Skip to content Skip to navigation

Faced with bandh calls, musicians in Assam get together for Freedom Jam

By editor |


A day that is of immense significance in the lives of every Indian. The entire country wakes up on this particular day to celebrate their state’s independence. The day is a national holiday in India and widespread jubilation is witnessed amongst people of different religion, caste and creed. Besides the government-sponsored celebrations, people from different walks of life get to together to celebrate their being Indians, when more focus is given on strengthening the bond of brotherhood rather than on fighting amongst themselves for petty differences.


The scenario in Northeast India, especially in Assam, is a bit different, with most of the people being forced to stay indoors due to the bandh diktat of the countless militant and insurgent outfits. Thanks to the bandh calls, the very essence of the day is lost and for the people it is another lazy day to while away at home as most people refrain from coming out of their homes to go to work, vehicles remaining off their roads and businessmen and traders downing their shutters. A true ‘celebration’ of our independence.


But things are slowly changing. Since last year, musicians of the city have started to celebrate the day by jamming on the city roads. Led by musicians and music lovers like Rupam, Mrinal, Aiyushman, Arzoo, David, Rabiul, Deepak and the like, the jamming session was a huge success as lots of passers-by joined the impromptu jamming session and lit candles by the roadside. The musicians got together once again this year and together they struck a chord or two to celebrate the day, much to the delight of all those who came out of their homes last Sunday evening.


Aiyushman Dutta, one of the initiators of the session and secretary of the Eastern Beats Music Society, says, “There are no big names or stars involved in the Freedom Jam session and everyone is free to join. There were no backdrops or logos and the only motive behind organizing the session was to celebrate Independence day through music. Candles are lit in the evening by the roadside and the entire act results in the creation of a very serene atmosphere, befitting the sanctity of the day.”


Rupam Bora, one of the initiators of the session, said that the number of musicians slated to participate in the session would increase this year. “Last year it was more of an impromptu session. But a number of prolific musicians, amateurs as well as simple music lovers are expected to join us this year.”


The response of the public towards the jamming session is increasing with each year. While only a handful of people could be noticed last year, thousands of people thronged the small empty pavement near Commerce College last Sunday evening to watch the performance of the musicians.




Comments

ropi's picture

Submitted by ropi on Tue, 17/08/2010 - 00:16
organise such a show against mega dams

Pages

Add new comment

Random Stories

No trace of Dudhnoi trader

2 Dec 2014 - 9:50pm | Bidyut Sarkar
There is trace of Ganesh Dutta 24 hours after the trader went missing from Dudhnoi.According to allegations, a group of unidentified miscreants took away the businessman from in front of his house in...

Couple held for trafficking

18 Aug 2016 - 11:51am | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
A couple was apprehended from Karigaon under Kokrajhar PS for allegedly human trafficking cases by Nedan NGO and AASAA activists on Wednesday. According to police,the couple was arrested when they...

Bhupen Hazarika birth anniversary

9 Sep 2016 - 7:21am | AT Kokrajhar Bureau
Music maestro Dr Bhupen Hazarika's 90th birth anniversary was observed at Kokrajhar Press Club in Kokrajhar on Thursday.  Rathindra Sinha, teacher of Grahampur HS school lighted the lamp to...

KLO firm on Kamatapur demand

26 Dec 2017 - 7:31pm | AT News
KOKRAJHAR:KLO on Tuesday made it plain and simple that never will the rebel outfit compromise its demand for a sovereign Kamatapur. In his address at the outfit's Martyrs' Day function at an...

Other Contents by Author

CM for US community model college

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday urged the Centre to explore the US community college model and set up similar colleges in Assam. He requested it to Union Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal whom he met on Friday in Delhi. Gogoi pointed out that during his visit to community colleges in US in June this year he gained insight into this model and what makes it successful. Gogoi observed that such colleges must be set up in the country, including Assam.

