Four old friends regroup after decades of hiatus to translate their dream of making an album into reality. It is also their way of paying tribute to those band members who are no more. Does it sound familiar? Well, this is no reel life RockOn2 story but the real journey of the erstwhile ‘Outsiders’ who come together for the love of music and relive memories and forgotten verves.
Naveen Thapa, the “soul” of The Busters, a Nepali band, says the new album is the culmination of the dream that he and his friends had been nurturing for years now.
Thapa is among the nine founding members of the band, which started as ‘The Outsiders’ in the mid-eighties. The other founders are late Buddhiman Sunar, late Raju Sunar, late Deepak Pradhan, late Durga Subedi, Rajen Gurung, Sonam Lama, Anand Pradhan and Uttam Sharma.
Asked why they called themselves outsiders, Thapa says it was a time of turmoil and hatred.
He talks animatedly sitting on a low cane stool at the doorstep of an otherwise orderly living room of a middle-class house in Nongmynsong.
The decent-sized room, which has been the Busters’ recluse for the last few days, now vibrates with the beat of the drums and the strumming of guitars.
“We were outsiders in the State. But we wanted to show that these outsiders can also make an impact with their music,” says 51-old-year Thapa. The band would perform originals in Nepalese.
Puran Gurung, who joined the band in the later part and is now into multi-media in Mumbai, has his own interpretation of the name.
“Politics apart, the band’s music was different from others’. The band was outside the general boundary and hence ‘Outsider’,” he explains.
But when did Outsiders become Busters? “That is another story,” quips Thapa.
“It was in the nineties. We were looking for a new name for the band. Then I came up with ‘Busters’. We had recently watched Ghostbusters and it was in my mind. Also, it was a time when several bands were mushrooming. So we wanted to bust the myth that music is not a one-night stand and is a serious business that requires dedication,” he says and looks at Gurung, who nods his head in agreement.
Gurung says the band’s lineup kept on changing over the years as members would leave for various commitments. Sanju Chettri, Roshan Gurung, Pawan Rai and Risan Sunar are some of the members who joined later.
“In 1998, we managed to come out with an album. Though it was inspirational for the youth of our community, we lacked technical expertise,” says Thapa, who writes the lyrics for the band and Gurung arranges music.
The Busters’ last show was in 2000 at State Central Library. Besides Thapa and Gurung, Roshan, Anand, Risan and Uttam were on the stage.
The separation was natural as career and family became priority. But the urge to make music brought four old members, who performed in 2000, together in 2007.
Thapa says it was in 2014 that the group decided to make the album as “it was time to do what we always wanted to do”.
Thapa started writing the songs in January 2015 and by the end of 2015, The Busters was ready for recording that continued till May the next year. The album, titled Biti Sake Ka Pal, will be released on May 21.
As Thapa and Gurung salvage through memories, Denim Lama sits quietly at one corner of the room. He is the newest member of the band. Lama, who grew up in Nongmynsong, teaches music in Kolkata and is back in Shillong to spruce up the spirit of ‘Naveen uncle’ and ‘Puran uncle’. “I know them since childhood. I think it is a great venture and their spirit is laudable,” says Lama.
The other members are Sunny Manbha, Roshan Gurung and Uttam Sharma.
S.K Pradhan, an old friend who is helping the group with logistics management, says, “While Naveen is the soul of the group, Puran is the heart. It is great to see them together again making music.”
The Busters has dedicated the album to a dear friend, Durga Subedi, who passed away in 2000 and all those “who came in late and left early”, says Gurung as he quotes Subedi from one of his last writings. ~ NM
