Kathmandu:

There are moments in life when you feel blessed and all you want to do is to hold on to that moment so that your happiness can be forever. In a life that is full of hardships and struggle, some incidents bring a hope that not only keeps one moving on but also makes one strive for more.

Says Rupy Singh, founder Rupy’s International School, “This year I became a grandmother and I am so happy for that. I was blessed with a beautiful grandson this February and it really feels great to be a grandmum. I always thank God for all his blessings and for the life he has given.”

Happiness can be experienced in both our personal and professional lives and theatre personality Anup Baral is grateful for a theatre audience that has matured.

“I always have this desire to go beyond the conventional and take risks in the field that I am pursuing. You can say that I am a person who bells the cat,” he says, adding, “I feel I have been able to do this with my play Banki ujyalo as its subject dealt with so many issues that were not raised before. Further the amazing response from my audience made me realise that the theatre audience in Nepal has matured.”

Baral is also appreciative of the audience’s response to his other plays, which were about the political instability in the country and showed that Nepalis have learnt a lot from turmoil that they had to go through.

Music director Sambhujit Banskota is thankful to be able to compose music for many movies after quite a long break (a couple of years) from the music industry.

“This year I revived my music as I composed music for many movies. A couple of my albums including Sai bhajans also came out,” he says.

Banskota adds that he even did shows in America and Canada where he sang his old numbers. “All the shows were memorable as I could perform my old favourite numbers to those Nepali people who are far away from their home,” he says adding, “I also donated Rs1 lakh from my show in Canada to two cancer patients (children) in Nepal. I was also felicitated by three different organisations in London, which I will always cherish. I want to thank all those who invited me for shows abroad.”

Musician Amber Gurung is thankful for the chance he was given to score music for the national anthem.

“This year I got a chance to compose the music for our national anthem, which is a historical event of my life. I am very happy that I could be a part of something that represents our nation and is a landmark in my career,” says Gurung.

He also got the Uttam Shanti Puraskar for his collection of essays called Kahaan gaye ti din haru.

“I am very thankful to those people who have always supported me and also to my critics for

showing me the way,” adds a grateful Gurung.