Rapper UNIYAL (Kartikey Uniyal) has released his latest track ‘Namo Narayan’, which explores life in the Himalayas. Opening with a stark image of this summer’s deadly heat, the song weaves together prayers for protection and the struggles of living in the mountains. He invokes deities while describing how demons have arrived disguised as humans, and local gods have become sad. “My songs are usually based on things I see, hear and feel around me,” says UNIYAL, who hails from Uttarakhand and blends Garhwali folk with Hindi and English rap.

The song also fuses folk traditions and regional storytelling, while incorporating the traditional hudka alongside contemporary production. UNIYAL’s approach is to first listen to the music, and let the thoughts flow. His music producer, Soumya, then created a beat, and UNIYAL incorporated what he felt according to the sound. After which musicians — Rakesh Manral and Shadow Evergreen — recorded their parts. 

UNIYAL started his music career with hip-hop, but has always sought to merge traditional roots and folk sounds into his music. He is inspired by ‘Jagar’, an ancient Himalayan ritual of invoking local gods, chants and instruments such as hudka, thali and dhol damau. “We have been listening to them since childhood, and they connect us as a community. All weddings, cultural fairs, get-togethers and festivals have specific lok geets and nritya attached to them, which I have seen and performed as well. Although back then I never imagined becoming a musician, now when I look back, I believe they played a part in shaping me.”  

The theme of the song ‘Namo Narayan’ is stated explicitly in the lyrics — climate change, pollution, degradation of natural resources, deforestation, unplanned development, faith, labour, resilience and lack of education. “The song is a plea to the people to stand for the cause and a prayer to the local gods to look after us. I wanted to give multiple messages through the song: don’t give up even if things are not working your way, stay away from drugs, have faith in God, but never stop doing your part. Also, how important it is for everyone, especially women, to stand up for themselves,” he shares.

UNIYAL also listens to Bollywood music, and has fond memories of watching 9XM before school. A.R. Rahman, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Pritam and Vishal Shekhar are some of his favourite composers. Currently, he is working on a new album, which he says will be different.