Jorhat, Jan. 6: In a region that abounds with bands, Prachya's venture stands apart.

A band where the musicians will belt out songs in Sanskrit, Prachya will present a translated rendition of folk and semi-classical songs of the region.

Formed by Ranjan Bezbaruah, who translated Saare Jahan se accha for a TV channel that was aired on Independence Day, Prachya will have its first stage show at the Balaji temple auditorium in Guwahati on January 28.

"I have been translating and singing the songs of Bhupen Hazarika in Sanskrit for several years now. My performances have featured several musicians playing different instruments. Around 11 of us have come together to form Prachya," Bezbaruah said.

On the name of the band, Bezbaruah said it meant the Oriental as well as the eastern part of India, which included the Northeast.

"Unlike other bands, we will not indulge in fusion music. Ours will strictly retain the purity of the classical language. In the beginning we will concentrate on translating and singing as many folk songs and semi-classical songs that this region has produced and is popular among the people. Through this medium we would like to take it to a wider audience," he said.

Bezbaruah said promotion of Sanskrit and songs of the region was the main reason to form the band.

"We will also sing Vedic hymns and Sanskrit rendition of Hindi patriotic and devotional songs," he added.

Bezbaruah, a Sanskrit teacher in Nagaon, believes that the classical language may be dead for the masses but being the root of all Aryan languages, it needed to be revived and the best way to do this was through songs.

He has translated more than 100 songs, most of them Bhupen Hazarika's, into Sanskrit and has four albums to his credit.

His mission is to translate and sing the immortal lyrics of greats like Hazarika, Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla, Srimanta Xankardeb, Bishnu Rabha and Rabindranath Tagore.

The albums are Manomohini (2008), Mriganayana (2011), Sagar Sangamah (2011) and Yasoda Nandana, which contains rendition of six of Xankardeb's borgeet and kirtan (devotional songs) in 2014.

The other members of the band comprise Atul Mahanta and Kulapradip Das, alternating on the tabla and khol, Santanoo Bora on the guitar and do-tara, Abhisekh Dhar on the keyboard, Dwipen Das on percussion (dhol), Pranjal Bora on flute and musical arrangements, and singers Pranati Barua, Krishna Das Bora, Riturani Maushumi and child artiste Dhritiman Kasyap.

Another child artiste, Bharatanatyam dancer Mayukhi Bezbaruah, will be an added attraction.

Makhan Sarma, a fan of Bezbaruah, said, "When Ranjan performed, Bhupen da's aficionados, including me, attune ourselves to the changed vocabulary and even if we do not understand every word, we open our hearts to the lyrical notes sung with élan and the intonation of the original in a voice, which has an uncanny resemblance to Assam's greatest bard. I am sure Prachya will be able to achieve its objective of reaching out to a wider audience."