Lou Majaw: India’s answer to Bob Dylan
The entire music landscape shifted on its axis when Bob Dylan arrived on the rock scene. While he claimed to be a humble folk songwriter, Dylan followed in the footsteps of artists like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, revealing the truths about society that most people were too afraid to talk about. While the Western world may have been listening intently, other artists like Lou Majaw were doing the same thing half a world away.
As Dylan sang about the injustices that were going on at the time, Majaw was shaping up to be the Eastern answer to the American folkie. Born and bred in the folk tradition, Majaw also had a flair for organic instruments used to tell stories of the people who couldn’t speak for themselves.
When composing his first handful of songs, Majaw singled out Dylan as an early influence, recalling while talking to Homegrown, “The simplicity yet depth of Dylan’s songs really got to me. There’s so much hope and wisdom. You see beyond the trees, into the forest, and so many things. He makes you feel what you see and hear. That is his beauty. No other lyricist has that power, magic.”
Rather than adopt Dylan’s vocal mannerisms, Majaw got his point across to the audience through his authenticity. While some of his colleagues from around the same time, like Susmit Bose, got ridiculed for their communist ideas, Majaw was looking to document what he saw on the street every day.
While Dylan had his own way of relating to his audience, it was only a matter of time before he felt confined to folk singing, later going electric and dividing the music world by leaving his acoustic roots behind. Although Majaw stuck with his usual sound, he would find himself being drawn to electric instruments as well.
A few years following Dylan’s turn to electric music, Majaw would incorporate electric elements into his sound, making his odes to humble living feel much more alive than the humble folk tunes he wrote. While Majaw may have had the aesthetic of Dylan down to a tee, the way he composed his songs had a few subtle differences compared to what his American counterpart was doing.
When sculpting tracks like ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, Dylan was notorious for writing out a long poem before narrowing it down to the most cutting lines that he could think of. From Majaw’s perspective, that mentality got in the way of a musician’s spontaneity, explaining, “I don’t have anything specific like I have to write this song today or get something down by a certain time period. A song just happens in that moment itself. I’m not a good planner, nor do I think too much.”
While this method may have seemed alien to Bob Dylan then, it turned out that Majaw was one step ahead of his inspiration. Later on in his career, Dylan would come to appreciate the power of writing songs at the moment, trying to capture the feeling that he got when he woke up rather than crafting something that would last for generations.
Majaw would also go on to cover Dylan extensively. Throughout his life, Majaw would perform such classics as ‘She Belongs to Me’ and ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ in his live set, bringing everything back around to his humble origins.
Regardless of how much Majaw and Dylan may have indirectly taken from each other, both of them saw their medium as something more than just a catchy tune. Whenever listening to a Dylan or Majaw song, fans are not getting a simple song. They are getting their unique take on life through the speakers.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.