In tune with Darjeeling

          
Think of Darjeeling and you think of beauty, love and music. And perhaps Darjeeling touched us so with its music like no other phenomena did. Music is universal they would say, and that it speaks one language. It does, literally in this case. But it definitely comes in different colors. And we cannot deny the fact that modern music of Nepal wears a few shades of that color from the East of the border.
 
 
Darjeeling - the queen of hills. The most beautiful of them all - where love blooms in the tea leaves, music floats in the air. It's a picture perfect paradise. The image of Darjeeling we have is almost like a garden of heaven. The tea gardens carpeting the hill slopes on both sides of the road that circles towards the sky - like a string from a fairy's tresses; couples in love everywhere; young lads strumming their guitars in every corner of the street and in every tea shop; prosperous, carefree and happy people everywhere. Darjeeling fascinates us perhaps like no other city in the whole world. Everything Darjeeling touched us so - the tea, the train, the hills, the people, the music: We have a soul connection with the town.

It would not be an exaggeration to state that Darjeeling has a major impact in both Eastern and Western music scenes in Nepal. From Ambar Gurung to Rusty Nails, the city has poured in its talents continuously to add to the richness of music of our country. Nepal on the other hand has been proving to be a fertile ground for talents to grow, which perhaps they would have been deprived of otherwise.

We lose track of calendar as we indulge into the nostalgia of that glorious past of Nepali music, when along with the homemade tunes of local talents, we had the pleasure of enjoying the flavored music from our cousins in Darjeeling. It would take more detailed research to put a finger on time, to mark a date when all time hits like Musu Musu, for example, entered into the hearts of Nepali music lovers. But here we are trying to recapture a few moments here and there from that pleasantly misty history of the music from the hills.

From the early sixties Nepal has been a dwelling ground for the musicians from Darjeeling (along with other artists and professionals). The common root shared by the Nepalis on both sides made the experience easy (Before 1816, the territory of Darjeeling was under Nepal). Around 1966, Ambar Gurung was one of the first one to migrate to Nepal when King Mahendra invited him. That paved the way for the influx of talents from the hill station to the country. Ambar Gurung settled here, and so did a few other veterans like Gopal Yonjon, and many other lesser-known musicians. Some others like Karma Yonjon, Saran Pradhan and Aruna Lama chose to stay back, but their contribution to Nepali music cannot be undermined. It would not have been just as rich if singers like Aruna Lama were not to be included in the history. Nepali modern music till date receives a generous helping hand from Darjeeling, latest in the list being Manila and Udaya Sotang, and Suresh Kumar, among others.

During the east India company's rule in India, the British were fascinated with Darjeeling to the level of obsession. They leased out the land from the King of Sikkim in 1835, and started decorating it with tea gardens, schools, churches and the railway station. In the course of time, Darjeeling prospered on the grounds of education from some of best schools in the world and discipline from the churches. Prosperity nurtures talents. Almost immediately after independence of India in 1947, talents emerged in Darjeeling in all forms of art. And there always were young lads wanting to be The Beatles.
 

Hillians – 'The Sikkimese Beatles' Whom the Time magazine in its April 1972 edition mistakenly termed 'The Sikkimese Beatles', the Hillians was the first rock band of Darjeeling. About a decade after India's independence, the stage was set for the talents. The four is – the four vital components for the development of the district – tourism, tea, teaching and timber were their peaks. The club scene after the British fashion was hot, and there were musicians like George Banks and son (Mr. Jazz) Louis Banks (Dambar Bahadur Budhapriti, ('God Father of Jazz in India') in groups playing sing-and-dance numbers for the elite class in bow ties and tuxedoes. Not only Darjeeling, the whole world was a stage for music. There were Cliff Richards, Elvis Presleys and later The Beatles; and there were the flower power revolution and the Vietnam war – those consciousness raising phenomenon.

For Peter J. Karthak, the founder of the Hillians, it was his religion Christanity that was the foundation of his musical learning. As he remembers now, singing in the choir regularly in church was what instilled the musical intuition in him. As he grew up, he developed a musical predilection. With the guidance and influence from senior musicians like George Banks, Louis Banks, Ambar Gurung and Indra Thapalia, he started playing. By 1962, when he was 19, Peter had a band with his brother Mark Karthak on rhythm guitar and Lalit Tamang on vocals. The band was called Hillians, a name given by Choden, a friend of the band. Peter initially played double bass (the acoustic bass) in the band, while at the same time playing the instrument with George Bank's bands in Gymkhana and other clubs in Darjeeling. He later switched to lead guitars when K.K. Gurung joined in as the electric bass guitarist. Other original members of the band were Ranjit Gazmer in percussions and Phurba Tsering playing the French horn and trumpet. Later on Lalit left the band, and the remaining two brothers filled in as the vocalists.

