Composing the Durand Cup anthem was both challenging and exciting:Papon

Papon recently lent his voice to the anthem of the 131st edition of the Durand Cup along with Shaan. In a chat with us, the singer from Assam talks about how things materialized for the anthem, his love for original music, Kolkata kachuris and more. Excerpts:

How was it composing the Durand Cup anthem with Shaan?
I had this amazing opportunity of meeting Lt General Rana Pratap Kalita and we happened to talk about the Durand Cup and the anthem. I got an amazing and exciting opportunity from the Army to compose as well as produce the anthem, and I just did not want to let go of it. Since the anthem is related to three places, I thought it would be great to have three singers, each representing one place. So, I got in touch with Shaan and he agreed. I also roped in Rewben Mashangya, who has done some outstanding work in the Guwahati-Imphal region. It was quite challenging since the anthem had to be released in five different languages, but it was equally very exciting.

Did the decision to get associated with the Durand Cup come out of your love for football?
Yes, and also because my father used to play football. So, there was a certain emotional aspect to it too.

According to you, what role do reality shows play in churning out new singers and how important are those as a platform?Reality shows definitely play a very important role in a singer’s journey. For some, it acts as the starting point, followed by two to three months of rigorous practice and performances. One gets to learn the details and technicalities during this process, which is extremely important. Although it is a great platform and launchpad, singers should not get complacent with those achievements because their journey goes way beyond the stage of reality shows.

How important is social media for giving budding singers a voice or platform? Are you active there?We need to have a social media presence because of the kind of work we do, but I am still not very active there. Social media has emerged as a huge platform for all of us. It has blurred certain barriers and made it easier to reach out to a larger audience and vice-versa. At the same time, I feel the quality and originality of content tend to suffer due to the excessive content being generated online.

Tell us about your upcoming albums/songs.
I have done a lot of work during these last two years. I made my own songs as well as sang for others. Three of my very own songs are due for release very soon.

Being born to Assamese folk singers, did you always want to get into music or did you have something else in mind?
I turned to music much later in life. My parents never took me to the stage or told me to participate in anything. So, music was never something that I was made to choose.

What kind of music do you follow? Do you have a favourite singer?
I follow music across all major genres. Be it rock, folk, sufi or ghazal. If someone knows me, they will know how bad I am at selecting any one of these. Though my playlist keeps changing from time to time, it is always full of songs from different genres.

What are your favourite things about Kolkata?
I visit Kolkata every now and then. Each of my trips is incomplete without gorging on kochuri and rosogolla.

Are you planning to visit Kolkata during Durga Puja this year?
Yes, I have plans. I’ve been to Kolkata during Durga Puja earlier and the experience was lovely. I am from Guwahati and we have massive Puja and Bihu celebrations there as well. I love visiting pandals and relishing garam garam jalebis (giggles).

Any piece of advice for budding singers?
Concentrate on originality in your music. If you don’t do that, your career will be short-lived. So make original music and listen to music across all genres.

-Sundas Jawed