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Steady Singer
Kapali's steady contribution has enriched the anthology of Nepali modern songs By THAKUR AMGAI It is likely that this could be the first time that you have heard Kiran Kapali's name. Despite a number of melodious evergreen songs that he has contributed to the anthology of Nepali modern songs, his introvert and media shy nature still keeps him under shadow from the public.
Kapali's is a second-generation artist of the Nepali music industry. He started singing about thirty years ago after topping the voice test takers in Radio Nepal 2033 B.S. The songs he sung then like 'Hardinko Bihanima, Barsha Hos Ya Hiundma' (written by Chhaya Singh and music composed by Shambhujeet Baskota), were very well received by the audience.
He worked in close coordination with his contemporaries like renowned musician Shambhujeet Baskota, actor-cum-singer Bhuwan K. C. and lyricist Shree Purush Dhakal. However, with only one recording facility in the country it was extremely difficult to get a 'date' to record songs at Radio Nepal. "A singer would get (on average) only one date a year, if he did not resorted to nepotism and sycophancy," said Kapali. "And I was not the kind. That is the reason why I have very few songs recorded." Kapali was endowed with a melodious voice and therefore praised by all his friends and acquaintances. That is what brought him to Radio Nepal to take the voice test. Moreover, his passion for music was nurtured by a conducive family environment. His mother, played and still plays harmonium and sings Bhajan (devotional songs) at the Krishna Mandir nearby his house. He would listen to both the songs aired from Radio Nepal and the Bhajans sung at the temples and repeat them. Impressed by the melody of his voice, his teachers would make him sing in front of the class whenever they wanted to have some light-hearted moments. To get together with friends and strum songs of famous singers like Narayan Gopal, Manik Ratna, Premdhoj Pradhan and Indian singer Mukesh was one of the regular hobbies of Kapali during his youth. In the subsequent years after his entry into the music industry, when technologies began to develop and the market expanded, Kapali also started giving voice as a play back singers in video films like 'Chipa Nipa' and 'Saugat.' He also contributed songs to collection albums in Newari and Nepali. A Newari collection album 'Rimijhimi', released about twenty years ago by Alpha Sound Studio, contains four songs sung by Kapali. As his nature is, he enjoys singing sentimental, slow paced and tragedy songs. In the forties he sung sentimental songs like 'Ankhako Mitho Sapana Timro' and 'Aja Timi Bhulideu Atitka Kathaharu' (both written by Shree Purush Dhakal), which got very popular among the audience then. A travel trader by profession, Kapali had to take a break from recording songs when he went abroad for a few years in the course of his job. Four years ago, he contributed few Newari songs to collection albums. In the recent days he has started to become more active in his passion. Last month he released a solo album of modern songs and now, less than a month later, he is already preparing for the second one. 'Bainshalu Yauban' contains eight love songs with various themes. All songs are written by Kabi Raj and all music composed by Prakash Gurung. He has also made music videos for five of the eight songs.
In his career spanning almost three decades, Kapali has enriched Nepali music collection with lasting songs, which are few in number but unmatched in quality.
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