Tracing Papon’s Fandom- An Autobiographical
Sketch
-Amlan J. Das
M2015MC008
School of Media and Cultural Studies
Wikipedia describes him as the founder and the lead singer of the folk fusion band
Papon and the East India Company. He has around 37,500 followers on Twitter and 536,434 likes on his Facebook page.
Born to legendary Assamese folk singer couple Khagen and Archana Mahanta, the world knows him as Papon while parents named him Angaraag Mahanta.
Born on 24th November 1975, Papon crafted himself as one of the finest
Assamese singers not just in the state but also across the country. His distinct voice and his selection of alternative Electronic fusion and folk fusion genre made his one of the popular names in the Indian music industry today.
Assam has been a land of singer. From the likes of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika to Zubeen
Garg, singers from the state have made a very distinct mark in the Indian music industry. But Papon managed to do is differently is that apart from conditioning him to industry conditions, he managed to bring out the Assamese folk culture out of the state. Call it the new age information order, boom of the internet or just chance, but other singers from the state haven’t been successful in doing what this Papon did. Before going deep into the bibliography of
Papon, let move tangentially to my first association or my first introduction to this singer. Must have been the summer vacations of 2005, as a fifth grader student
I was enjoying my holidays at my maternal grandparents’ place in Barpeta, Assam. In one of the usual night drives with my
uncle, I stumbled upon this cassette called
‘Junaki Raati’. The curious kid in me played the cassette and was exposed to this intoxicating voice for the first time.
Who is this singer? I asked. ‘Son of
Khangen Mahanta’ my uncle said; ‘not many has heard his voice, some friend of mine sampled this cassette, said he’s got a nice voice’. I immediately burst into laughter, ‘He sings like a drunken guy.’
That was my first reaction to his songs, and today after having followed him for more than 10 years, I am probably one of his biggest fans.
It’s interesting to distinguish between who is an aficionado, a fan and someone who is obsessed with someone or something. The dictionary definition of aficionado is ‘a person who is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about an activity, subject, or pastime.’ A fan on the other hand, as the online etymology dictionary defines is someone ‘who is enthusiastically devoted to something or somebody.’i
A fan or as defined a devotee originated from American English, originally used for baseball enthusiasts, is probably a short form of the world fanatic. However, as defined by numerous texts including the online etymology dictionary, it may be influenced by the fancy, a collective term for followers of a certain hobby or sport
(especially boxing). Its origin can also be somewhat traced form the world fancy, which in turn originated from the word fantasy. fantsy "inclination, liking," contraction of fantasy. It took the older and longer word's sense of "inclination,
whim, desire." Meaning "the productive imagination" is from 1580s. That of "a fanciful image or conception" is from
1660s. Meaning "fans of an amusement or sport, collectively" is attested by 1735, especially (though not originally) of the prize ring. The adjective is recorded from
1751 in the sense "fine, elegant, ornamental" (opposed to plain); later as
"involving fancy, of a fanciful nature"
(1800). Fancy man attested by 1811.ii
The isolated use of the word fan from
1682, but the modern word likely is a late
19th century formation. So in simple language, for a fan, appreciation of someone or something is more like a tradition or duty than expression. Hence, locating a fan as a media consumer within a fan is slightly tricky as it involves an obsession, which is very hard to get rid of.
The reason of this initial elaborate description is because I am tracing the fandom of Angaraag ‘Papon’ Mahanta through an autobiographical sketch. And the very use of the word ‘fandom’ here brings in an element of biasness, that isn’t productive for any academic piece. Thus, it became imperative for me to understand my position in his (Papon’s) entire fan base and how it has influenced my marking of who his fans are and how they have evolved.
-Papon as most of us know him is his pet name. In some of his interviews he mentioned how people found it difficult to pronounce is his usual name and hence he started using his nickname as it was easier to get hold off. It was actually legendary poet and lyricist Gulzar who asked him to go with the name ‘Papon’. In a meeting with Gulzar, Papon talked about his dilemma of using his given name or his pet name. The lyricist replied by saying that he did not know what Papon meant, but
Angaraag looked like what Papon would be, so go with Papon.
Angaraag has a rich family heritage attached to him. His father Late Khagen
Mahanta was known as the ‘Bihu Samrat’, the king of Bihu folk songs of Assam. His mon, Archana Maganta on the other hand was a trained Hindustani classical music singer. She was in fact one of the first B
High graded classical singer from the
North Eastern region in the All India
Radio. The duo Khagen and Archana
Mahanta was renowned all across land and abroad for their performances. Hence it can be well assumed that stepping into the ladder of success wasn’t that difficult a task for Papon, just any other celebrity kids of India. However, that wasn’t really the case of this guy. Keeping the element of subjectivity aside, as an average consumer of media, I have seen Papon making a way where people started recognizing Khagen Mahanta as Papon’s dad and not him as Khagen Mahanta’s son. Sometime around 2013, I attended a quiz in a posh locality of Delhi. In the set of finalists including the Quiz Master, I happen to be the only Assamese. The culture round has a question which read:
‘Papon’s dad Khagen Mahanta is known in Assam as ________?’ Bihu Samrat was the answer. This was something that explained how he made his own name.
