Beyond boundaries

This isn't going to be one on cricket after the one on tennis. Boundaries here, refer to the ones drawn on the basis of geography, language, culture, literature and music. Octave 2007 was being celebrated in Hyderabad, (the name is derived from the eight constituent states from the North East that participated in this fair) and yesterday was the last day. My earliest travels - thanks to my father's transfers - were all in the North-East: Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur. From what little I can recall, there are two things that stand out in these states -

• The raw, stark and pristine beauty of nature.
• The naively simple, straight-forward people who are happy with what little they have.

Anyways, so off we went to Shilparamam Cultural Complex. I was initially disappointed as there were only a few stalls set up from these states and the rest were the usual fare you get there. I thought it would be another disappointing visit since all my earlier trips for other events ended without satisfaction. But it was different this time - as we could hear the strains of some soothing music from a distance. As we approached the dais and the words became clear, I could make out that the language was Assamese and the singer was singing like the legendary Bhupen Hazarika. I do not understand Assamese, but could roughly make out what was being said because of its similarity with Bengali and a few words I knew before.

My initial observation turned accurate when the singer said that Bhupen Hazarika was his uncle. Mayukh Hazarika indeed has a good voice - he is in that class when the voice alone tells that you are listening to a pro. He and his wife Laili sang quite a number of songs. I was waiting eagerly for 'Bistirno Du-pare' - the 'Ganga' song that is most synonymous with Bhupen Hazarika for all Bengalis. Mayukh sang it, in Assamese and Hindi, and it was indeed the song of the night. Gives me goosebumps, everytime the Mukhda reaches the crescendo - the first time, without music. He did full justice to the unparalleled rendition by his uncle and brought the entire audience to a spontaneous applause. I had my time's worth with that song alone.

I could only get a skimmed understanding of what was being sung, and many others there hardly understood anything more than what the singers translated - but the rendition and accompaniment was so soothing and the tunes so lively and simple that it never became a deterrent. It is said music has no language - it was beautifully exemplified before me yesterday.