Rise Of The Nepali Folk Songs

Emerging in the popular music media of Nepal in the 1950s was a music genre called Nepali folk song or “Nepali folk song,” which drew on and transformed traditional songs from Nepal’s villages. In contrast to village songs, Nepali folk song heard on the radio and in recordings combined musical elements from various ethnic traditions, supplemented with non-folk instruments, and Western influences. In the 1950s Nepali folk song (Nepali Lok geet) collector/singer Dharma Raj Thapa traveled throughout Nepal collecting and learning Nepali folk songs (lok geet). In the early days of Radio Nepal he sang the songs based on Nepali folk song on the air, and later became head of the Radio’s folk music section. Starting in 1965, Jhalakman Gandharwa sang songs of his own caste community which are known as Nepali folk song, the Gandharwas (also sometimes known as the Gaines) for Radio Nepal. In 1961, Nepali folk song (lok geet) collector/singer Kumar Basnet began to sing at Radio Nepal and be recorded at Ratna Recording. He became especially famous for collecting and popularizing Nepali folk songs of the Tamangs, and collected songs from a great many of the ethnic groups of Nepal. His voice and subtle features of his melodic expression retained quite clearly Nepali village singing styles, while the instrumentation became increasingly Westernized (Henderson, “Who Needs the Folk?”). His early recordings produced substantial record sales (7,000 discs, according to Grandin 124). He continued, through the turn of the millennium, to enjoy a very successful career as a popular Nepali folk song musician at Music Nepal, a private company and the country’s leading producer of music recordings. Nepali folk song, like aadhunik geet, was produced chiefly by privately owned recording companies, and incorporated non-Nepali instruments—including guitars and synthesizers. In 2000 Nepali folk song music has become popular among people of all age groups, particularly older-generation listeners. Nepali folk songs are sold better in rural areas whereas aadhunik geet are sold better in urban areas.

Although Nepal is one of the poorest country in the world but the music and the people from diversified topographical regions have made the nation rich in itself.