And this would be something which this piece would narrate, via the Biography which I constructed by following him for the last 10 years.
Papon, back in school days was known more of a painter than a singer. Having exposed to music since early days, courtesy his parents, he did have the subconscious learning of music, but his inclination was towards art. Hence he said that he wanted to be an architect as it’s the only profession where art and science
overlapped. He however eventually dropped out of the course and in the due course of the time shifted his focus totally into music.
The Delhi phase of Papon’s life was the life changing phase for the singer. Even in his early days, when as a child, Papon used to be a part numerous music bands; he played the keyboard, and was not a singer.
His journey as a proper music man started in his Mayur Vihar apartment where in he started with small jingle works. Susmit
Sen of the band Indian Ocean started getting him jingles and that’s when he started singing.
-My initial experience with Papon was not a good one, having made fun of his voice. I felt he was probably drunk or sleepy. But the cassette however travelled with me from my maternal parents place back to
Guwahati, just by chance. Due to the non availability of other records, I started listening to him again and that’s how I got hooked on it. The song, ‘Mon Mur Uri
Gusi Jai’ was a song which I could listen over and over, initially for the soothing melody and later for the exceptional lyrics it had. The lyricist of the song was Papon’s uncle Keshav Mahanta, another well known artist in the region.
Until now, I found it difficult to classify myself as a fan of Papon. I was probably more of a follower who has unleashed a new singer. And this I would call operationally (in my case) call as the first phase of being called obsessed follower or devotee or simply a fan. In the first phase, you unleash a new talent and start following it and you develop a curiosity to share it amongst your peer groups.
This is when I told my friends back in school about the album ‘Junaki Raati’ and
asked them to check out this new singer
Angaraag Mahanta.
In the meantime, Papon in Delhi has already formed his band ‘The East India
Company’. After having started singing jingles, Papon worked with his cousins and friends and recorded his first album
‘Junaki Raati’ in 2004. There was no proper marketing of the album and Papon just asked someone in Assam to shell out a few copies of the album in the Assamese market, just as an experiment. The album however became very popular with copies in the multiples of thousands being sold in a period of three years. After the success of the album, in 2007 Papon performed for the first time in Guwahati and once done he set the foundations for his band Papon and the East India Company.
East India Company performed primarily in Delhi, in numerous local gigs. What set the band apart was its genre; it was an electronic folk-fusion band. Their music and their songs have evolved from eastern
India, and to put in Papon’s word, ‘the lush green fields of Assam’, and heir music is awash with the native notes of their soil.
Papon and the East India Company was the second band in India to have officially started live mixing of songs on stage. This really set them apart. Folk music fused with electronic music turned out to be a treat for listeners.
This is where I come to the second phase of fandom, where you start defending your choice. So when I introduced Papon and the East India Company to my friends they laughed me off. Someone even made mockery of the name of the band saying that East India Company has long left
India and we are an independent nation now. To save my choice, I started defending the Papon and his band making people listen to him.
This second phase of being a fan is crucial one. This is the phase where you start becoming obsessed with your interest and refuse to take anything against it. And in the due process you end up propagating the subject of which you are a fan of. This is the phase when you contribute in the increase of the fan base of the artist you follow. In this instance, I at least was successful in converting my immediate peer groups into fans of Papon.
were at least familiar with the tune really connected well with Papon’s music. He came up with songs like ‘Pak Pak’ which had rock fused with traditional Bihu (later performed in Coke Studio). He went abroad and performed Assamese gatherings. He by 2011 established himself as an iconic Assamese musician. He came up with two more albums, Dhulir Aakah and Sinaki Osinaki (2009) that captured the market well.
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By now, I reached the third phase of fandom which is when everybody gets to know about the singer and by now you become obsessed with the celebrity. So much so that you claim him/it to be yours; this is the phase when you follow anything to everything related to person/team.
Papon for me was not just my favourite singer, but also my idol and addiction.
Papon by now has made his entry into the music fraternity by his unique voice, but his voice is yet to reach households in
India, baring Assam. He performed in numerous gigs in Delhi and around, accumulating much appreciation. He was yet to make is Bollywood debut, which in
India was at least a scale of success. He also started performing in loads of music festivals around the globe. In 2009 itself, he collaborated with Karsh Kale and
Midival Punditz to produce a stellar performance at the Paleo Fest 2009. Such fusion gigs provided him a unique reputation in within the Indian music scene, particularly in the genre of experimental music. Simultaneously, he also kept working in his Assamese productions, creating an enormous fan base in the state. In his initial phases, he also acted in a TV serial which was aired on DD Guwahati apart from singing its title track.
The popularity of Papon within Assam however increased in folds when he started performing on stage. He was already experimenting with fusion music for a long time and slowly he mixed traditional folk with rock and started performing what he calls electronic folk on stage. This really set him apart. The youth of the state, who knew traditional folk songs or
As of now Papon was still awaiting his big
Bollywood break, and that happened with
2011 flick, Dum Marro Dum, where he sang ‘Jeeyein Kyu’. This was the biggest turning point of his musical career.
