Kathmandu:

The hall was packed with devotees of all age groups. People were chanting god’s names and singing devotional songs along with the singers performing on the stage. It was a perfect day for those who enjoy devotional songs and believe in connecting with god through music.

The daylong Bhakti Sangeet Utsav presented by the Indian Embassy in collaboration with BP Koirala India-Nepal foundation was held at the Pashupatinath temple premises on February 3. The event was managed by Kaalbhairav, while The Himalayan Times was the official media.

The programme had veteran Nepali bhajan singers like Guru Dev Kamat, Batuk Raj Mishra, Narendra Pyasi and Ishwor Amatya performing along with the doyens of devotional music field Sharma Bandhu from India.

The chief guest of the event was Pradeep Gyawali, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Aviation, who with the Indian ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee inaugurated the event.

The programme started on schedule with a few boys from the Veda Ashram reciting a few lines from the Veda and the Ganesh Stuti.

Bhajan Shiromani Bhakta Raj Acharya was felicitated for his contribution to Nepali bhajan. “He is very happy. This is a very big honour for him. He had tears in his eyes and we are grateful to all those who decided to honour him,” said his son Swaroop Raj Acharya talking to this daily in between the programme.

Sharma Bandhus — Gopal Sharma, Sukhdev Sharma, Kailash Sharma and Raghvendra Sharma — started the first half of the programme with their popular devotional songs and captured the crowd’s mood. Guest artists Satya and Swaroop Raj Acharya sang one song each from their father’s composition. The performance was followed by Guru Dev Kamat who sang five mesmerising songs before leaving the stage for Batuk Raj Mishra who also enchanted the crowd.

Dilli Prasad Khatiwada, 81 and Bal Bir Bam, 72 who are regulars at such bhajan programmes said that they enjoy such events and called for the same to be held more frequently.

“The devotional songs give eternal peace. We are old, so this also works as a religious way to pass time,” they said.

Though people generally think that devotional songs are for the elderly, a large number of youngsters were also present at the programme. Hari Prasad Bhattarai and Uttam Parajuli, both 24, said they go to such programmes regularly as they like classical music, and devotional songs provide them peace and work as de-stressing agent in their lives.

Gopal Baglay, Counsellor of the Indian embassy, said, “This is the first time that BP Koirala Foundation and the Indian Embassy have come up with a devotional event which has artistes from both countries performing on the same stage. We were thinking of having such an event of devotional songs, and when Kaalbhairav approached us with a similar idea, the whole programme was planned thus. As Magh is considered a very important month religiously and the songs are of Hindu devotion, we decided to have it in this auspicious month.”

He also added that as the best performers of devotional music from India were to participate in the function, they decided to express their regard and appreciation towards Bhajan Shiromani Acharya on the same occasion.

The second half of the event started with recitals from the Veda, and Sharma Bandhus once again enthralled the crowd and urged them to to sing along as they started with Om Namah Shivaya.

Narendra Pyasi and Ishwor Amatya followed with their devotion respectively.

Speaking on behalf the Bandhus, Sukhdev Sharma said, “This is our second visit to Nepal. We were here 30 years ago. We are very happy to see the crowd’s response and support. It has been a very nice experience to share the stage with the Nepali singers. Even though the language of our songs are different, the devotional fervour is the same.”