Dipti Sherchan

Kathmandu

Music is not new in our family. Our ancestors always had interest in it and the tradition has continued. More than I, my mother was the one who taught Prasanna sur and taal of music. She even taught him how to dance. It was later when he started playing guitar that I asked him to try singing. I find his composition quite good. I think it is different from the rest but he needs to practise a bit more. I don’t think he has put 100 per cent effort in his singing, only about 60 per cent. But whenever I ask him to practise he does not listen. Nevertheless, I am proud and satisfied that he has kept the custom of our family alive,” shares Prem Dhoj Pradhan, father of the promising new talent in the music field of Nepal — Prasanna Dhoj Pradhan.

The senior Pradhan is regarded as the golden voice of Nepal. “Ghumti Ma Na Aau Hai” and “Timilai Achel” are the evergreen songs of Prem Dhoj. How does it feel to be the son of such a reputed singer? “ I have a huge expectation to meet. I feel I have a bigger responsibility. People might expect more of me. I am proud to announce that I am his son. When I used to hear people appreciating my father’s work I used to feel that someday I too want to do what he has done. He is simply great.”

Does he want to be ‘Golden Voice of Nepal II’? “Nope. That’s my dad.”

Now Prasanna has fulfilled his dream. He himself is a singer now but confides that it will take him time to reach the stage where his father is now. “ My dad is probably the one who showed me how it is really to be singer.”

Prasanna grew up in a musical environment. His father used to rehearse at home everyday and wrote songs at home. Even his friends from work came home often. “My father didn’t make it specific that I should have the same interest as him but in someway I did get a feeling that my father wanted me to do something in music, he wanted me to continue the legacy.”

He was first admitted in Kantishwari but later finished his schooling and higher secondary education from St Xavier’s. After that he went to America. He has done Bachelor’s in computer science and is a software engineer. “I was a very lonely person in my school and college days. I used sing a lot then.”

He even had a nameless band. Prasanna was the drummer and his friend Bruno was a guitarist. “We were just practising and performing. I was a drummer but later I wanted to play the guitar too. When I did start my father suggested: ‘Don’t just play the guitar, start singing if you really want to go somewhere.’ That was how I started singing.”

It is a misconception that ‘Energy’ is his first album, it is in fact his second album. His first, ‘Tale of the Summer — Prasanna’, released eight years back from Music Nepal. “Then nobody understood what my music was all about. In that album I even did the remix of the song ‘Ghas Khatney’ but it didn’t work here. But now the remix of the same song has again come back and it is doing good.”

“My father also did different things. He is the first one to introduce guitar in Nepali music. My music is also very different from others here.” He is planning to release his third album by the end of 2004.

At present he is working as a software engineer in Oregon, America. He owns a software company called — Smart Soft Solutions. He is also a model and back in Oregon he used to be a runway model for the clothing line Gap. He has also released an instrumental album together with some friends, ‘Bird of passage’, in the US and informs that it is doing well. To hear the song you can log on to www.amazon.com.

He is talented, smart and yet Prasanna is down-to-earth. He knows what he is doing and knows that whatever he is doing, he is doing it right. He is flying back to America this Sunday but not for long. “I will be back soon. I will be visiting Nepal often. One of the reasons why I came to Nepal was to expand my company here and the other reason is music, of course!”