Singing in Tamil, across borders

On a splendid January evening, 9 Grader Nord, a Norwegian Tamil folk-rock band, graced the Aura Studio stage, located on the rooftop of a quiet building in T Nagar, Chennai. In an intimate gathering of only 10 to 15 people, Dipha Thiruchelvam, the band’s lead singer, began the show with ‘Hymn’ in her deep voice. With her sister Mira Thiruchelvam on flute, Jakob Sisselson Hamre on percussion, and Jakob Sønnesy on bass guitar, the band took no time to envelop the audience.

Mesmerised and in awe, the audience watched as the sisters wore their diaspora on their sleeves and sang their hearts out in a city where they did not feel like a minority, but one among the crowd — only one person knew the lyrics, Dipha later confessed in an interview with The Hindu.

9 Grader Nord, which translates to 9 degrees North (the coordinates for Jaffna, Sri Lanka, where the sisters’ parents hail from), is a band started in 2017. Their parents fled Sri Lanka in the 1980s during the civil war and settled in Norway, thus becoming the inspiration behind the band’s name and motto — to express grief and assert their identity. They play an array of musical styles, including Carnatic music, baila, and Tamil folk music. Using art as a tool to express displacement and patriarchy, the band has released two albums — Jaffna in 2019 and Yalpanam in 2023.

The latter won the prestigious Spellemannprisen, an equivalent of the Norwegian Grammys, securing a win in the Open Category of the ceremony. Yalpanam is the uncolonised name of Jaffna, making their art deeply personal.

Mira Thiruchelvam

Talking about their musical journey, Dipha says they are mostly self-taught musicians, and that their father’s keen interest in the bamboo flute encouraged them to make their own music. “Our father wanted to play it in Sri Lanka but because of the war, his parents didn’t support him. When he came to Norway, he wanted to teach us how to play the instrument. Lack of access meant we had to listen to CDs and transcribe the notes ourselves. That’s how we learned music.”

Agreeing with Dipha, Mira adds, “I was invited to play flute or compose small pieces of flute interludes for male producers. The Tamil music industry is shaped by male fantasy. I wanted to express female emotions through both melody and lyrics. That’s how it started.”

Dipha Thiruchelvam

The most natural way for the sisters to express themselves is through music, and they do not view Carnatic music and rock as fusion.

“We grew up learning Carnatic music. I think it’s also a natural result of living in Norway and trying to please the Norwegians. We don’t feel fusion.” Mira turns to AR Rahman for inspiration. “We think of him as a nostalgic Tamil musician who is also very good at fusion.”

Dipha Thiruchelvam and Jakob Sønnesy

When Jaffna was produced and performed on stages, the feeling of displacement hit harder than expected. On a stage in Norway, when the band sang Adayalam — a song about identity, longing to belong, and the loneliness of being a minority — Mira choked and could not find the words, as it was deeply personal for her, Dipha says. “We’re singing about our culture and being appreciated. We are trying to keep up with both cultures.”

Sung in their native language, Vayppu captures the experience of arriving in a new country and, in that initial hopefulness, unknowingly becoming subject to systemic oppression. The tension between assimilation and inheritance runs through their music, especially in the song Viduppu, where young girls figure out their identities while trying to find a place in both cultures. Along similar lines, Victoria is about women’s empowerment, encouraging women to strive for a place in society .

The band

Pressure to fit in

There is still a struggle to figure out the balance of being Tamil and Norwegian enough, says Mira. “Fitting in Norway but also not forgetting where we’re from and what our parents went through…it’s a dual process,” Mira says. Her sister, she adds, is a pillar of support.

However, the fear of being whitewashed is prevalent and continues to linger. She adds, “We live in a predominantly white city, and we are very visibly a minority. When I was younger, we were trying to be as white as possible — straighten our hair etc. We were trying to suppress our Tamil roots. It’s been important not to chase trying to fit in.” The sisters mention how, when deciding on whether to wear a sari on their Chennai tour, they ultimately chose to wear kurtis. For once, they did not feel the need to represent themselves through attire, and the idea of being a ‘visual minority’ took a back seat.

The band with audience.

With people discovering new music through Instagram via just a 30-second reel, Dipha says the band is figuring out a new path and remains hopeful. “We made a full length music video for Victoria. Meera is running on the mountain with the sari and swimming in the ocean. And then for the next videos, we realised that nobody cares. For the last song Viduppu, we made three reels. We realised that people just scroll like this. And then if they like it, maybe they’ll watch it for a minute.”

Playing for a Tamil audience

When the show began, Dipha innocently asked if the audience understood Tamil. When the response was a boisterous yes, a gleam of happiness appeared on the band’s faces. “It was a surreal situation. To sing and then see people in the audience who understand the lyrics. When we sing in Norway, people don’t know the lyrics. I haven’t ever played for people who understand what we’re singing. It’s crazy to be able to tell jokes. Half of my Tamil language repertoire is just jokes. And to say a joke and have a room of people laugh… that was the best feeling for me.”

This marks their debut tour in India. Playing in Chennai had long been a dream, the sisters said during their set. When asked when they would return and what the next album would be, Dipha smiles and says manifestation, and Mira agrees.

Published – February 19, 2026 04:26 pm IST