The lockdown gave me a chance to connect with my soul as a musician: Tapas Relia

margin-bottom:4.5pt;line-height:normal;background: whiteTapas Relia, noted music composer, believes that music is all about celebrating life and hope. During the nationwide

lockdown

last year, Tapas pushed his creative boundaries and came up with his first song as a singer which was all about having hope during the

COVID-19 pandemic

. margin-bottom:4.5pt;line-height:normal;background: whiteFor Tapas, the much-appreciated song titled

Yakeen Rakh

, will always remain special and close to his heart. The song was released on March 25, 2020 (exactly a year ago) and the song is “all about keeping faith alive in tough times and it was created spontaneously.” Later on, he continued with this process of creation as a musician and it has been a wonderful journey for him in the last one year.margin-bottom:4.5pt;line-height:normal;background: whiteOn the first anniversary of the lockdown, Tapas Relia looks back and shares his thoughts on his lockdown life lessons. He says, “While the lockdown was an unfortunate event for millions who depended upon their daily earnings, I am only filled with gratitude and thankfulness for being able to not only survive through it, but also being able to help, donate and feed those people who did not have any means of a decent income. It has taught me to value whatever little I have. It has taught me the importance of having a loving family around me who were steadfast with their support and made sure that the frustration of being jobless for a few months doesn’t get the better of me.”margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:whiteHow did he keep the creative juices flowing during the lockdown and how was the process of creating music during this tough phase? Tapas says, “Fortunately, I had access to my studio at all times. So, I kept jamming and playing around and had a lot of fun. The break from commercial work gave me a lot of time to listen to a lot of music, which wasn’t happening otherwise. I must’ve heard hundreds of songs in the lockdown and truly enjoyed being just a listener at times. Also, evolving technology helped me jam and collaborate with many other musicians without leaving my space or breaking the lockdown guidelines. It was an amazing new experience that helped all of us overcome the obstacles that the lockdown imposed on us. The eerie silence around us because of the lockdown, helped a great deal!”margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal;background:whiteAs a creative person, how did he deal with this process of isolation? Looking back, Tapas feels, “It was liberating.” He adds, “For the first time in my professional career spanning more than 2 decades, I was under no pressure to make or create anything for anyone. There were no deadlines to meet, or no long nights of overburdening myself. The result was a pure connection with my soul and discovering those melodies that were lying dormant, buried under the load of commercial work. I was very relaxed and that helped me create some songs and melodies that I never could-the first one being ‘Yakeen Rakh Grahan Hatega’ that I released exactly on this day a year ago (25th March 2020). It was one of the first songs on the COVID-19 situation.”