Singing People’s Woes

Pandey has enthralled thousands of audience with his melodious voice

By THAKUR AMGAI

In the early nineties, a song had become very popular among the Nepalese audience.

‘Ma Timro Sahar Chhodi Tadha Tadha Jandaichhu,
Timisanga Kahilyai Nabhetne Kasam Khandaichhu’

Whether in the farewell parties of colleges, schools and organizations or while leaving one’s hometown for various reasons people shared their feelings with the melody and the words of this song.

Pandey: Gifted with melody

In those days, many people unequivocally spelled it as their favorite song. With this song, young singer Pradeep Raj Pandey, too, established his identity among the Nepalese audience. Millions of Nepalese across the country and abroad revered him for this and other similar songs. However, the audience did not know him in person and were totally unaware of the personal life of their revered singer. From the graveness of the words in his songs and the maturity of his voice, they mistook him to be a very a senior, learned and established singer.

Songs like ‘Kina Aunchha Timro Yad Sandhai Sandhai Sanjhma’ and ‘Thahai Thiyana Deel Ago Bina Nai Jaldo Rahechha’ had become equally popular from among the few songs he had recorded.

Pandey had sung these melodies while he was merely in his post teens. Despite his extraordinary talent in singing and instant popularity, Pandey had to face many difficulties in finding lyricists and music directors who would let him sing in their composition. Amid the struggle, he met senior music director Nati Kaji, who- impressed by his innate talent in singing, readily agreed to compose music for him. Nati Kaji composed the songs mentioned above. His friend B. B. Thapa provided him with powerful lyrics that also established Thapa as a songwriter. Likewise, Pandey says music director Shusil Biswokarma has been very instrumental and inspirational in his musical journey.

Born in 2024 B.S. in Kathmandu, Pandey passed voice test from Radio Nepal at the young age of 12. He was groomed in a musical family. His father- a contemporary of classical singers Yagya Raj Sharma and the likes used to sing classical songs at home. Likewise, his mother used to sing old songs from Hindi movies. “This ambience at home left a deep impression in my tender mind,” says Pandey. “I used to sing folk songs popular in those days. Later with my father’s suggestions I got inclined to singing songs with classical flavor.” Probably because of this, Pandey, with no formal training in music, has sung songs with classical vibes.

During his childhood, friends and relatives said his voice matched that of Udeet Narayan Jha and requested him to sing Jha’s songs. After his super hits mentioned above, the Nepalese audience did not get to hear any new songs in his voice for a long time. Pandey points out at the frustrations evoked by the hardships in approaching music directors for his discontinuity in singing.

After a few years, Pandey became a Program Producer at Radio Nepal. He used to make and conduct various musical programs. For someone with a passion and flair for music, there could not have been a better opportunity for career development. He could now have chosen the best of the words and tuning and recorded songs without any hassles. He could also easily use his position and contacts to air his songs. However, surprisingly, the singer who walked from door to door of the music directors in the early days of his singing career totally stopped singing. In that, Pandey’s personality and course of life tells an unusual tale.

However, for the audience who missed Pandey’s melody for a long time there is good news now. After 14 years of hibernation, Pandey has started singing again. With irresistible urge from his well-wishers and his wife Poonam Thapa, Pandey brought out a new album ‘Timro Sahar Part II’ a few years back. The new songs in his album have been well received and have quenched the thirst of his fans, albeit they are yet to reach the heights of popularity that his identifying songs did in the early 1990s.

Media shy Pandey, who needs a lot of pushing to continue singing as shown by history, is currently working for his next album with songs like ‘Pardesh Gayako Chhoro Yaspali Ta Pharkera Aunchha Re’. The song tells the silent sufferings of a father/mother whose son has gone to a foreign land to earn money, leaving them alone at home at their old age.