An evening of flute music soothed Shillong, says Kit Shangpliang, member of experimental fusion band Summersalt
IN A town stacked with guitars and drum kits, flute music arrived again with a refreshing taste, when Afghanistan’s renowned flautist Pakta Zalai and Shillong’s very own Benedict Hynniewta went on stage for the act only comparable to a delightful artistic encounter. It was the treat for the like-minded, as aficionados of performing arts in the hundreds made it to the U Soso Tham Auditorium on that calm August evening.
If these events are what make Shillong, another Indian city for the performing arts – due credit goes to the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Krishna Prerna, working in collaboration with the state Department of Arts and Culture.
“It is very purposeful to see, renowned musicians and arts admirers of all ages coming to the concert to witness the ambassadors of Khasi and Afghan culture. We would like to see more of this happening in the future”, says Monish Singh, ICCR regional director.
This flute treat kick-started, as Benedict and his musicians delivered the goods, in the likes of Sier Lapalang, Titanic’s ‘My heart will go on’ and some of his lesser known materials inspired by the Khasi folktales.
In the known history of indigenous folklores, the flute goes back to the story of Manik Raitong, the flautist commoner who enchanted the princess with his artistic demeanour. As if history repeats itself in some other forms, the Khasi flute is now reaching its revised refinement, still enchanting and still heavenly.
In the Khasi hills, flute is an old age instrument that has traditional roots because of bamboo aplenty, but somewhere somehow, the fine arts surrounding this instrument have wandered around. ICCR’s International Flute Festival, came with that sure possibility to get to the roots of flute, perhaps, churning to improvise at a time where world music has come of age as a dominant-cum-parallel music culture.
The treat, however, did not end there – there was more as flautist Pakta Zalai working along with his tabla player Mohammad Nazir Nabizada, took the stage and held the audience captive till the end with their magical yet effortless performance. While the world reads of the politically restless Afghanistan, here are two Afghans, composed and gently communicating ‘their version of peace’ through their music.
Unlike a section of the past, where musical performance is praised on the ability to mimic – the trend these days is changing from copycat personalities to originators who work harder to write their own pieces. Whatever the case may be, the show on that August 26 evening is less of a fantasy scripted in films like ‘August Rush’ but more of a Shillong reality of ‘August Calm’.