Sonam Sherpa, a musician and the lead guitarist of Parikrama, one of India’s most popular rock bands, died of suspected heart attack in Kurseong on Friday, leaving his friends and fans across the country in a state of shock.

The 48-year-old Sonam, who hailed from Kalimpong, but was based in Delhi, was in Kurseong for the shoot of a film directed by his friend Shenpenn Khymsar when he passed away around 1.15pm.

“Sonam was in Kurseong to watch the shooting of my film Broken Wings. This morning, we had breakfast together and as usual shared a few jokes before bidding goodbye around 11.30am since he was returning to Delhi and I had to stay back for the remaining of my shoot. Around 1.18pm, I got a call informing me that Sonam had collapsed while packing his luggage,” Khymsar told The Telegraph.

Friends of Sonam in Kalimpong said they would ideally like the musician’s body to be brought to Kalimpong so that they could give a befitting farewell to one of the heroes of the town. But sources close to the family said the decision on where the funeral should take place would be taken by his wife.

“The post-mortem will be done in Siliguri tomorrow. His wife, too, will be arriving in Siliguri tomorrow. She will take a call on where his funeral should take place,” said a close family friend.

A product of St Augustine’s School (SAS), Kalimpong, and Kirori Mal College, Delhi, Sonam also ran the Parikrama School of Music in Delhi and was featured on CNBC’s Young Turks, a show based on young entrepreneurs.

The BBC also featured him and his band in a rockumentary. He and his fellow Parikrama members Nitin Malik and Subir Malik had composed music for the Bollywood film, Manjunath.

Khymsar said Sonam was very delighted to be associated with his film and felt proud that such a movie was being shot in the hills.

“He had completed almost 70 per cent of Broken Wings’s music, and I believe this would have been one of his greatest works. As a tribute to him, I personally will complete the remaining part of the music,” said the director who is also an avid musician and writer.

Sonam’s untimely death has been widely mourned in the hills and Sikkim, particularly by the musician community.

“His passing away is not just a great loss to Kalimpong and the country, but also music lovers in different

parts of the world. I am told he had promised to perform alongside his wife and son during the platinum jubilee celebration of SAS in August,” said Britto Lepcha, a musician and like Sonam, a product of SAS.

Anit Thapa, the chairman of the Gorkhaland Territorial Authority (GTA), expressed grief at the death of the musician.

“Sonam was a brand in the field of music in Delhi and gave the Gorkha community an identity… My condolences to the entire family and friends of Sonam. It’s a very sad day for all musicians from the hills,” he said.