"He resembled Elvis," Peter remembers of Lalit now. "He looked very much like Elvis with the hair-do and the clothes. He sang like one too, but he was always stuck with it and the times were moving on. We wanted to do Cliff Richard, The Liverpool Sound – I mean things were happening and we had to be dynamic to make our living as a very professional band. (The Elvis style) was a bit outdated because we hardly sang a couple of Elvis songs, those were history." With this kind of professionalism and perfectionism, the Hillians invaded the hearts of music lovers at the time.

Rock and light Jazz were what they did regularly in clubs and other venues. Hillians was a professionally successful venture. Peter, as the band leader, remembers earning 1000 Indian rupees a night (collectively by the band) back in those days. The band members got their shares periodically as salary and bonus. The earnings also helped them keep up-to-date with latest records and instruments they usually bought from the foreign students. "Among the teenagers, we were the most moneyed people," Peter remembers.

Besides doing western covers, the members of the Hillians were also involved in creating and performing Easter (Nepali) music with the Sangam group, which was headed by Ranjit Gazmer and Saran Pradhan. Of may Nepali songs they did Peter now remembers Ramra Ramra that was 'custom made' by Ambar Gurung for the Hillians. "Ambar Gurung composed this song for us to compete with or to compliment the songs like Narayan Gopal's Ankhako Bhakha Ankhaile. Narayan Gopal has visited Darjeeling back then.

Hillians disbanded when Peter graduated from college. Ranjit Gazmer was already married with two daughters, K.K. Gurung being the son of an emerging politician has to stay behind to help his father. Peter left Darjeeling to come to Kathamndu. He had initially planned to travel for ten months, but he fell in love with a newari girl in Kathamndu, married her and settled down. Until 1975, Peter was an active musician in Radio Nepal (where he also composed a song together with Ranjit Gazmer.) where he later quit because of the 'politicization of art and culture'. During his active period as a musician in Kathmandu, he also played here and occasionally with other musicians. He is now an established journalist and a reputed writer. Mark also left Darjeeling for Kathamndu a year after his brother. Peter remembers the last time he played the guitar – 1979 February in Hong Kong.

Darjeeling was hot back in the old days, from the 50s to the first half of the 80s. It was a paradise where every art form prospered, and music was the fasted growing phenomenon. During and after the Hillians, there were numerous young people doing music in Darjeeling. It was one of the most happening places in the whole of subcontinent. Nightlife was vibrant; almost every night some gig or the other took place at several venues in town. People used to roam around without fear at night.

In several schools set up by the churches, people from all over the world came to study. That provided the local, young wannabes with the interaction, and the opportunity to get their hands on the newest records from their idols in the west, and the latest gadgets and instruments. And there were the British army personnel coming to the hill station for holidays, who too served the purpose.

Puran Gongba
 
 
13-year old Puran Gongba (right) posing with his first guitar

One of the gems that shone in that wild east during those prosperous times was Puran Gongba. He is one of musicians from the western music scene in Darjeeling who is still remembered by the old timers and respected by the new comers. As with most of them, he started playing the guitar out of interest, and learned it the hard way. He tirelessly listened to the radio, watched movies and taught himself to place fingers and strum the strings. He was with many bands at the time. Including Extreme Moderation with Dambar Subba and Subarna Limbu. He also played with the Hillians one season. In between, he went to Britain for a few years, where he worked and took guitar lessons. That was when he learnt to read music.

Soon to be 52 years old (in February), people in Darjeeling (mostly foreigners) call him Joey these days. His days are spent in his pub – Joey's Pub, which he named after his son. He remembers of days he used to practice five hours a day, and still talks about the guitar with so much passion and affection. Definitely his first love. But now he has sold all his equipments. He has stopped playing, the last time he went on stage was around 1985. "This was such a happening place." He told us, "Sadly, it's all gone now."

It was of course very much there back then when him and scores of others like him had the center stage to themselves. And they got the crowd roaring, fans following, and the young ones joining the bandwagon. The unfortunate slowing down of the musical steam engine that literally stole the show in the area would happen later on around mid 80s, but till then the show would go on.

