[ Indu Chukhu ]
Popular singer of Arunachal Pradesh, Rerik Karlo Digbak (44), recently launched her audio-video album Gui Riyi, meaning Voice with Melody.
Digbak has till date sung a total of 374 songs in various languages, including Galo, Adi (and its sub-tribes Bori and Bokar), as well as Nyishi, Apatani, Monpa, Miji, Tagin, Assamese, Mising, and Hindi. She has also composed more than 50 songs.
Digbak, a music teacher by profession, is married to Tanga Digbak who hails from Digbak village in Dumporijo in Upper Subansiri district. They have three sons and a daughter.
Speaking to this reporter, she said that she used to perform during school functions since the age of three. She officially started her singing career in 1998, recording her first songs for All India Radio, Itanagar. The songs were ‘Ajena No Yolo’, ‘Kano Kasenna’, and ‘Nokke Ngome’.
Later, in 2001, her first audio album, Taangu Taaga was released, in which she sang ‘Ala Kuka’, a Mopin song produced by her elder brother Dr Rejir Karlo. This brought her under the limelight. Most of her learning of music came through radio broadcasts. She said she learnt songs in different languages back when she used to be in her village.
Digbak recalled how singers like Toyi Kato, Moge Doji and Gote Ete inspired her through their songs on the radio. In those days, the radio was the only medium which connected her to the outside world through music.
On her singing so many songs, she said, “It feels so unrealistic for me to have achieved this feat. The child version of me wouldn’t believe in my present self.”
She thanked her parents, husband, siblings and the love of the audience, attributing their support to her achievements in the field of music.
Digbak is an awardee of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2020. She was felicitated by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in recognition of her contribution in the field of folk music and dance of Arunachal.
She is also the cultural coordinator of the Arunachal Pradesh Women’s Welfare Society, cultural secretary of the Galo Indigenous Faith & Cultural Council, and president of the women’s wing of the Galo Artist Forum.
On 29 September, during the release of her audio-video album Gui Riyi, dignitaries such as former MLA Nyamar Karbak, APBRDA Chairman Tatar Kipa, and legendary singer Bengia Tab, along with TRIHMS Director Dr Naba Kumar Bezbarua were present.
The videos for her songs were shot in Pahalgam, Kashmir, and Ziro.
