Political overtones to deusi-bhailo in India

New Delhi, October 21:

Members of the pravashi Nepali community are busy singing deusi-bhailo songs here with political overtones.

After a gap of three years, members of Nepali organisations based in India will sing deusi-bhailo at the Nepali embassy in New Delhi tomorrow.

By singing songs, we aim to collect money and deliver political messages, said chairperson of the Maoist-affiliated Peoples’ Rights Protection Committee (India), Laxman Pant. Members of the committee will sing deusi-bhailo in New Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida, he said, adding 30 cultural and deusi-bhailo teams are making preparations for the programmes. Proceeds of the programmes will go towards the extension of the organisation and publication of its newspaper, said Pant. Deusi-bhailo is a suitable medium for delivering messages in support of a constituent assembly and a democratic republic, said Pant. Through these programmes, the committee aims to collect INRs 1.5 lakh, said Pant.

Issues like the constituent assembly polls and the formation of a loktantrik republic will figure prominently in the deusi-bhailo songs, he said.

“We aim to visit a maximum number of people through deusi-bhailo programmes,” said Kapil Khanal of a CPN (Mashal)-affiliated pravashi Nepalis’ organisation.

Members of pravashi organisations mainly go to sing deusi-bhailo songs in the houses of businessmen and politicians of Nepali origin, said chairperson of the Nepali Congress-affiliated Nepali Peoples’ Contact Committee, Bal Krishna Pandey. According to him, they get anywhere between Rs 5 and 100 from house-owners.

Chairperson of the CPN (UML)-affiliated ANNFSU (India), Deepak Bhatt, said his organisation had given the responsibility of singing deusi-bhailo to its local committees.