GUWAHATI: People in Shillong may beg to differ but Assam singer Angaraag Mahanta, popularly known as Papon, feels Guwahati should be made the music capital of Northeast because the state has a rich musical heritage.
Papon, who performed on Saturday evening at the fifth edition of the Rongali festival here said almost every city in India organises or hosts music fests in large scale but Assam has not got such privilege.
“It’s always a pleasure to perform in home grounds. But I am amazed, despite us having a rich musical heritage, why we don’t have a musical fest dedicated to various domestic or international bands? We do not have any music festival happening at our place either. We really need to pull up our socks and work hard to make Guwahati the music capital, of the region,” Papon said during his gig at the Sonaram Field here.
Besides Papon, the evening saw performances from other prominent artistes including The Cultivators, Neel Akash, The Doorbeen and Zublee.
“Rongali is like a hub of talent and interacting with them is a privilege,” he said.
The concluding day of the festival on Sunday featured a street play by Aakriti and an art competition and painting workshop. The musical evening saw performances from Rahul, The Flower Child, Undying Inc and Langori, Ritviz, among others.