Very few stay connected to their roots and traditions in this era of modernization and Westernization. And Dehradun born musician Nikhil Saklani is one such person who is on a mission to put his pride, Uttarakhandi music on the map and give it he popularity it deserves.
Born in Padiyar village of Dehradun which is now submerged in Tehri dam, Nikhil started learning guitar at the age of 8. From rock and roll to pop, Bollywood and Indian classical music, the talented musician grew up listening to all genres of music and also taking part in his school programmes.
In 2022, what started as an Instagram page by Nikhil to post his singing videos of Garhwali and Kumauni songs blew up! In just a few months, he had more than 35000 followers from not just the country but also overseas.
And then came a turning point in his career when music maestro A.R. Rahman invited Saklani for a music competition hosted by him called Nexa Music. His song Kaiku Kasur i.e. whose fault got selected in the top 30 out of the 12000 songs. The song’s music video was released on Nexa Music’s channel, fulfilling Nikhil’s dream of making his folk music reach millions.
Nikhil is moving forward with one dream – to give a new look to Uttarakhandi music and popularize songs in languages lime Garhwali, Kumauni and Jaunsari. The musician is confident that one day, hilly folk songs will be as popular as Punjabi music.
