Salala – A Tribute To The Flood Victims Of North Sikkim

BY MANNU SHAHI,Born on August 27, 1985, in Kalimpong, India, Bipul Chettri is one of the most well-established names in the Nepali music scene. His glorious career flaunting his magical songwriting and arranging abilities brims numerous exquisite soulful melodies.

The singer’s inclination towards music brewed early as his father and grandmother were musicians and his grandfather a poet. With many creative influences at home, Bipul picked up the guitar and instantly became a regular performer at his school events. He later went on to explore western classical guitar further as a Licentiate Diploma disciple at Trinity College, London. 

Debuting in the digital realms with his contagious cult-classic single ‘Wildfire’ (2013) on SoundCloud. The singer’s discography includes two albums – “Sketches of Darjeeling” (2014) and “Maya” (2016); one EP – “Samaya” (2021); half a dozen additional singles and a few collaborations. 

The musician has also garnered accolades such as the Pop Rock Album of the Year for “Sketches of Darjeeling”, Best Pop Rock Composition and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for the track ‘Syndicate’ at the Hero Hits FM Music Awards 2016. And since 2022, he has been elected as one of the voting members for the Recording Academy Awards (Grammys), having the authority to vote for the official nominees in selected categories to determine the winners.

Bipul’s extensive live performances is enriched by his incredible accompanying group: the Travelling Band comprising Pranai Gurung, Rahul Rai, Aman Singh Rathore, Kiran Nepali, Prince Nepali, Achint (Shivam) Khare, Binaya Man Amatya and Sonam Tashi. Together the group has toured countries including USA, UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Hong Kong, UAE, and many cities across India and Nepal. 

And last Wednesday on January 31, the singer published his new single ‘Salala’ via his YouTube channel. Written, composed, arranged by Bipul Chettri, the song features Prince Nepali on sarangi and Binaya Man Amatya on audio mixing and mastering; recorded at Lotus Tree Studios (New Delhi) by Ritwik De and Krishna Rao. The simple yet effective video is a production of Junkeri Studio (Kalimpong); photographs by Sonam Tashi and Manohar Rai and the recorded river sound on the audio is contributed by Lhadup Moktan. 

The single is dedicated to the affected families of the South Lhonak Glacial Lake Outburst occurring at North Sikkim in October 2023. The violent flood reached Teesta III Dam at midnight, destroyed the dam in minutes and further swept away scores of lives, homes, major highways, bridges and settlements affecting thousands from Sikkim to North Bengal. 

The singer describes, “Salala in the Nepali language is an onomatopoeia of the sound of the river flowing. This song speaks of leaving one’s home for faraway lands because of the difficulties and uncertainties of life in the hills. And so, it is filled with emotions of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness and the incurable desire to return home while being unable to. With the river Teesta being the metaphor of the only constant that keeps flowing regardless of the circumstances.”

Commencing with the sound of the flowing river, Bipul joins in with his soothing minimal guitar phrasings, the video exhibits the singer alongside sarangi player Prince in a serene river bank. The live like aesthetic emitted by the minimal instrument arrangement and the video complements the mournful message this song tries to portray. The poignant sarangi counterpoints and interludes elevates the arrangement further. Admirable work on the lyrics with well-structured stanzas and intuitively articulated vocal melodies. Another gem to cherish from Bipul Chettri’s creative vault!