The concluding night of Rongali cultural festival was marked by unique jugalbandi of musical instruments by Indian Ocean
The glistening moon, gentle breeze, pleasant earthy smell with light drizzle painted a perfect backdrop for the conclusion of the Rongali cultural festival in Guwahati, infused with folk-fusion musical waves created by the Indian Ocean band.
With Indian instruments like tabla finding a place on the stage, the band brought in an ocean of tunes with the essence of the nation’s musical roots. The band set the pace of the night with their popular trackBandhe followed by songs like Kandisa and Ma Rewa.
“We have been to Guwahati for several shows but have never performed in front of such a large audience. We are really looking forward to it,” said Rahul Ram, the band’s bass guitarist and lead vocalist. The magical moment of the night was a jugalbandi (confluence) session of the band — be it the tabla, tunes from the guitar, the beats of the drum or audience’s claps, which were in sync with a hand drum.
Another highlight of the concluding night of the three-day festival was a performance by Bollywood singer Zubeen Garg. The singer, who hails from Assam, set the stage ablaze with his electrifying performance. He regaled his fans and music lovers with a blend of Assamese and Bollywood songs. Giving the crowd a special treat, Garg jammed with Indian Ocean, which added zest among the crowd.
Music aficionados also plugged into rock mode by grooving on the high-voltage music of heavy metal band Girish and The Chronicles. The audience was hooked to every step — be it head banging, prancing around or filling the lyrics.
Rock singer Joshua Queah and band Moo and the Shooting Stars also entertained the audience with a livewire performance. With the last day of the cultural gala putting the rock and roll scene of Northeast in spotlight, Joshua noted that though the popularity of rock music in the region has increased with time, “venues need to be set up for promotion of this genre.”
Other than musical performances, the final day also weaved a balance between modernity and traditional aspect of Assam with fashion shows by designers like Garima Saikia Garg, Payal Oshan Goswami and Sanjukta Dutta.