Rongali Bihu in Bangalore ● Photo Showcase

The spirit of spring came alive in Bangalore with Bohag Bihu celebrations organized by the Assam Association of Karnataka. The festive occasion amalgamated Assamese people from all corners of Bangalore adorning traditional attires to savor their traditional delicacies. The fête also had Bihu dances, Kanada folk dances, a fashion show displaying mekhela sador and musical performances - including some groovy solos by noted singer Sinchan Manohar Dixit.

Bihu dancers at Rongali Bihu festival in Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Bihu dancer at Rongali Bihu festival in Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Bihu dancer at Rongali Bihu festival in Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Model displaying Assamese 'mekhela sador' at Rongali Bihu festival in Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Singer Sinchan Dixit at Rongali Bihu festival in Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Bihu dancers at Rongali Bihu festival in Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Models displaying Assamese 'mekhela sador' at Rongali Bihu festival in Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore ● Photo Showcase

Musical trio Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa took Bangalore by storm at the Idea Rocks India concert. Aimed at promoting upcoming musical talents, the Idea Rocks concert is an annual event where Idea goes on a talent hunt across India. Along with the trio, the event also witnessed performances by singer and flutist Rasika Chandrasekhar, Raman Mahadevan and the winner of the Idea Rocks India Talent Hunt, Bangalore, Nishant Kumar. The top five finalists of the Idea Rocks India Talent Hunt, Bangalore were - Antara Baruah, Jitendra Pant, Nishant Kumar, Sai Keshav and Imshan Khan.

Loy Mendonsa at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Ehsaan Noorani and Shankar Mahadevan at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Rasika Chandrashekhar at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Ehsaan Noorani at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy with Raman Mahadevan at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Shankar Mahadevan at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Loy Mendonsa at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

Nishant Kumar and Shankar Mahadevan at Idea Rocks India, Bangalore (photo - Jim Ankan Deka)

- EFNI

Bhojpuri Queen releases new album 'Fagunahat'

Bhojpuri Queen Kalpana Patowary is back with a bang following the massive success and widespread appreciation of ‘The Legacy of Bhikhari Thakur’. The folk singer is now ready to hit the music stores with her subsequent album ‘Fagunahat’, featuring traditional 'Holi' songs.

The album was released on Sunday at Basera Studios Kandivali in Mumbai city on the sets of BHOJPURI HOLI UTSAV in the presence of noted filmmaker Abhay Sinha, Bhojpuri musical icon Pawan Singh, choreographer Pappu Khanna & actress Madhu Sharma.

‘Fagunahat’ indicates ‘Fagun ke aane ki aahat’ (the onset of spring), according to Kalpana. The tunes in her album carry freshness that can rouse the languid spirit and cheer up the gloomy.

While ‘Rangbaaj fagunwa aail’ is a tale of the passionate reunion of a separated couple associated with the commencement of spring, ‘Ab lehu rangwa lagai’ follows a devotional route in praise of Lord Rama and Sita. Other tracks like Dewra Rangbaaj, Piyawa Calcutta Gaile too will get your foot tapping. Over all, folk music lovers, this is an album to look out for.

This is the Kalpana's first Bhojpuri Holi album with an International label after she made her grand debut with her Bhojpuri album 'Gawanwa Leja Rajaji' in 2001. She has around 12 Bhojpuri albums released till date.

Deep rooted in folk music, Kalpana’s musical expedition has drifted her into many genres of music from contemporary to more eccentric ones. She recently enjoyed ample attention in Bacardi NH7 Weekender concerts in Pune as well as through her collaboration with Trilok Gurtu in an episode of The Dewarists.

Download Fagunahat 

- EFNI

Chatwing Chat Software for Gadget Tutorial Websites

Gadget tutorials are inevitable parts of the Internet, especially in this modern information age. These tutorials are presented with the help of websites, forums, and other sources of user-given data. This niche can also be used for website monetization efforts because some gadget professionals love to be paid for their talents and services.

When it comes to online visibility, the Chatwing chatroom tool proves to be a very handy application. It is a widget that can be installed to any website. Chatwing widget tackles many important points that can help a gadget tutorial website achieve the rate of success that it truly needs. Installation of the widget also takes only a few seconds.

Global communication is one of the integral points of the Chatwing application. The chat box is powerful enough to reach thousands of people simultaneously, contributing to the traffic generation of a website.

