L
et's agitate,'' says Gwyneth Mawlong, her petite form belying what she calls the simmering ember in her belly. "Yes, let's agitate and protest.
But only through music.'' Then, as the lead performer in an all-female rock band gently curls her fingers around the Hobson's six strings, she says the youth of her beloved Meghalaya will never let violence rule their lives again. "The new songs will be of peace.''
Music, they say, runs through the rocks, stones and streams of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo hills. For countless years, tribes living quietly in these misty mountains have looked at music as their sustenance and shelter. And now, more than ever before, there is the sound of music be it the finely nurtured folk music or the passionately improvised western forms everywhere in Meghalaya.
Over the years, music in Shillong, the Meghalaya capital, has become a metaphor for freedom, defiance, love and a unique way of life. Aware of its power, it was music again that the government used in 2003 to bring out hundreds of enthusiasts for one of the most colourful Independence Day celebrations in recent memory.
As Australian band Afro Dizzy Act took on the stage, the young crowd sang and danced the evening away at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, a rare phenomenon in the troubled North-East. Since then, people here have defied bandh calls made by secessionist elements on national days. This year's Independence Day function was the biggest ever. Police Bazaar, where different bands played their music of freedom, looked like a mini-Woodstock.
"We needed this,'' said former home minister Robert G Lyngdoh, the brain behind the 2003 freedom celebrations. "The youth had to be brought out of their shell. There is nothing like music to motivate people.''
Though militancy in Meghalaya has never been as bloody as it is or was in other insurgency-hit parts of the North-East, like Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, rebels here have held large sections of society to ransom with their organized syndicates of extortionists and goons. The Khasi Hills-based outlaw group Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) still routinely gives calls for bandhs on national days. Not taking any chances, people usually heed these diktats and shut themselves indoors. Vehicles, too, go off the roads. Sumar Singh Sawian, accomplished
musician and writer, said, "In fact, music played a dominant role in the political struggle for a separate hill state. Meghalaya fought a bitter battle to tear itself away from Assam in 1972. Patriotic songs were an integral part of the Hill State Movement in the early Seventies. Music here is held sacred." Shillong today draws music lovers from across the country. Bands perform throughout the year, both in the urban and rural areas of Meghalaya. And the rich culture of music has reaped a golden harvest international names like Michael Learns To Rock, Air Supply, Petra, Fire House, Scorpions, Eric Martin and former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno have all performed here.
The iconic Lou Majaw, one of North-East's biggest acts and the man behind the annual Bob Dylan Birthday Bash, said, "We don't do it because we are fans, but out of respect and admiration for the man.'' The founder-member of legendary Shillong band The Great Society added, "He (Dylan) has given so much to the world through his soul-stirring poetry and music. We want more people to know about him.''
There's nothing that brings more happiness to the greying Lou than the response to the Dylan fest which, these days, draws fans from all over the country and even abroad. He still remembers playing to 30 or 40 people at the first edition of the festival in 1972.
But what's wonderful is that the popularity of western music which picked up rapidly from the '60s has not swamped the rich folk culture. Traditional instruments like the tangmuri, duitara and bom still accompany folk songs and dances at annual events organized by the Hynniewtrep Cultural and Welfare Organization. "If we forget our roots, we are lost, man. It will just become history. Folk music is our identity," says Lou.
It was a year after Independence that the Jaiaw Orchestra, one of Shillong's oldest acts, hit the stage for the first time. The group of friends said they just believed in "music for love, peace and understanding". The group's name has now passed into local legend and though octogenarian Webstar Davies Jyrwa, the leader of the band, seldom takes the stage these days, people still remember one performance in 2006.
The audience was held in thrall as the elderly group opened with Walk Right Back. What followed was magical quickstep, slow foxtrot, samba, rumba, tango, waltz, old Viennese, and haunting tunes like Merilu, Sanimio (the Italian version of It's Now or Never), Falling In Love With You and the famous samba Brazile.
There have been the records, too, to show for it. A new Guinness World Record for the Largest Guitar Ensemble' category was set on October 26, 2007, when 1,730 guitarists strummed Dylan's classic Knocking on Heaven's Door in perfect harmony.
The previous year, Shillong had created another Guinness record with 7,951 drummers performing for more than five minutes in perfect rhythm. The drummers played a 20-minute synchronized tune called Positive Vibrations, composed by local musician Rudy Wallang, in an open stadium packed with 20,000 people.
For Shillong, the stage is the world. And there's a lot happening on it. As Dylan says in his song Stage Fright: "See the man with the stage fright, just standin' up there to give it all his might. And he got caught in the spotlight. But when we get to the end, he wants to start all over again.''
et's agitate,'' says Gwyneth Mawlong, her petite form belying what she calls the simmering ember in her belly. "Yes, let's agitate and protest.
