By Our Special Correspondent
Shillong: While Johnny Cash is a well known name among country music lovers, few would have heard of Bobby Cash his replica in India who mesmerised music lovers at the Soso Tham auditorium on Saturday.
Bobby Cash has an extraordinary talent for strumming the guitar; the kind unheard of in Shillong. The guitar just seemed to take on a life of its own once his fingers touched the strings.
Organised by the Directorate of Arts and Culture the first half of the programme had Shillong’s much-loved country music band – The Strait Brothers – taking the stage with some of their hot favourites like the Carpenters, ‘Top of the World,’ amongst others
Grace Sohliya the Karaoke queen of India, enthralled the audience with her fascinating voice and showmanship. Milliana Sahkhar better known for her melodious Khasi renditions and Wari Lyngwa, Gordon Diengdoh et al left their own imprints on the audience.
In the second half of the show Bobby Cash made his appearance and strummed and sang non-stop for nearly two hours. He got the audience so passionately involved with his magical strumming of the guitar that one of them shouted out, “Bobby Cash will you marry me?” Amazingly, Bobby Cash had performed in the Garo Hills before his tryst with Shillong. Arts and Culture Director, Ms D Syiem said she had first seen Bobby perform in Tura and had decided then that she would invite him to entertain the music lovers of Shillong. But Bobby Cash has done more than just entertain; he has mesmerised the Shillong crowd.
Bobby Cash, born Bal Kishore Das Loiwal lives in Clement Town, near Dehradun. He is the first Indian ever to release a country music album in India. Bobby was influenced by western country music because his aunt who moved to Nashville, USA in the early 1960’s would regularly send the latest country releases to India. Besides, Bobby’s uncle made electric guitars.
What’s fascinating are the range of songs that this western music aficionado belted out. From Elvis Presley’s, ‘Are you lonesome tonight?’ and ‘Can’t help falling in love,’ to Glen Campbell’s, ‘Rhinestone Cowboy,’ and John Denver’s, ‘ Leaving on a jet plane,’ and many more, Bobby Cash just seemed to know them all and to sing them so effortlessly. At Cloud Nine, Hotel Centre Point where a dinner was hosted for Bobby, he met an Australian visitor and immediately connected with this gentleman. The reason? An Australian TV Producer in Jan 2002 arranged for Bobby to travel to the 2003 Tamworth Country Music Festival in Australia as the subject of a documentary.
As India’s population had just passed the one billion mark, and Bobby was the only singer in India making a living playing country music, it became, ‘The Indian Cowboy- One in a billion.’ Strange are the ways of life. An Australian farmer heard Bobby play and sing and offered to help him record a CD – to enable the profits to go towards helping underprivileged children in India, who Bobby is supporting through his singing.
Bobby returned to Australia in June 2003 and recorded his first country music album – “Cowboy at Heart”. He was joined by some of the cream of the Australian music industry including duets with the legendary Smoky Dawson and Tania Kernaghan.The album made it to the top 10 Australian Country Music track charts and was the highest selling independent artist for distributor One Stop Entertainment at the 2004 Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Now Bobby Cash spends more time in India looking after the school for underprivileged children in Dehra Dun. Music is not just a pastime or a profession but a vocation for this country music man with a heart of gold.
Speaking about Shillong, Bobby says he just loves the passion with which people responded to his songs and wishes to return sometime soon.