Updated October 2026: this article has been expanded into a full guide to Papon's Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3 episode, with every song, its singers and credits, a short profile of Papon and his best Hindi film songs. Gaurav Aradhye's original 2013 review is preserved in full further down the page.
Papon, the Assamese singer and composer whose real name is Angaraag Mahanta, composed and produced the fifth episode of Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3, which aired on 14 September 2013. It has six songs: Baisara Beera, Benaam Khwaayishein, Dinae Dinae, Jhumoor, Khumaar and Tauba. Two are gentle Hindi ballads, three are built on Assamese folk songs, and one is a full-on dance track with Benny Dayal.
The core players across the episode were Kalyan Baruah on guitar, Raja Rasaily and Raktim Mahanta on keys, and Kirti Prabar Das and Sanket Naik on percussion, with Coke Studio regulars such as drummer Lindsay D'Mello and Aslam and Hanif Dafrani on dholak. The songs were recorded by Steve Fitzmaurice and Ashish Manchanda and mixed by Darren Heelis at the Pierce Rooms in London. Khumaar and Benaam Khwaayishein are the two songs most people come looking for, and they are the two our reviewer picked out in 2013.
Every song in Papon's Coke Studio episode
- Khumaar (Papon): a slow, unhurried solo with lyrics by Vaibhav Modi about the restless haze of love on a sleepless night. The arrangement is spare, with a shehnai played by Omkar Madhukar Dhumal, and Papon's grainy voice carries the song. It is the best place to start.
Khumaar - Papon - Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3 - Benaam Khwaayishein (Anweshaa): composed by Papon but sung by Anweshaa, with lyrics by Pinky Poonawala. It is a song about unnamed desires that cannot be spoken, and her restrained, mature delivery is what makes it work. Pritam Ghoshal plays sarod on the track. Papon has since sung it himself in his live shows.
Benaam Khwaayishein - Papon, Anweshaa - Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3 - Dinae Dinae (Papon and Harshdeep Kaur): a traditional song from Goalpara in Assam, which reflects on how childhood, youth and old age slip by, joined to new Punjabi lines by Jagmeet Bal that tell the listener to let go of worry. Papon's Assamese folk voice and Harshdeep Kaur's Sufi-flavoured Punjabi meet in the middle. The official video is embedded in our original review below.
- Baisara Beera (Papon and Kalpana Patowary): a traditional Rajasthani song combined with a Holi song from Barpeta in Assam, turned into a dance number. Listen for the ravanhatha, a bowed Rajasthani folk fiddle played by Sugana Ram, the nagada drums and the beatboxing of Vishwesh Krishnamurthy.
Baisara Beera - Papon & Kalpana Patowary - Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3 - Jhumoor (Dulal Manki and Simanta Shekhar): a traditional jhumur, the music of the tea garden communities of Assam, sung in the original language, with Nirmalya Humtoo Dey on flute. It is the most rooted song in the set and, by plays on the official YouTube channel, the most popular song from the episode.
Jhumoor - Papon, Dulal Manki & Simantha Shekhar - Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3 - Tauba (Benny Dayal): a funk track with African-style rhythms and an accordion part, written by Vaibhav Modi and sung with plenty of swagger by Benny Dayal. It is the odd one out in a reflective episode, and a deliberate change of pace.
Tauba - Papon, Benny Dayal - Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3
Who is Papon?
Papon was born Angaraag Mahanta in Assam on 24 November 1975, the son of Khagen Mahanta, one of Assam's best-known folk singers, and Archana Mahanta. He grew up around Bihu and Assamese folk music, released his first Assamese album, Junaki Raati, in 2004, and in 2007 formed his band, Papon and The East India Company. The meeting of Assamese folk melody and modern production that runs through his own records is exactly what you hear in his Coke Studio episode.
His first Hindi film song was "Om Mantra" in Strings: Bound by Faith (2006), but Hindi listeners really took notice through Pritam's soundtracks for Dum Maaro Dum (2011) and Barfi! (2012). Before he was given his own episode, Papon had already appeared on Coke Studio @ MTV in both earlier seasons: in Season 1 (2011) with Pak Pak (Bihu Naam), and in Season 2 (2012) on Nitin Sawhney's song Saahil Tak and on Tokari in the season finale.
Papon's best Hindi film songs
If the Coke Studio episode leaves you wanting more of his voice, these are the film songs to hear next.
- Jiyein Kyun (Dum Maaro Dum, 2011): composed by Pritam with lyrics by Jaideep Sahni. A bleak, slow song that made a lot of Hindi listeners notice him for the first time, and one of the two songs our reviewer mentions in the original article.
