Imphal Talkies N' the Howlers

October GQ Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 09:40:00 +0000

The Dewarists: Qutub Minar

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 17:45:00 +0000

"Qutub Minar' is a song that singer-songwriter Akhu first wrote with Imphal Talkies. The song is about the experiences one man has while taking the historic Qutub Minar from Delhi to Imphal. The song gets fresh legs with Asian Dub Foundation as they add a deep, driving bassline with electro-folk elements on a rock beat.

The Dewarists is a part music documentary, part travelogue which takes independent musicians to diverse locations across the world, to collaborate and inspire as they create wholly original works of art -- that stand the test of time and orthodox."

Ziro Festival of Music (Arunachal, 2013) and 18 degrees at Shillong

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 17:40:00 +0000

It was an awesome experience for the band to play at ziro fetsival of music and 18 degrees at Shillong. We were accompanied by Sunil Loitongbam on guitars and Chaoba Thiyam on Pena.

MEDIA RELEASE - 33rpm Voices of the Revolution

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 17:34:00 +0000

MEDIA RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE USE

33RPM – VOICES OF THE REVOLUTION

EMMANUEL JAL, OMAR OFFENDUM, CAMILA MORENO, ZAP THARWAT AND DEAN ATTA AMONGST LINE-UP OF INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS FEATURING ON FREE DIGITAL ALBUM OF REVOLUTIONARY AND POLITICAL MUSIC

A digital album of ground-breaking revolutionary and political music featuring songs written and produced by a line-up of artists from 33 countries, including Egypt, Syria and Somalia, will be available as a free download from Monday 14 October 2013.

33RPM - Voices of the Revolution presents contributions from the internationally-renowned Sudanese recording artist, activist and former child soldier Emmanuel Jal, Syrian-American MC Omar Offendum, enchanting Chilean folk-rock star Camila Moreno, pioneering Egyptian rapper Zap Tharwat and leading British performance poet Dean Atta amongst others.

The collection of songs chronicles oppression, uprisings, land rights issues, political and social abuses and acts of revolution, such as the anti-militant track ‘No to Al-Shabab’ by Somali hip hop collective Waayaha Cusub, a dedication to children in conflict zones around the world by India’s alt-rock band Imphal Talkies in ‘Lullaby’, and the Arab Spring anthem ‘Kelmti Horra (My Word Is Free)’ by Tunisian singer-songwriter and “Fairuz of her generation” Emel Mathlouthi.

Drawn directly from the experiences of established and emerging artists representing over 33 countries across 5 continents, the album offers a striking snapshot of places of conflict, war, oppression, resistance and revolution shared through diverse styles and genres of music including Afrofuturismo, soulful New Zealand reggae, Electro Caribe, Malian hip hop and Iranian electronica.

33RPM – Voices of the Revolution was officially launched by Emmanuel Jal at Imperial War Museum North (Manchester, UK) on Sunday 13 October 2013, as part of the Manchester Weekender and IWM’s Catalyst: Contemporary Art and War exhibition.

“It's amazing to be part of this project that brings thirty three artists together from different parts of our world, from thirty three different countries to combine strong voices and bring them together to echo and amplify, and to shine a spotlight on dark places so evil can perform less.”

– Emmanuel Jal

33RPM – Voices of the Revolution is a collaborative project between four independent international grassroots music organizations; Un-Convention (UK), Nomadic Wax (USA), Fora Do Eixo (Brasil) and Tiuna El Fuerte (Venezuela).

The project is also supported by the In Place of War research centre at the University of Manchester (UK).

“Un-Convention and In Place of War are organisations dedicated to telling the stories of artists from sites of conflict, revolution and communities at conflict across the globe. We are delighted to have brought together such an incredible selection of revolutionary voices spanning the globe through the 33RPM release. The music is groundbreaking, politicised and socially conscious. We hope that this release will amplify the voices of the artists.”

