The hills are ALIVE

So amid the clash of cymbals and the dance of laser lights, the crowd of music lovers stamped their feet, swayed their arms and wove their voices into the chorus of angst. No, there were no cover versions of Nirvana, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd. This was music spiked with the hills’ own history of fear and longing.

“Shuttered shops and latent sense of fear/Showers of broken glass…”, sang Naga rockers Frequency. Hours after the show, the Dimapur-based band’s bassist Wapang would point out that their original score “Acts Of War” is a song of the times they live in.

The large turnout baffled Nepram Rajen, a chemist by profession, who had come to the show with his family. “This is not the concert season. It’s raining. Youngsters depend on their parents for ticket money, and this is a tight season for many. Concerts are usually held November onwards. It’s a great feat.”

T Jitesh quit his job in a Hyderabad BPO last month and returned to be a music promoter said it felt good to attend a concert in his hometown. “Any band that is popular here is because of sheer passion.”

In states like Mizoram, however, music has become a means of making a living. Magdalene’s vocalist Stewart, whose primal high-decibel renditions remind one of ’90s metalheads Slayer, says they are looking at making a profession out of this. “Mizoram, which is seeing an era of peace and now development, is a hotbed for live music.”

There is despair and hope in the music. Local favourites “Eastern Dark’s” Manipuri numbers satirised the culture of corruption and the gun while Mizo headbangers Magdalene’s gave full blast to new-age metal tinged with the band’s strong Christian roots. Magdalene’s bassist PB said the band’s mission is to “bring peace in the Northeast” and their original track “Save Me”, is bang on: “Daily war breaks out we’re dyin’/ Nation breaks down we’re crying/ Blood of innocents flowin’ why oh why/ Millions of soldiers dying/ Leavin’ their family cryin’/ This world breaks down to pieces why oh why…”

“Music can be a weapon for peace and harmony. We call ourselves the Seven Sisters, but hostilities remain among us. Through music we can break this barrier of hostility. We face many hardships in Manipur and Nagaland. Let peace prevail,” adds Wapang. For the people of Imphal, this was an evening out as well as an assertion. Organisers AMACSU, a students’ body, say their event is made stronger by the bands, as their music has a purpose.

The sellout concert reminded people of what is sorely needed here—peace and entertainment, the latter more often, please. It couldn’t have ended more fittingly, with all three bands coming together on stage to sing a Beatles classic, a ballad of peace: Let It Be.