Economic impact of lockdown on Barak Valley's musical fulcrum

The Coronavirus pandemic has left the entire country shaking on its heels. The mass anxiety brought down by the deadly Covid-19 virus has not only taken a lot of lives since its outbreak but has also straight-jacketed the economy. Lockdowns and curfews, both full and partial, have minimised business hours which has directly affected the economy. Most notably, independent vendors and businessmen everywhere are having to go through one of the toughest phases of their lives. And with public gatherings and live audience prohibited amidst active lockdown, artists and record producers from the music industry are also facing the wrath of the lockdown, with neither live shows nor recording studios able to sustain their usual work lives.

Barak Valley, a region known for vibrant cultural and musical roots, is also facing this draught of musical output. Since the first lockdown that was imposed last year, the local music industry has come to a total standstill, with the professional full-time musicians facing the brunt of it the most.

Renowned keyboardist and record producer of the region, Kanailal Das from Silchar, happens to be one such individual who has had the first-hand experience of this struggle. “The economic impact of this lockdown on people like us can never be measured as it is being felt with each passing day. In the beginning, I tried to keep myself occupied with music, but gradually the inability to perform live or produce music, as it was my only source of living, grew on me. This lockdown has affected us mentally as well, as we full-time musicians are not accustomed to such kind of atmosphere”, said the veteran musician who is also the owner of Silchar’s FX Studio, a popular recording destination for most independent musicians of this valley.

Biswarup Sharma, another musician hailing from Hailakandi, is an experienced keyboardist who plays for the popular folk band ‘Feriwala’. Apart from playing for the band, Biswarup Sharma also plays as a session musician for various solo artists as well as recording projects, both studio and live. He said, “Before the lockdown hit us last year, even during the off-season period, we still used to get live shows or recording projects every now and then. Doing live shows and touring throughout the country was a major source of income for me. But now, everything has come to a halt and since then, barely any shows have come this way. During the brief gap between the two lockdowns, I got a few shows and recording offers, but apart from that, nothing else.” Hailakandi’s Biswarup (Raja) is one of the most sought-after keyboardists of this valley who’s got a huge experience of performing live in several corners of the country.

Ranjit Deb from Karimganj, who’s also known as Bhanu da by his near and dear ones, is a sessions keyboardist who has been recording and performing live for the past 32 years. He even went on to the extent to say that for them, the Corona scare has now been replaced by livelihood scare. “The lockdown has indiscriminately affected musicians like us pretty hard. Even musicians who have other sources of income like a job or business can still somehow manage to cope up with this situation. But I have a family dependent on me, and my only source of income is through music, which has been this way for the last 3 decades or so. I don’t know how long I can keep going this way. Perhaps, through government intervention or some collective effort of some culturally active people, if something can be managed then maybe we can pin our hopes high. But more than that, this lockdown has drastically worsened our mental health as well, which is very hard to battle against,” said the veteran musician from Karimganj.

All in all, this Corona lockdown has pushed the backs of the professional musicians of the valley against the wall. And this economic crisis has also resulted in their mental exhaustion leading to anxiety and depression. And only time will tell, how and when the musical stalwarts of this valley pick themselves up and make a comeback befitting their stature.