Chatwingchat software also taps into the obvious power of social media connection. With this function, one can log in with Facebook and Twitter accounts. Now, there is even a better chance to communicate with more people.

Find chatwing @ http://chatwing.com

Django Unchained (movie review)

A spaghetti western with a black cowboy - Who else you reckon would venture into a territory like that? Another hint - a ruthlessly violent, gore and cold blooded revenge saga - sounds familiar? Good Guess - Quentin Tarantino it is. The man's back with his large red font title credits, variegated background score and of-course a cast to die for as he adds another feather to his cap - Django Unchained.

Django Unchained (poster)

Before I begin my review, let me remind you that there are some flicks that owe its ingenuity to a great story (The reader, if I may), some to it's crisp screenplay (let's say The Social Network, or Tarantino's much acclaimed Pulp Fiction), some for direction (for instance The Hurt Locker); and some stand out based on sheer brilliance of performance. Django Unchained is one such movie. So if you are expecting an evenly paced, action packed western, I'd say cancel your movie tickets and shut down that torrent window right now.

Set in the antebellum era (the era in the Southern United States preceding the Civil War), Django Unchained is a stylish account of Django's (a black slave) pursuit to free his wife from a cruel and charismatic plantation owner Calvin Candie. His is aided in this quest by his mentor - Dr. King Schultz, a German Dentist/Bounty Hunter who trains him in bounty hunting and mastering a sidearm.

Django is a caterpiller, so to say. His character does not attain resplendence until the second half of the film and initially appears like a side kick to Schultz. Skilfully portrayed by Jamie Fox, the transition of Django from a hot headed slave to a shrewd, revenge seeking cowboy is gradual and credible. Christopher Waltz's portrayal of Dr. King Schultz is mildly enigmatic. It is difficult to fathom why a bounty hunter, who kills outlaws in cold blood, would take a black slave under his wing and helps him save his wife? Or why would he be so disturbed at Calvin Candie's orders to have of his Mandingo fighters be torn apart by attack dogs. (Yes. The film's not for the weak-hearted). Speaking of Calvin Candie, Leonardo Di Caprio's performance is one of his very best. His condescending conversations with Schultz were almost like a metaphor of revenge on Christopher Waltz for playing Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds AND winning a Oscar for it. Yes, Leonardo Di Caprio was that good. It's a shame he wasn't even nominated for the Oscars. The rest of the cast doesn't have much scope to be remembered, honestly. Samuel Jackson's as the conniving house slave Stephen does leave his mark though.

Jamie Foxx and Christopher Waltz (Django Unchained)

Unlike other Tarantino Flicks, Django Unchained has a linear narrative, excluding a few flashback scenes. (Visually the flash backs scenes were the best of the lot). Despite being set in the antebellum era and focussed on major social issues like slave trade, the film's historical verisimilitude can’t be said to be one of its highlights. It is brazenly and relentlessly about style, and action. Amidst the bloody mayhem, Tarantino does create some lighter moments with clever dialogues and smart comic timing - one of the funniest scenes being a group of Ku Klux Klan members gunning for Dr King Schultz (Christopher Waltz) and Django (Jamie Foxx) argue over the peepholes in their white hoods. Django's unfamiliarity with high brow English too triggers some laugh out loud moments.

Django Unchained is a bumpy ride - violent gun fights juxtaposed against intense conversations, some may even call the screenplay patchy. Being an epic story in nature, the narration slows down at certain junctures, at the cost of making you restless and wondering ‘where exactly is it going?’ But the climax, in pure Tarantino style completely makes up for those pitfalls, screaming 'and that's how it's done!'.

- by Parmita Borah

Candid conversation with Tetseo Sisters - Mercy, Azi, Kuku and Lulu

Music has always been rife and rich in the northeastern corner of India. The legendary Bhupen Hazarika and Lou Majao from the days of yore to contemporary favorites like ‘Soulmate’ and ‘Boomarang’, the lush greens of the North East has consistently produced music that is synonymous with brilliance.

The last decade however, has witnessed its widespread recognition and assimilation in the mainland of the Indian subcontinent, thanks to many upcoming musicians from the region. Among the forerunners of this league of young and ambitious musicians endorsing Northeast India’s music, the Tetseo Sisters have carved quite a niche for themselves. This quartet of four sisters from the Nagaland is devoted to the tradition of vocal folk music of the state. An ‘a cappella’ style of singing combined with storytelling, and the occasional use of one-stringed instrument tati or heka libuh (mithun horn), their compositions are mostly lores on Nagaland. It’s little wonder that they named their debut album ‘Li’, which means ‘songs of the people’.

