TT, Kalimpong, April 26: The body of singer-composer Brian Moktan was recovered from the bank of the Teesta near Sevoke Bazaar today, exactly a week after he jumped into the river off NH31A between Rambi and Kalijhora.
Police said the body was first noticed by some local people of Sevoke Bazaar around 9am. They immediately alerted the local police outpost. The police, in turn, relayed the message to Moktan’s family and friends. “I received a call from the police around 10.30am and immediately rushed to Sevoke with some friends. When we reached there, Brian’s body was lying face down on the riverbank. The face was barely recognisable, but we identified Brian from his pant, belt and vest,” said former footballer Urgen “Mini” Lama, a close friend of the popular hill singer.< The musician’s body was later brought to the Kalimpong sub-divisional hospital for post-mortem. A crowd had gathered at the hospital when the ambulance carrying the body arrived. “I was with Brian Sir a day before he left for Kurseong for election duty. And now to welcome him back in this manner,” said an emotional Kiran Chhetri, a young musician. Moktan had got down from a bus near Rambi on NH31A and then took a 20-feet plunge into the river at the end of a nearly two-hour drama on April 19. He was returning from Kurseong along with a team of polling officials after overseeing the voting there the previous day. The 58-year-old musician, also a schoolteacher, leaves behind him his wife, a married daughter, and a grandchild. The singer of “Jage jage sara raat”, Moktan is also the composer of hits like “Sambodan” and “Seer seer seer hawale” that were sung by Thupden Bhutia and Adrian Pradhan respectively. During his musical career spanning four decades, he also penned lyrics: the most popular among which are “Yaad timro auncha dillei beech ma” and “Sapani haruma”.
In fact, Moktan was collaborating with Kiran Chhetri for a new album when he died. “Brianjojo (elder brother) was very excited about the album. He was revisiting his unreleased compositions to see if they could be used in the new album. His death is a big loss for music in the hills. He was such an inspiration for us aspiring musicians,” said Manoj Tamang, another young musician.

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