Apparently Ramesh Sippy saw him performing at Blue Frog, Delhi and that’s how he was offered his big Bollywood break. Jeeyein Kyu was an instant hit as the nation was enthralled by a new voice.
It took no time for the song to reach every household of the country establishing
Papon as a national celebrity now.
Dum Marro Dum was however not
Papon’s Bollywood debut. Papon’s first movie was Ankur Tiwari’s ‘Let’s Enjoy’, the movie however went unnoticed.
In the meantime, back in Assam, fans kept adding up and for some like us, who followed him even before his inception as a celebrity, now merged with everyone else. Basically once a fan attains the operational third phase of fandom they achieve highest grade. It’s just that how long and when did you get to the highest
grade, but that doesn’t actually matter after a point of time.
Another milestone of Papon was MTV
Coke Studio 2012. His fusion of traditional
Assamese folk with rock was a big hit. Not just he claimed himself a name in the national music scene, the usage of
Assamese made sure he won the hearts of all Assamese back and his popularity and admiration increased folds.
We have had singers how has previously sung at the national level. Bhupen
Hazarika initiated a movement to get
Assamese tradition and folk songs at the national level. But since his initial little effort, nothing much was done. Papon here continued the same attempt and he made sure he got Assam’s tradition to the biggest stage possible. All songs familiar to everyone in the land are now being sung on a popular TV channel and that was more than enough for everyone to be sentimentally attached with Papon.
Post 2012 Coke Studio, Papon performed in numerous concerts around India including the South Asian Bands Festival in Delhi and few Delhi University colleges.
By then he have also sung his second
Bollywood song for Barfi, ‘Kyu’ which was also an instant hit. So people indentified as a versatile singer who had given hit
Bollywood numbers and at a concert he made sure that he also sang is fused
Assamese numbers. So he offered his audiences a unique blend of music along with a brilliant performance. Before talking up playback singing, Papon was a performer; hence he is absolutely brilliant on stage. Now this increased his fan base instantly. His ability to make anyone enjoy music irrespective of the language made him famous and also at the same time propagated the Assamese culture. This was much to the joy of folks back home.
He continued the same in the second season of Coke Studio where he fused
Assamese devotional and folk songs with songs of other states, particularly Punjabi and Rajasthani.
Shows like Coke Studio, The Dewarits contributed immensely in the increasing the fan base of Papon outside Assam.
There seems to be new wave in the independent music scene in India, and
Papon seems to be one of the drivers of this change.
India had a very healthy scene of what came to be known as Indi-pop, back in the
90s. Bands like Bombay Vikings, Aryans and Uphoria as well as independent singers like Shaan, Abhijeet, Falhuni
Pathak and Baba Sehgal opened up a new promising market for independent music scene in India. This wave however could not sustain for a longer time as Bollywood music soon took over.
In the last few years bands like Indian
Ocean, The Raghu Dixit Project, Papon and the East India Company really played a pivotal role in rejuvenating the Indian independent music scene. This attempt of
Papon and his contribution earned him a new share of fans. Channels like MTV
Indies featured him time and again; this made him a celebrity amongst the music patron Indian audience.
-A question here emerges, what makes
Papon fans like him? As in, what is it that makes fans fall in love with Papon. To understand this, we must first create a timeline for his fans. How many of them knew Papon before 2006; how many knew him since 2006 (Since Junaki Raati); How many knew him post 2011 (Dum Marro
Dum); How many knew him after Coke
Studio of 2012?
In a survey conducted online for this essay which had almost 50 responses, 22% of the fans claimed that they knew him since
2006, while only 20% knew him before
2006. It was only after Dum Marro Dum in 2011, 38% of the sample population got hold of Papon. Coke Studio introduced
Papon to another 20% of the population.
So essentially it was his Bollywood venture that contributed to his growth of fan base in India, which is quite evident. However, back in Assam things were a little different with him already having a huge fan following since his first album. His regular month Bihu functions, a cultural phenomenon in Assam made him even more popular within the state.
The interesting observation however came in regards to his type of music his fans prefer with 40% of the respondents claiming that they liked his fusion songs more. Only 6% appreciated his pop songs while 28% loved his folk work. The rest preferred his Bollywood work (28%). So
clearly, in this sample population of fans, they preferred his fusion songs more than anything else.
When asked about what they love the most about Papon, 62% of the respondents claimed it to be his voice. Hence his voice adds up to be the biggest factor of his fan following. On asked about the tempo of his songs, which usually is slow or fast, 54% responded that it didn’t matter while 42% liked his slow songs.
This might be a small fraction, but it speaks a lot about his fan following and fans. But the question here is that where do I place myself amongst this fans?
I have been following him since 2004, it did not matter what songs he sang, what language he sang, in which way he sang.
There can never be characteristics that define what a fan actually should be like and who is a true fan. There are phases that a fan goes though and after a point of time, every one reaches the same level
