Cheema Communications

(A version this article was published in the January 2010 edition of the Charlotte, NC, based South Asian magazine The Saathee)

Written by Kubacka

Sometimes fantastic things can come together at the last minute.  Such was the case with Shringara Nepal’s performance in Durham, NC.  Upon hearing they would be coming through the Triangle, the Nepal Center of North Carolina (NCNC) began searching for a venue to host them.  There was talk of a house concert, but finally the decision was made to let Tandoor Indian Restaurant in Durham host the event on the evening of November 25th, 2009.  The NCNC brought in Cheema Communications to help with promotion; and with the help of a number of sponsors, the performance was a well attended success, considering the short notice.  The ticket included a buffet meal from Tandoor before everyone took their seat in front of a well crafted stage at the back of the restaurant for the actual performance.

(From left) Babette Ackin, Parashuram Bhandari and Achyut Ram Bhandari

are performing at Tandoor Indian Restaurant in Durham, NC, on November 25,

2009 . Photo By Daniel J Pesta

Composed of Parashuram Bhandari on the sarangi, his cousin Achyut Ram Bhandari on tabla, and Parashuram’s student Babette Ackin providing the background drone of the tamboura, Shringara Nepal is in the midst of a U.S. tour that began in October of this year.  Both Parashuram and Achyut Ram were born in Nepal but traveled to Benares, India to receive formal, classical training.  In addition, each of them have published written works on their instruments and have many recordings to their name.

Seeing this as a great opportunity to showcase Nepali culture, Ishwar Devkota, founding member of the NCNC back in 1999, and Arun Dhital, the current president of the NCNC wanted to make the possibility of this performance a reality in Durham.  Composed of approximately 200 members, the NCNC seeks to provide information and cultural exchange with a strong desire to pass the culture of Nepal on to the next generation born in the U.S.  In the past, the NCNC has brought other artistic, cultural acts from Nepal and now they have shared with us the sounds of Shringara Nepal, as the group presented not only Hindustani classical music, but also the folk music of Nepal to a diverse group of both Nepali and non-South Asian ethnicities.

Mr. Ishwar Devkota, founding member of the Nepal Center of North Carolina, welcomed

participants to the Shringara Nepal concert. Photo by Daniel J Pesta

Shringara Nepal opened their performance with Raga Jog, typically performed in the night.  Parashuram began by unfolding the melodic structure of the raag with an abbreviated alap, introducing the audience to the rich resonances of the sarangi’s strings, accompanied only by Babette’s gentle playing of the tamboura.  Parashuram didn’t seem inclined to spend a lot of time deeply exploring the raag with his alap as they were soon joined by Achyut Ram’s fantastic tabla playing - very solid, confident, and well above the level of simple tabla accompaniment.  Not only highly skilled, he also clearly enjoyed performing, as he played with such emotion and enthusiasm, making him a real pleasure to behold.  Parashuram allowed many opportunities for the tabla to take center stage and Achyut Ram never disappointed the crowd with mesmerizing solos that concluded with well developed tihais (thrice played rhythmic phrases) that held the audience in suspense until he landed firmly on the sam (the first beat of the rhythmic cycle), marking the release of the rhythmic climax he created.  The artists concluded the raag with a sawal jawab, where Achyut Ram repeated Parashuram’s phrases back to him through the tabla.

After a short intermission, the artists performed a light classical thumri in Raag Mishra Kafi.  To me, pieces of this sort are really the essence of the sarangi.  With the instrument’s historical association as the melodic instrument of choice to accompany courtesan singers in performance, one cannot help but to let the mind drift off, recollecting scenes from classic Hindi films such as Pakeezah or Umrao Jaan, where classy courtesan dancers sang poetic songs of love, pain, separation, and profound wonder… all while the sarangi played along in the background.

A group photo of artists with the participants and organizers of the Shringara Nepal Concert

at the Tandoor Indian Restaurant. Photo by Daniel J Pesta

However, the real highlight of the performance was what followed - an extremely rare sight outside of Nepal.  Parashuram set down the Indian sarangi to take up the Nepali folk sarangi, a smaller, less developed version of the former.  But don’t let “smaller” or “less developed” mislead you; his folk sarangi is a true pleasure to behold – both for the ear as well as the eye.  Crafted from what seemed to be a single block of wood, it featured elaborate hand carved floral patterns culminating in a detailed cobra head at the top of the instrument.  While the instrument lacks all of the elaborate sympathetic strings that give the rich characteristic resonance to the Indian sarangi, the Nepali sarangi lends itself even more ideal to capture the essence of the basic, yet memorable folk melodies.  Achyut Ram also gave his tabla a rest and brought out a small double-sided Nepali folk drum known as the madal, on which he gave a basic beat to a series of immensely enjoyable folk songs, including the most popular “Resham Firiri”.  After discussions with a few audience members, I learned that these songs celebrated trekking through the beautiful landscape of Nepal, and of course, the ever perennial themes of love and friendship.  While Parashurmam’s main intent might be as a classical musician, I must say that it was here in these folk pieces that he really seemed to shine and win the hearts of the audience.  The crowd sang and clapped along, and yelled out requests for the next folk tune.  Intending to conclude, Parashuram and Achyut Ram went back to their classical instruments to play a traditional, auspicious Nepali piece known as “Malshree”; however, the crowd wanted more and they went back to the folk instruments for a few more crowd pleasing folk tunes!

Before leaving I had a rewarding opportunity to sit down and converse with the artists during their post-concert meal.  The trio was an extremely kind and humble bunch, happy to share their stories with me.  Parashuram explained his musical journey, leaving Nepal in search of a teacher at the age of 19 and the challenges he found along the way – starting formal training on a difficult instrument at a relatively older age and encountering skepticism from those that thought the music was basically not his to learn, being from Nepal rather than India.  But he had a real sense of gumption and was determined to give his life to learning classical sarangi; and it is plain to see that his hard work is clearly bearing fruits, as his music is now touching audience members all across the world.

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