When Meghalaya sings | Anurag Banerjee’s ‘The Songs of Our People’ documents his homeland through its musicians

The best documentary photographers can make sounds and smells come alive in their frames. Anurag Banerjee, 32, is an eloquent cultural chronicler, and his latest book, The Songs of Our People, is a visual cornucopia of sounds.

A Shillong boy, the Mumbai-based photographer grew up listening to Meghalaya’s diverse musical traditions — from indigenous stories to rock, reggae and rap. The book chronicles his State’s musicians, and how their music reflects identities, histories, grief as well as hope and the power of community and belonging.

The songs of Banrap Lyngdoh, 29, are about his own battles with mental health. His EP, Bipolar Confessions, is a rap and R&B album with dark undertones and haunting melodies. “It is important to be by yourself, to live alone, to struggle alone. You discover yourself, who you are, who you are meant to be.”