Das at a concert. File picture

June 15: Ghazal prince Anirban Das will travel to the US on a mission.

From June 30, the singer will criss-cross the country holding lecture-demonstrations and introducing GenNext Assamese, born and brought up in the US, to Assam’s traditional music.

Das will educate them through his performances.

Boston will be his first stop. “It will be an attempt to highlight the works of the greatest exponents of Assamese music like Luit Konwar, Rudra Baruah, Bhupen Hazarika, Jayanta Hazarika, Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla and Kalaguru Bishnu Rabha, to name a few,” said Das, taking a break from the practice sessions at his residence here.

He will also perform at the Assam Convention, organised by the Assam Association of North America. During a two-month US tour, he will perform in New Jersey, cities in Texas, Detroit and San Francisco.

His mellifluous voice held the audience at Britain’s House of Lords spellbound as he became the first Assamese artiste to perform there. He performed on Assam Day 2002 in the UK and at the international overseas doctors’ conference in Glasgow.

He enthralled the audience in Amsterdam. The Asian community in Brussels still remembers his soul-stirring performance.

Das will try to introduce Assamese folk music, including Kamrupiya lokageet, Goalporiya lokageet, Ojapali, ethnic folk music like jhumur, bharigaan, bihugeet, husori, bongeet, biya naam, nisukoni geet, borgeet and zikir to the global audience.

“Although I am a ghazal singer, I have been trying to learn and understand different genres of music which have their roots in Assam. Now that I am getting a chance to promote our indigenous music, I am not going to lose the opportunity,” he added.

Das said on his return from the US, he would like to perform in the city and share his experiences with the audience.

Through his mother, noted singer Lakshahira Das, he got the opportunity to meet the maestros and picked up the finer details of music. He is planning to form a band comprising city-based young artistes to popularise Assamese music across the globe.

Das began learning music from his mother at the age of six and later took training from Ustad Iqbal Khan of the Gwalior Gharana. “Learning is a process and though I have started teaching budding singers, I still consider myself a student of music,” he said.

He is a graduate in vocal music from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, an institution for classical music in Allahabad.

With a musical career spanning more than 25 years, this gifted musician from Assam has developed a style which is reflected in his highly-imaginative and well-structured presentation.