After seeing the huge success of her song titled Parinda, singer Mayuri Rajbonshi Rajbaruah is now busy with her cross-country projects.
In 2018 Mayuri Rajbonshi had her musical debut with Aguai Jua (Move Forward) and set her music milestone later in 2022 with Parinda that created waves in the mind of music lovers. But she came up with more than eight fabulous song projects which kept her damn busy in Mumbai.
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It was difficult to go beyond the craze of Parinda in the mind of the audience. To conquer their heart, she had to devise new techniques and undertake new experiments. She likes to explore different styles and genres. But her foundation is always Hindustani classical. She believes that a singer who is classically trained can sing any style of song. She does not agree that she changes her style in the post-Parinda period.
“It is rather broadening my horizon. My ongoing projects after the spectacular success of Parinda in March 2022 which was a musical milestone for my career are also music used as a medium for female empowerment. It is marked by innovation and passionate commitment to music and cultural heritage of Assam,” Mayuri says.
She had her first debut as a young singer on the radio in Dibrugarh when she was 11/12 years old. Since then she ceaselessly performed in TV and Bihu shows, youth programmes in AIR and College/University festivals in various places in India.
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Even after shifting to Mumbai in 2005, she devoted herself to rigorous classical training under the wings of veteran Bollywood singer Padmashri Sri Suresh Wadkar, Mumbai (in Jiyalal Vasantji’s Gharana). As a social activist, she works for children, the physically challenged and old people besides her concern for women. In her songs, she adds a modern flair to the Assamese musical world. Her ongoing cross-country projects which she started during the pandemic years show promise.
Ahem Prema and Xire Xire Bhaahe are her present cross-country Musical projects based in the USA. The songs although had their birth and nourishment abroad, they were deeply rooted in Assamese culture and heritage as it happened in the projects called Dure Due Thakiu Aji, Xubaxi Xewali, We are the Champions, and Tujhme khoya Rahe UK based projects include Tumi Tumi and Another life.
She receives support and help from Assam in creating more even abroad and reaches out to better in today’s world of technology; no one needs actually help to reach out to anyone. “The international musicians got connected through social media after they heard and liked my songs,” she says.
Mayuri in spite of her present Mumbai background is very much rooted in her mother tongue and hence wishes to take the language across countries. That is the reason she has intentionally kept the language for the songs as Assamese. Then it creates curiosity among them about what this language is about and to which state it belongs.
“Though I live far away from Assam for my professional advantage and exposure, yet each moment the Brahmaputra and its riparian culture moulds my thought. The idyllic ambiances of Assam, Kaziranga, or the divine Kamakhya have left ripples in my heart and soul. How can I think otherwise even when I am outside the state and even India I am abroad only Assamese Diaspora?” Mayuri adds.
Singers like Mayuri are enriching the roots of Assamese culture and heritage through their sincere commitment to music. “Music has healing power. It has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours,” said Elton John. This is exactly what admirers of Mayuri Rajbonshi found when in her musical journey in a true sense began with her first own Assamese composition “Aguai Jua” (Go Forward) in 2018. Being in the social work field and being a woman with a “never giving up” attitude, singer Mayuri Raj wished to portray the challenges facing women. Many women are being discouraged and they are forced to stop dreaming and get “their heads out of the clouds,” play safe, and not take chances.
Reasons like gender inequality, lack of support, resources, and self-confidence have been hindering women to pursue what truly women love. As a result, the challenges of achieving dreams appear so difficult and unrealistic that women start to become less ambitious. She took special care in writing lyrics/ producing her own music/ editing videos and making an independent songs.
“Women should never give up their dreams, desires, and goals; due to unlimited duties and expectations from their environment/ society,” she says.
Born in upper Assam’s Namrup, Mayuri gathered an expertise in music production and programming at Berklee College in Boston and got introduced to Art Concepts and Techniques at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. She did her M Sc in Human Development and Family Studies from Assam Agricultural University.
She channelized her passion for music by completing her Bachelor of Music (Hindustani classical-Vocal) from Bhatkhande Sangeet Vidyapeeth (Lucknow), Prayag Sangeet Samiti (Allahabad) And Sarva Bharatiya (Kolkatta). She got her Gayaki Training and voice culture from Suresh Wadkar in Mumbai and Pandit Vidyut Misra in Guwahati. She also did Kalabid in Painting which is equivalent to M. Fine Arts from Nikhil Bharat Sangeet Samity Calcutta.
Besides her two books Children in Adult Garb and Impact Assessment of Om Creations Trust, she also carved a niche as a researcher.
Her song Parinda is very well-received globally. Right from internationally acclaimed actor Adil Hussain to listeners across the globe, it grabbed the attention of many international producers to collaborate with her. The song Parinda was an initiative to raise awareness among women and any individual to remind them how strong they are to rise above any adversity with their inner strength and self-belief.