Rhythm Of North East

Hi, first of all I would like to thank you for visiting this website. My name is Dhritiman Deori and I am a musician/audio engineer based in New Delhi. I’m writing this appeal because I am starting a new audio-visual project on cultural preservation related to Northeast India which is completely a first of its kind experimental project, but is also a very important one.

The Eastern Himalayan region of India is a place where Mother Nature has bestowed all her blessings in the form of exquisite panoramic views. This region, comprising of eight political states of the North east part of India also houses myriads of ethnic communities, all with their own distinct yet beautiful lifestyles. The songs and tunes of the people, their voices, the humming in the native tongue synchronizes with the color of the plains and valleys, the sounds of birds and bees and the rhythm of the rivers, and the echoing blue hills, altogether gives this region something extraordinary…But of late, these sweet sounds have got drowned by the ugly sound of gun-barrels emanating from insurgency, ethnic-conflicts, state repressions…and this region has always been in the news for all wrong reasons. What is found missing is a sincere documentation on the rich and varied culture of the region on a global stage.

It is also high-time the young generation realize the importance of retaining their culture from the deafening “bang” of mechanical life or the gun.

For some time now the awareness of music traditions of northeast India has been slowly fading away. The continuation of such a development is that the music traditions will die out, and enormous cultural values will be lost. This does not only concern northeast India but the world as a whole.

The plan is to travel across the 8 North Eastern states with a mobile recording studio, identify the various folk instruments and music forms from different parts of the region, capture the sounds and music on location and then prepare a premium library. The physical outcome of this will be in form of a DVD consisting of sound samples, along with a book with pictures describing the various folk instruments, and also a website dedicated totally to the folk music of the region. The goal is to create a database of all the folk instruments and music of each and every ethnic community of the region. This will increase awareness and popularity of the culture that it consists of .This database will also act as a source of knowledge not only for students, but for musicians, artists and scholars. But the most important achievement of the project is that it will be easily accessible to anybody.

There will also be a visual presentation of the whole journey in the form of a documentary by videographer /director Arnab Gayan showcasing the vibrant colors of the land, the people, music forms, art, costumes, dances, etc.

Besides being a uniting force in northeastern cultural life this project is also about keeping traditions alive. This database will be an important force in preserving our musical heritage from extinction. Because we aim to release the DVD on the commercial market it will also be a contribution towards educating the ordinary citizen and adding to the general knowledge.

Given the political unrest and separatist violence across the North-East 'Rhythm of Northeast' is a desire to bind the 8 sisters together through music, and help us in moving forward to a better tomorrow. I would really be grateful if you can help us with the project and be a part of it. Your suggestions, support and participation, even a word of faith will provide us with the courage to carry forward the project.

We welcome donations from organizations and individuals for the successful completion of the project.

Thank you.