Voyage Through Ilam
Baral has become very popular among Nepali audience in a short time
By THAKUR AMGAI
Badaluko Ghumtole Illam Bazar Chhopinda
Maile Sablai Birsechhu Timilai Samjhinda
About ten years ago, when this song aired from Radio Nepal , not only the folks of the eastern Nepal , but all the Nepalese felt very nostalgic. The song written by Buddha Bir Lama and music composed by Dinesh Subba goes on to highlight the natural beauty of the beautiful eastern city of Ilam .
Ilam known for its natural beauty has inspired many other songs and write ups, but none have become as famous.
Recorded about twelve years ago, this song not only became an immortal song in the anthology of Nepali songs but also introduced a promising singer to the Nepali music industry.
Yam Baral, who hails from the Fikkal Bazar of Ilam, was only just setting foot into the music industry when he recorded this song. The recording and airing of this song instantly established him in the Nepali music as a popular singer.
Singer Baral is endowed with flair of singing. He was born with the aptitude of singing. During early childhood, the beauty of Ilam Bazar coupled with the literary inclination of the Nepali diaspora in the neighboring Indian cities added encouragement to his desire for singing.
“I was not so good academically,” admits Baral. “During my childhood, I enjoyed singing, taking part in dramas and playing,” he added.
His inclination towards music got brushed up when his brother Lalit Bahadur Basnet brought him to Kathmandu for better education. He joined Bijaya Smarak Secondary School in Dillibazar, where he quickly mingled with friends with common interest.
Once when he was drumming up the tables humming the hit songs of the era, one of his friends Kiran Kandel reminded him of the opening of trainings in the Royal Nepal Academy .
Baral went to the Royal Nepal Academy and took the test for the training. Proving his aptitude for music he stood first among dozens of participants.
During the trainings at RNA, Baral, who had tried to imitate the hits of the era in a harmonium that his brother had gifted him, learned classical, semi-classical and instrumental songs.
After a year, he passed the voice test from Radio Nepal with the song ‘Danda Kati Jane Chari’.
With more time to spend for music after passing the high school, Baral, started singing more songs and participating in contests.
Baral ascended the ladders of success continuously after he started to participate in the Modern Song Contests of Radio Nepal since 2047. The next year he won the second prize and the year after that he got the first prize with the song ‘Jati Bhogchu Afainlai, Bhar Bhachha Jiwan’.
His aspirations would not let him rest. In the hot pursuit of a song that would raise his height as a singer he met famous lyricist Buddha Bir Lama. That was when they composed the song ‘Badaluko Ghumtole’.
In the years after that he has sung hundreds of songs ranging from Bhajan to folk songs in motion pictures. He has brought out more than half a dozen albums. The latest one is ‘Bhinnata’.
Baral has sung more than one hundred songs for cinemas alone. The song ‘aba chotharule piroldaina malai’ not only became popular but also helped the movie to become successful commercially.
Baral has earned a huge name and fame at an early age. He has won several awards and has been honored by several organizations.
