Imphal talkies' Keibul Gi Sangai addresses environmental degradation

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MANIPUR:

Imphal Talkies is a folk-rock band from India’s northeastern state of Manipur.

According to them, they are a band ‘of the people and for the people’ backed up by their meaningful songs that speak of the activism and passion to make their land a better place to live.

The band members have always been vocal about social and political issues and recently released the song ‘Keibul Gi Sangai’ on January 9, 2021.

The song is about the Loktak Lake - the only floating lake in the world and its surrounding environment.

The song begins with a note concerning the impact of the Ithai Dam on Manipur’s environment and how the dam, built in 1979, had submerged 80,000 hectares of agricultural land, resulting in many farmers losing their livelihood, and how it disturbed the ecological balance in and around the Loktak wetland.

The message of the song is simple, “Say no to development which is harmful to the state and its citizens”.

“I am very thankful to Oja Kumam Jugeshor for sharing stories about folklores related to Loktak, which I used in the first few lines of the song,” said Akhu Chingangbam, the founder of the band.

Manipur-based photographer, Kangabam Bikram Singh, who has been documenting the changes in and around Loktak, provided footage of the wetland to the band.

Sangai Studio shot and edited the video for them. The Henry Martyn Institute, Hyderabad, also took care of a portion of the production cost and supported the project.

“We make music whenever we feel like it. Yes, it may be political or disco at times. As of now, we are trying to re-release the singles that we put out between the year 2010 and Jan 2021 as an album,” the band told TNT-The Northeast Today.

It has been 12 days since the release of ‘Keibul Gi Sangai’ and there could not have been a better day than today as Manipur celebrates its 49th Statehood Day.

So check out the music video, which has already garnered around 40K views on YouTube.

They recorded the song at SIYOM Studio under the capable hands of sound engineer Mocha Kangjam. It was mixed and mastered by Surmani.

Others who were involved in the production include Binodkanta Ahanthem (violins), Irom Singthoi (Cajon), Akhu Chingangbam (Vocals, Guitar).

The music video was edited and directed by Pilu H.

(Edited by Aparmita Das)

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