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

Simmering clashes in BTAD areas dominated parliament proceedings when it resumed on Wednesday forcing the Lok Sabha Speaker to adjourn the House for a few hours. The Opposition parties storm the well demanding action on the issue despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance that all issues will be discussed in Parliament. Dr Singh said that the government is prepared to discuss any issue in accordance with rules and hoped the Opposition will allow the two houses to function smoothly without disruptions. He said a decision on his statement on Assam violence would be based on what happens in Parliament. Singh said he hoped all political parties would cooperate with the government in...
The United Liberation Front of Asom has expelled its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa citing his failure to go back to the jungles. In a statement issued to media on Thursday, the outfit’s anti-talk faction said that Dr Abhijit Asom alias Abhijit Barman would replace him. The outfit alleged that they earlier served an ultimatum to leave the government hospitality but he failed to accede to it.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has set up a special team to probe the ethnic clash in BTAD areas and Dhubri where 73 died and thousands of people have been displaced. According to sources, the special team will be arriving in Assam on Thursday to inspect the four violence-hit districts from Friday. The country’s premier investigation agency will take up the larger conspiracy cases. The development comes two days after Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi demanded a CBI probe into the violence.
In a major setback to peace initiatives, NDFB’s Ranjan Daimary faction has withdrawn the unilateral ceasefire announced ten months ago. According to a statement signed by IK Songbijit, the decision to withdraw the unilateral declaration for cessation from all types of violence has been taken after considering all aspects of present situation. The Ranjan Daimary faction is the breakaway group of parent NDFB, which renamed itself as NDFB (Progressive), after signing the bilateral truce with the Centre in 2005. The faction has its presence in Myanmar, sharing camps with the anti-talks faction of Ulfa and NSCN (Khaplang).
Railway Police arrested one person in connection with sensational murder of Pritam Bhattacharjee last month.Identified as Chhatu Sahni, the accused has been arrested based on information given by two eyewitnesses and is being questioned in Barauni in Bihar. Bhattacharjee, a student of atomic physics from Assam was travelling from Guwahati to Delhi in Avadh Assam express to pursue his PhD in New Delhi. When the train was passing through Naugachia in Bhagalpur in eastern Bihar, he was attacked by thieves in his compartment on July 9.
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said on Tuesday that CBI will probe into the group clash in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts where death toll has gone upto 73. Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Gogoi said that he has asked his ministers in tour to come back to the state immediately. He said that the group clash may be spread to other places. In yet another development, forest minister Rockybul Hussain is his way back to Assam from London where he was attending the Olympic. The instruction assumes significance a day after Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma left for Delhi.
An awareness event on Mahapurush Srimanta Sankaradeva is going to be held at Kamini Auditorium, New Delhi on September 13, 2012. The event would comprise of a Presentation on Sankaradeva followed by one hour thematic performance of a dance-drama, “Chordhora Jhumura”. The event is being organised by Trend MMS in collaboration with Assam Association, Government of Assam and Ministry of Culture, Government of India. The main aim of the eventy is to: - Make people residing in National Capital aware of the great teachings and rich cultural heritage of Assam initiated way back in the 15th century. Media would be the one of the stakeholders, whose attention would be sought to...
Violence resurfaces in BTAD areas. Three more persons were killed while two others injured in Kokrajhar district taking the death toll to 64. This has forced the authorities to reimpose curfew in the district. Indefinite curfew continues in the Chirang district following fresh reports of arson. Unidentified miscreants indiscriminately fired in Ranibuli village under Kokrajhar police station on Monday midnight killing three persons and seriously injuring two others. Police and para-military forces were rushed to the affected areas. It takes place after four people were killed in a similar act of violence on Sundayt. The two injured were rushed to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital. At...
BJP president Nitin Gadkari on Monday slammed Congress accusing it of using Bangladeshi immigrant for vote bank politics in Assam. Talking to reporters in Agra, Gadkari alleged that the ruling party has politicized the entire conflict for its political gain. He said that the population of the Bangladeshis immigrants increased by 80 per cent and that the Bangladeshis completely occupied the state and managed to purchase property there.
After the anti-corruption cell raided his Tarun Nagar based residence and firm house, RH Khan said that he was the victim of a nefarious conspiracy. Talking to reporters on Monday in Guwahati, the main accused in the multi crore dima Hasao scam said that he had nothing to hide and that NIA and CBI have already probed the scam. Notably, chief minister’s anti corruption and vigilance cell recently seized some incriminating materials during a raid at his residence in Guwahati.