Nagaras to be played after 13 years

KATHMANDU, Aug 24: After 13 years of silence, the thudding sound of the two largest nagaras, large drums played with wooden stick, will be heard again on Sunday. The instruments were not played for the last 13 years due to lack of maintenance.



The nagaras, which were kept at Nagara Ghar, a house especially built to store them, located near the Metropolitan Police Range (MPR), Hanumandhoka, will be played by Nagarchi, a man who traditionally plays the Nagara. After offering kshyama puja, a prayer held to appease the gods on Saturday, the nagaras will be played today.



“After a huge effort, our traditional musical instrument again came to use and the credit goes to the brothers of our community,” said Basudev Pariyar, one of the Nagarchi. “It´s very good news for all of us. Our ancestors used to play the Nagara Baja and now we have got the opportunity.”

According to Pariyar, the poor condition of the nagaras was not the only reason why nagaras could not be played for the last 13 years. The problem was no efforts were made to build a Nagara Ghar until recently. [break]



Along with the Nagara Ghar, the two nagaras could not be repaired for a long time because of the lack of budget and the KMC had shown no interest in getting the nagaras repaired.

While worshipping Taleju Bhawani, the reigning deity of the Taleju Temple at Hanumandhoka Durbar Square, these two nagaras are played 109 times along with the bells of the temple.



In 1864 BS, the two nagaras were made under the order from then king Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah, to be used in worshipping Taleju Bhawani.

In 2001, the two nagaras got damaged due to the lack of maintenances, and then they were not repaired for the next six years. After six years, in 2006 with the initiation of the Nagarchis, the two nagaras were repaired but they again got damaged after few months due to the lack of proper place for keeping them.

“They suffered weather-induced damages and no efforts were made to repair them,” said Pariyar.



Like in the Kathmandu, nagaras are also kept in Bhaktapur and Patan, but they do not have separate house for the nagaras like the Nagara Ghar in Kathamandu. They are smaller compared to the nagaras of Kathmandu.

According to culture expert, Satya Mohan Joshi, the concerned organization (Guthi) must take care of nagaras, otherwise, there is a high chance of losing such traditional instrument from the country. “It´s high time to preserve such traditional instrument of our nation,” said Joshi.

“In the ancient time nagaras was also used to inform public about any disasters. But in Basantapur area, the nagaras were used only in the temple,” he added.

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