– Ruth Daniel, Un-Convention

33RPM – Voices of the Revolution is available as a free digital download via Bandcamp from Monday 14 October 2013.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Interviews with selected artists and partners, hi-res images and further information are available on request

Media enquiries

Lyle Bignon lyle.bignon@btinternet.com / +44 (0)7718 864 442

33RPM – Voices of the Revolution tracklisting

1. Omar Offendum - #Syria (Syria / USA)

2. Amkoullel – Vote (Mali)

3. Octopizzo– Toboa (feat. AntoNeosoul) (Kenya)

4. Waayaha Cusub – No to Al-Shabab (Somalia / Kenya)

5. Keur Gui – No Slacktivism (Senegal)

6. Emmanuel Jal – We Want Peace (Sudan)

7. Outernational – Fighting Song (USA)

8. Dixebra – La Danza (Asturias / Spain)

9. Kabul Dreams – Good Morning Freedom (Afghanistan)

10. Emel Mathlouthi – Kelmti Horra (Tunisia)

11. Ahmed Shedid – Injustice is Country (Egypt)

12. Shadia Mansour – 'Al Kufiyyeh 3arabeyyeh' (feat. M1) (Palestine / UK)

13. Native Sun – Suffer No More (Mozambique / UK)

14. Cultura y Libertad – Tierra Mágica (Colombia)

15. Jun Tzu – The Bridge (Northern Ireland / UK)

16. Mentenguerra – Pasión y Fuego (feat. Noglobal) (Spain)

17. NRG Rising – From Darkness to Light (New Zealand)

18. Imphal Talkies – Lullaby (India)

19. Nile – President (Revolution Songs) (Sudan / UAE)

20. 3 Meters Away – Open Your Eyes (Yemen)

21. Elemotho – A Dose of Reality (feat. John Trudell) (Namibia)

22. Outspoken & The Essence – The Slave Master's Whip (Zimbabwe)

23. Yao Bobby – (R)evolution (feat. Fredy Massamba) (Togo / France)

24. Zero Plastica – Ge8 (Italy)

25. Bituaya – Suenan Las Sirenas (Venezuela)

26. Camila Moreno – Yo Enterré Mis Muertos En Tierra (Chile)

27. Roberto Rossell – Salud Para Luchar, Revolutión Para Triunfar (ft. Eskuadrón Patriota) (Cuba)

28. Bocafloja – Segundos (Mexico)

29. Zap Tharwat – Ehlam (feat. Mostafa Negm) (Egypt / Jordan)

30. Burney MC – Walk to Work (Uganda)

31. Alesh – Reveil / The Awakening (DRC)

32. The Casualty Process – War of the Others (Iran)

33. Dean Atta – Revolution (UK)

Un-Convention is a not for profit global grassroots independent music network that organises events across five continents and in cities from Swansea to Sao Paulo. Un-Convention annually involves 1,500 artists and bands, 16,400 participants, 36,000 gig goers and 140,000 people online. Of those attending Un-Convention, 40% of people are from disadvantaged backgrounds. It happens in some of the most amazing spaces including The Roundhouse UK and Auditorio Ibirapuera Brasil, and as part of some incredible festivals like Primavera Sound in Spain, Goiânia Noise Festival, Brasil and MICA, Argentina.

http://unconventionhub.org

Nomadic Wax is a U.S. based social enterprise that produces music, film and educational events aimed at creating cross-cultural exchange and increasing awareness of global issues. Nomadic Wax links diverse communities and encourages social and cultural dialogues through art. Founded in 2001 as a fair trade record label and production company of African hip-hop and urban music, Nomadic Wax has grown into an internationally recognized brand firmly rooted at the intersection of urban media and social change.

http://nomadicwax.org

Fora Do Eixo is a network of creative collectives in Brasil and other Latin American countries. Launched in 2005 by producers and artists of Brasilian states outside Rio-São Paulo, the organisation focuses on the exchange of musical knowledge, live performances and events, and has grown to encompass other forms of expression such as audio-visual and theatrical productions. The movement facilitates 6,000 shows across Brasil each year and promotes over 100 festivals annually involving more than 30,000 artists.

http://foradoeixo.org.br

Tiuna el Fuerte is a community collective that uses art, music and culture to transform the barrio of El Valle in Caracas, Venezuela. The organisation hosts a hip-hop school, a youth orchestra, a mobile community radio, and serves as an example for an alternative space for the community. The space managed by the Tiuna El Fuerte is a "nucleus of endogenous cultural development," exemplifying the concept of local development of the people, for the people, by the people that finds its roots in modern day Venezuela.

http://tiunaelfuerte.net

In Place of War (IPOW) is a project based within the University of Manchester that researches creativity in sites of armed conflict and has, over the past 7 years developed extensive international networks of artists and creatives making theatre, street art, music, spoken word and more in response to war.

www.inplaceofwar.net

Imphal Talkies

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:50:00 +0000

A short note about the making of Imphal Talkies (June 2008)

Composing music is easy, I mean financially and physically, but recording music is a real hard, particularly in a place like Imphal.

