National 10 (Spotlight Weekly)

Tasting Success

A lady from Lamjung makes it big in music career but only after sustained perseverance

By THAKUR AMGAI

Back in the 1980s when Bima Kumari entered Kathmandu from the western hilly district of Lamjung, the prospect of making a career out of singing folk songs was not at all that bright. In fact, the singers had to struggle for living. With Radio Nepal as the only outlet and few recording studios, it was hard to think of making it a career choice. However, Bima Kumari Dura did survive the initial struggle and as goes the Darwin's theory through struggle for survival she was proved the fittest. After two decades she is one of the prominent folk singers of the country.

As she was born in Duradanda, she carries with her the legacy of the folk culture. Although it is usual to sing and walk around for males in the Dura Community, females stepping on the males' toes is not taken nicely in society. "Singing around in the local festivals and other rituals are a part of our culture and it is well accepted. But for girls, going out of the village for work is not very normal. It was a kind of rebellion when I came to Kathmandu to make a career in singing," said Dura.

However, the same people who had sort of stigmatized Dura for having gone out of the village and defying the cultural 'values' now hold her in high esteem. "This is a thing that I am satisfied with," said Dura. "I am in a way proud that I could make the Dura community known to a broader sector of audience."

Dura has hit the market with hundreds of songs, which like all other songs have transformed in wordings and music since the past years. While she used to sing songs like 'sanu kasko dailo kurera basauli, yai lagchha piralo' depicting the love and longing in the typical Nepali rural setting during her early years of career, she has started to sing songs like 'Hong Kong ID le' depicting the current issues of society. Nevertheless, her songs have always been well received by the audience. Moreover, she is of the opinion that folk songs should be representing the present day's society's issues. Her songs do exactly the same.

Over the years, Dura has been felicitated with a number of awards as recognitions for her contribution to the Nepali folk music. However, to Dura what is more important than the formal awards and prizes is the warm love and respect given to her by the audience. Indeed, she has reigned the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Nepalese, particularly from the villages, who love their birth place and value their culture. Her songs make the people who have left their homes in the course of job or study very nostalgic. It is probably for this reason that Dura is more popular among the Nepali Diaspora working in the foreign countries than in the home country itself.

Dura has sung all genres of folk songs ranging from Duet to songs of Teej. After the market of the folk and duet songs started to increase dramatically in the last few years, she has sang for dozens of collection albums. And now, after two decades of struggle, a time has come when the music industry has allowed Dura to earn a decent living.

Thanks to the improvement in technology and spawning radio stations the market of the folk songs has taken a dramatic leap in the last one decade. Folk music has started to witness an era of professionalism. Successful artistes no more have to look for alternative professions for a living. Some duet albums like 'Sasuralima' have been reported to have sold in hundreds of thousands collecting royalties nearing a million.

Folk songs enjoy a broader spectrum of market as compared to the other genres of songs. Compared to modern songs and pop songs, which are popular only among certain target groups, folk music is popular among all the Nepalese. This is one of the reasons for the folk songs taking the huge market. More albums of folk songs sell out in rural areas. Easy to understand and touchy to the lives of common Nepalis, folk songs are the staple source of entertainment for a large number of people.