In search of his true calling

Musician Papon tells us why it is an exciting time to be a part of the music industry.

His voice reflects the earthy soul of our nation and his music strikes a chord with millions across the planet. Angaraag Mahanta or Papon, as he is popularly known, has come a long way from being an independent artiste to a renowned name in the world of music. Whether it’s folk, electronic, pop or filmy music, he has aced it all. And it sure didn’t come easy. “I am the fourth generation musician from my family and music was always around me, be it in the form of the Neo Vaishnavism chants or the diverse blues and rock of the North East. With my father being the ‘King of Bihu’ and mother being a popular classical artiste, a lot of my life was spent in a green room or studio,” recollects the Assamese singer whose parents are the legendary musicians Archana and Khagen Mahanta.

Despite being exposed to diverse musical strains from across the country at a young age, it took Papon a long time to figure out that music was indeed his true calling. Being in the larger-than-life shadow of his parents was a bit too overwhelming, he admits. “I didn’t follow in the footsteps of my parents as I wanted to find my own sound. That’s why I went away to Delhi to study and even travelled to the Himalayas for many years before I started my musical journey. Eventually, I started out so late that there were no comparisons between me and my parents. But to date, I still feel the pressure of being my parents’ kid. In fact, the journey has been much more difficult for me,” he reveals.

The founder of the popular ‘Papon & The East India Company’ (now ‘Papon Live’), which went on to create a thunderous impact with its live performances and the ones on ‘Coke Studio’ and ‘MTV Unplugged’, Papon has also sung some of the biggest hits of the film industry like ‘Moh Moh Ke Dhaage’ and ‘Kyon’. But more than recording in a studio, Papon feels at home on stage. “I am a very ‘live show person’ and believe that my shows are always better than my recorded songs. I love to give my audience an experience,” states the musician. That’s another reason, in addition to his love for travel, why he has been thoroughly enjoying his latest tour across the country. “I love travelling but it does get hectic during tours. But whenever possible, I like to explore a place like a local and not go to fancy or touristy places.”

The current tour, as part of which he also performed in Bengaluru, has been “crazy yet fun” in the singer’s words. “I didn’t even have to sing as the audience knew all the words,” he laughs. Of course, the tour took him to Singapore too so it cannot be termed as an “all-India tour”, he jokes. But ask him to recollect one place and a memory from all his travels and he speaks about a show in Serbia at a historic property, which was going to be broken down. “It was the last show at that auditorium and I was wondering what to play as the locals there don’t speak much English. But by the time I had performed the sixth song, one of their leading contemporary folk artistes, who was in the audience, came on stage and started to perform. To my surprise, he sang two of my Assamese songs and said he followed my music!”

With influences as diverse as Mehdi Hassan, Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali, R D Burman, Kishore Kumar, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Rush and Frank Zappa, Papon feels that now is an exciting time to be in the industry. “Raghu Dixit and I were probably the first ones to break out in the independent music scene and when we started out, we didn’t have enough platforms to take our music ahead as everything was dominated by Bollywood. But now, there are stronger ways to reach out to the audience. People are getting into the digital space and the pattern of consumption is changing. Unknown artistes are making it big and though the industry has to still come of age, the scene is extremely positive.”

Papon, who also performed at the 400th birth anniversary of Assam’s legendary war hero Lachit Borphukan in New Delhi just a day before his birthday, has lots in store for his fans in future. “During Covid, when I was not touring, I had a lot of time on hand and came up with some diverse and interesting music, which I will start releasing soon,” he sums up.