For information: The IIC Experience: A Festival of the Arts (ENTRY FREE) Monday, 29 October at 6:30 pm A Celebration of Peace, Freedom and Justice A Concert presented by Lou Majaw and friends Sam Shullai, Arjun Sen and Lew Hilt Lou Majaw A quintessential rocker Lou Majaw lives Bob Dylan's music. The brain child of Lou's, the Bob Dylan concert has become an annual ritual for this singer and songwriter extraordinaire who has been organising this festival in Shillong since 1972 to celebrate the Tambourine Man's birthday on 24th of May.Born to a poor family, Majaw could not afford a guitar or a radio for himself. In a friend's house he was introduced to the music of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley and taught himself the guitar in school. Majaw then moved over to Calcutta where he played in bars and pubs for various groups. For the Northeast's own Dylan, it has been a roller coaster ride in life. In his own words, he sums up the story of his life:I've known hunger since I was tenLoneliness is my good friendI've known to laugh when I feel sad When I see good times turnin' bad. This 60 year Khasi guitarist singer with his shoulder length salt and pepper hair, and in his trademark short shorts, a cut off T-shirt, Lou Majaw has been belting out Dylan's songs for 35 years. He discovered Bob Dylan after he heard the seminal album, The Freewheeling Bob Dylan. `His songs lit up my life and gave it a lot of meaning and simply blew me up' admits Majaw. In 1979 Majaw, Arjun Sen (lead guitar), Lew Hilt (bass guitar) and Sam shullai (drums) came together to form `Great Society'. "It was great, we were doing what we wanted to do, writing our own songs." They did different things, went to Calcutta and Delhi and performed rock and roll and reggae. But it is Majaw that has really shaped Shillong's music destiny. No record companies travel this far out. So people just do what they have to, live for their music. And Lou has helped show the way: with his `cocktail of talent, passion and persistence' . As a fitting tribute to this 60-year-old artist, who stood his ground amidst the popular scenario of quick remixes, that a `rockumentary' has been made this year on Lou Majaw titled The Great Society.A man who charted his entire life to popularise and establish Dylanism amongst the youth of India, these lines by Johnny Cash who wrote `Of Bob Dylan', wonderfully match up to Majaw's own personality:There are those who do not imitate, Who cannot imitateBut then there are those who emulate At times, to expand further the light Of an original glow
Best regards' Abhijit, Guwahati