For the poor guys of the Imphal Talkies who don’t have a good damn guitar to strum in a studio, they really have to run hard to find a guitar that too among the bullets and barrels of Kangleipak's armies.

We were often disturbed by IRB (Indian Reserved Battalion)and Manipuri commandos, we were stopped everyday at Minuthong and asked what all we were carrying even if they saw it was just a guitar(which have killed the fascists in case of Comrade Guthrie's Guitar).

Our financial supports will surprise you guys... I was damn sure that I had to record my music... whether I had money or not....whether I had a guitar or not... It was the time I got some scholarships for my PhD on "Cosmological Inflation and Late Time Acceleration of the Universe". The scholarship really accelerated me to reach the Shallow River Studio, based in Imphal.

I thank the UGC (University Grant Commission) :) I may get expelled for misusing their fund so this should be kept hush hush hush, between us. And with a little help from many friends we finally emerged out as "Imphal Talkies" with eight recorded songs.

Why is it named Imphal Talkies? There was a time when movies were soundless. But came along the technology and the voice and sound and music, and then the new talkies across the world. In India, a talkies means a movie hall/theatre (but I'm not sure about other countries). In a way, Imphal Talkies the band represents a speaking Imphal/Manipur.

Yes, we have taken the name from the small movie theatre, Imphal Talkies a.k.a the Rupmahal Theatre, located opposite Johnstone School. This theatre played a big role in shaping up contemporary Manipuri theatre. Many great plays of great playwrights like GC Tongbra were staged in this theatre. As we love theatre and inspired by old/contemporary Manipuri literature, we name the band as Imphal Talkies. The band is also inspired by Beat Movement of America

Unfortunately there is no more Imphal Talkies now in Imphal, but the Rupmahal Theatre.

My Journey of Music and Protest

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:08:00 +0000

It was sometime in 2007 in Delhi , Ashley Tellis, a friend, called me up and asked me to sing a few songs at a protest event at Swami Vivekananda Statue, Arts Faculty, Delhi University. The event was organised bya human rights group and they were demanding the immediate release of Dr.Binayak Sen who had been arrested by the Chattisgarh Police without giving any reason. I was broke as usual but i managed to take an autorickshaw to the protest venue. All the performers at the event were performing in hindi, they were singing songs of Safdar Hasmi and many other protest songs. I carried a few printed copies of my own poems that i had written for Dantewada after reading an editorial column of Hindustan Times. I should call it a collage of images of Dantewada rather than poetry because I had translated the imagery directly from the newspaper.

That day i sang three songs, two of my poems and Dylan's “I shall be released”. No other songs could suit the situation betterthan “I shall be released” This was how i started to sing at protest events.

These days, more than music, poetry has given me the space to express myself and my existence in this violence driven undemocratic country. Not only was i addicted to creating my own poetry, I started to search for poetry that match and reflect my hunger and anger. And then one day i stumbled upon the page of Thangjam Ibopishak's poetry collection “Apaiba Thawai.”The restlessness and anxiety in Ibopishak's early work during the late sixtieswas just like that of my generation today. What is different is - my generation is not expressive, perhaps we are timid. And the tragedy doesn't end here,many youngsters don't even realise the existence of such poets.

When it comes to my poetry and lyrics i can hardly trace the dividing line. I can always sing my poetry in my own style. Admittedly many may not like my singing style, but i have the freedom to do so.