The Tetseo Sisters - Mütsevelü (Mercy), Azine (Azi), Kuvelü (Kuku) and Alüne (Lulu) caught up with Jim Ankan Deka and spoke about their music, their inspirations aspirations, and their album Li: Chapter one - The Beginning.

Tetseo Sisters

Jim: Tetseo Sisters! One of the most popular female bands from Nagaland. With over 7000 fans on Facebook, hundreds of views of your YouTube videos every week and hundreds of live shows, how does it feel?

Tetseo Sisters: It has been a long but fruitful journey. We wake up every morning with renewed faith and enthusiasm to continue doing what we love to do. We love it…..the whole lot. There is no high like the high you get while performing on stage and getting warm applause at the end of each song.

We feel truly blessed to be a part of the current music scene. What we do is more than music. It is also about preserving and promoting Nagaland’s art & culture and fashion and creativity; and presenting “our best” to the audience every single time we get up or sit down to perform. The most rewarding thing about what we do is the constant learning process, meeting new people and wonderful personalities while sharing our music and also getting a chance to display our Naga culture and helping dispel the myths and negative impressions people have about our Land. We often have elders telling us how happy they are to see us keeping the old songs alive and how proud they are of us; and sometimes very young people walk up to us and tell us we inspire them. Such experiences are so humbling and at the same time a huge morale boost, making it worth all the extra pains and the effort.

Jim: Tell us little about Tetseo Sisters – the band. Like how did it start, when did it start, who were involved?

Tetseo Sisters: We hardly think of ourselves as a band but we have been singing together for as far as we can remember, right from our childhood. We are best known as the Folk singing sisters but we like to project ourselves as modern Naga artistes who are equally at ease performing Western Music and Naga Li, and doing great in both. We belong to the generation of change and adaptation and have coped pretty well, growing with the times and yet embracing our cultural heritage and identity.

We are four sisters and a brother and though you would often see us in twos or threes at shows, we try to perform together as a foursome whenever possible. The girls play “tati”, “bamboo drums” and “khro-khro” (gourd tamborine) and Mhaseve plays the guitar, keyboards and do the music arrangements. We started singing early on in the 90s but made maximum stage appearances in the early 2000s till date. We have appeared often on Doordarshan and performed to exclusive gatherings of State heads, distinguished guests, tourists and at private events; and also at many Concerts/Youth Fests/Cultural Festivals across the country and abroad. Our parents were the driving forces behind us all along and they continue to inspire and push us to do better everyday.

Jim: Your music is different compared to many other groups like you. How do you define your music?

Tetseo Sisters: Our music is simple, melodious and harmonic, focusing on vocals and involves oral presentation of stories. Our performances call for some translation as we sing mostly in the Chokri dialect and there is some storytelling and sharing too. We call our ‘Li’ the ‘songs of the people’ not just to catch attention but because they are truly the songs of the people.

Li documents and records the stories and lives of our people, their dreams, aspirations, joys, sorrows, hopes and the happenings of daily life. We have great stage chemistry and our costumes add a lot of drama and color and for all the hard work that goes into it, our audiences love our shows and performances calling it very unique and enjoyable. Our western music performances are fun and we try to bring across a simple selection of covers of enjoyable popular hits, our playlist is carefully put together keeping our audience in mind.

Tetseo Sisters

Jim: ‘Li : Chapter one - The Beginning’ is your debut album. What paved way for it?

Tetseo Sisters: Li : Chapter One is a result of more than 15 years of performing Li and a dream to put our efforts to bring out a visible product. We have tried to showcase a sample of Li that we have been singing over the years. The album has 12 tracks, all sung in Chokri dialect of the Chakhesang Nagas: a track for each month and a Christmas Li to top it all. Love songs, odes to women’s beauty, a lamentation, a lullaby, work songs and dueling duets make up the album. There are thousands of Li and choosing just 12 was not easy and we are very satisfied with the result. The feedback has been very positive and encouraging. People have loved it and want more.

Jim: Apart from music what interests the four sisters – Mercy, Azi, Kuku and Lulu?

