| ashu |
Posted
on 23-Apr-01 11:12 PM
What follows was an attempt at writing humor.
This was originally published in The Kathmandu
Post, four years ago on Feb. 27, 1997.
Enjoy,
oohi
ashu
**************************************
An interview with a Nepali Pop Kalakar
(by Bhupendra Rawat)
What made you sing?
Shower.
Shower?
Well, you see, I used to sing in the shower. My bro who's
now the drummer used to knock on the door. Soon, we both
relized that with his banging the door and my singing and
with the water rushing all around, we had great music wafting
out of our toilet window.
Is that how you cut your first album?
Well, sort of. A shahu from Bandipur happened to walk by
one morning, and he heard our music. Enchanted, he came in,
and offered to get a cassette out. And, now, that's
selling like pani-puris.
Fascinating! In the beginning, did you struggle a lot
to make a name for yourself?
Well, getting out of the shower was a drag. I mean, I'd
get cold very quickly, and develop goose bumps all over.
Other than that, I faced no problem. Of course, our sarkar
must set aside money for us Pop kalakars to buy our amps and
lamps.
What kind of songs do you sing?
Mostly the deurali-stuff, you know. The ones about leaving
Kanchi or Nakkali back in the village or in mela somewhere,
and basically wondering what she's doing now . . . we also
sing about sahar ko ketis, the ones who catwalk on the
pavement of New Road, dressed in micro-mini skirts, with
sultry looks and pouting lips . . . and who are, you
know, out to destroy our poorano, pabitra Nepali culture.
Have you ever been to a village or to a mela yourself?
Oh, naw. But I've been to village-like places such as
Nagarkot and Dhulikhel.
Do you have a Kanchi or a Nakkali yourself?
Oh, naw. My girlfriend's Ashley, the one who did that
fashion-design course in Mumbai! But her family has
this servant girl called Kanchi.
Is she the Kanchi you sing about in your songs?
Oh, nawww!! The Kanchi we sing about is, well,
metaphorical. In fact, any wide-eyed, inncocent-looking
Nepali didi-bahini with rustic charms from Charikot to
Dolkha could be our inspirational Kanchi. Singing about deurali,
bhanjyang and Kanchi, you see, is the surest way to show
conservatives like Yogi Nar Hari Nath that our pop geets
do have authentic Nepali-pawn.
Wow! Hadn't thought of that. Is pop here to stay in Nepal?
Absolutely, man!! Pop geet is now as middle-class a fare
in hamro jiban as drinking San Miguel beer or cooking
with gas. Through pop geet, we can express our deepest
emotions.
Like what?
Well, suppose, Ashley leaves me, then what would I do?
I would draw a long face, and sing through my pain,
and my anguish would resonate with thousands of my
fans out there, and they would go out and buy my albums.
Now, that's the power of pop unplugged.
Interesting. Why do you sport a pony-tail and have
multiple earrings all over?
Hold it, buddy. That's none of your business. Besides,
you'd want your pop kalakar to stand out, wouldn't you?
Sorry. I suppose so. Anyway, tell me, how do you view
yourself and your pop geet ko industry in Nepal?
Pop singers like myself are Nepal's national treasures.
We are the only genuine kalakars around. Others are
hilly-billies from Dolal Ghat who can't go beyond
pakhe lok-geets. India's Annu is our Malik, the great
one who inspires us all to choro international hit-tunes
and package them locally in ways to make our fans' hearts
aflutter with desire . . .
Whew! That's quite a healthy self-image that you have there.
Anyway, guess what, our time's up. Thank you for coming to the
studio, and giving us some of your amulya time.
Any time, dude! Peace to you. THE END
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