Voice from the Hills

Session 46 summary

Apurva never thought that he would be a singer-songwriter. He used to sing only hindi songs and earlier his dream was to become a playback singer in Bollywood. Eventually it changed after he came back home after the first pandemic lockdown where he started releasing his own Nepali originals and thankfully it worked out and that is how he knew that he could do something in the Nepali Industry. Now he is making songs and giving them to people.

How has the Pandemic helped you with your singing-song writing?
Actually, Apurva never thought he would release his originals. The song that he released first was made two years before it was released. Apurva thinks that it was just the right time because during the pandemic everyone was having a monotonous life and maybe a song could have cheered them up. He didn’t really have any expectations, his maximum expectation was 10,000 views but now it is around 5 million which is great.

What are your inspirations that brought you into singing and song writing?
It was Apurva’s grandfather who really inspired him to do music because he was a singer-songwriter and instrumentalist himself, so the musical environment was there in the family itself so that is how he got adapted and that is how he started doing music. Though he was really small and unknown but unconsciously or subconsciously he was really getting into it.

What kind of songs did your grandfather sing? What influence did the Tamang music and instrument have on you?
Apurva was influenced by his paternal grandfather who was not Tamang. He was someone who used to write and compose songs and then give it to other singers and those singers were the ones who started a bit modern Nepali music that was earlier seen.

Do you feel that your music is also influenced by your own Tamang culture?
Apurva has really not thought into that part but then obviously yes, as he has listened to them when he was younger and has been following it so he thinks that there is a pinch of that influence on his music but he has not really thought deeply about it.

Would you be eager to look into Tamang music more?
Indeed, he is open to doing all those experiment in his music career so he has to research on it first then definitely will do it.

Do you feel that there is a change in the music from your first song till now?
Apurva personally feels that he has gained more confidence in writing and composing because when he first released Sano, he was really not confident about the song because he didn’t know how it was and whether the audience would accept it or not. Yes, he has gained a lot of confidence and he thinks that this is just a scratch and he has a lot to go.

Could you share more about your journey, how you started singing, where you are and what would you like to do further?
Apurva started his singing dream from the Bollywood sector but he didn’t really know what he would do in the future. The pandemic has set a different perspective, that he should just focus on the present and do better, get better in whatever he is doing in music and see where it leads.

How was your experience entering into the main cities (of glamour) of India from a small region?Apurva says that it wasn’t easy but it wasn’t difficult either because this is what he loves doing. Everyone faces struggles in their lives so he can say that it was neither easy nor difficult, but a fun journey where he learned a lot of things. Obviously when one goes to a bigger city, participate in reality shows and meet the singing musician community, one gets to learn a lot of things and how much hard work one has to put to get there. It was a competition but for Apurva it was a learning process.

What advice would you give to the young people who wish to enter into the entertainment industry?Apurva advices them to do what feels right, be sincere to their music and in whatever they are doing. They should also be sincere to themselves and they don’t need to show it to anyone. They can participate in reality shows, write songs and release songs, to put all the hard work and dedication into what they are doing and they would come out with flying colours.

Does it ever make you feel a sense of curiosity towards your own community?
Apurva didn’t really had that feeling years back but at the same time he feels that it is important to know one’s roots and where they come from. Apurva has not learned these yet practically and he hopes that he will get to explore beautiful things in his community.

Do you feel that youngsters should start taking ownership of their language and community?
That can definitely be done, especially for the present generation because he thinks that this is how others can be inspired. One has to start it to know about their community.

What would your suggestion be to do that?
Apurva suggests that youngsters can initially start by talking to their grandparents because they have more knowledge about it. To just casually talk and not learning it systematically because casual talk can help get a lot of information. Then portray it and give a little inspiration to others to do the same. This can be done through different ways, like Apurva is a singer-songwriter, a musician, so he can really convert it into his music and let it out for the people to know. Like he wrote a song about Depression so people can be aware and take actions according to it. People should do it on their own way, just make awareness for the younger generation to really get into their roots and know their community.

Have you ever heard stories from your Tamang grandparents?
Apurva has not really been deep into it but then yes his grandfather really tried hard to make him learn some part of the language. Apurva didn’t know the value at that time but now he thinks that it is high time and he will start taking up those things and start learning.

Why do you think it is so difficult for the young people to really value their own ethnic languages?
The awareness lacks somewhere and the life right now is so fast, people really do not have time to think about “I want to do something for this”, “I really need to know about my community, where I come from”, their language, etc. Apurva thinks that the pandemic was a very good way to learn things and that people need to stop as one cannot run continuously. Everyone has to stop for a while and think, not just run-run-run.

There have been a lot of folk musicians from Darjeeling and Nepal. Have you ever been influenced by these folk artists?
Yes definitely, because be it at home or somewhere else, especially at festivals Apurva gets to hear those folk songs playing. One of the artist he would like to name is BipulChettri, he and other artists inspired Apurva a lot.

Do you feel that in the days to come would you be exploring traditional folk music?
Definitely. Apurva thinks that he is just learning right now, he has just started doing it and released 10-11 songs. He is still learning about some genres. Yes, he is exploring a bit of folkish tunes and put them in his songs and he would like to do it more often because the last hit was ‘Sunideu’ which is a folk music. He will start giving that to people again.