Four students from Arunachal Pradesh have turned local frustration into a music project that aims to widen the map for artists from India’s far Northeast. Gilithigreams — Tarh Moyon, Weyo Lumi, Tap Pabe and Nabam Sasum — debuted as an independent pop group in December 2024 with the song “Morom To” and have since released “Naso Soto” and a Hindi single, “Tum Hi Ho.” They performed in Guwahati during HYBE’s India auditions on May 3, arriving as a visible example of what a Northeast girl group can look like in 2025.
The group’s origin is practical and deliberate. Moyon says she tried online K-pop auditions and failed repeatedly. “After that, I thought, why can’t we do something ourselves? If we can’t go there, we can start from our own state,” she told members of the group. What began as a dance crew in 2021 became a pop collective after two years of competing and repeatedly losing — experiences that, they say, radicalised rather than discouraged them. Without studios, labels or government support, they funded recordings and rehearsals from gig money and organised themselves through group chats.
Preservation of culture is central to their mission. The name Gilithigreams compresses “girls with big dreams.” Moyon explained that the group’s purpose is not only fame but keeping mother tongues — Galo, Apatani, Nyishi and others — alive beyond their hills. All four members are Nyishi, though from different areas, so they navigate dialectal differences while choosing to perform in English, Hindi and their native languages depending on the audience and the message.
Their creative process is collective and geographically scattered: members converge when needed, build choreography together and decide by consensus rather than top-down direction. They balance college and what amounts to full-time music careers: vocal sessions, dance practices, project planning and live shows. “Everything. Music, dance studios, performances, we manage ourselves,” Moyon says. “We earn from live performances and use that money to produce music and pay for dance studios.”
Public reception has been mixed but evolving. Early audiences sometimes misread their performances — once labelling them “local Blackpink” — yet reactions changed onstage. The group reads comments, including criticism, and believes listeners will learn the difference between pop and folk as their style matures. At the HYBE event in Guwahati, Pabe called the auditions recognition for the Northeast: “It shows they are finally paying attention to this region,” she said.
Gilithigreams returned home after Guwahati to continue college, practice and new music. “Keep watching,” they told fans after the event. “Something big is coming.” Their releases are available on streaming platforms.
Original Source: https://www.indiatodayne.in/arunachal-pradesh/story/inside-gilithigreams-the-girl-group-turning-arunachal-into-pops-next-frontier-1393064-2026-05-17?utm_source=rssfeed
Category:
Tags:
Publish Date: 2026-05-17 12:38:00
