Kathmandu, May 18:

Misunderstanding between Ambar Gurung and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has resulted in delay in composition of the music for the new national anthem.

While Jala Krishna Shrestha, joint secretary of the ministry, blamed musician Ambar Gurung for the delay in composition of music, musician Gurung said he was yet to receive any reply from the ministry regarding his correspondence on estimated cost for composing music for the new national anthem and was in a confusion over whether to start the work at all.

Talking to this daily, musician Gurung said: “I am also in a dilemma whether to compose music for the national anthem or to wait for the reply from the ministry over the issue of cost for the composition.”

Gurung said the ministry has requested him to prepare three separate music compositions for the new national anthem and that the cabinet would decide the best one.

“I will compose the music if the government wants me to do it by taking due consideration of my experience and contribution,” he said adding: “Otherwise, I have crossed the age to participate in any competition. This, I have already told to the ministry officials.”

Secretary Shrestha said: “If the music composer does not accomplish his work, what can we do?”

Shrestha said the ministry had sent letters to the Nepali Army, Nepal Police and Ambar Gurung asking them how much it would cost to compose the music and that only the Nepali Army has replied to the ministry letter.

Dinesh Hari Adhikari, spokesperson of the MoCTCA, said the ministry is still studying various options of the music track for the national anthem.

He said: “The music has yet to be decided and the ministry is busy with other works like managing cost for recording, salary for the composer and so on.”

The government had formed a National Anthem Selection Working Committee in June, 2006 under the coordination of senior cultural expert Satya Mohan Joshi. The panel had recommended lyrics written by Pradeep Kumar Rai ‘Byakul Maila’ as the new national anthem, from among the 1, 272 compositions it received. It had also recommended Ambar Gurung as music composer and Raamesh Shrestha as singer.