A folk song carries in its notes and in its words, stories of people and cultures. A tradition of the olden days, folk music has seen a revival of sorts in Garo Hills with elements of the sound being adopted by contemporary musicians. Eleanor Mikkimchi Sangma speaks to contemporary folk musicians from Garo Hills.
Mikhail Marak, the face of NOKPANTE, says Garo Hills is in a transitional period in terms of music. “We as a culture are richly blessed and have potential to experiment with our own music and thus render something which is unique and true to our roots”, he says.
As a child, Mikhail used to be fascinated by a band that his uncle was a part of, which inspired him to eventually write his first song by the age of twelve. He would then be involved in music sessions in schools, also assisting in masses and services at church. “My interest in music kept growing until I finally got my very own guitar from my mom”, he says, a gift that would help him further pursue music.
The artist describes songwriting as a beautiful process. Having done commercial and promotional songs besides his own personal music, he says the process varies from song to song. Whilst commercial songs allow for little creative freedom, he says, “If it’s a personal song, it’s more like a confession, a healing process and release of pure emotions”.
“A man is as good as his experiences and past”, he tells me. Through his music, he tries to tell different stories that he has experienced as a human. “It’s a way of self-healing, acceptance, and a sense of comfort that I feel after making each song”.
He feels musicians should be open to new sounds and keep evolving and experimenting with whatever inspires them. Over the years, he says he has witnessed a transition, with greater interest in writing songs in A·chik-ku or Garo language. Mentioning bands such as Hoi Hoi Makbil and Da Suraka, he says, “Their songs reflect the change and new era of progressive song writing”. Adding that musicians who pursue other genres are also doing extremely well, he feels this could be a way of contributing to the Garo culture as artists.
Praising the artists of the region who are mostly self-taught with no professional training, he states, “Music is somehow inherent in our genes, perhaps, we just need to work extra hard”. Recent years have offered aspiring artists, resources such as music schools and other platforms to pursue their dreams. The internet also offers plenty for those who want to learn and further their skills. He says it is high time they (artists, professionals and aspiring) question if they are pushing themselves hard enough to achieve their dreams. “The difficulty is fighting our own demons and overcoming them. This world belongs to the doers”.
Mikhail says that the music scene in the state is not much of an industry, but more of a handful of people doing what they love and trying to persevere. “We often call our state the ‘Rock Capital of India’ or that’s the tag we proudly like to be associated with. Sadly, little importance is given to push this tag further”. Barring a few festivals around winter, there is hardly any music scenes happening in the state. With challenges like these, artists are often left high and dry, with many eventually giving up. “Just a regular weekly or even a monthly musical thing happening could do wonders”, he feels.
NOKPANTE is currently working on a new EP titled Ja·bisa. A collaboration with different artists from Tura, it consists of seven songs. The EP is set to be released on all musical platforms by August this year. NOKPANTERec., Mikhail’s recording studio also helps produce music for fellow artists from the town. There are several of them in the pipeline. “The idea is to keep making and writing more music”, he says.
Hoi Hoi Makbil is another band that has embraced the folk, albeit fused with other sounds.
Composer and co-founder Katta Nisa had always been surrounded by musically inclined and gifted people. Family members who played instruments, peers who wrote songs and gifted bands such as Deo Gratias inspired him to walk the path of music.
His first public performance in 2015 put him on the radar of Deo Gratias. He says, “Receiving appreciation from artists that I admire made me think I also have something which pushed me to write more music”.
At one point, he had decided to take the safer route of a government employee, till he met a teacher of his who pulled him back to the right path. He says he wouldn’t have written any songs if it weren’t for the teacher. “This made me think if I hadn’t written the songs I wrote, someone somewhere out there would have been as lost as I was. The reason why I pursue art and music and story-telling are because I want to reach out to lost souls”, he tells me.
Following the path of our tribe’s storytellers, he draws also inspiration from his own experiences. “The values I learn from my experiences come together in a song like ingredients for a dish”.
The process of writing for him always starts with a wish for a song. The song then manifests around him, through words and phrases he hears in passing. The day he wrote one of their most renowned works Bindori, his mother had mentioned the word to him, while his surroundings gave him other keywords. “Around midnight, my friends and I were playing the guitar just chilling on a haystack. Words to the song naturally came”, he says.
A friend then rightly told him, “The folk has chosen you”.
A·chik musicians have always had a distinct colour of their own, which he feels has slowly faded over the last few years. There is rhythmic phrase in Garo language which translates to our music and gives it a marked individuality. He adds, “Folk is the rawest form of music. A·chik artists make music out of the sounds of a door closing, of an owl’s hoot or even cries of grief for the dead”. The varying experiences of the tribe give their music its own distinctiveness.
People are realising the importance of folk music with several artists who are slowly trying to embrace it. Katta feels education has helped spark an interest in the youth in going to back to our roots. “Artists such as Da Suraka, Notes of A·rongga and NOKPANTE have realised the importance of our heritage and are making music to uplift the same”.
He says folk music not only helps preserve our identity, it also sells when seen from an economic standpoint. “Michael Jackson already existed, there are so many rockstars as well, but they haven’t heard the music that we do and that is what makes us stand out”.
He mentions a few challenges faced by A·chik artists. Once people realise the importance and novelty of folk music in the contemporary music scene, some might pursue it just for the sake of hopping on the trend. He says many also stick to one genre instead of venturing out.
People who are supposed to help artists often end up taking advantage of them. “There should be a balance between business and art, where art does not take a backseat to money”, he says.
There is a need for better platforms for artists and reliable people who are capable of helping them. Adding that there must be a change in how people view artists, he says they must also be regarded as professionals.
Hoi Hoi Makbil wants to enjoy music and keep learning about it. “We’ve done art and music since the beginning so there is no other way we can go, we are trying to earn by doing what we love”, Katta tells me. For this year, they are planning on releasing at least one song with an animated video, with high hopes for an EP.
Katta has studied away from home since he was young, but he has always held on to his pride in being an A·chik and speaking the language. He says people were of the mindset that the Garo language wouldn’t fare well outside or that they wouldn’t like it, but recent years have proven otherwise.
At the end of our conversation, he quoted a line from poet Howard Denison W. Momin’s poem A·chik Ku·rang that goes, “Darang do·an ku·tangkosan knatonikbata ina”, which roughly translates to all birds find their own voice the sweetest. The phrase illustrates the essence of a new dawning of Garo folk music. Music is undoubtedly diverse in its many styles and genres; folk music is one that encompasses our language, music and culture in one form of art.
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