Rupam Sarmah

Guwahati, April 16: Guess where the gagana is being played? In Hollywood, of all places.

Far from the bustle of the bihutolis in the state, a US-based Assamese software engineer, Rupam Sarmah, is fusing the sound of the bamboo musical instrument — an integral part of Bihu music — with notes of the synthesiser for an album with top Hollywood composer Alan Roy Scott, famed for his score in the Tom Cruise-starrer Top Gun.

Driven by a passion for putting Assamese folk music on the world map, Sarmah has already found admirers in the West for his style. One of his songs from the album Piya Re was placed third in the ethnic category of the “Just Plain Folk Music Awards 2002”.

Sarmah and his band Sur Sangam also performed his winning song Janeman Jane-ja at the JPF music awards ceremony in Hollywood in March this year. The JPF award is billed as the “biggest” in the world.

“The nomination was a pleasant surprise but I was even more surprised when I was invited to perform in Hollywood with other pop and rock singers. The award is a great motivation, which will inspire me to produce more music in the future. The biggest satisfaction for me will be when Assamese music is heard around the globe. I want to contribute in my own small way,” Sarmah told The Telegraph through e-mail from California.

Born and brought up in Jorhat, Sarmah migrated to the US in 1992 and is currently working with “Digital Insight”, an e-finance company. The 37-year-old engineer-musician lives in California with his wife and son.

After his initiation into the world of music at a young age, Sarmah took vocal lessons from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in the US and can also play several instruments like the piano, tabla and drums.

Sarmah cut his first album Geetali in 1984 and has since then come out with several more, including in Bengali and Hindi. He has also composed music for a yet-to-be released Bengali film, Sagar Kinare, which he said has “a variety of melodies including Bihu, lokogeet, jhumuir and biya-naam (wedding songs) blended together in fusion style”.

He said he would “love to” compose music for Assamese films but added that “though there were some communications earlier, nothing concrete has come out yet”.

Sarmah, who said he planned to incorporate strains of borgeet — devotional songs — into “jazz-style music”, however, refused to identify his most satisfying moment and simply added: “I cannot recall just one moment as my best. There are several moments and their memories rejuvenate me.

“I feel fulfilled when some of the greatest musicians compliment my composition as original and ask me where I am from...I feel satisfied and proudly say my roots are in Assam,” he added.

Self-admittedly a hardworking man, Sarmah said he found time for music while driving for work and on his way home. “I practice music while driving to work — an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. My car is equipped with a microphone and recording device,” he said, adding, “I have a studio at home where I spend time experimenting with music on weekends.”