Formed in the second half of the 60s, Diamonds are considered by some as the first band to start western rock in Darjeeling. With musicians like Pemba Lepcha, Bikram Subba, Suren Rai, Praven Gazmer and Subarna Limbu, the band started off playing the instrumentals by Ventura and Shadows, and went on to play the covers of The Beatles, Santana and the like. Diamonds broke up in early 70s, members dispersing to form other bands.

Among the band members of Diamonds, Pemba later formed Prism in Kathmandu.Subarna joined later on and two of them are still playing in the band. Subarna is also a studio musician and does music arrangement. Suren Rai holds a government job, and Bikram runs a studio in Darjeeling called Ears Studio.

Jeevan Pradhan
 
One of the important people responsible for making Darjeeling stand out in the music scene of the area is Jeevan Pradhan. Besides being a polished musician himself, he has also been involved in the process of making of musicians through an institution founded by his father. Mahendra Lama founded Melody Academy in 1978, to provide the general public with an opportunity to learn various forms of music at an affordable price. Till today, the academy imparts the musical education to its students in as low as 150 Rs. A month. It also helps the outstanding students to prepare for exams affiliated to Trinity College of Music in London.

For Jeeven, it is the scene that music serves, and the idea of sharing joys through music that keeps him going. He was born in a musical family of 12 children. Father is said to be the first one to play the guitar in Darjeeling. His mother too is a singer, and the siblings too share the similar interest in music. They even had a small choir group at home itself. Jeevan remembers his father forcing him to start learning violin from the age of eight. In college, he started learning the piano, and at the age of 20, he tried his hands on guitar. Soon, he was sharing his musical expertise with students in his father's academy. Even though he is known more as violinist these days, he also plays organ regularly at the church, and is a member of the Delhi Symphonic Society, the only symphonic society in India. Once also into the rock music scene playing with various bands in Darjeeling, Jeevan now is more in to classical. He has also composed some fine pieces, which are taught even here in Kathmandu. Some of his well-known compositions are Ecstasy, Sunrise and Snake Charmer. Besides teaching in his academy, and with his job as a teacher in Turnbull High School, he is also engaged in directing plays. Some of the major operas he has directed are Le Miserable, Evita, Oliver Twist and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Perhaps the first rock band from Darjeeling to make news in Katmandu was Forbidden Fruit. It was also the longest lasting band in Darjeeling, and so perhaps had the most impact on the western music scene there. There was no particular historical background of the band though, as Paulgose, the front man of the band told us. It happened as with most bands – their musical journey began out of personal interests. Forbidden Fruit actually started in 1970 with the original line-up of Robert Wilson on drums, Viveka Wilson on piano, Jivan Pradhan on bass guitar and Paulgose on guitars and vocals.

As Paulgose remembers now, playing guitar those days was almost a taboo. While Eastern music was accepted Western music was something their parents warned them against. It was a forbidden fruit. But they had to take a bite by all means. They couldn't care less if they were thrown out of their homes or their grades went down in school.  After all it was the English school background that encouraged them to listen to the music. "Western music, the long hair, polyster pants were considered a curse on the society; very bad thing," Paulgose remembers. He passed out from school in 1969, and that's when his musical career started. He started learning guitar discreetly, watching the senior boys practice.

Diamonds were already rocking 'n rolling regularly at the gymkhana. Later Forbidden Fruit was also selected because they did a different kind of music, and they started playing in turns.

Breaking up of bands was almost a natural phenomenon in Darjeeling, still is. There were foreign students who went home during holidays and came back again in new sessions. And there were people coming for their holidays. With people going back and forth, bands used to have new line-ups all the time. That's what happened with the Forbidden Fruit too. In the course of time, Binod Subba replaced the drummer when Robert quit after a year or so. In 1974 Deep Arora joined in as the vocalist, who was earlier in Violence. After Deep and Paulgose joined forces, the new lineup of the band had Kuldeep on drums and Mahendra Lama (who later played with Prism in Kathmandu) on bass guitars while Paulgose played the guitars and Deep as the vocalist. That band with that lineup was active till the early 80s, after which they frizzled out. Paulgose left for Kathmandu, where he joined Prism for a while. Deep carried the band forward for a few more years with some new members, including John Glasby (an Australian who was doing his teachers' training in Mount Hermon School) who replaced Paulgose in guitars, and Raj Davis, a new member on keyboards. That was perhaps the first time Darjeeling got to hear a keyboard performance with a rock band. It was during those late years that Forbidden Fruit had The First Bite the first rock album, and perhaps the only one till date. It was a home recording with no proper equipment, but nonetheless did make history as the first western music album in Darjeeling.

