The Incredible Journey of ‘Kacha Badam' Hitmaker Bhuban Badyakar

The man behind the unforgettable tune speaks of his musical origins, his simple life philosophy and what listeners can expect next

- Jessica Xalxo

KACHA BADAM IS A PEANUT, not an almond. That's the first thing Bhuban Badyakar, the “Kacha Badam hit-maker, clarifies when we meet. Peanuts are referred to as kacha badam in his native West Bengal, where the 52-year-old former dry-fruit seller hails from Kuraljuri village. A simple, salt-of-the-earth chap, Badyakar has worked a motley assortment of jobs - from farming on other people's land to selling vegetables. It's only in the last decade or so that the musician began selling the nut that would make him a sensation on the Internet.

Did he expect one of the songs he used to sing as a hawker to go viral? “I've no clue how or when it became famous, says Badyakar, who recalls the people in his village asking for an encore of his tunes as he went about selling his wares. The locals would whip out their camera phones and record his daily performance that comprised Badyakar stitching together words on the uses of peanuts, how to cook and eat them and so on, all hummed to a simple melody. One such video went viral earlier this year in January, and was followed by digital creators remixing the song on Instagram reels (they even added a dancing flourish to the tune). To Badyakar’s earnest surprise, “Kacha Badam” soon took the Internet by storm.