Sounds from Seven Sisters

Celebrate the Northeast at an all-day cultural fest that brings down famous artistes Lou Majaw and Rewben Mashangva to the satellite city

The rustic sounds of Bamhum and Tikzik, two new-age Naga bamboo musical instruments fill your ears as you watch Abiogenesis, a Folk fusion band from Nagaland, play an instrumental piece in a green-carpeted North-eastern valley in a video uploaded on YouTube. This Saturday, the four-piece band will recreate magic with their sound at CIDCO in Vashi, as part of Songs & Dances Of North East, a day-long festival featuring sounds from the region. The fest, presented by North Eastern Council, Shillong and Ministry of DoNER (Development of North Eastern Region), makes its debut in the city after being held in Delhi earlier. 

Mangka Mayanglambam, Manipuri Folk artiste and performer with Laihui music ensemble

“It’s an entire day of showcasing the vibrancy of the Northeast including music, dance and food. The region is famous for producing some of the best talents in the music and dance industry and this culture is a part of their everyday life,” says a member from the organising team.

Lou Majaw

Artistes from across Northeastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, will be in the city for the event. These include Lou Majaw, a Shillong-based artiste renowned for performing tributes to Bob Dylan, and Itanagar-based Omak Komut Collective that fuses Folk songs of Arunachal’s Adi tribe with Afro-Cuban, Jazz and Pop tunes.

Rida Gatphoh (centre) with her band, Rida & The Musical Folks, formed in 2013, which uses traditional musical instruments like Ksing Shynrang (male drum), Ksing Kynthei (female drum), Tangmuri (windpipe) and Singphong (Reed instrument)

The Vinyl Records, an all-girl four-piece Post Punk Indie Rock band formed in 2010, is also part of the line-up, along with Rida & The Musical Folks, who use handcrafted instruments to create Khasi music. The line-up also includes Manipur-based Folk artistes Guru Rewben Mashangva and Mangka Mayanglambam, Assamese Folk singer Dolly Das and Sofiyum, a Lepcha Folk-Western fusion band based in Gangtok. “We are showcasing Folk fusion bands from each of the eight states. The music is diverse, including Mangka’s classical Manipuri songs, Lou Majaw’s Rock and Roll and Guru Rewben’s signature blend of Folk and Blues,” adds the member.

The festival will also witness performances of traditional Northeastern dance forms like Tripuri, Bodo and Laiharabo. Food stalls featuring the region’s delectable fare are also part of the festival. Artisans from Northeast will be flown down to set up arts and handicraft stalls displaying cane and bamboo work.

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