In Kathmandu Paulgose played with Prism in Soaltee for a while. He had also performed a new band called the Rap City, with drummer George Subba and two local musicians. In between, he was joined by two foreigners and they became Rags to Riches. Later on, Paulgose also formed a band called The Legends. All this while, almost from the very beginning of his musical journey, Paulgose has been composing songs of his own, which he thought was too radical for the 70s, when he started. Few of his songs have been recorded earlier, but none so far has been popular. But now he is ready with his solo album, which he plans to release in Kathmandu soon.

It was after the Forbidden Fruit that the music scene in Darjeeling had a visible down fall. The Gorkhaland movement, which started in the mid 80s, has a major impact on the whole social structure of Darjeeling. During the movement, which lasted for a few years, Darjeeling saw the finest of schools closing down for months in a row because of strikes, nightlife ceased to exist, and almost all-public activity came to a sudden halt. It is a deeply saddening fact that the very moment started to protect and uplift the cultural identity of the minority Indian Nepalis, became the cause of downfall of it. The senior citizens of Darjeeling who went through the period speak of the experience in distress and agony. Majority of those who were young and somehow got tangled to it hardly talk about it. It is a bitter experience for everyone involved. And for the musicians and other artists, it was the beginning of the darkest period in the history of Darjeeling.
 
 
The Music After

Despite the political instability there were a few bands that were active in some way in 80s too. US Band is one such band that had a fan following even in Kathmandu. Magnum Opus is another band playing in that decade. The band started in 1980 with Mahesh Thapa (guitars), Keshar Subba (bass), Palden(lead guitar), Mohan Giri (drums) and Pasang Bhutia (vocals). Deven Gurung joined the band in 1986 in the second vocals, and later became the main vocalist. As with most of the bands, several changes in the line-up occurred in Magnum Opus too, but it has managed to survive till date, and has been playing at least two or three times a year. They also performed outside Darjeeling several times, including a solo gig in Kathmandu and one in Pokhara.

"Music has always been a source of inspiration," Deven told us. And that's what keeps them going. The harsh social change after the movement offered the bands like these absolutely no concession. There was less money and no accolades. But music is stronger than drugs, you can't quit easily. And may be that is why the musicians move in search for greener pastures. The migration of Nepali artists from Darjeeling to Nepal started back then, still continues. If you check the mushrooming music studios in Kathmandu, you will hardly find a studio without a musician from Darjeeling.

 

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Was surprised the other day to read in the newspaper that Rudy Wallang had performed at a local restaurant here In New Delhi. Strangely that name seemed to hit a chord deep down somewhere in my mind. Then it all came flooding back to me. If I remember correct Rudy Wallang was the lead vocalist with the Shillong group of yesteryears 'Great Society'. They were an Authentic rock band from Shillong who hit the headlines in the early part of the Eighties.

I remember the year-1985.The place was Gangtok. The event was the Blue Sheep Beat contest. The main title contenders were Great Society and our very own Forbidden Fruit. People still talk about how Rudy Wallang sang that song 'Satisfaction' and in the bargain he almost performed an impromptu strip tease in front of the delirious Gangtok crowd (a good 60% was from Darjeeling) Of course Forbidden Fruit were up to the challenge but what tilted the contest in their favour was a Mizo girl called PUII who sang 'What a feeling'.

Of course, the next years Beat Contest had me on stage with a band I had hurriedly formed. We had no real equipment- only a broken down bass guitar which my bassist reluctantly tagged along. When the draw for the turn each band had to appear on stage was declared my group was placed 4th. Then there was this group from Gangtok called Shining stars (if I remember correct) whose turn was last and whose lead guitarist I knew (we had played together before). We came to a deal- they would use our turn and in return they would let us use their instruments. We readily agreed but by the time we came on stage it was past midnight and only a handful of spectators remained who were drunk so badly that even if we had played some Greek song they wouldn't have noticed. Anyway, the way we performed, I was glad they were drunk. As was expected Gay Foning and his band 'US Band' came first.


