National 8 (Spotlight Weekly)

Searching for Identity

Yaman Shrestha is the latest among a stream of many prominent Nepalese artistes who have left Nepal for the USA

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

The young and promising Nepalese singer Yaman Shrestha is currently in Texas, USA pursuing studies in music and struggling to establish himself there. He joins a burgeoning club of Nepalese artistes who have left Nepal for the USA. Over the last one decade artistes like Saroj Khanal, Raja Ram Poudel, Kristi Mainali, Saranga Shrestha and singers like Prem Raja Mahat, Sunil Upreti and others have left Nepal.

Yaman Shrestha : gifted in music

When he was in Nepal, Yaman was considered a child prodigy. Son of reputed comedian Madan Krishna Shrestha, Yaman made his mark at a tender pre-teen age by giving composition to songs in hit tele-films like "Ra" and "Laxmi". In the latter, senior classical singer Nararaj Dhakal sang in his composition. He had released a number of albums, which were successful in Nepal. He has also composed music for a number of advertisements and commercials for television and radio.

Yaman had left for the USA two and a half years ago. He, however, says that he will return to Nepal after completing his studies there. Talking to SPOTLIGHT over email, Yaman said he was doing all he can to promote Nepali music even in USA.

"Well, there is a whim to come over to America all over the world. Before I came here, I used to think people from poor countries prefer to come here to pursue their career. However, when I got here, I saw people from all over the world. People say opportunities knock at the door in America, but one should bear in mind that the door doesn't promise anything. People have to work on their own to succeed in their lives. I am also waiting for the opportunities to knock at my door. I have a small recording studio at home with 24-track digital recording. I released an album in last Dashain "Ek Din" and it did well here. My next project is a new album "Best Of Yaman Shrestha". I get clients, including Nepalese living in America, Australia, and other parts of the world, to make their music tracks too. I am planning to shoot a song here too and I would like to tell my fans that I will be releasing new albums and many songs in the months ahead. I plan to return to Nepal after couple of years of studying here," said Yaman.

But other artistes have not shown such inclination yet. Though the opportunities for creative artistes have grown in Nepal, many still tend to go overseas. "That kind of drain of creative talent is a loss for Nepal," said a television artiste. "It will be good if they engage in creative talents abroad but what we have seen is that they engage in other normal jobs once they leave the country."

Recently, at an interaction at the American Center, Steve Brault, counselor at the American Embassy, said that Nepal was the country where the number of applicants seeking visa for America increased at the maximum rate in the whole world in the last year. "There are people who tend to go to USA and just donít come back. This kind of trend is affecting other genuine applicants," he said. He added that this trend could affect the image of Nepal in the long run.

Yaman, too, agrees that this kind of tendency is not good. "I am here to learn about music. I am finding it very exciting as I have also participated in choir and symphony programs with Americans. It is very exciting and challenging to do different kinds of music," he said. Yaman is currently studying at a community college in Texas.

Though he was engaged in different fields of creative art including stage, singing and poetry, Yaman has chosen music composition as his specialty.