Skip to content Skip to navigation

‘Drihrata’ by Farmaan , a new dimension in Assamese music scenario

The sound that can melt hearts, the melody that can be felt within & the symphony that can bring a head bangers ball, in short this is what Farmaan can be defined as. Farmaan doesn’t have a constrained genre as all the members are having varied influences and musical inclination. It likes to do constant experiments with all kinds of music varying from classic rock & metal to RNB & blues.


Away from their hometown, all the members were quite academically inclined. They have completed their engineering from the prestigious institutions and are currently working as engineers in large PSUs and MNCs. They even got a chance to complete their Masters in elite colleges like Georgia Tech, NUS and many other colleges abroad but their love for the music couldn’t allow them to go away. They stayed back so that they could hold on to their dreams, the dream of making it big & creating a revolution in the Assamese music industry.


Although they stayed back it seemed that their dreams were fading away. Frustrated in their own office cubicles they were trying to work out a plan to get out of their monotonous office work. Luck shone on them and they could find like minded colleagues. This led to the inception of ‘ Vervain Productions’. The brain child of Soumya Dash, Vervain Productions has partners who are basically engineers from colleges like IITs & NITs.


Now under the banner of Vervain Productions the band has released their first album ‘DRIHRATA’ on 23rd May 2010. ‘Drihrata’ contains 9 tracks, 5 in Assamese, and 4 bonus tracks in Hindi. The fact that all the tracks are completely different and each has got its unique style is what makes this band so special. Language doesn’t have a barrier for the band so their lyrics are both in Assamese and Hindi. In the album it can be easily seen that the band doesn’t have any constrained genre, ‘Oxanto Hridoy’ is a power ballad, ‘ Lorali ‘ is a soft rock number, ‘Xopun’ is influenced by R&B and ‘Drihrata’ is more or less a Nu-metal number. So the album has something for everyone.


The band has also released a promotional vide of their song ‘ Oxanto Hridoy ‘ which is undoubtedly one of the costliest music video in the Assamese music industry. The song is about the frustrations of people of all ages which is very aptly portrayed by Deepak Dey , one of the leading video director and choreographer of Assam. The you tube link for the video is given below:









About the band:


Farmaan was formed in 2007 when childhood buddies Neil and Gazi met in Chennai and came to know about each other’s talent. Pursuing their graduation from different cities at that time, Neil and Gazi, managed to jam with Manash(drums) making Chennai as their base for jamming. The band used to practice on every weekend, Gazi would come all the way from Trichy which was a hectic 8 hrs bus journey. Their sound seemed to be fresh but the band felt the great need of a bassist. Finally they found their mutual friend, Madhurjya(Bass) back in Guwahati who completed the sound of Farmaan. During semester breaks they would jam in Guwahati and in a span of 1 year they recorded six tracks.


The band had to face many problems in the initial stages as their language, which was initially Hindi, hindered them to participate in the rock competitions held in IITs and NITs. Hindi rock was completely new and the crowd in Chennai and Bangalore was more inclined to death metal. But the band stuck to its genres and when they promoted its recorded tracks in all the colleges in Chennai the response that they got was immense. They were constantly invited as guest artists in many events of the different colleges. In December 2009 the band also got an invitation to perform in Mood Indigo, the annual cultural fest of IIT Mumbai but due to the job pressure of the band members they had to decline the offer. But now backed by Vervain Productions the band members are not hesitating even to the slightest extent to put their jobs on stake and pursue their true love which is music.


Band Members:



Gazi Mehboob ( Lead Guitars and Vocals):


A graduate in Production Engineering from NIT, Trichy, Gazi Mehboob, a self taught guitarist, has been running his fingers on the frets since the last 7 years. His influences are basically metal acts like Iron maiden , Megadeth , Opeth but at the same time he is also inclined towards sufi and Indian classical. He is the main person behind the compositions and lyrics. He loves to fuse metal with sufi music. He is currently working as a manager in NMDC Ltd, the leading mining organization of the government.


Neil Sarmah (Lead Vocals and Rhythm)


A passed out from SRM University in Electronics & Telecom, Neil Sarmah is a die hard fan of Nusrat, Rahat and Shafqat Amanat and considers them as his prime influence. He is open to all genres. He is a self learned vocalist and his main strength lies in the high pitched aalaps that can be heard in most of the songs of Farmaan. As he has not received any formal training Neil is planning to train himself in Indian Classical Music so that he can even refine his god gifted talent. He is currently working as an Asst. Systems Engineer in TCS, New Delhi.


Manash (Drums)


A graduate from SRM University in Electronics & Communication, Manash a.k.a Max has played the tabla for 12 years and managed to get a visharad before he switched to congo and drums. He is currently working as a Network Engineer in CISCO, Gurgaon.


Madhurjya (Bass)


Currently pursuing his B.Tech in Instrumentation Madhurjya has been associated with different bands in Guwahati before he joined Farmaan. His inclination is towards Nu-Metal, Punk, Grudge and but at the same time he is also a die hard fan of Harris, which can be seen in the bass lines of some of the metal acts of the band.

