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

Our Guwahati Correspondent: All is not well with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) as it is mired in yet another internal bickering.Former AASU leader and the sitting AGP spokesman Prabin Boro is up in arms against former Health and Family Welfare Minister and sitting MLA Dr Kamala Kalita.Mr Boro has sought stern action against Dr Kamala Kalita for making contradictory statements before the media regarding the reunification decision in the recent meet at Mangaldoi.According to Mr Boro, what he briefed the media on the Mongaldoi meeting was the “not his personal comment”.Notably, Dr Kalita had said that regarding reunification Mr Boro’s statement before the media was his...
Our Jorhat Correspondent: A set of draconian laws are there to prevent the 100 year long tea industry from flourishing in Assam, says the Assam Tea Planters’ Association President Raj Baruah.Addressing the 70th annual general meeting of the tea planters’ body, at the Jorhat Gymkhana Club on Saturday, Mr Baruah said a tea estate owner should be free from all statutory liabilities for availing the benefits under the Special Purpose Tea Fund for the rejuvenation and replantation of tea bushes.Mr Baruah stressed on the need to amend the relevant sections of the Plantation Labour Act to provide relief to the tea industry and urged the Government to ensure that there was no...
India’s great singer of Assamese origin Dr. Bhupen Hazarika has been requested to perform on the occasion of the 60th Independence Day celebrations at the Parliament House, New Delhi. The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh has invited Dr. Hazarika on behalf of the Central Government to perform two songs on this historic event at the parliament on 15th Aug, 2007. The two songs that he has requested Dr Hazarika to perform are the Hindi versions of” BISTIRNO PARORE” and “MANUHE MANUHOR BABE”.
GUWAHATI: The body of abducted Food Corporation of India Executive Director (North Eastern Regional Office) Dr P.C. Ram was recovered from Anandapur village in Lower Assam’s Baksa district on Saturday. Baksa Superintendent of Police Kankanjyoti Saikia has intimated that the decomposed body of Dr Ram was dug up from the village. It was later identified to be that of the FCI official by his former domestic help Junu Murmu who is like his adopted daughter. The body was taken to Nalbari Civil Hospital for post-mortem. Dr. Ram was abducted along with his driver by ULFA from Srinagar area of Guwahati on April 18 while on his way home from office. Police said the body was found buried in...
Our Guwahati Correspondent: Fourteen hours after the arrest of its five top guns, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) killed FCI Zonal Manager Phul Chand Ram in its captivity on Saturday (as per the earlier update) and has also exploded three bombs in Upper Assam killing 2 persons.According to information, Dr Ram’s dead body was found on Saturday at Anandapur in Baksa . When his body was discovered half of it was found buried in the ground. Investigations are going on at present and the Police and Para military forces have cordoned off the entire area. It may be mentioned that Dr Ram was kidnapped by ULFA militants on April 17 on his way back to his working place along with...
Our correspondent Guwahati Latest reports have confirmed that The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has killed the Food Corporation of India (FCI) Zonal manager Phul Chand Ram in their captivity. Dr Ram’s dead body has been found on Saturday. He was kidnapped by the militants on April 17, 2007 while he was on his way back to the capital. It has been learnt that ULFA was demanding a ransom of Rs 21 crores from Rams family but the police are yet to confirm it. Further details are awaited.
Guwahati: The kidnapping of Food Corp of India (FCI) Executive Director Phulchand Ram took another twist today as self proclaimed ULFA leader, Mr. Parthajit N claimed responsibility and said that he would be released if two of their associates who are in police custody are released in return. He also mentioned that Mr. Ram was not keeping in the best of health.In the meantime police have gheraoed around 20 villages falling under the Barbari Thana as they suspect that Ram is being kept somewhere there.It may be mentioned that the police have already arrested four people in this connection. They have been identified as Ganesh Das, Bakul Das, Satya and Mahendra BoraFCI officials are worried...
Sibasagar : Heavy downpour in Sibasagar district has effected normal life and floods have been reported in various parts of the district.The district administration is trying its best to bring the situation under control.One casualty has been reported. Mr Prakash Thapa the deceased is reported to have drowned while sleeping. Thapa was around 25 years old
Sibasagar : Sarbashikhsha Abhijan, an educational organisation set up by the Government to improve the educational system in Assam has committed some grave follies in the examinations held at primary level class five in Sibasagar.The first day the Mathematics question paper had a lot of errors and the second day the English paper had Hindi questions in between.
Guwahati : The Assam Sahitya Sabha is organizing a two-day Assam Maha Sanmilan at Rabindra Bhawan on July 1 and 2 next to discuss the socio-economic issues concerning the State and also its present law-and-order situation. The Maha Sanmilian would be inaugurated by Homen Borgohain, a leading writer and journalist. Several leading personalities and intellectuals are expected to attend the Maha Sanmilan said a Sahitya Sabha press release here.