By 2008 I had written and composed several songs and i was restless to record them. It was sort of a burning desire that i could not suppress. So in the summer, along with Sachin i recorded eight songs which collectively formed the album 'Tiddim Road'. We named ourselves “Imphal Talkies N The Howlers”. Many friends helped me in recording the songs, both financially and physically. Many thanks to them! The recording session was fun. We were nervous. The idea of playing music in a studio really frightened us. On the first of the days that we booked the recording studio we coudn't record, we were very much shaken by that dark sound proof room. But what actually scared us the most was the cost of the recording.

With every tick of the clock our bill was mounting and we were not able to play anything other than to just make the cue tracks! But finally we did it and it took us nine days to record the whole album.

Subsequently, with the help of e-pao.net we released the album in Delhi in February 2009.

Around this time something very tragic happened. Dr. Thingnam Kishan and his two subordinates, Rajen and Token , were murdered by the NSCN (IM). This incident left many shocked. Kishan was someone our generation looked up to for his uprightness. That uprightness cost him his life. Manipur went up in flames with protests at every nook and corner of the state. With a lot of help from Manipuri diaspora, NGOs, student organisations, Manipuris in delhi organised a candle light vigil at Jantar Mantar.

At Jamia i was pasting posters for the vigil when I received a call from a guy named Raju Athokpam saying he would like to perform a few protest songs of Tapta at the vigil. On the day of the vigil Raju and I met. We played together a few songs and my sister, Riki, sang some new songs. The vigil was successful, with many people from different communities of Manipur turning up for Da Kishan, Rajen and Token.

The last time i met Da Kishan was exactly one year ago from the month of his death. We met in Delhi and had argued over Manipuri poets. He opined, 'Manipuri poets are visionless, they can write of only blood and death, they should look forward to a future beyond this current turmoil' . I countered as i felt whatever that exist as Manipuri literature happens only in a very short span and there will be time for new crop of poets who feel the need of a new form of literature.

One night after the vigil i called up Raju to ask if he was interested in recording a song for Kishan as a tribute to the great man. He said, “lets do it”. Then we went on to record a song named “Ballad of Kishan” at some music school at North campus, which incidentally don't even have a proper recording studio. The song lacked quality. Raju played everything - bass, lead, rhythm. I was there just to boost his energy and to do the vocal part. The song was criticised by many people for my vocal being out of tune. Later i realised i was indeed very much out of tune. In my defence, we recorded the song in just one day. We took three days to compose it and we were not professionals. Our main concern was to show that we cared for Da Kishan. We would not leave any stone unturned in our effort to do so. And we felt the urge to initiate a movement despite our rather insignificant existence as amateur musicians. No Manipuri rocker had ever cared for such incidents or great men.

Thus Raju joined my bandwagon and become a member of Imphal Talkies N The Howlers. In the time that followed we found never lacked of incidents to inspire us to write new protest songs.

Soon after, the incident of July 23rd 2009 fake encounter at BT road took place. Once again me and Raju set out to record a song called “Rise” and we recorded it at the same studio. It was not even sound proof, yet we tried our best. It was 1am after midnight by the time we were done with the recording. Thanks to Dilip Oinam, Sumitra and Romina for being with us on that tiring and hectic day. Later the same night we dissolved our worries in a bottle of whiskey till the wee hours of the morning. Whatever we recorded we had to do it with money from our own pockets. We didn't care for money. And we still don't :)

In November, 2009, New Socialist Initiatives observed the beginning of Tenth year of Sharmila's struggle to repeal the draconian AFSPA. They organised the event at the same Swami Vivekanda Statue, Arts Faculty DU where i had performed for Binayak Sen. Just before the performance i got a phone call from a friend from Imphal informing that one of my closest friends passed away that morning in a road accident. I didn't know how to react. All i could think of doing and did was to call my father and ask to go to see my deceased friend's parents. I cried for a few minutes in a loo as his face suddenly popped up in my mind. He used to be the one who would come to my home in the early morning and wake me up just to talk to him. I still remember the day i blacked out and collapsed on the road sitting on my Honda Activa at his Thongal after consuming a half bottle of Old Monk. He helped me up and i waved good bye. That was how we departed. Never knew that would be the final goodbye. What surprises me is that i can't even compose a poem in his memories. I have tried but in vain.

But I had to perform that day leaving aside his memories. Because i know life is that way, im gonna meet death and me being a Manipuri, death can come easily with guns and bombs too.