Posted by -Jayant S- on Sun Feb 13, 2005 8:37 am

I missed most of the eighties, but was around when Forbidden Fruit was active in the late seventies (Deep Arora, Kuldeep Arora, Mohan Dixit, Raj David, Suren Rai and Kiran Mukhia). We used to poach some of their gear for our gigs when in Mount Hermon School. Sudip Dixit was in my class and played rhythm guitar for my band in those days - any idea where he is now? The fact that Mohan was his brother ensured that we always got our hands on their gear (and they had a whole lot of it back then, including a really sweet little Fender Twin Reverb amp that later ended up with Palden of Magnum Opus. I did attend a gig in the days when Puii was singing with them (she was really good), and Christopher Masand was on the keyboards.

Hopefully, the current generation of young rockers is having as much fun as we did back then. There does seem to be a lot of talent around - the band Funeral Fire seems to have made it to the Great Indian Rock festival in Delhi this year.

 

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Dinesh Rai is one of the musicians who came here during the late 70s. He did his schooling in North Point, where he learned the guitar from a friend. His first stage performance was when he was in class 10, after which he played in numerous concerts and contests. When in Kathmandu, he was invited by Pemba Lepcha and Prahlad Rokka to form a band. Together they formed the oldest existing band in Nepal – Prism in 1978, and the same year in October, performed with Brotherhood, Hillocks, Freedom and a few other bands in a concert at the city hall. The initial lineup of Prism had Pemba (band leader, lead guitarist), George Subba (drums), Prahlad (bass, second vocals) and Dinesh (vocals rhythm guitars). Dev Rana joined the band after George Subba left. In its history of two decades, Prism saw many changes in its lineup, scores of musicians being a part of it at one time or the other. Among them, few important members were Subarna Limbu, Mahendra Lama and Daniel Karthak.

Back in Darjeeling, music, and all art forms (sports too), has taken a back seat. Schools popular worldwide one time for its extra curricular activities, rarely have events like music competitions or musicals. The interaction between schools in sports and 'social' has almost ceased to exist. In music, as most of the people we met there this time told us, it is not a happening place anymore. There are however a few musicians like Mani Kamal Chhetry among the senior lot who are still active in the eastern music scene. Chandan Lomjel is another individual who is involved in both Eastern and Western music in Darjeeling from a long time. Starting with Carnival band in 1976, he was with numerous other bands and at present heads Carnival and Kanchanjunga Cultural Troupe as the music director. Rimela Moktan and Jeevan Pradhan in the present generation are trying to keep it going.

In western music, the picture is even grimmer. Regular gigs are stories of bygone days. If there is one it takes place hardly once in two months. Darjeeling sleeps after 8 these days, you can hardly find a shop open after that. Chowrasta empties by 7.

But even in this grim scenario there are few young generation wannabes who give you a glimpse of hope. There are Reincarnation, Destination, Livathon, Hellriders, Damaged Brain and Divine Wreck, among others, trying to rock Darjeeling once again. One such band that has been trying to set the hills ablaze with rock is Pralaya.
 
Pralaya

Pralaya, performing at a rock show competition

 

Pralaya started in 1995 with Rajib Thatal on vocals, Sonam on guitars, Harish Sena on drums, Dawa Dukpa on guitars and Sachin on keyboards. They are into progressive rock and are influenced by bands like Rush, Deep Purple, Dream Theatre. And lately also listen to Rage Against the Machine and Limp Bizkit. Since their formation, they have been playing regularly, mostly outside Darjeeling. Pralaya has participated and won in several contests, including three times in IIT Delhi and twice in IIT Kanpur. The list of professional shows they have done so far includes places like Kalimpong, Bagdogra, Delhi (IIFT), Benagudi (Dooars), Mumbai (independence rock), Nagaland, Lucknow and Bhutan. In Darjeeling, they have played only four times so far, last one being in 1998. "You can't do a show in Darjeeling these days," Rajib told us.

Pralaya now has its eyes on places outside Darjeeling to continue that they like doing the most, and like most musicians and bands there, they see more hopes in Kathmandu. It might be a favorable climate for the music industry in Nepal – having the talented musicians joining in. but for Darjeeling, the cause for the migration of talents in such numbers might be most unfortunate.

 

 

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Darjeeling is and has always been famous for its musicians. Every house hold has atleast one member who plays some musical instrument or the other with the guitar being the most famous. So it is not surprising to find many good bands who come out every six months in Darjeeling. Some make it big in other places such as Kathmandu and Bombay, some are lucky to create their own identity in Darjeeling, but most of them end up unsuccessful in making a career out of it.