Jiyein Kyun - Dum Maaro Dum - T-Series - Kyon (Barfi!, 2012): a playful Pritam duet with Sunidhi Chauhan, light and whimsical in a way his Coke Studio work rarely is.
Kyon - Barfi - Pritam, Papon, Sunidhi Chauhan - Sony Music India - Moh Moh Ke Dhaage (Dum Laga Ke Haisha, 2015): composed by Anu Malik with lyrics by Varun Grover, and probably his best-known song. His version won him the Screen Award for Best Male Playback, and Monali Thakur sings a separate female version.
Moh Moh Ke Dhaage - Dum Laga Ke Haisha - YRF - Humnava (Hamari Adhuri Kahani, 2015): a Mithoon ballad that suits the ache in his voice, and one of his most watched Hindi songs on YouTube.
Humnava - Hamari Adhuri Kahani - Papon, Mithoon - Sony Music India - Bulleya (Sultan, 2016): composed by Vishal and Shekhar with lyrics by Irshad Kamil. A Sufi-tinged song in a Salman Khan blockbuster, and the one that took his voice to the widest audience.
Bulleya - Sultan - Papon, Vishal & Shekhar - YRF
Where this episode sits in Coke Studio India
Season 3 ran from August to October 2013 and produced several of the Indian edition's best-known performances. A. R. Rahman opened it with Zariya, Clinton Cerejo produced the third episode, and Amit Trivedi followed Papon a week later; you can read our take on Amit Trivedi's episode and our overview of the whole season. For the song that first made people take the Indian edition seriously, see our guide to Madari from Season 2.
Papon's set stands out because it is built around his own region. Three of the six songs are built on Assamese folk material, and the episode put jhumur and Goalpara folk songs in front of a national television audience.
If you only have time for two songs, our reviewer's choice in 2013 still holds up: Khumaar and Benaam Khwaayishein are the most carefully written songs in the set, and they show Papon as a composer rather than just a voice. Khumaar is the one to play late at night; Benaam Khwaayishein is the better showcase for his writing, because he hands the melody to another singer and lets it stand on its own. For a fuller picture, follow them with Jhumoor and Dinae Dinae, which show where his music comes from, and finish with Tauba, which shows how far he was willing to stretch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which songs are in Papon's Coke Studio episode?
Six: Baisara Beera, Benaam Khwaayishein, Dinae Dinae, Jhumoor, Khumaar and Tauba. The episode was the fifth of Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3 and aired on 14 September 2013.
Who sang Benaam Khwaayishein in Coke Studio?
Anweshaa sang it. Papon composed and produced the song, and the lyrics are by Pinky Poonawala.
Who wrote the lyrics of Khumaar?
Vaibhav Modi wrote Khumaar. Papon composed it and sings it alone. Vaibhav Modi also wrote Tauba for the same episode.
Is Khumaar from a film?
No. Khumaar is an original song that Papon composed for Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3, sung by him with lyrics by Vaibhav Modi. It was written for the show, not for a film soundtrack.
What is Papon's real name?
Angaraag Mahanta. Papon is his stage name. He is from Assam and leads the band Papon and The East India Company.
Our Original Review (2013)
Gaurav Aradhye wrote this review in September 2013. It is preserved below as originally published.
The “Anagaraag Mahanta” aka Papon! I did not know exactly what to expect from this episode as I had not really known how Papon composes. Off course he sings too well, we have heard him in “Kyun“ from Barfi, and also “Jiyein Kyun“ from Dum Maro Dum. But I was not sure how would his coke studio episode go off… !
Papon hasn’t disappointed us and although all the songs are brilliant in arrangement, I got some songs to take away from the episode; the songs which I will put into my playlist and will keep on listening to in future forever! I will talk about these take away songs more, rather than putting opinion about all the songs.
Dinae Dinae - Papon & Harshdeep Kaur - Coke Studio @ MTV Season 3The first song that touched my soul was “Khumaar“ sung by Papon himself. Especially for the mood this song creates through mellifluous twists! The song has capacity to allay any disturbed mind, and pacify it. And yes, the lyrics. They are fabulous. The song is penned down by Vaibhav Modi. You can have a look at the complete lyrics here
The next most beautiful take way song from the episode is “Benaam Khwayishein“ ! This is indeed a masterpiece ! Listen to this for Answeesha‘s voice. She has sung this so maturely! And just look at the use of instruments here… just perfect.. not too much, not too less. The mixture is perfect! And I must say, I am impressed by the lyrics! This song has amazing “thairaav”.
That’s it! I am not saying other songs are bad, but above two songs are a “MUST NOT MISS” ! Cheers!
