Traveling east on the Darjeeling mail, Noorie meets Veecheet, the lead singer of a Nepali folk-rock quartet called Gauley Bhai. He tells her the story of the Gorkhaland agitation, an assertion of political and linguistic identity in the Kalimpong-Darjeeling-Teesta region. Of the ongoing resistance against the dams and highways that are encroaching on the area, and a search for cultural consciousness. Gauley Bhai's music embodies loss, love and longing, set against an everchanging landscape. Noorie discovers the power of music as a way of memory keeping, resistance and celebration.

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Gauley Bhai (brothers from back home) is a Contemporary Folk-Rock quartet formed in 2017 when Veecheet, Anudwatt, Joe and Sidhant met in a studio in Bangalore. Their sound emerged from a shared memory of growing up in small towns- Veecheet, Anudwatt and Sidhant grew up in Kalimpong, and Joe in Calicut- and migrating to big cities. Their musical inspirations draw from sounds of childhood like Nepali folk (Jhalakman Gandharva, Bir Bahadur Biswakarma) and South-Indian Singari rhythms as well as blues, rock n roll and hip hop. The result is a sound that is strongly rooted yet nomadic.

JORO: https://open.spotify.com/album/5NZQMCVRrH98PwKonS4wRy?si=UX71Co78QaGi3m8vPFcTCw

Sunbari: https://open.spotify.com/album/6a6rMzNY6QEBcjJ7Cmu0rT?si=rmVlEM5VTpqui2u09EKSkg

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Concept: Ekta & Angarika, maraa a media & arts collective

Voice of Noorie: Ekta & Angarika

Recordings: Gaurav Krishna & Ishan Gupta

Sound design: Gaurav Krishna & Advik

Design Concept: Ekta

Design & Illustrations: Thara Thomas

Video Podcast: Malavika Mishra

Production Support: Team Maraa

With support from Goethe Institut Max Mueller Bhavan