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

Assam Association, Delhi is going to celebrate the Bhogali Bihu Festival as per the following day-long programme on Sunday, 20th January, 2008. We solicit your benign presence alongwith your family & friends.Venue:Central Secretariat Sports Grounds (opposite NEHRU PARK),Vinay Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021Programme:Flag Hoisting: 10:30 AMChildren's Painting Competition: 10:45 AM"Meji Prajjalan": 11:00 AMGames & Sports: 11:30 AM Cultural programme: 12:30 PM to 2 PMLottery & Prize Distribution: 3:30 PM onwardsFooding:Light Refreshment : 10:00 AMLunch: 1:30 PMEvening Tea: 4:00 PMDonation:Single: Rs.100/-Family (4 mmbers): Rs.300/
The income tax officials are conducting raids in places in the city. Most of these places include Fancy bazar and Aathgaon. These buildings and business establishments are owned by a section city businessman. The raids began two hours earlier and is continuing. Details are awaited.
A hardcore ULFA cadre died at an encounter with in Army on late Wednesday night in Arunachal Pradesh. According to information, ULFA corporal Nityananda Arandhara was killed an encounter with 19th Kumaon Regiment in Mahadevpur in Arunachal Pradesh. The Army further recovered a 9mm pistol from the incident site.
Assam is observing the Silpi Diwas, the birth anniversary of Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla on Thursday across the state. Seeral programmes are being organized to observe the occasion. The Asam Government is organizing its function at the Robindra Bhawan later today where minister for cultural affairs Gautom Bora is schedule to give away the prestigious Silpi award to Pranab Bora and Minoti Khaound. The Aom Sahitya Sabha is also organizing its function in Jorhat.
The Justice Monisena Singh Commission is hearing the Beltola violence case in Dispur today. AASA leaders and several organizations and individuals are also set for appearing before the Commission. Notably, the Assam government set up the panel to probe the violence that rocked Beltola on November 24.
A set of well planned strategies are all that is necessary to stop discrimination and sexual harressement on the north eastern people residing in New Delhi. This was more or less of what the speakers said at a recent meeting held at the the Indian Social Institute. Convened by the Delhi A'chik Youth Association (DAYA), the meeting discussed in detail ther options left for an effective strategies to stop the problems confronting the people hailing from the north eastern region.DAYA general secretary F.Silkam Sangma in his address said regional discrimination is rampant in the national capital adding that it is not confined only to the people from North East India which was evidenced by the...
Three coaches of the Dibrugarh-Amritsar Express jumped off the rails near New Jalpaiguri on Wednesday morning disrupting rail traffic on the section. No casualty has so far been reported. According to information received, it was the 5933 Down Dibrugarh-Amritsar Express whose coaches including two unreserved general class derailed at around 6 in the morning in between Magurjan and Aluabari railway stations about 50 km from New Jalpaiguri. Later a crane was pressed into the service haul up the derailed coaches. Top ranked Northeast Frontier Railway officials are arriving in the spot and assessed the situation.
Two militants have been injured at an explosion that took place beside a public meeting in Kokrajhar district's Symbul gaon on Tuesday. According to information, the militants carried the bomb to the meeting but it miised the target. Later both the militants were rushed to the hospital. People here said a section of BLT cadres have join a new militant outfit named BRTF in the BTC area. Investigation is going on to unearth the truth.
Nine CISF jawans have been injured while aome Adivasi people attacked them at a incident on Tuesday in Dibrugarh district's Tengakhat area.According to information, more then 50 Adivasi people came and gatecrashed the Oil India station inside a tea garden at Tengakhat and started pelting stones at them.The mob alleged that these jawans misbehaved with an woman on Monday forcing them to retaliate. The CISF jawans fired in the air and informed the police. As soon as the police arrived in the scene, the irrate mob scuffled with the police. A bullet came off a policeman's gun injuring one of the Adivasi people. The injured CISF jawans along with the peoplemen were given first aid before release...
Its hard to believe but true. For the people of Kekerikuchi, there is no uruka and also no meji to kindle. Its time for them to weep as the bitter memory of the most gruesome murder of seventeen people are still reamining fresh in their minds.Ten years ago the militants killed these unfortunate people in the villages. A few women were preparing for the uruka feast while some others were busy with making Bihu delicacies. And the children were playing with mejis.Soon after their arrival, they started indiscriminate firing in the busy uruka evening leaving these including women and children dead on the spot.The political leaders along with some others rushed to their near and dear ones to...