I reached Arts Faculty along with Bomcha(Nila) and Sanjeev thingnam. That was the first day i peformed with Sanjeev thingnam. We sang a song called “India” , a poem I had written some months back. We performed it impromptu at the spot. The song started with the line “India, have you ever crawled down enough to smell the soil of Kashmir?” And people loved it. Arundhati Roy was present there as the main speaker of the event. And Jilangamba, a friend, insisted me to sing a Manipuri song so i sang “Lainingthou lairembigi manairensa Kumsi di Army yam lakka ni hairiye”. Even today wherever we perform i feel like singing these songs. We then performed “Home is burning” and another called “freedom” written by sanjeev.

That day after the event we were asked to peform at Miranda House. And we did perform. We added a few new songs to our repertoire, such as “Ghost of Machang Lalung”. Machang Lalung was from Assam. He spent 54 years in prison without any trial. The maximum sentence he should get was ten years in prison. He was even dumped in a mental asylum. Sometime in 2006 a few Assamese activists managed to get him released. But the tragedy was - no one remembered him in his own village, let alone other places, and he didn't recognize even his home. It is almost unimaginably tragic. When i heard his story i could not help pour out my feelings into a song.

Soon after the Miranda House program, Progressive Students Union organised an event on the same theme for Sharmila at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Imphal Talkies N the Howlers was the main performer of that evening. There, the three of us - Raju, Sanjeev and me, performed together for the first time. Raju started as a thrash/metal music fan, Sanjeev as a bluesy guy and me addicted to the likes of Dylan and Cohen. We were very different musically. What bonded us together and does till now is our shared love for original music that speaks of our bullet ridden Manipur.

This time again we included one more new song called “My heart Sick Fella”. At the event Burning Voices distributed its first poetry journal “Our Private Literature”. All the members of Burning Voices turned up on that day. And the evening was ours.

Later in early 2010 we performed the same repertoire of songs at Kirori Mal College and National School of Drama, Delhi. Where ever we performed Sharmila has been our focus. We didn't plan it but her spirit and this nation's deafness was already there in many of our songs. Through these small events i gained many valuable friends.

And in mid 2010, the spectre of the Common Wealth Games loomed like a giant monster terrifying many lives on the streets of delhi and evicting students from university hostels. But people didn't just give up easily.Many organisations protested against such injustice done to poor people and students. University Community for Democray (UCD) was one such organisation formed particularly to protest against the CWG. Many of my friends were in this organisation. I wrote a song in collaboration with Tara Basumatry on this issue, it goes like “heart shaped balloon in traffic jam, fade away as they bring their dirty games, they wanna hide the beggars from the streets, cos they are the real indians...”.

Sometime later I sang the song again at Swami Vivekananda Statue, Arts Fauclty DU. By this time i was convince that this Vivekananda Statue will be able to recognize me even if i am among the crowd of Chandni Chowk.

A few days later I attended a one day relay hunger strike accompanied by my songs, again organised by UCD. The next protest event took place at Jantar Mantar for Bhopal Gas Tragedy Victims. I went with a friend (Venus) who ended up being my mic stand. From such events i learnt an important lesson -- there is no race or religion for the suffering ones, they will always be together. And Me being someone who spent half of his school days in the streets of Imphal holding placards, shouting slogans, i know how it feels to be at the receiving end. But what comforts me is that the world seems to be dominated by the suffering ones. Just look around!

Imphal Talkies N' The Howlers sing for Dr Kishan...

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:28:00 +0000

Ozzyjane Laishram (Source: E-pao.net)

Triggering off protest against the current social and political turmoil in Manipur, Imphal Talkies N' The Howlers dedicate a song titled Ballad of Kishan to late Dr Thingnam Kishan and his staff members, brutally murdered by cadres of NSCN(IM).

"We dedicate our work to Dr. Th. Kishan and it is a wakeup call to the region's slumbering masses and the authorities that constantly neglect the pain of suppressions experienced by the people for decades," says Ronid (Akhu) Chingangbam, lead member of the band Imphal Talkies N' The Howler.

