Kathmandu:

The weather was perfect and even the local transportation strike could not stop the Valley’s music lovers to visit the different venues for ‘Fete De La Musique’, the music event organised by Alliance Francaise to mark the International Music Day, which was was celebrated with great enthusiasm and excitement.

The event was promoted by Nepal Tourism Board, sponsored by Tuborg and Yeti Airlines, with The Himalayan Times as the official print media.

Classical fusion

To celebrate music in each and every way possible concerts organised focused on different genres. Focusing on the traditional and classical, a music stage was set up at Yala Maya Kendra to let established artistes to entertain the audience and upcoming musicians to showcase their talents. The event was managed by International Music Society Nepal. The audience comprising people from different walks of life and all ages were mesmerised by the beats of tabala, soulful sound of flute, plucking of sitar and notes of ragas.

Jal tarang by Maila Dangol was well received and so was Homnath Upadhaya’s madal tarang. Apart from the traditional music, the event also had fusion performance presented by different artistes and bands. The show started with fusion music presented by The Band of Generation, Brahamanaad (flute, sitar, guitar and tabala) and Robin Das Shrestha (vocal) from Do Re Me institute also presented fusion of western and eastern music.

Rocking all day

All rock lovers and head bangers of the Valley were invited to the Durbar Marg stage where various rock bands performed from 2:00 pm till late evening. The sunny summer day and the festival was not only celebrated by hardcore music lovers but also families who enjoyed the day.

The delicious spread set outside by almost all the restaurants let the crowd sit and relax with refreshing drinks and yummy food. Bands like The String, Shannon Scam, Mukut, Shadows, Looza, Divya + Blue Acidz, Emergency, Antim Grahan and others played hard hitting music for all. Cobweb performed some of their originals and popular cover songs and the crowd enjoyed The Axe Band’s Euta chitthi, Lukna deu and other hits.

Awesome talents

Young children left the audience spellbound with their breathtaking performances at the Classical Stage presented by Gurukul. It was hard to believe that such young children would have so much talent in themselves.

The first was a group performance by children from Atul Smriti Pratisthan who displayed their talents on the tabala. The energetic and vibrant sounds created were incredible. Playing the tabala were Ragini Mishra, Sulochana Gautam, Ayan Gautam, Sugama Gautam, Rishab Mahaju, Pranab Pudasaini and Prayag Mishra. Then came Ritesh Chandra Regmi with his presentation of sitar vadan, with flawless tunes that resonated throughout the hall. Next was Safal Khanal with a powerful performance on the tabala. Then it was time for the audience to get wooed by Shreesha Baeri’s voice, who was followed by Sabin Shakya on bansuri and Niraj Shakya on tabala, a combination that was truly commendable, followed by a solo performance by Niraj.

It was six-year-old Sapath Shakya who gave a delightful performance on the tabala which amazed everyone.

Finally, it was Sujata Verma who sang excellently giving a great end to the programme.