Kathmandu:

Remember how you wished for that double digest comic book which had all your super heroes in it. We always hope for the very best and wish for something that is perfect; to fulfil this desire of yours here comes the ultimate band that has the best of all fields. Formed this September; ‘Raktika’ consists of outstanding musicians of their relative fields. Prabhu Dhakal (classical vocals), Hari Maharjan (guitar), Iman B Shah (guitar and synthesiser), Nikhil Tuladhar (drums and percussion), Riju Tuladhar (bass), Robin Lal Shrestha (Tabala), Upendra Lal Shrestha (keyboards) and Lochan Rizal (vocals and acoustic guitar) came up with the band that promises to give outstanding compositions for music lovers. “We don’t want to be restricted to any particular genre, our music varies from Nepali classical, gypsy, rock to electronic and are still improvising, in general we are trying to create a new sound all together and may be a new genre as well,” said Manish Paudel, who manages the band.

They have known each other for a pretty long time and since they all teach at the Nepal Music Centre it was obvious for them to meet almost everyday and talk about music. In the process of jamming up and sharing ideas Lochan came up with the concept of forming ‘the band’. “I learnt classical music from Prabhu sir, Hari dai and Iman dai are just so unbelievably brilliant and other members are outstanding in whatever they do. With the diversity among the musicians we felt we should start a band and I also wanted Prabhu sir to have a band thus Raktika was born,” he said.

So how did you zero on the name? Hari Maharjan shared that there was confusion over what the bands name should be, “ We went through many names and Lochan even suggested ‘Mustard soldiers’ (Tori Lahure),” he quipped. And at last Prabhu Dhakal decided on Raktika, “First of all it’s a name of the goddess Kali and it is also the name of the seventh micro note of music,” he explained.

When you see them interacting with each other the friendliness and chemistry is obvious but they also show immense respect and appreciation for each other. Though the band has been formed recently due to its well-known and talented musicians the band already has created a buzz around the town. “Our album is not out yet and we are not performing very frequently but still the response from fans is just amazing,” said Paudel. They started the band on the common ground of passion for music and with the determination to bring about a change in the music scene of Nepal. “We are not going to bring any such revolution but being in this line for such a long time we seriously feel that something must be done to bring the needed change,” said Rizal.

Adding to his statement Iman B Shah said, “We have seen some very talented musicians in the underground music scene and if they are moulded well they can make a tremendous difference.” They stress on the need of institutes that focuses on teaching music as a major academic course.