Imphal Talkies N' The Howlers is a newly formed rock band ready to make its presence felt in region's music scenes. The band released their debut album Tiddim Road on 25 February 2009 in New Delhi.

Talking about the debut album comprising eight songs that fill up certain cavities in the region's contemporary rock music, Ronid says that every song in the album is one way to explore the nuances of the politics driven by ethnic and socio-cultural dimensions in Manipur. The five-member band has been recently joined by a promising musician and guitarist Raju Athokpam before recording the Ballad of Kishan.

in cooperation with E-Pao, a leading news portal of Manipur, Imphal Talkies N' The Howlers produced its debut album Tiddim Road, which was released and distributed simultaneously in four major cities: Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Imphal. The band boasts of being the first ever Manipuri rock band reviewed by the Rolling Stone (Indian edition) magazine for its unique genre and prevailing lyrics prior to the release of Tiddim Road. "Regardless of language they sing, the songs of Imphal Talkies N' The Howlers are rather a voice of youth blends with both aesthetic and musical excellences," comments Dr. Ashley Tellis, a music critic who contributes to the Rolling Stone magazine.

Along with enthusiastic fans, prominent personalities from different universities in Delhi made the audio release function eventful. Dr. Baghat Oinam, Centre for Philosophy, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Dr. Tabish Qureshi, Department of Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia attending the event as special guests appreciated Imphal Talkies N' The Howlers for their ideology to use music as a medium of protest.

Inspired by Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Roger Waters and regional musicians like Aheibam Budhachandra, each song ofTiddim Road were penned by Ronid.

Rendering Bob Dylan's popular number like I Shall be Released and Kanano Nangbu from their debut album, the music release event turned into some kind of a workshop on how creativity can be politically sensitive. While condoling and protesting the killing of Dr. Th. Kishan, many young poets present on the occasion also recited self-composed poems and also read out works by renowned Manipuri poet Thangjam Ibopishak.

Each song of the debut album Tiddim Road is quite unique. Imphal Sahar in the album is a splendid combination of realist lyrical value with that of psychedelic experience. What looks like a simple vocal rendition by Riki Chingangbam, is characterised by a complex blending of realities with abstractions.

In a shooting voice, Riki says, "Since my idea of music has been deeply influenced by artistes like Joan Baez and Janis Joplin, I'm quite satisfied and thrilled with the number Imphal Sahar".

And another novel package of Imphal Talkies N' The Howlers is the guitarist Sachidananda Agom who had rendered his voice for Pirang. He has an unmistakable grinding tone that perhaps resembles with that of death metal singers but effectively used for the band's unique genre.

And Ronid's unadulterated natural voice is a big break from the highly standarised and pretentious road that many vocalists have taken guided by oriental and occidental music schools. He is adept at converting inward feelings into a melody not suffocated by set norms.

Recorded at Sallow River Studio (Imphal), foremost quality of the album Tiddim Road is its acoustic excellence independent from electronic instrumentation and programming. Pirang in the album is the only song using electric rhythm or lead guitar. Session artistes in the band—bassist Michael and drummer Somo—are ex-members of the then distinguished rock group 'Recycle'.

Composing hundreds of poems inspired by the American Beat Movement of the 1950s to 1970s, Ronid formed Imphal Talkies N' The Howlers after his association with Sachidananda. The duo's interest was not only in music but also classic literature at large.

To reach the town of love tales Moirang in the vicinity of the beautiful Loktak Lake, one has to take the Tiddim Road, which connects Manipur with the Chin State in Myanmar. Besides what the road denotes, Tiddim Road in Manipur's recent history has been associated with so many modern tales of social and political horror.

Tiddim Road and what it connotes seems to be changing over the years. The title song in the album is not just another poetic metaphor in praise of the natural landscape along the road. It speaks loudly the spasm people feel in the war zone like Manipur where tourist centres and spots are dotted with army and paramilitary personnel under the shadow of fear of bullets and violence.

And most of all, Tiddim Road is where Indian armed forces massacred twelve civilians almost a decade back. This event also prompted Irom Sharmila Chanu to fast unto death in protest against the draconian law Armed Forces Special Power Act, 1958 imposed in the region.

Every song in the album noticeably delves into issue-based content; it may make an array including poverty, political disorder, lawlessness and much more.

