Words of Memories
Bimal writes songs that are easy to understand
By THAKUR AMGAI
Bimal would probably have not been a song writer had he not entered Radio Nepal . “Radio Nepal gave me a platform without which I would probably have not been a song writer at all,” says Bimal. “I would probably have taken some other business.”
Born in Kathmandu in 2018 (Bikram Era), Bimal had a moderate childhood. His parents aspired to make him a medical doctor. He did not know he had a flair for writing in his childhood.
However, after the demise of his father when he was quite young, the responsibility of the family fell on his shoulders.
“I could not give continuity to my studies because of the demise of my father. I had made a turn in the course of my life after I confronted the responsibilities of the family,” Bimal says.
Deprived of his ambition to become a doctor, Bimal started looking for a job. He terms this turn of course as ‘unfortunate’.
While the entry to Radio Nepal deprived him of his ambition of becoming a doctor, it opened new avenues for him. He came into contact with singers and musicians in the environment of Radio Nepal . Famous musician Ram Thapa encouraged him to write songs. Encouraged, he wrote a song “Sapana Bhani Nathani Deu,” which was composed by Ram Thapa and sung by Manoj Gurung. This was his first song on record. He was merely in his post teens then.
“I felt very embarrassed when the first song was aired from the Radio,” he recalls. “I had never thought I would write a song. Actually it was musician Ram Thapa who encouraged me to write songs.”
In the subsequent months and years, he started writing more songs and they started becoming more popular. This genre has brought Bimal this far where the audiences know him by his songs. And now Bimal says he feels that being recognized as a lyricist has added responsibility to him.
Prominent singers like Bhakta Raj Acharya and Prakash Shrestha have lent their voices in his songs “Ankhama Kehi Ash Thiyo” and “Yastai Chha Yahanko Reet” respectively. These are evergreen songs that share the sentiments of the common people. While he had been writing songs since the past twenty-five years, he is widely known through pop songs like ‘Mehendi Lagau Malai’ and ‘Gori, Kali, Sani Mori Je Bhane Ni Hunchha’ sung by Nalina Chitrakar.
The greatest achievement he has made as a lyricist is his recognition. “People know me as a song writer and refer to me through the songs I have written,” says Bimal.
Bimal writes songs in the fresh ambience of morning. His songs are easy to understand and tell realities and sentiments of life that touch a wide spectrum of audience. His song ‘Ke Magchhau Bhani Kasaile Sodhe, Ma Magthen Balapan’ sung by Yashoda Parajuli recites the sentiments of every person about his/her memories and longing of the innocent childhood.
“I write according to the taste of the audience,” he says. “The satisfaction of the audience is my satisfaction.” He has more than 250 songs to his credit. He considers himself to be a writer who writes as a hobby. He has not brought out any album so far. By profession, Bimal is a program producer and an administrator. He has also written songs for a number of feature films.
Bimal is not satisfied with the existing trend in which song writers are overshadowed in the music fraternity. “Lyricists are the most victimized groups in music fraternity whether it may in commercial terms or in getting credit. While broadcasting or staging any songs, the name of the lyricist is most neglected and often missed to announce,” says Bimal. “Likewise, even in stage programs a singer or a musician can use his skill commercially by singing the song. However, the lyricist who has actually first created the song gets nothing. It is unfortunate.”
“There is no environment of commercialization for lyricists. Even today there is no situation for a song writer to earn his living by writing songs.”
