Nikhil Dasgupta. Photo by Marion Earley

Singer-songwriter Nikhil Dasgupta, a 2016 Bowdoin College graduate, released the song “Heaven Knows” on Feb. 6.

The song is gorgeous, delicate and sprinkled with Dasgupta’s piano and guitar and swirls of synth sounds created by his longtime friend Sam Kyzivat. Dasgupta’s voice is tender yet sturdy. Emotions are running high as he sings about the heartache of a failed relationship.

I won’t spend another year in denial, and you won’t change your mind
Still I can’t help but love you like a forest fire, heaven knows I’ve tried

Dasgupta lives just outside of Boston in Allston, Massachusetts. How he came to live there is a story that was born of trauma, but one that has led him to a happier  existence.

In April 2019, Dasgupta was closing a vertical window in his Portland apartment when it fell out of its frame, hitting him in the head.

The moment changed his life forever when the injury shifted from a simple concussion into a full-blown health crisis.

Nearly six years later, Dasgupta, now 30, shared during a Zoom interview that despite everything he’s been through, he’s more at peace than ever before.

I first became aware of Dasgupta when his band SnugHouse (named for the pub he lived above) released its debut, self-titled EP in 2017.

It was love at first listen when I heard the harmony-rich “I Couldn’t Be.” The song still knocks me sideways.

The “Like Water” EP followed in 2018 with the track “Firefly” followed by the bright and breezy single “Irie.”

That same year, SnugHouse played at the Old Port Festival and that fall played to a pretty packed house at One Longfellow Square. In 2019, SnugHouse performed as part of Coffee By Design’s 25th anniversary celebration.

Sometime around then, Dasgupta and I met for coffee so he could ask for advice on promoting the band. I remember thinking that he seemed extremely focused and eager to bring more attention to SnugHouse.

But then the shows abruptly stopped, as did any new music from SnugHouse. I remember hearing that Dasgupta had been either injured or was ill.

Two weeks ago, Dasgputa reached out with the news about “Heaven Knows.”

He shared that initially when the window fell on him, he experienced classic symptoms of concussion that he assumed would clear up within a few weeks. But when they didn’t, Dasgupta retreated to his parents’ house in Massachusetts to recover, while the rest of SnugHouse tried to salvage its first tour. “I think it kind of triggered some sort of kind of systemic thing, and I think it turned into a kind of PTSD with a lot of neurological problems,” said Dasgupta.

He developed an acute sensitivity to screens and sounds, along with severe dizziness, rendering Dasgupta unable to play or even listen to music. For a year, Dasgupta even had to shower with earplugs because he couldn’t tolerate the sound of water.

His doctors believed he was suffering from chronic Lyme disease, but tests were inconclusive. “My takeaway from this is that it’s a gray area of medicine. Long Covid is very similar, where people just have all the symptoms and no one really understands,” he said.

These days, Dasgupta doesn’t focus on a diagnosis. “The conventional medical system doesn’t seem to have answers for me right now and I know what I have to do. I have to try and find meaning and happiness in each day.”

To that end, Dasgupta pays close attention to what he eats and how much sleep and exercise he gets. He also gave up consuming alcohol permanently.

“I’m not gonna obsess over what went wrong, and in the end I think that the almost spiritual separation from looking for answers is what kind of helped to get me to where I am now, where I’m more at peace then I’ve ever been. ”

However, Dasgupta also had to reckon with the idea that he may never be able to play music, a huge part of his identity.

But during a particularly dark period in 2020 grappling with both health issues and heartache, the concept for “Heaven Knows” came to him. “Simply put, it was about a relationship. Those are very poignant emotions for all of us as humans and it was about kind of surrendering to helplessness,” said Dasgupta.

Last year, Dasgupta submitted an early version of the song to Boston public radio station WBUR as part of its Tiny Desk Concert contest. Although he didn’t win, the panel at the station loved the song and it was a top five contender.

Dasgupta recorded a more formal version of “Heaven Knows” in his home studio and it can be streamed everywhere.

Dasgupta no longer has dreams of touring the country and releasing a steady flow of music, but he also knows that music is in his core. He has a goal of playing one headlining show in 2025. “I am embarking on a journey to figure out what it looks like.”

To keep up with his music and any future live appearance, follow Dasgupta on Instagram (@nyquildasgupta) and sign-up for his mailing list at nikhildasgupta.com.