The year was 2010. A teenage Taba Chake had just stepped out of Arunachal Pradesh for the first time. He had travelled to Vellore in Tamil Nadu with his mother for her treatment and, during a short break, made a trip to Chennai — a city of tall buildings and big malls. He wandered through music stores, marveling at the guitars he had always dreamed of playing on stage. “I was seeing a mall and KFC for the first time,” he laughs, speaking over the phone.
It was Taba’s first encounter with a world that didn’t know where to place someone who looked ‘Asian’ but called himself Indian. “It’s not that people didn’t want to accept us,” he says. “They just didn’t know. I was also discovering what India truly was.”
With time, that feeling of being different turned into pride. “Coming from the Northeast is a plus point,” he says, with quiet conviction. “We look different, we speak many languages, and that’s the beauty of India.”
Finding his voice
That awareness of identity shaped not his worldview and his music. Known for his intricate fingerstyle guitar, multilingual songwriting, and introspective lyrics, Taba has become a distinctive independent artiste. His songs move between Nyishi (the language of the Nyishi tribe in Arunachal), English, Hindi, Assamese and Nepali.
“When I write, I’m not trying to be trendy,” he says. “I’m trying to be truthful.”
His breakout album Bombay Dreams (2018) introduced audiences to a sound that felt both global and deeply personal. On the cover, Taba placed his own face — a deliberate statement. “I wanted people to see me and think this is what an Indian looks like too,” he says. “My identity is not something to hide behind the music. It is part of the story.”
The album’s success was followed by ‘Walk With Me’, ‘Shaayad’, and his recent hit ‘Khud Ko Miloon’, which crossed a million views within days. Yet even with this growing fame, Taba remains wary of the digital race. “I don’t want to be a one-week artiste,” he says. “I want my songs to live for a lifetime.”
Ask him about influences, and his answer is simple: Nature. “The Northeast is pure. You cannot escape that,” he smiles. “Even a novice musician from there will make something unique because of the environment, the peace and the quiet.”
His childhood in Arunachal was steeped in rhythm and melody. It’s no surprise that his compositions often carry that meditative quality, even when set against modern instrumentation. “I have tried to avoid writing about Nature,” he admits. “But it always comes back, in my melodies, and in the way I think. You cannot take the hills out of the sound.”
Bridging worlds
Taba’s journey from a Northeastern town to international stages has been organic. His performances at the ASEAN India Music Festival, sold-out shows in London, and collaborations across Asia have expanded his reach.
“When I perform abroad, people often think I’m Japanese or Korean,” he laughs. “A Columbia Records executive once asked if I was a Japanese artiste settled in India. I said I am 100% Indian. That conversation strengthened my purpose — to show the diversity within India.”
This cultural duality makes his music resonate beyond borders. At his shows, the audience often sings in Hindi and hums in Nyishi.
“I get messages from Pakistan, Japan, and the Philippines,” he says. “They tell me my songs helped them through heartbreak, loneliness, even suicidal thoughts. That is when I realised that music does not need language. It just needs honesty.”
Ambassador of art and identity
Back home, Taba is also giving back to the community that shaped him. As the brand ambassador for the Arunachal Pradesh Cultural Department, he promotes indigenous music and mentors young artistes. “When I started, there was hardly any infrastructure for musicians in Arunachal,” he recalls. “Now I see young singers writing in Nyishi, Adi, and Apatani, it is beautiful. Our music should not sound like anyone else’s.”
He believes the next wave of Indian music will come from places like his, regions rooted in tradition yet open to experimentation. “We just need to support artistes before they leave their hometowns and create something authentic,” he says.
On why he prefers fingerstyle guitar, Taba states, “With fingerpicking, you don’t need anyone else,” he says. “It does the rhythm, the harmony, and the melody, all in one. It’s complete.”
As he looks forward to new releases, global tours, and collaborations, he smiles at the thought of how far he has come. “Life has taken me to cities and countries I never dreamed of,” he says. “But every time I play, I am still that boy from Arunachal, curious, grateful, and learning.”
Published – November 13, 2025 02:21 pm IST
