As the globe is eulogising legendary singer Bob Dylan for winning the Nobel Prize for Literature, an Indian musician is all set to celebrate Dylan’s conquest.
Lou Majaw, from Meghalaya, is going all out to celebrate Dylan’s triumph. A hot-blooded worshipper of Dylan, he has been religiously celebrating Bob Dylan’s birthday in Shillong every year since 1972, the year the state of Meghalaya was carved out of Assam.
On October 16th, Meghalaya resonated with popular Dylan numbers such as “Mr. Tambourine Man”, “Blowin’ in the Wind”, “The Times They Are a-Changin” and many more at the downtown Café Shillong and Cloud 9 to celebrate Bob’s success.
Born to a poverty-stricken family, Majaw has grown up listening to the music of Bill Haley and Elvis Presley and taught himself the guitar as most boys and girls did in those days. Having grown up in a poor Khasi tribal family scuffling to make ends meet, Majaw was galvanised by Dylan’s earliest album to dream big. Young Lou listened to Bill Hailey and Elvis Presley on his friends radio and strummed the only guitar in school when it was his turn.
“Bob Dylan’s writings are so powerful right from the late fifties and especially during the 60’s and 70’s. He has given so much to the world through his writings and if the world leaders give five to ten minutes to Dylan’s songs. I am sure this world, irrespective of religion and colour of the skin would understand peace,” Majaw told IANS in an interview after Bob received Nobel Prize.
Checkout Majaw covering Bob Dylan live:
Apart from Majaw, Shillong has one more icon that showed it’s fandom to the Nobel laureate. The city in North-East India has a café named after Bob Dylan, called ‘Dylan’s Café’ at Fruit Garden, Dhankheti.
Shillong would be hosting NH7 Weekender, a two-day music festival from October 21st. Dylan’s songs are not likely to be played out there, though the Nobel Prize might lead to some last-minute changes. You never know.