(The bird died from the heat of summer, Beauty is of no use when fate is lost)
Badi Gandharva made the audience clap their hands along with his folk tunes at Yala Maya Kendra on Saturday, May 21.[break]
The elder from Salyan played his Sarangi for the “Music on the Move” event organized by the Hri Institute for Southasian Research and Exchange.
The concert saw 20 performances by Gandharvas, the traditional minstrels and troubadours of Nepal, from the east and west of the country. There was a lecture, and lead sessions followed on how to play the string instrument called “sarangi” by Gandharva musicians before the concert began.
The organizers stated that the event was held to 1) promote Sarangi among Kathmandu audience, and 2) build communication among the Gandharva comm
unities themselves of east and west Nepal.
The event came as a work in progress of a research undertaken by the Hri Institute. A four-member team including Lochan Rijal, Saurabhi Pudasaini, Suraj Bista, and Sunit Kansakar traveled to Jhapa and Bhojpur in the east, and Dang and Salyan in the west, interviewing and recording the music of the Gandharvas of the regions.
“The whole trip for me was an opportunity to build up intimacy with these talented traditional artistes,” said Lochan Rijal, himself a music composer, adding, “Sarangi isn’t identified production-wise in Nepali music, but the Gandharvas are still keeping it alive despite their economic conditions and other concerns.”
Prahlad Bimali, a music student at Kathmandu University studying sarangi, said that the lecture session was very helpful. “We got to know the styles and techniques of playing sarangi in different parts of the country,” he said.
The Gandharvas themselves admitted that they had very little communication among their own communities. So this event indeed helped them understand the variations used by their counterparts.
“I’m very thankful to the organizers through whom we could meet and know about each other,” said Badi Gandharva.
Harka Gandharva added, “Our tunes, styles, and organics on Sarangi are different, but the music from all the Gandharvas carries the same essence.”
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