22nd April 2009

Top 5 on MySpace

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 08:19:00 +0000

Find more Imphal Talkies N The Howlers songs at Myspace Music

The Music Project: Imphal Talkies (from Tehelka)

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:57:00 +0000

Qutub Minar

(A loose translation of the song)

It was past midnight
The goddess of Delhi city
Wide eyed, sharp nosed is in her slumber

Roving my eyes for passers by, I pushed
The tall, long, Godlike
Qutub Minar

Thought I can't do without taking it to Imphal
I fancied Qutub Minar standing by the Samu Makhong
hoping this would designate Samu Makhong

Towards Indira Gandhi airport Qutub Minar loaded on my head, I marched
they refused and there wasn't
a plane that could carry the Qutub Minar

To the stench filled and faeces scattered railway station, I headed
they said they couldn't drag it till Guwahati
they could, till Jalpaiguri though

I hitched on the Avadh Assam train
They were right when they said this train collects cow-dungs
It dragged itself like a pregnant serpent, leaving its trails of smoke

A long halt on reaching Bihar
I Got off to sip a cup of tea
from Lalu's clay cup it was, I savoured

Summer scorched peasants were awaiting the rains
Neither Mayang nor Meitei, a peasant is just a peasant
Laboured and exhausted, awaiting rains
After rains harvest
After harvest the abuses of the feudal lord

I've reached Jalpaiguri
Waiting to exhibit the prowess of this Meitei Lion
I traversed with the Qutub Minar loaded on my head

I swam the breadth of the mighty Brahmaputra
One arm splashing, one arm dragging the Qutub Minar
I am Hanuman, I thought

In the dense forest of Assam the songs of the tea plantation workers wafts through
Tendered my heart, the songs of the suffering humanity was the same
Suffering knows no place, has no face
The unknown tongue pierced my heart
I rested at Kohima
Relinquishing a dish of pork and rice I tarried on
the serpentine road of the hills
akin to the flow of rivulets

People stared at me, at the Qutub Minar
At Highway 39, I paid the usual tax
One asked, 'Oh, What is this big tall thing?'
I replied 'Its nothing, just a pestle
imported from Bilat by Meitei ema to feed her indolent sons'

I arrived at the bosom of the persevering Meitei ema
Now I am at Sekmai Bazaar

While I was flirting with the pale brew
While the onlookers were watching me with envy
Suddenly from a black car the Chief Minister alighted

Said he to me
"Man what have you done
How will I respond to Manmohan
The government in Delhi is about to collapse
Opposition accuses
Manmohan has gifted Qutub Minar to Obama
To support the tilting Statue of Liberty"

Said I to him
"Honourable Minister Saheb,
Please convey to Manmohan
When AFSPA is repealed you can take back the Qutub Minar
Otherwise I will be on my own course
Draped in a phanek I hope to install it at the Samu Makhong
When my mother draped the barren papaya tree with a phanek
It bored fruit
Let me clothe the Qutub Minar with a phanek
Tall and robust it might look becoming

And when they take the Qutub Minar
The names of those massacred
I will carve on it vividly and gift it back"

Imphal Talkies speak up loud

noreply@blogger.com (Imphal Talkies and the Howlers) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:52:00 +0000

by Oinam Doren
Friday, 11 February 2011

Rolling Stone magazine calls them ‘the new voice of Manipur and the new voice of the Northeast’. Imphal Talkies is actually the name of a cinema theatre in front of Kangla fort which used to screen only ‘A’ rated movies, which in a conservative society like Manipur and in a small town like Imphal, was ahead of the times. Deriving their name from the theatre the band members with PhD & MPhil degrees, write lyrics contemporary or ahead of their times and get invitations to perform not only in music concerts but also during public protest. Their first album Tiddim Road was released in 2009 with the support of e-pao.net, a decade old popular news portal of Manipuris around the world. Recently the band released a single titled ‘Eche’ (sister) to commemorate Irom Sharmila’s ten year struggle against AFSPA 58 and it has been widely distributed and shared in the internet. We catch up with Imphal Talkies in the Shallow River studio during the recording session of the song.

Read more at the Northeast Today