The reason our rock bands cannot make a living / career out of music is there is not enough oppurtunities to perform shows and make a living out music. The only one place in town that offers rock bands a platform and some money is The Buzz at Glenary's. There is also the lack of good jobs available. In the cities one can work in the day time and perform shows at night. Out here its impossible to do that.

It is therefore very saddening to hear that Sahdev and Sanjit of The Reincarnation are leaving for Delhi to find jobs as Music teacher. Sahdev is perhaps one of the finest guitarists to have come out of Darjeeling and Sanjit is very good drummer as well as a singer. A month ago we were planning on reviving The Reincarnation as they were so good at one time with their single "Hijo Samma" reaching cult status and creating waves and fan following. While Mantra kept playing and stayed together as a band The Reincarnation guys split up and ended doing their own gigs separately. Their come back performance was at the recently held Inter College Fest CONFLUENCE in Gymkhana with the younger generation still going wild with their originals.

We always blame our rock bands being not up to the mark compared to the cities, but the truth is there is no proper way out for these guys. Unless and until our guys get propoer job opportunities right here in Darjeeling our music scenario will not change drastically.

Till such times our musicians have suitable day time jobs and can dedicate enough time to their music, we must be ready to see them off to Delhi, Bangalore and other major cities where they can earn a living and keep their dreams aside...

 

 

All good things come to an end. Very true! Holidays are over and I’m back at work. Neeraz dai, upon learning that the band Mantra was in town insisted that I do an immediate interview on them for he had had the privilege of meeting them during his last visit to Darjeeling and that he was very impressed with their music. It was about a week back that we witnessed Mantra performing at the anniversary of Kantipur FM; their first performance in Nepal. I was there to enjoy the show along with a group of my musician friends. After Mantra’s performance was over everybody said that they rocked and I agreed! Every member of the band put in their 100% but I don’t know why, my mind was more into the bass guitarist. Mantra is a Darjeeling based band, they are here for a short while and they are leaving for home on Sunday. It was very nice of them to spare some time from their hectic schedules to talk to us. Dear fursadreaders, today I present to you my short chit chat with Praggya Lama, the lead guitarist of Mantra who spoke on behalf of the band. For further details on the band, do also check out our profile section.
 
Can you tell us how it all began!

Mantra was formed in 2000. Initially we were just three of us me (Praggya) on lead guitars, Bishal on drums and Pravash on Bass. We used to play instrumentals at gigs but after a few months, we realized that we needed a vocalist and Vaskar Dewan joined in. Later we invited keyboardist Manish Thapa to join us as well followed by Bidhan on the flute. We released our first single titled ‘Timi Bina’ included on the collection album ‘Gorkha Rocks’, which became very popular and encouraged us to work on an album of our own.
 
Why the specific name ‘Mantra’ for the band?

We have seen rock bands with English names; there is nothing wrong with that but we wanted something different. We came up with the name Mantra and its holy connotation to the word. Well! A holy name for our band for good luck (chuckles)!
 
How was the experience of performing for the first time in Nepal?

It was a very nice experience. We were excited and at the same time we were nervous too on whether the audience would like us or not. We were very happy after we heard the applause and the ‘once more’ encores! We are very thankful to Kathmandu for their appreciation towards our music. We are planning for a major concert here in Kathmandu and in other cities too. We’ve been talking to our company Taal Music regarding it. Lets see what develops. We intend to do a concert sometime in February and hopefully, it will work out.
 
Some of them are of the opinion that it was because of Prasant Tamang that ‘Mantra’ came into the lime light. What do you guys think about this statement?

The song ‘Bir Gorkhali’ that Prashant sang was from our first album. The song is very popular back home. The song wasn’t able to get the same publicity anywhere else as it has in Darjeeling and other surrounding places. So when Prashant sang the song it became more like his song. So that’s that. If it has brought us more recognition, we are not complaining.
 
What do you guys think about Nepali mainstream rock music?

It’s getting better. There are a lot of bands that we get inspirations from. Like Robin & The New Revolution, Mukti & Revival, 1974 AD and so on.
 
How difficult is it for you guys to do music in Darjeeling?
Yah it’s difficult! We are trying our best to bring our music for the audience here. We’ll be very happy if the audience here listen to our music and support us if they like our kind of music. We are hoping for the best!
 