ULFA man killed in Namsai encounter

A hardcore ULFA militant was killed at an encounter with security forces at Namsai along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on Saturday. According to police, the encounter took place in the afternoon with 12th Assam Rifles jawans where the militant died on the spot. The identity of the militant was not yet known.

Security beef up on ULFA strike threat

All of a sudden security has been beefed up across the state. Security forces have concentrated on Guwahati on Friday following a threat by ULFA’s anti-talk faction. According to information, police has specific inputs of ULFA’s plan to strike in Guwahati likely on Saturday. That’s why, security alert has been sounded. Security forces have been put on maximum alert following fresh threat of attack in Sibsagar, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia towns.

Gogoi seeks more tribunals on immigrants

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday sought more tribunals to detect and deport the Bangladeshi immigrants from the state. During his meeting with Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Friday in New Delhi, Gogoi told Shinde that the state lacks adequate tribunals to detect Bangladeshi immigrants. According to him, the cases pending before the tribunals are huge in number and that more judges are required to expedite the process. Before that Chief Minister Gogoi submitted a set of guidelines for updating the national registrar of citizens before Shinde.

Normalcy prevails in BTAD areas: Shinde

Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Friday said that the overall situation in the violence-hit BTAD areas and Dhubri was normal. Talking to reporters after getting update on BTAD situation from Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in Delhi, Shinde said that refugees in large number have left the camps. He said that those still remaining would also be rehabilitated.

Trader shot dead; Rs 30 lakh looted

An uneasy situation prevails in Nalbari town on Friday after unidentified miscreants shot dead at a local businessman in broad day light. Identified as Ashis Maskara, the victim was on his way to a bank when miscreants sprayed several rounds of bullets before looting Rs 30 lakh from his bag. Maskara was rushed to the civil hospital. But he was declared brought dead. Local people in large number came out alleging it law lawlessness and insecurity. Boxed by circumstances, police arrested two persons in this connection. Identified as Chandan Kalita and Kunaldeep Sindhu, they confessed that they attacked the businessman. Police further recovered 5 lakh rupees from their possession.

Centre averse to more immigrant tribunals

The Centre is likely to reject the Assam government’s request to set up more tribunals to clear the immigrants cases. According to sources, the Centre is likely to ask the Assam government to put the existing tribunals to better use by setting out modalities to fast track the pending cases. Thirty six tribunals, the Centre believes, are enough to decide cases in quick time and it can be done by fast tracking 200 cases on a daily basis.

Dispur wants fast tract immigration cases

The Assam government writes to the Centre seeking 64 additional tribunals to fast track the deportation of the Bangladeshi immigrants. In a letter to home ministry, Dispur has asked for more than five extra tribunals in Dhubri, Goalpara, Nagaon, Barpeta, Cachar and Sonitpur and one each in Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri districts. The has 36 foreigner tribunals that are yet to dispose of about 3.13 lakh cases. Notably, the state has been witnessing decadal growth of a particular community in 11 out of 27 districts.

Tea workers’ sit-in for puja bonus

Thousands of tea garden workers are all set to go for a day long strike on September 19 demanding puja bonus on the price of ration items, tea workers of the state. The workers would sit in strike under the aegis of Akhil Bharatiya Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ABCMS) to demand a 20 per cent annual puja bonus before Durga Puja in October. ABCMS officials said that the demand is that the price of the ration items should be incorporated while calculating the annual bonus of tea workers.

Refugees flee BTAD camps! doubful

Assam home department maintains strict vigil following the reports of mysterious disappearance of a section of refugees from the camps set up at the height of the BTAD violence. According to reports, some inmates of relief camps in the violence-hit Dhubri district have gone missing. These are suspected to have crossed over to Bangladesh. Dispur has intelligence inputs suggesting that some inmates had crossed over to West Bengal but there is no specific inputs of the exact number of missing inmates. Altogether 213 camps have 1.92 lakh inmates in Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Chirang, Bongaingaon and Barptea districts.