Kathmandu:

This was a concert that made for memories that many of us will be talking about years since today. It rained the whole day of September 29, and it was wet and it was muddy. But the rains failed to dampen the spirit of the thousands who had turned up to witness Indian Idol Prashant Tamang’s first live concert in Nepal, which was sponsored by Surya Nepal’s men’s wear Springwood.

And what a concert it was. Kudos go to the artistes who performed on stage and to the crowd who sang along and did the muddy samba.

The roads leading to St Xavier’s School ground was a sea of people. Drenched to the bone, shoes caked with mud, people came in hordes to see the boy of from Darjeeling perform for them.

Our own star Nima Rumba started the pulsating concert with his hit numbers like Preeti basyo among others.

And when Prashant came on stage the crowd went wild. Umbrellas did a wild jig, whistles rent the air and screams of ‘Prashant’ drowned out everything.

Thanking everyone for their love and support, this shy boy from the hills started his performance with the song Gorkhali by Mantra. However, it was the very popular Nepali number Yo gaun ko thitto ma that made everyone clap and sing along.

And as he belted one number after another, introducing a number of them as “mero favourite ho”, Prashant was able to hold his audience captive. Nasa ye pyar ka nasa hai, Pehla nasa, Bheege hont tere, Ya Ali, In dino... he sang and the crowd sang along as he requested “tapaiharule malai saath dinu parchha hai yo geet ma (you will have to sing with me).”

The very good part about the concert was the spirit of bonding that one witnessed among the members of the crowd. Some of the adventurous few started dancing in the muddy ground. Others joined them and soon it grew into a river of muddy people dancing in the rain, splashing everyone around with the muddy slime. Yet

no one minded. Everyone was okay with it, instead people turned to watch the muddy dancers or join them in their jig.

Everyone forgot their differences for the afternoon and embraced the specialty of the day. As the clothes and faces of the crowd got splattered with mud, people gave in to the moment at hand and enjoyed a fabulous concert, perhaps the most enjoyable one many of us will ever experience.

The crowd was pleasantly surprised when Prashant performed with 1974’s very own Adrian Pradhan. Yo mann ta mero Nepali ho — as they sang together from the dais, the thousands joined in. Rumba too shared the stage with him and their rendition of Saanjh ma pani was another stunner.

Two other Indian Idol participants Deepali Kishor and Ankita Mishra also made the crowd dance to their beats with songs Sajna pe wari wari, Sajna ve sajna, Mind-blowing mahiya, and Crazy kiya re among others.

The concert ended with Prashant singing his new song from his yet to be recorded album.

The crowd was reluctant to leave. The two-and-a-half hours with this singing sensation was over. They called for him to come on stage once more, but the show was over. However, the spirit of celebration and jubilation was not.

Micros and buses and tempos packed with muddied people plied on the roads, many chanting Prashant’s name over and over again. Seeing other muddied persons on the roads who had failed to secure a seat in the vehicles, they shouted out to them in recognition and camaderie.

All said and done, thank you Prashant for such a wonderful afternoon — a day when we were able to forget our individual selves and enjoy an afternoon as a music loving nation.