“The Song Of Our People’ is a different book in many ways.

Hardcover with cloth case and de-bossed lettering, the title screams in your face, making you wonder who the ‘People’, author Anurag Banerjee is talking about.

His name doesn’t appear on the face of the book, although its appears on the side fold. There’s no page numbers in the book, the credit lines and copyright pages have taken a backseat to the end of the book, giving the reader a chance to straightaway dive into the author’s world.

Much care is taken to ship out the book to the reader. It’s packaged in a corrugated brown box, with the book neatly placed inside. The front of the box and the third page in the book includes a QR code that directs you to a playlist of songs of all artists in the book. Old school folk will remember well of getting music posters of their favorite artists in magazines way back in the 80s and 90s. Banerjee has gone back in time and so you will find a pull-out poster within the pages of the book. Didn’t I say this book is different?

Wait, there’s more. Check this out. The back of the book and the box carry a black design. You’d wonder what the design is all about. Innovative is the word for Banerjee, for he has cleverly mapped the state of Meghalaya. You would surely miss that out if you thought it’s some kind of design on the back cover of the box and book. As someone who has visited the North East several times in the past, I guessed right the moment I saw it.

From being invited by the Arunachal Pradesh government to attend the Orange Music Festival in Dambuk, interviewing musicians from all seven regions of the "Seven Sisters", to visiting friends, the North East has always enamored me.

In Anurag Banerjee’s book The Songs Of Our People, the author tells the stories that make up Meghalaya, which means ‘abode of cloud’. He illuminates the lives of musicians in the North Eastern state. He has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of what he is talking about, and brings his ‘People’ alive through their music and photos.

Work on the book was conceptualisedata time when people around the country took to the streets in hundreds of thousands, at the end of 2019, in what has since come to be known as the citizenship protests. Banerjee took it on himself to go within and dig out his thoughts on the people he was surrounded by and get their stories and take it to the world.

Music, which he says (and we all know) is predominant in the whole of North East, with love for heavy metal music predominant, the book fixes its glaze on 19 musicians, and through the beautiful pages of the book, it tells us stories about the complexities of peoples’ lives, their pasts, reasons for actions, their music, how friends and family can hurt, heal, or affect the trajectory of their lives. 

Hailing from Shillong, which has produced immense musical talent like Soulmate and Lou Majaw, Banerjee takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of Meghalaya, traversing the hidden borrows of the state to discover hidden musical talent.

Take for example Mrinal Paul aka Moksh (Chapter – A Stage of One’s Own). When the singer first went on stage back in 2018, he was heckled by an audience member to get off stage. But Moksh didn’t get agitated. Instead he broke into his song Views, hitting back hard with his song words … “I got the juice/I don’t care about your views”. The others present backed him and now years later, Mrinal has moved on and supports artists by creating a bed of roses for other musicians under the banner Movement of Expression   - MOX.

Lamphang Syiemlih’s story is well documented, (Chapter – To Forgive, Is Divine) and as tragic as it may seem, he got over it, moved on, with his music traversing to Switzerland and to the assembly of Meghalaya. He hopes his music will comfort those in need and be a companion to those in their darkest moments.

Stories like these fill the heart with joy knowing that someone out there is listening.

Through colour and black and white photographs, Banerjee who also is an ace photographer, has showcased each artists’ in different moods, bringing forth the beauty of the State, from its wondrous forests, sunsets, quaint by lanes, homes and studios to live concert settings, he has captured the nuances of every artist in various moods through his lens. To enable him to experience the artists personally, Banerjee journeyed to every artist’s hometown, to get a firsthand account of their story, thus converging a mélange of genres for every reader to find something they would like.

So you have different tones from hip hop, soul, blues, and rap that ring out from various part of Meghalaya from small towns like Tura and Garo Hills. Known for its love for heavy metal music, many of the artists here are inspired by rapper Tupac (2Pac) to Bob Marley.

So you have the Chullai family (Chapter – The Blues are Alive) consisting of father Starly, his son Iandy and Starly’s nephew Dami make up Quiet Storm, a blues outfit from the small hilly town of Jowai, a small town nestled in the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya. In just two years after formation, in 2020, they bagged the prestigious Mahindra Blues Band Hunt, cutting across several blues bands across the country and claiming a chance to play at the festival.

Also from the town of Jowai is Dr Nicholas Richmond Dann (Chapter – An Awakening) who is heavily influenced by reggae music. Infact the town has a neighourbhood that the locals refer to as Little Jamaica. While keeping his parents happy, Nick as he is known, a doctor by day, with the love to sing at the back of his mind. But since the formation of his band The Grassroots that has won accolades in the NE and in a band competition, Nick, in true reggae style sporting dreadlocks says “…this is the only music I am going to do for the rest of my life”. The reason being that ‘it’s a commitment’ to the music he is performing.

Other notable artists documented in the book are Kata Nisa, Maya Lyngdoh Mawlong, Meba Ofilia, Reble, Jessie Lyngdoh, Mejied Kyrpang, Kido Alph, A’Hosea, amongst many others.

A lot of time and effort has gone into the making of this book. Through the profiles of the nineteen artists featured in this edition of the book, The Songs Of Our People is a celebration of Meghalaya and its people.

Banerjee is a very erudite writer and is dealing with serious subjects here. The book exudes great writing, great storytelling and delivers what the author intends to do – that of confronting his own identity, digging into his own space and bringing out the stars from his own homeland.

The Songs Of Our People, supported by Meghalayan AgeLtd, is a compelling book you cannot put down until finish.  

Details:

Publisher: Self-published by author

Edition: 1st edition

Pages: 204 pages

Price: Rs. 599/-

For copies of the book, connect with the author on his  Instagram handle:

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira