It is said that the true practitioners of art are the doctors of the conscience of society, who protect, uplift, repair and heal the wounds from the onslaught of lower movements. Music, which emanates or radiates from the soul and inspires higher human aspirations carrying the flavour of longing to reunite or remember where we all came from, can surpass all boundaries.
The core idea of our lives, definitely of the artistes amongst us, has been to reintroduce the concept of soul, back into our collective lives, back into society as a whole. We are definitely going through one of the toughest times where humanity is asking itself two basic questions - how long do we have & how did this all happen?
At this point in history, the world is polarised on the lines of religion & caste, race & language, ethnicity & colour, overlooking and neglecting the one god we should have been cognizant of - Nature. In the last 3 decades, we have almost undone 5,000 years of coexistence we shared with the ecosystem.
As artistes, our job is not just to hold a guitar, stand in front of the mike, face the camera...but far beyond the scope of these things. It’s our bounden duty to speak about our people, our neighbourhoods, our societies, to fight against wrongs & injustices, to accept knowledge. We are the voice of a collective conscience – and also a consciousness by itself.
We are in the land of the Bhagwad Gita, of Srimanta Sankardev, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Sri Aurobindo, Nizamuddin Auliya, Ramana Maharshi, Lahiri Mahasaya, Moinuddin Chisti, Sant Kabir, Azaan Fakir, and many others who shaped the wandering soul’s search and guided them towards the highest human values, the higher human aspirations and the highest human potentials. As time passes, the teachings and practices lose their grip on the consecutive and passing generations. Through music, some of the philosophies of these great thinkers can be held onto.
If we don’t work it out for our land, our people, who is going to do it? We have to make the effort of telling the people around us, to empathize. To care. To be cognizant. And for this we need to build an ecosystem of artistes around. From generation next. For generation next. Because it is they, who are going to inherit, the glory or the mess of whatever is handed down, whatever should it be.
If at all, the time for Mongeet is now.
We would like to invite, with our open hearts, the young ones from the magical land of Assam, who are inclined towards exploring the inner call of the soul and recognise the inarticulate, ambiguous longing which cannot be fulfilled by materialistic achievements , but only by digging deeper to sincerely ask the questions about who, why, what are the purpose of our being and existence in this world is; to participate with us to find words, lyrics, melodies in order to articulate the themes described.
The Concept:
It’s often says that no other art has more power to heal than music. With its innate nature to transcend cultural, linguistic and social barriers, music can wake up the subconscious while directly impacting the conscious. Music can make one cry, swoon or even go into a trance. In brief, music can talk directly to the human soul, making it more humane. This, even as research shows that music can even have an impact on animals and plants.
In a world that is increasingly becoming materialistic and thus devoid of a soul, we are increasingly seeing social conflicts, military wars, fight for scarce resources like water, and depleting forests and wildlife, all with long-term impacts. The concept of globalization, while good in some aspects, has also led to a threat for smaller communities, cultures and languages. Many such cultures, especially in regions like North East India, are having to fight for survival in the face of changing socio-political situations. Add to this the changing weather patterns resulting from Global warming that is melting Permafrost, raising sea levels, creating unseasonal rains leading to floods and droughts in geographies which had not faced these problems just a few decades ago.
Can music address these issues? Can music create a harmonious society? Can music create awareness against the ills plaguing the Planet? Can music in any way help tell and preserve the stories of endangered communities, cultures and languages? And can music address our souls in a way that is contemporary and relevant?
Project Mongeet will seek to find an answer.
The concept of Project Mongeet emerged out of a few key words – Humanism, Universal Brotherhood, Empathy and Respect. It goes without saying that the human society needs all these to grow, but the fact is that these concepts are becoming highly endangered. Most of the world’s troubles are because among many of us core values of Humanism are diminishing, because we treat many as a threat to our existence totally disregarding the concept of Universal Brotherhood, because we are losing Empathy for one another, and because our respect for something that is not culturally, socially, linguistically are not similar to us.
In Assamese “Mon” literally means the mind, but is also connotes the Soul. And “Geet” means “song”. Thus, the word “Mongeet”, which was originally developed by lyricist Manash Mahanta whose song “Mongeet” sung by singers Angarag Papon Mahanta and Nilotpal Bora was critically acclaimed for its humanist values, means “Soul Songs”.
Hand-held by some of the leading musical talents of the region, the younger generation will create soul-searching and soul-reaching music under the Project, which will be performed live, shared via online platforms and the most-creative ones showcased as released singles or albums.
It will be an annual event that will seek to grow every year, incorporating musicians from newer horizons while holding on to the core values of the concept.
The Methodology:
In the initial years, the Project will be a three-phase one.
In the first phase, younger and original talents would be requested to send samples of their creations matching with the theme of Project Mongeet. These entries will be judged by a selection panel comprising serious and professional connoisseurs of music.
In the second phase, the selected talents would be invited to the Project site, where a three-day on-site workshop-cum-performance space would enable them to create, re-create, perform and refine their musical thoughts. Some of the most-respected names from the musical space of the region would work along with the selected talents to guide them on how to further hone their skills.
In the third phase, the best of the lot would have their creations professionally recorded so that they can be shared with the world via albums, singles and/or music videos.
All the participants would have their performances documented audio-visually on site, which will also be shared via online platforms, so as to take their talents to a global audience and also to create an ever-growing archive of a different genre of music, which will be called “Mongeet” or “Soul Songs”.
During the event, the first two days will be devoted to ideating, hand-holding workshops and sessions with experts, followed by performances by the participants every evening. The last day will have showcasing of the performances by the participating senior artistes, which will be a ticketed event. Needless to say, all the performances will be conforming to the theme of the Project.
The Genre and the Scope:
The Project aims at creating what in the long run might get labelled as a new genre of music, called “Mongeet” or “Soul Songs”, that is music that comes straight from the soul, has deeply-meaningful lyrics and are original. Of course, that is for the great leveller called time to decide, but the aim is to nurture musicians whose heart answers to calls for quality music reflecting the tenets of society and culture of Assam.
However, that does not restrict the scope of the creations. Project Mongeet is open to any genre of music, as long as they speak about certain issues and reflect the overall concept. However, it will be endeavour to promote creations that somehow reflect the soul of the societies and environments where the musicians come from.
The Venue: Deka Sang, Majuli
The Dates: January 13-15, 2020
Yours musically,
Team Mongeet
