Sonam Sherpa, founding member and lead guitarist of popular Indian rock and roll band Parikrama, passed away in Kurseong — where he had gone to record music for an upcoming movie — on Friday. According to reports, he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was 48 years old.
Although Sherpa did his schooling from Kalimpong in West Bengal, he later went to New Delhi to do his graduation from Kirori Mal College.
Sherpa was featured on CNBC’s Young Turks, a show based on young entrepreneurs. The BBC also featured him and his band in a rockumentary during their Download Festival tour. He collaborated with his fellow band members Nitin Malik and Subir Malik to compose music for the Bollywood film, Manjunath.
Sherpa also owned and ran Parikrama School of Music based in Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi.
Speaking with EastMojo over phone, a shocked Subir Malik, organist of the band, said, “I heard the news a few minutes ago. I am myself in a state of shock and on my way to the deceased’s home in New Delhi to meet his family. Sonam was in Kurseong to record the music for an upcoming movie. I am told he suffered a massive cardiac arrest there. It is not yet clear at this stage where the last rites will be performed.
Known for lending tunes to several iconic numbers such as But It Rained, I Believe, Am I Dreaming, among several others, the lead guitarist rocked stages across the world while flaunting his Gibson Les Paul guitar.
Born on October 8, 1971, in Kalimpong in West Bengal, Sherpa had been playing the guitar since he was nine years old. Blues, screaming riffs and soulful slides were some of the paradigmatics of Sherpa. Sherpa was also a founder member of the band Mrigya and North East Express.
Sherpa had been a part of as the lead guitarist of Parikrama since its inception in 1999. The band recently visited Arunachal Pradesh to shoot their song, Tears of the Wizard. Shot in Mechuka valley, the song was released in August 2019.
The news comes as a shocker for the music fraternity of the country as Sherpa’s work has inspired and left a mark among several musicians.
