Kathmandu:

It was another evening of bliss for around 24 music enthusiasts who had gathered at nepa~laya’s r-sala on April 1. Music legend Shanti Thatal from Darjeeling was performing live. This was her second performance in the Paleti Shrinkhala series and the Paleti performances were her first live concerts in her half-a-century old musical career.

Most of the numbers that she sang were unfamiliar to many of the members of the audience, but for some it was something invaluable. It was a journey down memory lane, a journey that took some of those gathered 40 years back.

Basanta Thapa, a lyricist and columnist, recalled, “I had gone to Darjeeling to meet her 30 year ago. There were few singers and songs we could listen to. Words cannot describe how I am feeling at this moment to get a chance to listen to her singing today.”

Thatal is a seasoned composer and vocalist, who started her musical career as a singer but she lent her voice to a few select songs. With Samhalera rakha (Keep it with care), written and composed by Ambar Gurung and recorded in 1965, she left an indelible impression in Nepali music industry.

Composer Chandra Lomzel who accompanied Thatal on the accordion said, “She arranges every note to bring out meaning of the song through music.” He claimed that in her composition of Jindagi ko harek bazaarma (At every market of life) we find something that is beyond what we usually find in Nepali music. Aruna Lama and Kumar Subba recorded the song separately in 1997.

Lomzel on the accordion was another major attraction of the evening.

“We last saw this instrument in an Indian film when a hero plays it while singing Hardil jo pyar karega,” said Thapa singing a few lines of the songs.

None of the audience had seen a real accordion being played by a musician; they had only seen the instrument in movies. And with Lomzel swaying his body and the accordion in tune with the songs enthralled the crowd.

With a glass of apple brandy having warmed everyone’s spirits during the break, the second half of the concert was more lively.

Having sensed the mood of her listeners, Thatal urged the audience to sing along with

her. And together, perhaps missing a beat here and there but with much love and enthusiasm, the singer and her listeners belted out Mayalule samjhe ki kaso (Has my love thought of me) with much gusto.

At 9:00 pm it was a reluctant albeit a happy crowd that made its way home this April Fool’s Day.