Albums from Mantra so far?

First album was ‘Mantra’ released in 2003, ‘Rock Yatra’ in 2005 and ‘Himali Nepali’ in 2006.
 
There was a copyright issue concerning the song ‘Bir Ghorkhali’. Taal Music said that they had the copyrights to the song but IndreniCassetteCenter sold the rights to Sony Music. What’s the story?

The song is from our first album and we had released the album under the banner of Indreni Cassette Center. Later we were associated with Taal Music. As per our contractual agreement, Taal Music holds the rights to the remixing and rerecording of the song. Whereas, Indreni Cassette Center has the authority to the original song.
 
What do you guys do besides music?

Me, Manish and Prabhat are full time musicians. We do various music related works like recording, arranging and stuff like that, whereas flutist Bidhan is associated with the Darjeeling Police and the drummer Bishal is in the Indian Army.
 
What do you guys do during your ‘fursad’?

We talk about music, listen to different genres of music, surf the net and play pool…

 

 

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Band from Darjeeling ready to rock Hong Kong
VIVEK CHHETRI - The Telegraph

Darjeeling, Dec. 16: A hard slog in the regional and national circuits has finally paid off for Mantra. The Nepali rock band from Darjeeling will soon fly off to Hong Kong for a concert, with trips to Singapore and Australia to follow.

Mantra will perform in Hong Kong with other singers from Nepal’s music industry on Christmas Eve. “This is the first time that a band from Darjeeling has been invited to perform their original numbers abroad. We will also tour Singapore in February and Australia in March,” said drummer Briju Chowdhury.

It has been quite a journey from 1999 when six young singers decided to make music their career and formed Mantra. Their stocks have risen sharply in the last couple of years. Their song “Sanskriti” was nominated for the Annual Hits FM Awards in Kathmandu in 2005-06 followed by another nomination for the same award for their song “Himali Nepali” in 2007.

The band has also performed in the Great Indian Rock Festival in New Delhi in 2006 and their song “Bir Gorkhali” was included by Sony in Indian Idol Prashant Tamang’s album Dhanyavad.

The band-members are quick to point out that success did not come easily.

“When we started, we had no good equipment and it was difficult to convince music companies of our worth. We had to record songs in Darjeeling and then go to Kathmandu for post-recording editing,” said Bhashkar Dewan, founder member and lead vocalist of Mantra.

Even in Kathmandu, the band had to work hard to establish their name. “It was only in 2002, after one of ours songs ‘Timi Bina’ became a hit, that we started getting a good response from music companies,” said guitarist Pragya Lama.

The other members who make the band are Bidhan Thapa (flute and saxophone) and Manish Thapa (keyboard).

“Staying in Darjeeling has been a constant struggle. We have to rely on music companies from Nepal even for our marketing in India,” said Lama. Mantra has nevertheless toured extensively in Bhutan and the northeastern states. “Unless you are really good, it is difficult to sustain solely on music in the hills,” Lama added.

In Hong Kong, the band will perform with artists like Adrian Pradhan of the 197 AD fame and Karma Sherpa, a finalist in a recent reality contest. “Faluda Singh, a talented singer from this region, will also join us,” said Chowdhury.

Cracking the national scene remains Mantra’s dream. “Once we are through with our tours, we will definitely come up with music for the Indian industry,” said Dewan.

 

 

Mantra, a Nepalese musical band from Darjeeling has created waves in the Darjeeling hills through its ravaging music which has swept like a wild fire. I was there when they had performed during the Darjeeling Carnival and what I can say is that "They have become pros". The musical concert was jam packed and not even an inch was empty - it seems that the whole crowd was bouncing back and forth to the tune which mantra was playing.

They are quite popular in Darjeeling as well as North East India and Nepal.

Here you are with Mantra's First ever Nepali album including the hit songs Ekantama and Bir Gorkhali:
1) Timi Bina
2) Rimzim Rimzim
3) Ekantama
4) Sara Sansar
5) Sapana
6) Bir Gorkhali
7) Pari
8) Guiding Light (Mantra - Theme song)

 

They have cast a spell in the Darjeeling Hills, besides the town of Darjeeling itself where they were born in 1999. Their sound is upbeat; just what a region with an exhausted civic space needs.

Darjeeling is considered to be the homeground for music and one of the leading bands in the revival of music in Darjeeling after the agitation is Mantra. It's a bunch of young men - average age 24 - who is proud to admit that it is the old, and now dead, local bands that were their inspiration.

