How Majuli Music Festival is Saving An Island From Going Extinct

(Last Updated On: May 18, 2023)

Majuli Music Festival; the country’s largest river island music festival is taking place in November and we are fan-level excited!

We got to talk with Mukul Doley, the brains behind the music festival. Mukul and his trusty team have worked hard for over two years to make Majuli music festival more than a concert. They are aiming to save their beautiful island from extinction.

We want to bring all artists on to one stage irrespective of any genres of music and exchange ideas and culture. – Team Majuli

A little about Majuli, the world’ largest river island:

Majuli is the largest inhabited river island in the world, nestled in the middle of the mighty Indian river Brahmaputra in the state of Assam. The picturesque island is famous for its raw, uninhibited tribal culture. The island is home to communities such as the Mising (Miri), Deoris, Sonowal Kachari and Nepalis.

Majuli was formally declared the first Island district of India on 8th September 2016.

Saving Majuli:

The river island; once over 1200 sq. km is now reduced to just 350 sq. km. The primary reason for this is the constant floods and heavy rains, along with man-made construction activities that have led to erosion. The erosion ruined one-third of the Island’s landmass over the years.

What is Majuli Music Festival about?

When Mukul and his friends came back to their hometown, they realised it needed immediate saving. They decided to kickstart a campaign to promote rural tourism and boost the local economy of Majuli with a 3-day music festival.

Majuli Music Festival brings together Indian and global music, art and culture, local food and traditionally brewed rice beer tasting for everyone.

We wanted to initiate a sort of cultural exchange with artists all over the world and draw them to Majuli, and motivate other artists to be part of the project. – Mukul

Its main objective is to create a community; a sense of belonging for artists everywhere – right in Majuli. The festival seeks to promote a sense of co-habiting, by bringing cultures together.

Also, the Majuli music festival hopes to gain the attention of UNESCO, in a bid to raise awareness about it’s failing condition and become a candidate for a ‘World Heritage Site’.

Driving ‘Music for Change’ – The Majuli Music Team

To make the Majuli music festival the success it deserves to be, a strong team was formed. Mukul Doley runs the BTS of Majuli, along with team members:

• Momee Pegu
• Jems Pegu
• Lorensh Doley
• Bidyacharan Doley
• Migol Doley
• Pinki Doley
• Debabrata Rajkumar
• Kiranjit Baruah
• Roopam Barua
• Nanendra Doley
• Keshab Roy
• Pritirupa Saikia

When we mentioned whether he took inspiration from Ziro music festival, a stellar example of a successful music and artist event, Mukul smiled and said:

“Well, we have Bobby Hano, the brains behind Ziro, on the advisory board for the Majuli Music Festival.”

Over the past few months, the MMF team have met and spoken with several prominent figures to help them gain more presence. Recently, the Chief Minister of Assam, Mr Sarbananda Sonowal recognised their efforts.

Also, the team wants to introduce initiatives through the festival, one of them being the ‘Majuli School of Music’.

Through Majuli School of Music, talented young generations of the island get a chance to enrol in their field of interest like Music Production, Singing-Songwriting, Sound Design, Sound and Audio Engineering.

From one festival to another – how Majuli music festival met Instamojo

When we asked Team Majuli what prompted them to choose us, Mukul said.

“Bobby Hano from the Ziro Music Festival recommended Instamojo to us when we were looking for someone trustworthy to handle our ticket payment collections.”

Mukul says “Instamojo is a startup helping other businesses find a platform, which is similar to what we are doing with artists.”

We currently use Instamojo’s payment links for ticket collections. We are considering using other features of Instamojo too, like the online store – to sell our merchandise. – Mukul Doley

Instamojo has a relatively lower transaction fee as compared to other payment gateways, Mukul said.

Majuli Music Festival also wants to use Instamojo for the online store and mojoXpress feature to sell and ship their merchandise across India.

What to look forward to – Artist Lineup and Activities

The artist lineup for Majuli Music festival is proof that the team is all set to preserve tribal music too. The team have had the privilege to collaborate with Rewben Mashangva, a musician from Manipur who has been hailed as the ‘Bob Dylan of the North East.’ 

Apart from this legendary artist, the festival has also collaborated with Assamese singers who work closely with Bollywood, like Kalyan Baruah, a premier guitarist and music producer at MTV Coke Studio who worked closely with Bollywood stalwarts like KK, Mohit Chauhan, Adnan Sami, among a few.

You can check out his new project Fish Curry Blues, here.

 

Besides this, you can also look forward to:

• Village Cycling Expedition
• Boating Competition in Kerkotiya river

The Majuli Music Festival is set to take place on the 15th, 16th and 17th of November.

Already generating buzz,  the team is working hard to complete their website and online operations and get the ball rolling to the public.

“Majuli taught us all we know about music. It is time for us to give back to the island, to take care of it” – Mukul Doley

Supporting dreams and initiatives like Majuli Music Festival has always been a part of our vision. If you have a business or care to support one, join the Instamojo community.

Let’s build a business together.

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