Paddy Fields 2017

These days, switch on any news channel, you will find a news-anchor shouting, howling and passing his own judgement on issues as well as non issues amidst peak volume debate where non-experts and experts representing various political dharmas screaming at each other in such a  way that you can hardly  understand their view point. Then there are comedy circus, dance shows, beauty pageants, unending stretchable family sagas. Yes, we have newspapers where you have to find in between the advertisements. So there is hardly any space left for literature and some thought provoking pieces on cinema and  music. Than we have lot of music shows from Indian Idol to Sa Re Ga Ma where the winner is choosen on the basis of imitating new as well as old hits (read bollywood).

With such a grim background,  last year  NESCO  point fighting among themselves.And NESCO EVENTS fostered the latent talent of Indian folk music. It's greatest practitioners performed in an exclusive concert of folk and fusion. Aptly given name  Paddy Fields, so that the audience can feel freshness of folk . The concert featured Mame Khan, Papon, The Nooran Sisters, The Colonial Cousins, Salim-Sulaiman.

My good old friend Atul Churamani is the one who conceived and nurtured the idea called Paddy Field. Last year I was traveling across US so I could not attend this event. But this time I landed four days before the event. I attended and thoroughly enjoyed.Since the organizers created a real feel of paddy fields, the rain god was also kind  both the days showered to create a  real feel.  

This year the focus was to highlight woman related issues that too in voice  of female folk and fusion singers. It was an effort to break new ground. Event started with Sonam Kalra, who is known for blending  Sufi Music with  Gospel. It was a real pleasure listening to Sonam. Sonam was basically trained under tutelage of Shubha Mudgal. She blended Hindustani classical music and Western music along with Sufi and gospel verses as well as Bhakti and other forms of spiritual expression.

The next singer who impressed me was Kalpana Patowari, she is from Assam but sings so well the Bhojpuri folk, it is difficult to believe that her mother tongue in not Bhojpuri. She sings Sohar and other forgotten form of  Bhojpuri, her voice is capable to take pain of a lady whose husband has gone to far away place  to earn bread and butter for family and the lady is struggling to survive among her in laws who are not so kind to her.

Sunita Bhuyan impressed the audience with her fusion, she is the one who has transformed classical instrument violin into a folk instrument. She is a trained violinist and vocalist in the Hindustani style from her mother Minoti Khaund and maestro late Pandit V. G. Jog, specialising in Indo jazz fusion and world folk styles .

And finally I loved Shubha ji as it is always a pleasure listening to her raw and deep melodious voice which suits to folk and fusion both.