TODAY -
| TAPTA
Part 2: Early Days (1968 to mid-90’s) |
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| By: Ringo Pebam * |
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Loukrakpam Jayanta, son of L Bijoy and Mangolnganbi, was born on 01-04-1968 at Naranseina Mamang, Moirang, Bishnupur District.
His uncle (late) Ghandha, his inspiration, was the person who backed him in his dream – ‘music’. Mr Ghandha introduced him to the world of music. It was around when Jayanta was in class 2, that he taught him the basics of ‘music’ -how to sing, how to play the tabla. He never missed his chance to sing in the music system that was hired for the “Likol” game that used to be played in his uncle, Ghandha’s house. His parents were happy to hear him sing in the mike, but never seemed to like him getting into music professionally. However, his two sisters liked him and his music.
Jayanta still remembers the music and lyrics O Thoiba wrote – “Shet-pi-ro Ema laan-mee-gi phijet, Tambi-ro Baba nong-mei-kappa”, “Leibak-lei ho leibak-lei taibang taiyon-nabi leibak-lei”, “Ebungo-macha lou-ne nunbu chak-thongbi saan-na-se”. O Thoiba helped him twice to get a chance to sing in the “Angang-gi Thouram” at AIR. Winning first position in singing cover songs on stage began to give him the kick of music, and since then he began caring less about time and place when it came to music and singing.
To learn to move his finger around the guitar strings, trying to strum it in the right manner, with the right attitude was a task he made sure never to fail each and every day. He took tips from Ranjit, who was not at all interested in giving him regular guitar lessons. Jayanta feels that he would not have learnt so much had he not met Ranjit, because he had made up his mind to make sure that he played better than Ranjit. At that time, Jayanta was married to Pratima from Shunushiphai. In 1993, he completed his PGDCA and came back to Manipur. But, to the disappointment of all his family members he gave up computers, the very subject he had pursued academically and went for his passion – music. He joined the Bina Musical Club at Phubala, which later became Apunba Naharol Semgat Lup.
He still asked himself – what else did he get at that time other than “Khatna-cheinaba, Ngao-sin-naba, Khonthi-Chaba, Matam maang-hanba”? Many people looked down on him, with words of sheer mockery and sneer. Parents advised their children to stay away from him. It was like “Guitar aama pai-raga kanna-dabada-koina chatlee”? He fondly remembers the words of his aunt – “Ebungo nangbu gyan taro-ne”. He never wanted to bloom like a beautiful “gulab” in a place where anyone hardly notices, but he preferred to be a “naton chabi gulab” which is seen, even if it is grown in a dirty drain. In Manipur, most people have the attitude of – “Don’t let your neighbor grow”, in short -“yeng-sin-bi-naba mee yaam-mi”, “hoon-naba kalli”, “khan-tha-ba youde”, “atop-pa-bu nungsi-na yeng-ba ngam-de”. The Manipuri society thinks they are classless and free, but some section of them are still the hypocrite lots as far as it can be seen. A working class hero is something to be. A middle class hero is something to be. Here’s a small incident of what he had to go through in the beginning. This anecdote was while he was composing a duet song for a celluloid Manipuri film. A Director asks to a Top Senior Female Singer: “Nahaan-gi sur-du taabi-rak-labra Oja?” [Have you heard the tune/rythmn of that song, Oja?] A famous drummer who says: “Manipurgi music artist 100% na nangbu nung-shide, ama-sung nungi esei taaningde, programme su yeng-ningde, adubu paam-badi paam-mi”. [100% of the Manipuri artists hate you, they don’t want to listen to your songs and also don't want to watch your regular programs but they simply like you.] A top junior male singer who loves him says: “Nangbu kalaa-da haat-tok-naba meeting taret-lak surae pham-li-ba”. [Seven meetings were already held to jeopardise your singing career.] A top senior male singer says to his Teacher: “Lawai macha-dubu Oja-na nak-sin-naraga chaak-ka kouridubu kari touge hairibano?” [What is Oja's intention to become close to that village lad by even inviting him for a feast?]
After a long period of sneer and scorn and going unnoticed, he began to realize that - he had to go to Imphal to be known or heard in Manipur, he had to go to Delhi to be known or heard in India, he had to go to America/New York to be known or heard throughout the world, to be more famous he had to have money and “sang-ga”.
Catch you all with the story of the coming of “Tapta” in our next part very soon. Here are some excerpts from some songs of Tapta: Friendly guidance: If you have a loud speaker or a headphone, you can go to http://www.hrod.net/tapta2, download the mp3/lyrics files, and listen to them as you read Tapta’s story, or wear a *smile of triumph* as you read the words of the lyrics of Tapta :) Ema Amatagi Machani/Tapta Loktak Project/Tapta Commando/Tapta Ei vote lepkhini/Tapta Exam Hall/Tapta NOTE: The reasons for the mp3 files made available at http://www.hrod.net/ are – sharing music among music lovers, promoting the talent and letting the message in the songs reach across borders. Everybody is encouraged to share the files with others like we do. Nobody is expected to use it for commercial purpose. Burning of mp3 files into CDs and selling for profit which is heard to be a common practice in Manipur. Please do *not* do that, please maintain some ethics. DISCLAIMER: The lyrics are written by listening to their original sound tracks, it's not officially provided by the Tapta Band. Hence, there may be errors in the lyrics. Our intention is just to share the music/lyrics/message and promote the talents. Hope our intention is well understood. Coming soon: Tapta: Part 3 – Tapta Days (mid-90’s to present day) Also read Part 1 * Ringo Pebam, a Software Engineer in Bangalore, and a Free and Open Source Software enthusiast, contributes regularly to e-pao.net. The writer can be contacted at ringo_pebam(AT)yahoo(DOT)com. This article was webcasted on September 09th, 2007 |
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