The Nepali folk-rock band Nepathya had got to Gulariya last week as a part of its nationwide concert tour and had just started into its all-time favourite hit,
Bheda ko Oon Jasto. The audience, couldn’t keep still and were all up dancing to its jaunty rhythm and beat when snow started falling on the stage (pic, centre).
Nepathya’s event managers had organised artificial foam to descend on the stage right on cue as the lyrics described how snowflakes in the high villages of Rasuwa resembled puffs of wool. The students on the front rows couldn’t sit still anymore and jumped up to dance, not just here but in every other of the 10 packed performances held all over the country in Nepathya’s just concluded Education for Peace Concert Tour.
ALL PICS: ROCKY
Students at the Nepathya concert in Ratnanagar, Chitwan on 6 December. Special seats were allocated for students at all venues.
Amrit Gurung singing Bheda ko Oon Jasto in Gulariya, Bardiya on 16 December as artificial snow fell.
The tour happened at a time when schools were still being disrupted by political activities and as the band returns to Kathmandu for a final concert at Patan Darbar Square on Saturday 29 December, it has raised awareness about the importance of the links between education and peace. The tour started in Chitwan and went to Jhapa, Sarlahi, Kapilbastu, Bardiya, Dang, Tanahu, Myagdi, and Kaski.
Nepathya founder and leadman Amrit Gurung is convinced about the importance of quality education for Nepal’s future and says that despite the end of the conflict, education is still being affected by politics and violence. And everywhere that Nepathya performed, Gurung’s message underlining the importance of education was greeted with wild cheers of approval from the young audience. The optimism and euphoria following the election results also affected the positive vibes at every venue.
Gurung says he was pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming support not just during his performances of evergreen hits like Resham, Bheda ko Oon Jasto, Talko Pani, Chhekyo Chhekyo, but also when locals turned up spontaneously to garland him and take him around town in rallies reflecting Nepal’s ethnic diversity.
The band gets a traditional welcome in Biratchok, Morang.
Gurung with teachers and students of Himalaya School in Damak. The building behind was constructed with proceeds from the Nepathya concert.
Besides the hits, Nepathya also sang songs with a message of peace, tolerance, and unity. Every concert ended with an evocative rendition of Rato ra Chandra Surya, which has become Nepal’s unofficial national anthem.
In between songs, Gurung solicits responses from the audience with messages like: “This country doesn’t just belong to politicians, it is ours too. Let’s brighten Nepal’s future by keeping schools free from politics.” More than 40,000 school students were displaced during the conflict and missed school.
In an interview with Nepali Times, Gurung said he has never been as emotionally affected by the support he got as during this concert tour. The singer exhorted audiences everywhere to not forget that they are Nepalis first and only then from different communities and the country can be strong and prosperous if it is united.
The Nepathya team bus along the East-West Highway in Sunsari.
The band performing in Damak on 10 December.
When Gurung introduced members of his band to the audience, he emphasised the fact that each of them came from different ethnic backgrounds. “Look at us here on stage, we represent Nepal’s diversity, but we make music together. Similarly, our nation can move forward if we work together.”
Proceeds from the sale of tickets to the concerts will be donated to families of conflict victims and for the education of underserved children.
Read also:
"We meet by chance and we love by remembering"
Musical peace education
Watch Nepathya’s Sa Karnali