"Ofcourse, the sounds are different now. We are technically more equipped than our predecessors, which makes a difference in the output's quality", says Bhaskar Dewan, the band's vocalist who is also a teacher in Turnbull Boy's High School.

"Mantra is about positive vibes. We want to make our people feel good about themselves and their place... transcend political boundaries," says Pragya Lama - the lead guitarist and the youngest member of the band. When the band got its first exposure outside the hills, which happened on the year of its formation at the IIT Kharagpur's Spring Fest, Pragya was just about to finish his Class X.

Mantra has also performed in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, on invitation and won the Gangtok Beat Contest 2002. It was the same year that the band released its first number "Timi Bina" in the compilation "Gorkha Rocks Volume I" - the crowd will not allow a Mantra gig to end without it.

For the gigs, Mantra dishes out cover versions of popular heavy metal and popular heavy rock numbers. They are especially good at Iron Maiden, Van Halen, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and the kind.

The aspirations are big time. "We want to enter into the national scene, by participating in an event like the 'Independence Rock' at Mumbai. Lets see we are trying," says Bhaskar.

 

It all happened in 1998 when a group of friends unanimously came together with a confined intension to Rock n’ Roll in the “Autumn Serenade” 98. when they opened for Pralaya & Magnum Opus in Darjeeling. Despite being pitted against the two biggest bands at that time, the boys managed to get the attention of the crowd. The burning unleashed and burst forth with an enthusiasm that set the stage and thus began the saga of the “Reincarnation”.

Work started right next morning with Vicky as the front man, Kalyan on bass, Shadeo as lead guitarist accompanied by Sandeep on 2nd guitar, Dewakar on the keyboards, Sanjit taking care of his drums along with Dhiraj on percussions, the band soon began performing at minor gigs in and around Darjeeling.

However, the Reincarnation’s biggest moment was when they made a clear sweep of all the major awards at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur festival in 2000. Vicky walked away with the best vocals award, the best lead guitarist title went to Shadeo and the best drummer was bagged by Sanjit. Needless to add, the Reincarnation was declared the “Best Band”. This was followed by a series of concerts in Darjeeling and its allied areas.
                
What sets the band apart from the rest is perhaps their willingness to experiment with different forms of music and not just sticking to a particular genre and doing cover versions of English Rock bands. The Reincarnation bagged the first position in the first ‘Nepali Pop Competition’ held in Darjeeling during the year 2001. This event enabled them to get their track ‘Hijo Samma’ find its way into “Gorkha Rocks” compilation from the hills.

They are not bound by change in language, but for them music itself is a universal language. By releasing their first debut album now known in the market as ‘Hijo Samma’ in August, 2003, they have proved their versatility and have become a household name.

The year 2003 saw them open for 1974 AD, one of the hottest bands in Nepali Rock music scene. With ‘Hijo Samma’ gaining immense popularity they performed at major concerts in Kalimpong, Gangtok, Siliguri, Mirik, Dooars and Kurseong. They performed before 1000 thronging heads here at the “Darjeeling Carnival 2003”.

The dying music episode in Darjeeling and their zeal for music aroused their senses to revive the spirit of Rock in the hills. Going through immense hardships, they have succeeded in acquainting the people with their music. “Music for Peace” is what the Reincarnation aspires and performs.

As far as their brand of music is concerned, the Reincarnation has plenty of influences. Growing up on a staple dose of Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Guns n’ Roses, Doors, Kansas as most youngsters of the region, their music still stand apart even when they are doing cover versions. Their strength is in delivering in mainstream rock with the perfect get up of “Tie n’ Dye” T-shirts, painted torn jeans, almost dramatizing their performances to reach out to their audience, which worked wonders in creating a certain ‘on-stage image’ for them.

“Though problems do crop up, the love for music and understanding among ourselves is always constant. We all love to Rock n’ Roll and despite all the adversities, we still remain as a family” says Vicky. “We are looking forward to a new sound with the incorporation of some technical stuff in our forth coming album”, says Axeman Shadeo.

In short, the birth of “The Reincarnation” is an ode to the revival of rock music in the hills… A band that emerged as an effort to bring souls together.

With more than 40+ stage performances, the Re-birth of Souls is still rocking and plans to rock as long as they can.
“Rock n’ Roll is a state of mind, give peace a chance!” Sachin exclaims.

"Om Shanti" is what they believe in.