Kathmandu An oxygen concentrator greets you first as you enter his room in Mid Baneshwor. As you go inside, you are welcomed by an oxygen cylinder beside the bed. And lying on the bed with the oxygen pipes is 90-year-old Hari Prasad Rimal — the first singer of Radio Nepal, a prolific actor of both stage and screen, a director, and a lyricist. “He used to walk up to the balcony and move downstairs until two years ago. But as his health is gradually degrading these days, he spends most of his time in bed. He can’t even hold a bowl while eating,” his wife Kalyani Rimal expresses as she leads the way to her husband who has been surviving on semi liquid food. Hari Prasad is a patient of chronic bronchitis and prostate, and has been bedridden for last two years. “Due to his health condition, we are planning not to allow anyone to interview him in future. He has also started feeling irritated and disturbed lately — it is because of his old age. We must do what he feels comfortable,” Kalyani further reveals. Famous for his songs such as Mero Mann Tukra Bhayera, Fagat Ek Nazaar Ma, Jaau Hami Baadal Paari, among others; and for his acting in Nepali movies like Aama, Maanko Baandh, Pariwartan, Ke Ghar Ke Dera and Santaan among others, Hari Prasad has contributed to cinema and music. His contribution to Nepali theatre is equally important. Interviewing such a great personality would be an opportunity for anyone. But Hari Prasad’s poor health condition makes you feel like giving up the idea of interviewing him. But when Hari Prasad hears his wife saying, “Please get up, they have come for an interview,” the veteran artiste slowly opens his eyes and manages to sit on the bed where he has been sleeping. “Ke sodhnuhunchha nani? (What do you want to ask?),” Hari Prasad murmurs adding, “I can’t speak for long.” And with his wife’s assistance, Hari Prasad — the man who has dedicated his decades of life to play, films and music — unravels his gripping and inspiring story. Artistic touch Born on September 20, 1925 at Lagantole, Lalitpur as the third child to Ghana Shyam Rimal and Mohan Kumari Rimal, the childhood days of Hari Prasad were filled with fun. Why won’t it be? His family was a family of artistes. Father Ghana Shyam was a singer while his brothers Gopal Prasad Rimal and Krishna Prasad Rimal were poet and dramatist respectively. And so he was influenced by art in his childhood. He was also keen to learn Newari language as he was living in a Newar community. Meanwhile, he began his education with a tutor named Lal Bahadur, who used to teach children. Hari Prasad was later admitted to Durbar High School, Ranipokhari for formal education. But it was the world of theatre, films and music that attracted him. Entry to theatre Hari Prasad’s father used to work in Dev Shumsher Rana’s palace. During that time plays were staged in the palaces occasionally and Hari Prasad was a regular visitor there. He used to go there with his brothers and sisters. “Till I was nine years old, my sisters used to carry me for the shows. But after my bratabandha at the age of 11, I often used to go alone. I was supposed to have become a mature person after the ceremony (bratabandha),” he recalls. Then, only the “nautanki (theatre groups) from India would stage plays in Nepal”. Watching their performances, Hari Prasad had become confident that “we could also do such acts”. He had developed love for plays and Hari Prasad took it to another level at Durbar High School. Hari Prasad performed for the first time in a play — Mukunda Indira — written by dramatist Bal Krishna Sama. Sama used to teach drama at the School “as an extracurricular activity then. As an extra member of the group, I was assigned to sing few songs in between the play”. He officially embarked his theatrical journey with the play Pralhad, written by Sama. Even though he has forgotten the date of its staging, Kalyani puts light on his memory, “When the play had been staged in Dev Shumsher’s palace, Juddha Shumsher awarded him with 500 silver coins.” Since then, Hari Prasad has not looked back. He went unto to act in plays such as Bhanu Bhakta, Bhimsen Ko Antya, Rajaputraramani, Ke Sakkali Ke Nakkali and U Mareki Chhaina, among around 60 plays. Nothing deterred him from being a part of theatre world, not even the reality where it was tough to earn money from acting. Moreover, Hari Prasad took up direction too. A Newari play — Chhagurat was his first drama as a director and he has some 50 to 60 other plays under his belt as a director. In those days, women didn’t perform in plays. Instead men wearing wigs played roles of females. Hari Prasad reminisces, “Once we were staging a play — actor Pushpa Nepali in the role of a dead female was lying on the floor, and I had to cry on the death of that character. The wig Nepali had put on to disguise as a female, suddenly fell off and the audience burst out laughing. To control the situation, I helped Nepali put on the wig and we started acting emotionally.” The then Rana prime minister Padma Shumsher changed this rule — and females could act in plays after taking their parent’s permission. “There was fear of being jailed for not taking parent’s permission,” Hari Prasad adds. Innovative ideas In the hopes to broaden the horizon of Nepali theatre, Hari Prasad didn’t limit himself to acting and direction. He turned himself to acting teacher. He got involved in Radio Nepal and Rastriya Sanskritik Sansthan — his unflinching determination to uplift the Nepali theatre remains unquestionable through his plays and acting talent. “Harihar Sharma and Hari Bansha Acharya among others were some of his students then,” recalls Kalyani. When it comes to the plays, Hari Prasad likes reality based plays. “I liked doing reality based plays. Reality should be maintained in the plays so that people can assimilate themselves with the characters and the story,” he points out adding, “There aren’t any grammatical rules in acting but there are rules in singing. If you need to succeed, you must be determined and work hard.” Musical journey Hari Prasad was interested in music since his childhood days. Inspired by his father, he too used to sing songs. Understanding his interest, Hari Prasad’s father sent him to learn music with Ganapada — Juddha Shumsher’s personal singer. He became the first singer of the country at Radio Nepal when he recorded the song Mero Mann Tukra Bhayera Aakhaako Baato Bahanechha penned by writer Shankar Lamichhane in 1950/51. The same year, he had also joined Radio Nepal as a programme presenter. His other songs include Jaau Hami Baadal Paari, Fagat Ek Nazaar Ma, Pawanle Phool Laai, Bina Baadal and Aashu Bahaau among others. And thanks to Radio Nepal, he also met his wife there — Kalyani too was a programme presenter at Radio Nepal. The colleagues at Radio Nepal played cupids, and they got married in the year 1957. They have two sons and two daughters. Hari Prasad’s love for plays did not end with his entry to Radio Nepal. Instead, he directed numerous radio dramas — Janardan Sama’s Sati, Bal Krishna Sama’s Buhartan, Gopal Prasad Rimal’s Masaan, among 600 others. “There were no means of entertainment then, and people were interested in listening to radio dramas. So, he was busy making radio dramas and was out of home most of the time. I was even worried that our children wouldn’t recognise their father,” laughs Kalyani as she walks down the memory lane. Hari Prasad retired from Radio Nepal and Rastriya Sanskritik Sansthan in 1996 (2053 BS). Awards and honours The walls of their sitting room are adorned with the awards Hari Prasad has received. Others, that could not accommodate here, lie on the book case in another room. Of one of his special honours, Kalyani reveals, “Bishesh Sworna Padak was given by king Mahendra for his role in Ke Yeta Ke Uta.” Other felicitations include Nepal Chalachitra Kalakar Sangh Puraskar (1998), Indra Rajya Laxmi Puraskar (1985), Hiranya Kumari Karki Puraskar (1998) among various others for the contribution Hari Prasad made in the Nepali literary world.