Skip to content Skip to navigation

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

By editor |

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

Submitted by Yuvi on Thu, 03/06/2010 - 20:40
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

Submitted by Priyam Biswas on Tue, 08/06/2010 - 19:27
I need to contact Mr. Deepak Dey, can anyone help?
bhaskarnil's picture

Submitted by bhaskarnil on Sat, 03/07/2010 - 01:43
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

Submitted by Honey on Tue, 06/07/2010 - 04:11
neil you rocks...wht to say? just keep on doing good work and entertain us.
Parmita Borah's picture

Submitted by Parmita Borah on Thu, 08/07/2010 - 20:52
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

Submitted by dwarak on Fri, 16/07/2010 - 08:47
Farmaan is rocking...waiting for the national release...all the very best rockstars
Raktim's picture

Submitted by Raktim on Fri, 16/07/2010 - 21:17
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

Submitted by Mona on Sun, 18/07/2010 - 16:44
@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

Submitted by debahuti bora on Fri, 20/08/2010 - 05:34
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

3 blasts rock lower Assam; 2 injured

Three blasts early in the morning have dampened the spirit of the 62nd Independence Day celebrations in Assam. According to information, two blast have jolted Dhubri in the morning. The first one is near the Mahamaya tank while another took place in Dhubri town where two have been left injured.There is yet another blast at Kajalgaon in Chirang district. However, no casualty has been reported so far.

B’deshi: Gauhati HC quashed its July 25 judgment

The Gauhati High Court has quashed a recent judgment where 61 people were asked to leave the country. Hearing a writ petition filed by some of these people on Thursday, a division bench of the court asked the petitioners to submit their documents before lower court to prove their Indian citizenship.The division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice J Chalameswar and Justice Hrishikesh Roy quashed the order but asked the petitioners to submit their documents before foreigners’ tribunal to prove their Indian citizenship.The court further asked the petitioners to surrender before the Barpeta Superintendent of police by August 22 saying that they had not cooperated with the...

CM medal to nine Assam police officers

Assam police officers have been awarded the Chief Minister’s medals for their outstanding service to the state on the occasion of Independence Day.The officers who have been awarded the medals are Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta, IPS, (IGP, law & Order, STF), VK Ramisetti, IPS (SSP, Ghy city), Debajit Hazarika, APS (SP, Kamrup), Shyamal Prasad Saikia, APS (SP, Sivasagar), Pradip Ranjan Kar, APS (ASP,HQ, Silchar), Horen Tokbi, APS (ASP, HQ, Darrang), Ghana Kanta Kachari, APS (Asst Comdt, BTC, Dergaon), Lohit Ch Rabha, SI Goalpara and Anil Mohan, SI, Sonitpur.

Assam Accord: AASU strike ends in Guwahati

The AASU leaders have ended their strike they launched on Thursday in protest against the government failure to implement the Assam Accord which was signed 23 years ago.The leaders have come down heavily on the Union government for not keeping its promise on the Assam accord. AASU leadership criticised the Centre in strongest possible terms for not taking any steps to implement the historic Accord, even after 23 years of its signing.AASU Advisor Dr Sammujal Kr Bhattacharya said the Accord was the result of a 6 years long struggle and that it’s a national assurance.He said the Centre has yet to accorded any priority and instead has been showing disrespect to the sentiments of the...

23 years of Assam Accord: AASU staging demo in the city

The All Assam Students Union activists are sitting in strike in the city from Thursday morning in protest the government failure to implement the Assam Accord which was signed by AASU and the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi 23 years ago. AASU leaders said 23 years have passed since the Accord was signed but the main clauses have been remaining unimplemented. Illegal migrants have not been detected and deported and also the Indo-Bangla has not been sealed and also the borders are still remaining porous. The strike will end on Friday.

AGP executive meeting on Aug 26

The Asom Gana Parishad is convening its executive body meeting on August 26 which is expected to receive the unification report being prepared by a panel of the party. Set up to finalise the process for unification of regional parties, the party asked in the panel to submit its findings by two months. Later the period for submission of the report was extended. The committee is expected to submit its unification report in this executive body meeting.

KLNLF cadre arrested in Boithalangsu

Army have apprehended a hardcore KLNLF cadre from Baithalangsu area in Karbi Anglong district on Wednesday morning. According to information, the rebel has been identified as Theangji Timung and on the basis of his statement, later army recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from a hideout.

Nilakshi murder case: Police under attack

Police role in the gruesome murder case of actress Nilakshi Sarma have come in for sharp criticism. A committee set to demand a judicial probe in the case has alleged that police have been trying to shield those involved in the gruesome murder of the actress.According to allegation, the FIR lodged by the Nilakshi’s family members is missing under some mysterious circumstances. They alleged that all these have been done only to protect the accused people. Thy said the entire police investigation is nothing but a farce adding that not even a single person suspected by Nilakshi’s family members has so far been grilled by the police.

Five Muslim bodies back drive against B’deshis

The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad and five other organizations of the indigenous Muslim people urged the people not to communalize the drive against Bangladeshi immigrants in the state. These will dispatch a delegation to take stock of the situation.The students body held a meeting in the city at its party office in the city with five organizations representing the indigenous Muslim people of Assam and shared their concern. These organizations include Muslim Yuva Parishad of Asom, All Assam Goriya Moria Deshi Jatiya parishad, Asomiya Muslim Unnayan Parishad, Indigenous Assamese Muslim Development Board and Ganayagaran Manch. The allegations of harassment on some indigenous Muslim...

Muslim bodies not to tolerate any harassment: Omar

Three minority bodies in Assam on Wednesday warned that they will not tolerate any harassment on the Muslim people in the name of detecting and deporting the Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam.The Muslim organizations have strongly criticized the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad for the recent demonstration by the in the city against the illegal Bangladeshi people.Addressing a press conference in the city on Wednesday, the Muslim council leaders Omar Rashid and Mustafa Kamal have alleged that the AJYCP people in protest have singled out the Muslim people only. They questioned AASU and AJYCP on what basis they have detected the Bangladeshi immigrants. They have also questioned the...