Comments

Yuvi's picture

Assamese music lovers were in need of such an album ..... the songs are really fantastic .... I guess it will totally redefine the way we see assamese music.... people should watch out for 'lorali' & 'Xopun jen lage '
Priyam Biswas's picture

I need to contact Mr. Deepak Dey, can anyone help?
bhaskarnil's picture

Nice piece of work man....gazi....ur dedication really works out..a must for every neo-assamese generation...for d love of the music..
Honey's picture

neil you rocks...wht to say? just keep on doing good work and entertain us.
Parmita Borah's picture

Great to know about Farmaan.. I think the picture was taken outside St. Anthony's College, Shillong...got m all nostalgic! let me know if am wrong :)
dwarak's picture

Farmaan is rocking...waiting for the national release...all the very best rockstars
Raktim's picture

Are the persons writing comments friends of the band? How can anyone praise such a mess of singing and a video which looks so funny and out of place? Boys, please stick to your engineering. Sngfor yourselves and not for us. Thank you.
Mona's picture

@Raktim this video looks funny? what about the rest of the typical assamese video's huh?those seem to be upto the level of those directed by Sophie Mullers and Joseph Kahns for you, ain't it? I am not saying this is a very good video. atleast these guys worked hard to do something different? And being newcomers they did a gud job from the point of view of the Assamese industry.
debahuti bora's picture

neil pinky ba here u r great man i didnt know u r in a band farmaan wit such a good voice keep going we r in need of such talent. my support n best wishes r always wit u. "BEST OF LUCK FARMAAN".

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

With an aim to cater various needs of the working journalists of Northeast India, a forum was shaped Tuesday (June 30) in Guwahati. The member-based organization titled ‘Journalists’ Forum of Northeast India’ has been designed to work for the enrichment of its members from print, electronic...
In connection of the above 12 small farmers participated in a speech competition on the topic “Need of mushroom in the formation of farmers’ federation” they gathered from 10 villages’ committee in a cluster of 50 village in Sonapur areas of Kamrup district of Assam representing 1000 small farmers of Sonapur. At the very beginning Mr Pranjal Baruah (Ashoka Fellow) General Secretary of MDF, stated the objective of the meeting. The programme however, inaugurated by the noted film star and veteran stage actor Shrimati Chetana Das and judged the speech competition along with Dr S K Dutta, Dy- Director, NIRD, Guwahati and the noted professor Mr Biman Patowary from Sonapur...
A day-long media workshop sponsored by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has begun this morning (June 30) at Hotel Blue Moon in the city. Organised in supoert of Guwahati Press Club, the workshop is attended by over 30 journalists from the States of Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and also from Bhutan. Prior to the workshop, the resource persons from ICRC, New Delhi weree felivuted by the participants with the traditional Asomiya Gamosa and Zapi. The first speaker of the program, Yahia Alibi, deputy head of the delegationthe, ICRC elaborated about the mandate and acitivities of the international forum, which has presence all...
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has organised a media workshop in Guwahati on June 30 for the benefit of the Northeast based working journalists. Organized in support of Guwahati Press Club, the day long workshop will deal with the issues related to the International Humanitarian Law and also the reporting in times of violence from a conflict zone. The workshop, to be held at Hotel Blue Moon in Guwahati, will be inaugurated by Kanak Sen Deka, a senior editor of Assam. The inaugural ceremony will be graced by Yahia Alibi, Deputy Head of the Delegation, ICRC. Nearly 30 journalists from Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and...
The former chief secretary of Assam, HN Das IAS (Retired) will attend the Guest of the Month program of Guwahati Press Club on June 27. It will start at 12 noon. During the program, Das will interact with the journalists on various aspects relating to the development of Guwahati and Assam. Member-journalists are requested to attend the same.
A 12-hour statewide Assam is disrupting normal life in the state on Thursday. Called by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the bandh began at 5 in the morning which will end at 5 in the after noon. During this period, except schools, colleges and hospitals, all government and semi government establishments are remaining closed. Barring the school buses and polic and army jeeps, other vehicles are off from the streets. Our sources in several district headquerters have informed that the bandh is total and by and large peaceful. Notably, the proscribed militant outfit called in the 12 hour bandh alleging cold blooded murder of two 28th battalion cadres in Nagaon recently in the...
Mahadev Deka, who recently clinched the title in the bantam weight category for India at the 2009 Musclemania Superbody world championship at Florida, US, got warm welcome when he arrived at the Guwahati airport. He is the first from Assam to win this prestigious world body building championship.
The Burma Centre Delhi and the Journalists' Forum, Assam have organized an interactive session on ‘India's Foreign Policy on Burma: A Northeast Perspective’ at the Guwahati Press Club auditorium on July 4. The meeting will start at 11 am, where few Burmese exiles and a number of distinguished Guwahati-citizens will participate and share their experience and ideas. Burma or Myanmar is under the military rule for four decades, where the opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been under detention for many years. Lately the Nobel Peace Laureate is inside the bar since May 14. The Burma Centre Delhi considers the support from the people of Northeast India as crucial for the...
The United Liberation Front of Asom calls for a 12 hour statewide Assam bandh on Thursday (June 25) alleging that 28th battalion cadres Debojit Chetia and Durlabh Bora were kiled in army custody and not in the encounter in Samoguri on Sunday. In a statement, the banned insurgent outfit said the bandh would start at 5 AM for 12 hours. ULFA said the rebel duo were held by army on June 10 as they were proceeding towards Karbi Anglong. According to the statement, more than 17 NDFB rebels were killed in their custody and was published as encounter. In the case of DHD(J) also its not different, said ULFA adding that DHD (J) foreign secretary Frankie Dimasa who was killed after being arrested...
Guwahati Press Club, a pioneer mediamen’s organization of Northeast India witnessed an unusual Sunday morning today (June 21, 2009), when a group of journalists bared their hearts to the audience of News Live, a Guwahati based satellite Television channel. The channel came to press club with all their arrangements to make a lively program, where journalists talked, discussed, sang, performed and danced to the tune of Bihu. Those newsmen, who remain invisible, suddenly came out with all joy...