The one thing that sets Notes of A’rongga, or NOA, apart from several music bands in Meghalaya is originality. Meraki Tengnang Dawa Sangma, the founding member of the folk fusion band from Garo Hills, believes only original words of a musician can add soul to his performance.
Meraki, who started his music career in 2009, formed the bilingual band on December 3, 2015. He was later joined by Jingo N Sangma from Assam. Over the years, the band has seen many changes but the duo have remained committed to music. Cousins Vicky G Momin and Melkior G Momin from Mendipathar are the new members of NOA.
Jingo, the 28-year-old guitarist, says all the members of the band are self-taught and driven by the passion to make music. For the guitarist, the first strum was at 17. As a teenager he would listen to western musicians and emulate their style and at the same time, perfect his notes. “I never had any formal training in playing the instrument. I would struggle to pick up notes all by myself. This is true for other members too. None had any formal training,” he says.
Jingo later joined the Shillong School of Music. He met Meraki in the city. As both were walking in the same direction they decided to collaborate and bring in more like-minded musicians. At the same time, both wanted to be rooted to their indigenous land hemmed in by green hills, nurtured and nourished by rivers and streams and an abundance of natural resources. The young musicians wanted their songs to express the ingenuity of the hill people and tell stories of their land and culture (in fact, A’rongga is a collective term for hill people). This made originality a necessary condition in creating music.
“We avoid performing in cafes in Shillong as we have to perform only covers. We write our songs. But we have to earn too. So sometimes we do take up assignments,” says Meraki, the 27-year-old vocalist and song writer. NOA, which is the first folk fusion band in the state, is currently based in Shillong.
The NOA members point out that many young bands in the city as well as in Garo Hills are performing covers but “we avoid doing that”.
“But there are some groups like Blue Temptation, which believe in original music and it is encouraging. When you play covers, it is like saying someone else’s words. Where are your thoughts then,” Meraki and Jingo say in unison.
Writing a song is not an easy task and making it special needs rigorous research and Meraki takes it seriously.
His song Jajong, or Moon, is the result of a decade’s hard work and creative maturity. “The song is about an introvert who is lonely and makes the moon his friend. He personifies the moon and speaks to it. It was a hit,” says the lyricist.
Meraki visits villages and interacts with people at the grassroots level so that he can find the right subject for his songs. Mythology too deeply influences the musician. It is his extensive research and choice of subject which bring out the performers’ “humility in music”. The young band members say, rather sarcastically, that they neither write nor sing sentimental love songs.
The song Gonda Mari, Gonda Dok talks about the pristine beauty of Garo Hills, the Simsang river and the valley. The group uses traditional instruments like dotrong and dama along with guitar and drums, which connect listeners to the remote hills and the tribe and at times give a special poignancy to NOA’s songs.
NOA has already won a couple of awards for its contribution to the folk music of the region. It was the winner in the Solo Folk Song Competition at World Music Day 2014 in Shillong. It also won the Indielake Unplugged award in Silchar in 2016. Meraki received the Dalmia Bharat Award in Music 2017 in Guwahati.
Besides the lyrics, what strikes a first-time listener the most is the members’ energy level on stage and Meraki’s interaction with the audience.
The band’s first big performance was at the South Asian Games in 2016. It has also performed in Manipur, Guwahati, Delhi, Jaipur and Myanmar, among other places.
Drummer Melkior, who is the youngest member of the band at 23, and Vicky are not new to Shillong as they have studied in the city and experienced the music scenario here. The duo say they immensely enjoy being part of NOA.
Music, for the young band members who look up to Riprap founded by legendary Garo rockstar Browny Marak, is more than just a perfunctory job. “There are challenges to be a musician as survival becomes difficult. And yet we want to do what we do best. Music is our career, our dream and our passion,” says Jingo as Meraki nods in agreement.
~ NM