But only through music.'' Then, as the lead performer in an all-female rock band gently curls her fingers around the Hobson's six strings, she says the youth of her beloved Meghalaya will never let violence rule their lives again. "The new songs will be of peace.''
Music, they say, runs through the rocks, stones and streams of the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo hills. For countless years, tribes living quietly in these misty mountains have looked at music as their sustenance and shelter. And now, more than ever before, there is the sound of music be it the finely nurtured folk music or the passionately improvised western forms everywhere in Meghalaya.
Over the years, music in Shillong, the Meghalaya capital, has become a metaphor for freedom, defiance, love and a unique way of life. Aware of its power, it was music again that the government used in 2003 to bring out hundreds of enthusiasts for one of the most colourful Independence Day celebrations in recent memory.
As Australian band Afro Dizzy Act took on the stage, the young crowd sang and danced the evening away at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, a rare phenomenon in the troubled North-East. Since then, people here have defied bandh calls made by secessionist elements on national days. This year's Independence Day function was the biggest ever. Police Bazaar, where different bands played their music of freedom, looked like a mini-Woodstock.
"We needed this,'' said former home minister Robert G Lyngdoh, the brain behind the 2003 freedom celebrations. "The youth had to be brought out of their shell. There is nothing like music to motivate people.''
Though militancy in Meghalaya has never been as bloody as it is or was in other insurgency-hit parts of the North-East, like Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, rebels here have held large sections of society to ransom with their organized syndicates of extortionists and goons. The Khasi Hills-based outlaw group Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) still routinely gives calls for bandhs on national days. Not taking any chances, people usually heed these diktats and shut themselves indoors. Vehicles, too, go off the roads. Sumar Singh Sawian, accomplished
musician and writer, said, "In fact, music played a dominant role in the political struggle for a separate hill state. Meghalaya fought a bitter battle to tear itself away from Assam in 1972. Patriotic songs were an integral part of the Hill State Movement in the early Seventies. Music here is held sacred." Shillong today draws music lovers from across the country. Bands perform throughout the year, both in the urban and rural areas of Meghalaya. And the rich culture of music has reaped a golden harvest international names like Michael Learns To Rock, Air Supply, Petra, Fire House, Scorpions, Eric Martin and former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di'Anno have all performed here.
The iconic Lou Majaw, one of North-East's biggest acts and the man behind the annual Bob Dylan Birthday Bash, said, "We don't do it because we are fans, but out of respect and admiration for the man.'' The founder-member of legendary Shillong band The Great Society added, "He (Dylan) has given so much to the world through his soul-stirring poetry and music. We want more people to know about him.''
There's nothing that brings more happiness to the greying Lou than the response to the Dylan fest which, these days, draws fans from all over the country and even abroad. He still remembers playing to 30 or 40 people at the first edition of the festival in 1972.
But what's wonderful is that the popularity of western music which picked up rapidly from the '60s has not swamped the rich folk culture. Traditional instruments like the tangmuri, duitara and bom still accompany folk songs and dances at annual events organized by the Hynniewtrep Cultural and Welfare Organization. "If we forget our roots, we are lost, man. It will just become history. Folk music is our identity," says Lou.
It was a year after Independence that the Jaiaw Orchestra, one of Shillong's oldest acts, hit the stage for the first time. The group of friends said they just believed in "music for love, peace and understanding". The group's name has now passed into local legend and though octogenarian Webstar Davies Jyrwa, the leader of the band, seldom takes the stage these days, people still remember one performance in 2006.
The audience was held in thrall as the elderly group opened with Walk Right Back. What followed was magical quickstep, slow foxtrot, samba, rumba, tango, waltz, old Viennese, and haunting tunes like Merilu, Sanimio (the Italian version of It's Now or Never), Falling In Love With You and the famous samba Brazile.
There have been the records, too, to show for it. A new Guinness World Record for the Largest Guitar Ensemble' category was set on October 26, 2007, when 1,730 guitarists strummed Dylan's classic Knocking on Heaven's Door in perfect harmony.
The previous year, Shillong had created another Guinness record with 7,951 drummers performing for more than five minutes in perfect rhythm. The drummers played a 20-minute synchronized tune called Positive Vibrations, composed by local musician Rudy Wallang, in an open stadium packed with 20,000 people.
For Shillong, the stage is the world. And there's a lot happening on it. As Dylan says in his song Stage Fright: "See the man with the stage fright, just standin' up there to give it all his might. And he got caught in the spotlight. But when we get to the end, he wants to start all over again.''
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