Kathmandu:

January 22 was a sad day for the Nepali music lovers as singing legend Tara Devi passed away due to a stroke at the age of 61.

She was rushed to the hospital but at around 10:30 pm the previous night. She had been suffering from the Parkinsons disease for the last seven years.

Friends, fans and well-wishers paid homage to this doyen of music at her house at Baneshwor as her family refused to let her lie in state at the Royal Nepal Academy premises as is usually done for a national figure.

Prominent figures from the music world like Ambar Gurung, Kiran Kharel, Premdhwoj Pradhan, Yogesh Baidhya, among others rushed paid their last respects to her at her house, while other personalities did so at the Pashupatinath Arya Ghat, where her body was cremated.

A huge crowd of fans had gathered at the ghat to catch a last glimpse of their favourite singer and to pay homage. And waiting hours for the funeral procession to reach the ghat did not deter the people’s wish to bid her farewell.

Tara Devi started singing under the guidance of Ustad Bhairab Bahadur in the mid-fifties. Yo Nepali shir uchali (With this Nepali head held high), a duet with Premdhwoj Pradhan in 1956 was her first recorded song in Radio Nepal. However, she had sung live songs as a child artiste at the Nepal Radio earlier.

Tara Devi recorded a total of 3,000 songs in her career.

Known as the ‘Melody Queen’ in the Nepali music world, she was indeed a nightingale when she sang.

She was appointed as a non-gazetted officer at the Radio Nepal and rendered her services to improve Nepali music for 30 long years. Late king Birendra promoted her to gazetted officer but she was discharged from her

duty without any reason the following year. Losing her job was one link in a chain of misfortune to befall her. Her son Shashi died of cancer and soon after lost husband Shiva Bahadur Shrestha in a plane crash.

Tara Devi was decorated with a number of awards, namely the prestigious Chinnalata Puraskar, Indra Rajya Laxmi Pragya Puraskar, Jagadamba Shree Purskar, Maina Puraskar, during the last years of life. She was also crowned with the Suprasidda Prabal Gorkha Dakshinbahu, Pratham in 1998.

As said by so many prominent personalities, her death is indeed a great loss, she was an unparalleled singer of the industry and no one will replace her.

Nau saya khola

tarera jane

Samjhane po ho

ki malai

Birsane po ho ki

Birsane chhainau... The Nepali people and music lovers will never forget the singer and the woman that Tara Devi was.