What are your train journeys synonymous with? For the Shillong Chamber Choir, it is chai, coolies, samosa, mishti doi, board games, conversations, a hard disc full of music, a pen drive filled with movies... And now all these elements from the choir’s many train rides have made their way into an upcoming single titled ‘The Great Indian Train Journey’. The peppy track mimics the rhythm of a train and 70% of the lyrics comprise sounds of the station and names of food that the choir unfailingly feasts on every time they are on board.
The song is a tribute to Uncle Neil (Neil Nongkynrih, the founder of the choir) who passed away earlier this year. “He loved train journeys and spending time with people,” says William Richmond Basaiawmoit, the lead singer of the choir, over a phone call from Shillong. He adds that the song, a collaborative creative process by the team, was created 10 years ago, but will be released only this year, in July, for sentimental reasons.