Tetseo Sisters: Mercy and Kuku share a love for writing and blogging while Azi is quite the design diva as she loves playing with clothes, accessories and make-up when not tending to her newborn son, our darling little nephew. Lulu and Mercy love reading, surfing the net and watching movies. Kuku loves trekking, bike rides, painting and visiting new places. We are all fond of art, fashion - clothes, shoes and jewelry and dressing up for fun, photography, travelling, reading, shopping, cooking and trying out new cuisines.

We are just four simple girls enjoying the beauty of being alive and making the most of life with our loved and dear ones by God’s grace.

Jim: Do you think singing Traditional Folk Songs will give you the international mileage that you need at a time when people are more interested in rock, hip-hop or pop music? What do you think of the present music scenario?

Tetseo Sisters: There will always be fans for each genre of music. No kind of music is inferior or superior and tastes are as unique as the individuals who enjoy a certain type of music. Every generation thinks his or her time was the best and we also think we are in a very good period as far as opportunities and creativity is concerned. For instance, the worldwide web has made the world very small and has made accessibility to all kinds of music very easy. Everything is only a click away, including recognition and success. So visibility is also much more. The only setback is that this also means ‘clever marketing’ will make one more famous than real talent.

The world is always hungry for fresh tunes, talent and something special and ‘Li’ is all that. People say the language we sing in can be a deterrent to our success but we feel that everyone appreciates good music and language will never be a barrier if the music is great. The present music scenario has loads of talent, immense creativity and very competitive.

We also listen to a lot of different types of music since all of us have different tastes and many different artistes from around the world inspire us.

Tetseo Sisters at Williamnagar, Simsam, 2012

Jim: If any other group of musicians would like to follow your path, what would be your advice?

Tetseo Sisters: Our only advice is “do try and be the best you can be in whatever you do”. We are perfectionists in what we do so we keep doing our homework and it is hard and sometimes frustrating, but striving to be as professional as we can get is a reward in itself. A job well done is always fulfilling and we try to give our 100% every time.

Jim: What are your future plans? Any collaboration with other musicians?

Tetseo Sisters: Our plans are many. We are working on a couple of music projects of our own and also collaborating with other personalities. Collaborations are very exciting and we look forward to working with other artistes who believe in us and respect our work. We just did a Christmas single with Alobo Naga and launched it on YouTube. There is a docu-film by Anuska and Iswar called “Uramili” of which we are a part of, awaiting release. We have a few other projects under wraps as of now and more International appearances soon. A Christmas album, Folk-fusion album and Chapter Two are on their way.

We will continue singing, writing, updating and interacting with people via Facebook and our website www.tetseosisters.com and prepare for more performances, while engaging in art, photography and fashion whenever the opportunity arises.

Follow Tetseo Sisters on Facebook and Reverbnation. 
(Edited by Parmita Borah) 

Assamese musician Vicckey Goswami’s remarkable musical sojourn

‘Music is what feeling sounds like’, and that is what pours out of the award winning musician Vicckey Goswami. Hailing from a family dedicated to art and culture in Tezpur, Assam, this talented youth was drawn to music from a nascent age. A man of multiple talents, Vicckey has proved his skills as a drummer, percussionist, keyboardist, vocalist, and composer.

Vicckey Goswami

Vicckey’s musical journey began as a music composer with the Ford Super Model show with Mehr Jessia Rampal in 1996, and has composed music for more than 200 Ad films. His latest score was for the Audi A8L TVC which won the Integrated Spikes Asia Award as well as the Goa Fest 2012.

Vicckey’s tribute composition to Late Bhupen Hazarika was released on Universal and featured Shankar Mahadevan, Kailash Kher and Shaan. He was invited to compose music for a Telecom Company in Uganda with a reputed local musician Kaweesa who arranged for children from an orphanage to sing, a project very that Vickey considers very close to heart.

Amongst, other achievements, the best composer award for Lowe Lintas for three consecutive years and RAPA Award for Radio Mirchi signature tune are just to name a few. Bollywood was not far behind when he won the Zee Cine Jury award for the best background score for the Salman Khan starrer Tere Naam. He was also a finalist at Cannes for the best sound design for his ST Gobbain Film.

Vicckey performed at the Groove Temple Concert in Goa with internationally acclaimed artists Prem Joshua and Talvin Singh on January 04, 2013. He is all set to release an album shortly. His consistent contribution to the world of music has won him genuine accolades.

- Edited by Parmita Borah