Shillong Chamber Choir’s surprise package
When the 15 members of the Shillong Chamber Choir and their Director Neil Nongkynrih are not travelling to perform at national and international events, they are busy reinventing themselves. With a view to training all members of the Choir in solo performances, Nongkynrih has organized a competition much like the America’s Got Talent (The Voice) variety. Labeled the Shillong Voice, each Choir member is competing in a sort of friendly match.
The first event happened on Tuesday, May 20. The venue was Whispering Pines at Pohkseh where the SCC are currently residing. A panel of distinguished judges which included author and senior journalist Sanjoy Hazarika, sound engineer, Bari Khonglah, author Nina Harkness who is visiting from the US and Neil Nongkynrih himself gave their verdict at the end of a spellbinding performance by each performer. While each one and evolved a style of their own and the showmanship was exquisite, the razor sharp ears of the sound engineer spotted even the tiniest flaw. Khonglah urged the singers to remedy the little slips and build on their strong points.
This coming Tuesday May 27, the SCC will perform duets at the same venue before yet another distinguished panel of judges. Rasool Pookutty the sound designer, sound editor and mixer who along with Richard Pryke won the Oscar Award for best sound mixing for the film Slumdog Millionaire will be coming all the way to judge the contest.
With him will be national award film director Jahnu Barua. Neil Nongkynrih who has been watching his team members practicing says, “The evening promises to be a very exciting one. I can see each Choir member raising the bar for every day and outdoing themselves. Rasool is coming because he has heard the Choir before and loves their voices and performance.”
Papa CJ stood out
Stand-up comedian Papa CJ rolled out an array of “adult” jokes that engulfed the U Soso Tham auditorium with roaring laughter during the ongoing CALM Festival in the city. CJ, as many call him, makes a mockery of anything and everything under the sun but only with a lot more than a pinch of uncensored eloquence. The laughter therapy that was forbidden for those below 18 for obvious reasons commenced by taking a dig at the recent education scam in the State.
“My name did not feature in the performers’ list for the event,” “then I called up” somebody influential and “white ink was used to erase someone else’s name and put mine over that. That’s how I am in this show tonight,” said a sarcastic CJ as the audience doubled over with laughter.
What followed was a vista of uncensored humor that knew no geographical or the so- called moral boundaries. From exposing a lawless Kolkata street to mocking the Mumbaikar’s idea of an apartment; from the Englishman’s ignorance about India and the Indian’s hypocritical approach in mimicking a sahib, all went for a beating from the king of comedy that CJ proved to be on Friday evening.
The local tribes were also not spared. But kudos to the Shillong crowd, they took it all in the right spirit and yearned for more of the otherwise tabooed expression. Although Shillong has had stand-up comedians in the past none can come close to Papa CJ. CALM’s comedy event was a huge success.
Some tips for the CALM folks!
The just concluded CALM (Creative Arts, Literature and Music) festival threw up a number of interesting issues out into the public domain. Panel discussions on a variety of contemporary issues ranging from India’s Look East Policy ; Love Sutra (It’s all about sex and the emerging empowered Indian woman); What Young India wants; Smart Parenting; Status of female writers and Women’s safety received top billing from citizens with the concern and the interest to attend, to listen and to learn .
The CALM management should perhaps start thinking about other contemporary subjects for next year’s event.
Some have suggested that there be a serious focus on vanishing breeds and threatened species like the 44 Congress MPs which they say is a cause of serious concern. By 2015 there might simply be no Congress men/women left in India. They all might just meet the attrition rate of the AAP.
This poem has been circulating on Whatsaap this week: If you follow the right women, you become… Robert Vadra/If you follow the wrong women, you become… Vijay Mallya/ If you don’t follow women, you become… Narendra Modi/ But follow women blindly and you become a Manmohan Singh!!