Guwahati, Nov. 25: Music is said to have the power to remove boundaries and differences.

Keeping this in mind, a group of singers from different communities of Assam has joined hands to perform at concerts aimed at spreading the message of peaceful and harmonious co-existence in the wake of growing communal distrust and intolerance in the state.

The initiative called Samanway (harmony) — A Musical Journey of Integration from the Heart of Assam, is aimed at fostering the bonds of brotherhood and amity among diverse communities who have been living together for ages.

Nine artistes, including three women singers, will perform at concerts in Chirang, Nagaon, Sivasagar and Guwahati. “It is a humble attempt to revisit the history of communal harmony and peaceful co-existence in Assam,” the chief organiser of the event, S.K. Mahanta, said.

Popular Assamese singers Joy Barua, Mausam Gogoi and Priyanka Bharali, Bodo singers Sulekha Basumatary and Tridip Basumatary, Mising singer Tarulata Kutum, zikir performer Bulbul Hussain will lend their voices to Samanway. Sajan Nayak, renowned singer from the tea community and Warklung — a heavy metal band fronted by Phu Ning Ding from Karbi Anglong — are the other performers.

Mahanta said the musical journey will begin at Nehrubali in Nagaon on December 9 followed by another concert at the GMCH auditorium in Guwahati on December 11, Kajalgaon in Chirang on December 13 and the final event at Boarding field in Sivasagar on December 15.

The concerts will be held under the banner of Trend MMS, a cultural trust. In September, the trust had organised a programme in New Delhi called Srimanta Sankaradeva Movement to promote the teachings of the Vaishnavite saint and Xattriya culture outside Assam.

Mahanta said chief minister Tarun Gogoi would inaugurate the concert in Guwahati, while forest minister Rakibul Hussain would open the one at Nagaon. “Similarly, our events at Chirang and Sivasagar will be inaugurated by BTC deputy chief Khampa Borgoyari and Assembly Speaker Pranab Gogoi respectively.”

He said they would be assisted by local organisations like JSB Foundation of Chirang, Radial Club of Nagaon and Milita Silpi Samaj of Sivasagar in organising the concerts.

“We will be giving an audio-visual presentation on the history of peaceful co-existence and mutual tolerance among different communities in Assam before each concert,” he said.

“We will also felicitate prominent persons who have contributed to social harmony like S.N. Brahma Choudhury, adviser to the Planning Commission for Northeast and art director Nuruddin Ahmed.”

Mahanta said the presentation would showcase how personalities like Srimanta Sankardev, Azan Pir, Ahom king Chau Lung Suikapha, Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla, Bishnu Rabha and Bhupen Hazarika had cemented the bond of amity and brotherhood among various communities for creating a greater Assamese society.