name to be reckoned with not only in the North-east’s music scene but in the country as well — leading the pack. Dylan’s birthday in May is celebrated through an annual concert organised by Majaw in Shillong. He has even initiated an annual programme in some Shillong schools where students are exposed to music as therapy .
The other famous Bob of the music world, Bob Marley’s birthday sees the Roots Festival, a concert of various bands on the go who hit the road performing across the North-east.
An Elvis lookalike and The Beatles show are other annual events in Shillong, organised by the Fashion Society, Shillong. The cosmopolitan capital also hosts the All India Campus Rock Idol for the eastern region, where campus bands from North-east states vie for the top positions and then proceed to metro cities to compete with other campus bands.
Truly, Shillong seems to believe in the immortal words of the Bard — “If music be the food of love, play on.”

Source: thestatesman.net