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

The more Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is trying to extricate himself from on going trouble the more his is getting sinking in it. In yet another development, former Rajya Sabha MP Basanti Sarma is seeking CBI probe into the assassination of her husband Manabendra Sarma. Talking to a private satellite TV news channel that beamed the story Mrs Sarma said only a CBI probe could identify the real culprit behind the murder of her husband.The Opposition parties are demanding a CBI probe into the case which that Government has been denying where health minister Dr Himana Biswa Sarma's name comes up the Opposition leaders ae to be believed. Also the Opposition finds it strange why and how the...
Assam and Meghalaya Chief Ministers will meet on Tuesday next to make an end to the border row which has simmering for years.Talking to Assamtimes.org, official sources here say Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is set to sit in negotiation with his Meghalaya counterpart on Tuesday in Dispur to devise a mechanism to resolve the issue. The discussion will mainly focus on the recent tussle over Lengpih in kamrup district bordering Meghalaya.The Meghalaya government officials have informed that Chief Minister Donkuper Roy is expected to offer a joint visit to the area to make the discussion more congenial and practical. They say," Roy will be reiterating Meghalaya's claim based on land...
A special court in Delhi on Saturday has remanded sacked education minister Ripun Bora, his aides Ramesh Maheswari and journalist Mukul Pathak to judicial custody. The court will hear on Monday a bail petition filed by Ripun Bora who was arrested on Tuesday last along with his associates Ramesh and Mukul from New Delhi and Guwahati respectively while they were trying to bribe a CBI officer with Rs 10 lakh. On Wednesday, the court sent the first two the CBI custody. Meanwhile, all the three have been sent to the Tihar jail. Earlier, amid tight security they were produced before the jam packed Tis Hazari Court.
Sacked education minister Ripun Bora along with his two associates now in CBI custody would be produced before a special court on Saturday morning.The investigating agency who booked Mr Bora along with businessman Ramesh Maheswari and journalist Mukul Pathak would be produced before the special court at Tis Hazari before 12 noon.On the other hand, the journalist was produced before the Tis Hazari Court on Friday and was remanded to one days CBI custody.The trio were arrested on Tuesday last in New Delhi and Guwahati respectively while they were trying to bribe a CBI official who was probing the Danial Topno murder case with Rs 10 lakh. Caught in this vicious acrimonious situation, Chief...
Yet another rhino was found killed in the Kaziranga National Park on Friday. Poachers, who killed the rhino have already taken away its horn to reach the rhino poaching tally to 24.According to information, the body of the one-horned rhino, slain about three days ago, was found on Friday in a water body at Singimari with its horn swan off. The body of the rhino bore bullet marks on both sides of its head and on the side of its right leg. In this very spot, a female rhino and its calf were killed by poachers about two months ago before the horn was taken away. This Dulamari area is being encroached upon by people from neighbouring areas helping the poachers to carry out their illegal...
Former Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress veteran Shivsaran Mathur has been appointed as new Assam Governor following an end to the term of Lt General (Retd) Ajoy Kumar Singh. The decision to this effect was finalized on Wednesday when Chief Minister gave his consent in the national capital. According to information, President Pratibha Patil has cleared the appointment of Mr Mathur which is coming in a day or two. The Chief Minister’s Office has already received this formal intimation on Thursday night.Born in 1926, Mr Mathur waa the two time Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Notably, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has been insisting on the appointment of only apolitical Governor for...
The Golaghat district administration has ordered a high level probe into the claims of achievement by Arnab Kakoty, who came to hit the media headlines. Mr Kakoty was widely appreciated while he claimed to have crossed a few rounds of formalities for being nominated to the Nobel award. Further, he himself claimed to be associated with NASA projects. Very recently, he disclosed his 30 minute long discussion with US president George W Bush. But of late, he has failed to produce relevant documents to substantiate his claims. He was even felicitated by Assam Governor Lt general (Retd) Ajoy Singh following his claim of his outstanding achievement. According to sources, Arnab could be arrested if...
It's official. The Congress high command talks tough to the Assam Congress following the arrest of sacked education minister Ripun Bora by CBI while he was trying to bribe an official of the investigation agency.The party high command has asked the Assam Congress to drop all the tainted ministers from the Gogoi cabinet.Talking to a private satellite news channel on Thursday in New Delhi AICC spokesman Manish Tiwari informed that the tainted ministers from the Tarun Gogoi cabinet would be dropped. He further said these tainted ministers would also be sacked from the party. "If these are axed from the government why the party will retain them?," he quipped.On the other hand, the state...
Normal life in some parts of Assam is heavily disrupted following a 12 hour bandh call by the All Assam Adivasi Students Association of Assam (AASAA) from early in the morning on Friday. According to Assam the bandh is total in the tea tribe dominated area as it is sponsored by the tea community students body demanding the sacked education minister Ripun Bora's capital punishment for his role behind the killing of tea tribe leader Danial Topno. On the other hand, the CPI(ML) is also calling for a statewide Assam band on Friday for 12 hours in protest against fuel price hike. The CPI(ML) has demanded roll back it. A bus owners' association has also extended the support to the bandh. Vehicles...
Two ULFA cadres have been killed during a police, Army joint operation in Bhujkuchi area under Tihu police station in Nalbari distirct early in the morning on Friday. According to information, two pistols and an Austrian grenade has been recovered from their possession. Details are awaited.