Their pictures are slowly fading, as their band long since died, and most of the members have gone away. But The Secret Revealers from Tamenglong, Manipur continues to live in the hearts of many. And, their diehard fans raved about them and brought back memories of their good old days as one of the surviving band mates, Madan T Panmei, passed away on April 5.
KC Kiubang Gabriel, the lone surviving band member is now 76. But he stood tall and proud under the clear blue sky, soaking up the good old sun, as he revealed to the Imphal Free Press how one of the oldest Western music bands in Manipur was formed.
The Secret Revealers was formed in 1974. They were four members. They were Gabriel – vocalist, Poujanglung Samrow Panmei – lead guitarist, Mandan T Panmei – bassist and Sumorjit Singh - drummer. They had not seen the world. They had no TV then. But they heard the songs on the radio. Beaming with raw talent, they picked up the songs and played along.
“There was no other western music groups in the state those days. We were travelling around singing in Imphal at GM Hall, Ukhrul, Chandel, Dimapur (Nagaland) and Shillong (Meghalaya),” Gabriel reminisces.
The Secret Revealers performed a lot of country covers, apart from their few originals, he said.
They were often invited to perform in Shillong, Dimapur, etc. and even took part in competitions. In one of the regional music contests held at GM Hall in Imphal, The Secret Revealers band bagged second prize, while their drummer secured the first position and was awarded a sum of Rs 500 in cash, he recalled. “Rs 500 in those days was a huge sum,” he said.
He regretted that due to financial constraints and bad road connectivity in those days, they could not join more competitions or perform in other states even though they were invited. They were frequently invited to sing at politicians’ programmes in Imphal, he added.
He recalled that one of his friends called Mangcha from Old Lambulane was also in a Western music band called ‘Mackintoz’ and shared their instruments for performing on many occasions.
Gabriel then shared how he taught choir songs to Catholic Action Society Tamenglong and Catholic Youth Organisation and that was the first choir performed in Tamenglong.
Gabriel continues to strum the guitar and sing. He also plays different music instruments and is keen to provide consultation to any willing individuals who want to learn something from him.
Urging them to take up musical instruments and learn with full commitment, he also stressed on the importance of singing with clear diction. “Clarity of pronunciation has to be achieved while singing a song,” said Gabriel, whose son Britto also is a singer and a member of ‘Kabir Café.
Many locals come to him to learn music, he said, dropping a word of advice to budding talent: "If you're interested in singing, work on your voice and be humble first”.
