Bangalore based Pure Nepali folk band Gauley Bhai has released a studio version of the mourning folk song”Morau“Meaning ‘funeral’, the video is dedicated to their friend Youraj Chettri, who passed away in 2018. . “Morau” is the song from their debut album Joro.
“Morau is the last song on the album. It was written after a close friend, Yuvraj Chettri who lost his life in a pedestrian road accident near Silk Board. The setting of the song is at a funeral, a space for collective grieving. Yet, each individual is preoccupied with themselves: as dynamics play out between family members, friends, and their relationship to the dead. Back home, there is a ritual where before the body is cremated, the community gets together to watch over and guard the body, usually the night before. So the song is set at that time.”
Formed in 2017, Gauley Bhai comprises vocalist-violinist Veecheet Dhakal, his brother Anudwatt on bass, guitarist Siddhant Mani Chettri, and drummer Joe Panicker. While asked about the concept behind band name, Joe explains: “Gauley Bhai means a brother from the hood…the face you see always in the neighborhood. He’s a person who’s just like you, running around to make ends meet and he has his own ethnic and cultural background which he has left to come work in the city, and now the identity that he has reflects his sort of hybrid life. That’s the concept of Gauley Bhai.”
The band had published their single Nepali Ko Rela in 2017 and album Joro in 2019.
