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SURESH OJHA

For Nepalis residing half a world away, music serves as an emotional connection to a motherland which inspires both reverence and frustration.  Nepali music is important to us.

Music is more than a linking of rhythm to melody.  It is a shared experience between families and friends.  It is an expression of a community’s thoughts, be it mundane, or tragic.  Recently Nepal has come to know tragedy in many ways.

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On 1 October, Nepathya shared its music with an American city steeped in musical tradition.  The home town of Journey, Huey Lewis and the News, Janis Joplin and Carlos Santana welcomed Nepal’s noted folk-rock band. Nepalis from all across Northern California, many who drove for hours, queued up at the historic Warfield Theater in San Francisco to see and hear Amrit Gurung and his band.

Among the revelers were children born and raised in the United States, and it was their first time at a Nepali concert.  The spirit of Dasain filled the air as three generations of Nepalis: children, parents, uncles, aunties, and grandparents mingled in excited anticipation of the concert opening.

As the countdown to the opening song reached thirty seconds, a line of young men interlocked their arms at the shoulders and shouted in unison “Nepathya, Nepathya…”.

For the next two hours some 1,500 Nepalis reveled in beloved classics including Resham, Tal ko Pani, as well as new songs like Rama Rama. During many of the songs, Amrit Gurung received constant vocal accompaniment from the audience.

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Following Jomsomai Bazar ma, an unexpected encounter took place in the audience between two complete strangers: Bishnu Subedi, a man in his late twenties originally from Pokhara, and Sujay, a ten-year-old born and raised in California, who speaks no Nepali.

“If you want to understand the essence of Nepali music, you must listen to Amrit Dai, this is music that touches the soul of Nepal,” Subedi told Sujay in English. Soon, the two were dancing together in the aisle to the beat of Bheda ko Oon Jasto as special effects snow began to fall from the ceiling.

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Between songs, Amrit Gurung asked the audience to always remember Nepal and help Nepal in various ways, to loud applause.  He linked this appeal with the song Timi pani Nepali, Ma pani Nepali. The concert had added significance because it coincided with Dasain. The Bay Area Nepali community embraced Nepathya’s message of unity and support for Nepal. It was a spectacular evening of song and dance, but the themes throughout the evening went beyond music alone to nationhood and a united Nepal.

The last song, Rato Ra Chandra Surya, brought the audience to its feet again. Complete strangers sang it together and wished each other Happy Dasain.

Something unique and historic happened on the evening of 1 October in San Fransisco.  A theater that has hosted Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, and Jerry Garcia had just hosted a band from Nepal.  San Francisco seemed like Pokhara for a short time.  In the city where Tony Bennet left his heart, Nepathya left its mark with a uniquely Nepali flavour.

(Suresh Ojha is a second-generation Nepali-American.  He works as an engineer in the Silicon Valley.)