SHILLONG, June 29: Mluh (Salt) is what gives taste to food. Without it food is bland and inedible. As guests entered the Asian Confluence auditorium on Wednesday they were pleasantly surprised to see little sacks with mounds of salt in them dotting the steps. Only when they had entered the auditorium and listened to the explanation of Summersalt band leader Kit Shangpliang did they realise the real depth of the meaning.
of Asian Confluence auditorium.
Mluh is one of those distinctive Summersalt creations sung by that nightingale of the band – the girl with the powerful voice – Pynsuklin Syiemiong in her inimitable style.
Produced in collaboration with the North East Slow Food and Agrobiodiversity Society (NESFAS), the song is an ode to the varied cuisines of the Khasi people which comprises the different rice-based snacks such as putharo (a flat, steamed pancake made of powdered sticky rise) pu khlien also a rice-based pitha fried in oil and pu maloi, another rice-based steamed cake. Then there’s sohphlang (a sort of white root that Khasis eat with ‘nei’ roasted, ground perilla seeds).
The Khasis also consume a number of herbs and leaves along with their food.
Sadly, the younger generation is not aware of most of these indigenous foods which is why NESFAS is trying to revive the indigenous food culture which is in danger of being lost. This food culture which does not depend too much on processed food and relies on food grown on indigenous seeds is also one way of combatting climate change as the plants grown from such seeds are more resilient and not disease prone.
Executive director of NESFAS, Pius Ranee, while addressing the audience, said that Kit Shangpliang as lead member of Summersalt was also responsible in co-writing the theme song for the International Terra Madre (Slow Food Conclave) held in 2015 in Shillong where 69 countries had participated.
The song titled Ko Mei Ram-ew is a fusion of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo lyrics with a very catchy tune; so catchy in fact that visitors to the Terra Madre festival all carried CDs of the song to their respective countries.
“I was at a conference in Bangkok when I suddenly heard the song Ko Mei Ram-ew being played. I was flabbergasted that some even knew the lyrics of the song,” key band member Kit Shangpliang said.
Earlier, Summersalt had also teamed up with Farhan Akhtar for Rock-On 2 and sang for the film.
The release of the song Mluh from the album which has a total of 11 songs is to commemorate the birthday of (L) Baiaineh C Shangpliang, who passed away two years ago.
Including Mluh, eleven originals will be out, one at a time over a period of seven months
The idea behind releasing one song at a time is to augment the attention of the audience, fans and well-wishers, who, according to the band, need time to digest the work of arts, for art’s sake.
The album’s title Kliar meaning summit, along with the album’s vision is to give the best treatment to the music of the hills and particularly of the Khasi hills, Meghalaya.
“We have been in this journey for 15 years now, and have been given to understand that the music from Shillong and Khasi hills has reached a very seasoned stage that it deserves a world-class treatment, therefore, our plunge to record this at Yash Raj Films Studios and mixed and mastered at Orbis Studio, both in India’s entertainment hub, Mumbai,” said Shangpliang.