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 Gauhati High Court has asked senior Congress leader and minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman to appear before the court on December 11 charging him with violating the court order regarding the reinstatement of two lecturers in Barkhetri in Nalbari district.The governing body of the college headed by Dr Barman refused to comply with the order of the court and that of the Director, and did not allow them to join as lecturers and permitted Lokman Ali to continue as Principal.The two lecturers approached the Court by filing a contempt case against Dr Bhumidhar Barman and Md Lokman Ali. In pursuance of the court order, the Director conducted a fact-finding inquiry and directed the college authority...
MLA Jiten Gogoi of Bokakhat, whose name appeared in the Justice KN Saikia Commission report pertaining to the 'secret killings', has expressed serious concern and said he would move even the Supreme Court to clear his name from the report.Expressing his grave resentment over his name being associated with the issue, Gogoi alleged that Justice Saikia never met him even for once during the enquiry.Terming his indictment as intentional, he spoke about his determination to take the matter to the court and to institute a defamation suit.Gogoi also apprised newsmen gathered at the Bokakhat Circuit House premises that when secret killings took place, he was neither an ULFA or SULFA man....
A string of group clash that leaves twelve people dead, as many as one hundred people injured has forced the authority to clamp curfew in the city on Saturday. The condition of thirty is reported to be critical.The violence began as soon as the Advasi people in large numbers were holding a rally demanding Scheduled Tribe status for the community.The Adivasi protesters damaged as many as 150 vehicles while these were plying in the Beltola areas. Moreover, some of them vandalized some shops and markets in the area.The angry people in general retaliated by attack and the clash left 5 people to death.The city police sprung into action and dispersed the Adivasi people from the protest rally site...
Assam is holding its first ever International Tea Convention at the Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium in Sarusajai. As many as 33 delegates from across the world are attending the grand event. The praise on the quality of Assam is pouring on. The convention is talking about modern technology to uplift the tea industry. The inauguration ceremony on Thursday was attended by Uinion commerce minister Jairam Ramesh, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, his industry minister Pradyut Bordoloi and Tea Board of India Director.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi called on Union minister of shipping, road transport and highways, Thiru T.R. Baalu here on Tuesday and discussed the issues relating to road development in the state.According to information, Mr Baalu directed NHAI to take up repair work from Khanapura to Jorabat and Jorabat to Nagaon on top priority and requested the Mr Gogoi to expedite the work relating to the acquisition of land, cutting of trees and shifting of utilities for the progress on East-West corridor.He proposed diversion of about 90 km on the stretches of NH 37, which has to be 4-laned by NHAI to avoid Kaziranga National Park and offered in alternative route on NH-52 between Tezpur and...
A Violin Recital progam by Sunita Bhuyan will be held on 24th November, 2007 Saturday (7 pm) at Carter Road Promenade, Bandra, Mumbai. Its an open air free entry program. You are welcome to get your friends and family. For details of the festival you can check: www.celebratebandra.net or call Ms Bhuyan at 9821614829.Celebrate Bandra Festival 2007 is all about turning the spotlight on one of Mumbai's oldest and definitely her most happening suburb. Whether you want a taste of Bandra's heritage, her talent or the fantastic food on offer, the festival will leave you satiated yet begging for more.It's no exaggeration that Celebrate Bandra Festival has now established itself as the...
Normal life in central Assam is partially disrupted following the 48 hour bandh call by three Tiwa students bodies from Monday morning..The roads are wearing a desert look from early in the morning. Thin attendance are there in the schools, colleges along with other government and private institutions.The government is beefing up security arrangement to ensure normalcy during the bandh period Nagaon and Morigaon districts. However, no reports of any untoward incident has been reported so far.The student bodies are striking in protest against the government move to hold panchayat polls in the areas falling under the Tiwa Autonomous District Councils.They are preparing for a three hour long...
he north eastern students vow to stop illegal infiltration from across the border in the region.They will care not even an iota to go to any extent to check it.This is more or less of what the speakers at the North East Students’ Organisation meeting said in Itanagar on Saturday.Addressing the session, the chairman of the region’s students body came down heavily on the Centre and the Assam government saying both the governments have been downplaying the serious issue.Our agitation will continue so far as the problem confronts, said Dr Bhattacharjee.NESO advisor A Shirmey apprehended said if the influx further goes unabated the indigenous citizens will become beggars in the own...
Legendary football player of Northeast, Gilbertson Sangma will attend the Guest of the Month programme of Guwahati Press Club on November 20 (Tuesday). The programme will begin at 12 Noon. Mr Sangma is supposed to recall his experiences of his days as a member of Assam police football team particularly during the Bordoli Trophy tournament.
Stunned by the High Court directives on the secret killing reports, Dispur is holding talks with legal experts to tide over the Catch-22 situation and to ensure a hassle-free proceeding for Thursday’s Assembly session.According to information, the Assam government finds it difficult to table the Justice K N Saikia Commission report on the floor of the House along with the Justice J N Sarma Commission report which was rejected by the Tarun Gogoi government in its previous regime.“If an acceptable legal option fails to come up on Wednesday evening, the government will not be able to table the report on secret killings during the Mahanta regime. Submission of the Justice J N Sarma...