IT’S a tryst with a tradition that Lou Majaw says he will never skip. After all, he established it, 34 years ago, and made it synonymous with his enchanting hometown. Since 1972, Majaw and his friends—who form the band ‘Great Society’ — have been celebrating legendary musician Bob Dylan’s birthday (on May 24) in Shillong by dedicating a concert to his music. And this year the concert just got bigger.But back then, Majaw and his band were regulars on eastern India’s gig circuit, and Dylan was a wry, American tour-de-force who was telling it like it is, and in the course, influencing everyone from The Beatles to the common man.Today, Majaw’s long locks are more grey than dark (after all, he will be 60 next year), and Dylan just turned 65. And even as Dylan began a new chapter to his career on his birthday this year as a satellite radio jockey, Majaw and Shillong united once again for the annual event that promises to bring Dylan down to Shillong next year.SHILLONG, since long the rock concert mecca and now an international tourist destination, is about the best place to have a Dylan birthday concert. Dylan may probably not connect with the large, red paan stains on the roadsides, but the steep streets coloured with flowers make it an appropriate pilgrimage spot for hardcore Dylan fans.Majaw, though, had able compatriots to help him in maintaining the tradition in veteran Kolkata musicians Nondon Bagchi (drums), Lew Hilt (bass), Arjun Sen (guitars), who together make up the band ‘Ace Of Spades’ that has been playing on Dylan’s birthday in Shillong since nine years. This time, though, ‘Ace Of Spades’ went a step ahead by including Kolkata father-son duo Anjan and Neel Dutt, and singer Liz Cotton.The event was indoors, the capacity not even a thousand, but Majaw in his trademark shorts and others made environs and numbers irrelevant as they belted out Dylan numbers, ranging from The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest and My Back Pages to Tambourine Man, Forever Young and Blowing In The Wind.THE evening before the concert, Majaw and gang meandered through their long love affair with Dylan’s music at The Shillong Club. The USP of Dylan’s music is probably its range, covering both style and issues, making it mean different things to different people. For Nondon Bagchi, it’s Dylan’s musical and songwriting prowess that appeals. ‘‘Look at his 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited. With tracks like Maggie’s Farm and She Belongs To Me, it has pedigree as a composition. It grabbed us as 15-year-olds.’’Anjan Dutt says Dylan’s music hit him at a time when Kolkata was going through the turbulent ’70s. ‘‘Big changes were happening in Bengal then, student movement was on the rise. I connected through Dylan with the turmoil going on in my city. I love to write ballads, about people, and I’ve been trying to translate Dylan into Bengali. My singles Shunte Ki Chao (What would you like to hear?) is an adaptation of Tambourine Man. Even while playing Bengali songs at concerts, there would invariably be requests for a Dylan number. It may seem strange, but we’d break into a Dylan number in English in front of a hardcore Bengali audience.’’But for Majaw, the man who has put Shillong on the international map as a Dylan tribute destination, says he has only respect and admiration for the man. ‘‘I have been playing music since 1955. I was playing with the band Oracle Bones when I came across Dylan through a record. His unique voice and lyrical depth got me hooked. The idea behind the first birthday celebration and this latest one as well is to inject the fuel of education.’’THIS year’s event, says Majaw, has a lot more to offer. ‘‘For the first time, it’s professionally managed, and more importantly there are loads of memorabilia for people to take home. But then again, it’s not a concert proper but just about Dylan’s fans getting together to celebrate his birthday. If anything, I would like it if Dylan came to know about us sometime. Otherwise, I’m happy listening to and playing his music.’’The event, put together jointly by anti-HIV/AIDS NGO Maitri and Airtel, will go a long way in raising funds for Maitrigram — a village for children below 10 years of age who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS — says Sanjay Sharma of Maitri.‘‘This year, Lou Majaw’s group have joined hands with us and asked us to manage the event. Next year, we hope to bring down Dylan to Shillong for a Woodstock-style event.’’Whether Dylan comes down to Shillong or not, one thing is for sure: Majaw will make sure his city continues to throw the birthday bashes with the same reverence.As he puts it, ‘‘Whether he comes down and hangs out with us on his birthday or sings us some songs, or just says hi and leaves, or doesn’t come down at all, we will continue to get together.’’And what’s more, Dylan may find Shillong’s lovely streets and ethnic-western lifestyle, along with the paan-stain modern art an interesting paradox.
