OPENING: The Nepali national song being performed by Nepali cultural family at the contest.

By Usha Wagle Gautam


The Non-resident Nepalese Idol 2015 competition concluded its semi-final round at the Quality Hypermarket on Salwa Road last weekend.
Twenty contestants participated in the semi-final round of the competition, which is being jointly organised by Rupandehi Social Service Initiative (RSSI) and Nonresident Nepalese Musical Family (NNMF). The event was chaired by RSSI vice-president Dilli Raj Bhattarai. Maksud Alam, a prominent community member, was the chief guest.
As the day coincided with Nepal’s Martyrs Day, the programme started after a one-minute silence in memory of known and unknown martyrs of Nepal.
Dancers Kiran Lama, Kanchha Lama, Deepa Thapa, Isha Gotani and Som Tamang performed on a 10-minute-long Nepali national song, while waving the country's flag around.
The show, was judged by folk singer Debika KC, NRN-NCC Star 2011 Amrit Limbu and pop singer Santosh Pariyar. It was co-ordinated by Shakti Chhetri.
There were 68 participants in the first round of the contest. Out of the 20 contestants in the semi-final, 10 made it to the final round. They are: Subharaj Rai, Resham Gurung, Lalit Kumar Limbu, Arjun Kharel, Amrit Kurmang Limbu, Ram Kumar Rai, Madhu Lama, Sur Bahadur Limbu, Kabin Gurung and Jyoti Gurung.
Finalist Resham Gurung is in Qatar since 2012 and works in a packaging company.
Shubharaj Rai, also a finalist, came from Al Khor to participate in the contest. Rai was a dohari (duet song) singer in Nepal. “I came to Qatar after I felt it hard to survive in Nepal,” Rai said, “Today’s programme reminded me of my old days as a dohari singer.” Rai had released two not-so-successful music albums in Nepal.  
Another finalist, Arjun Kharel works as a CCTV operator in G-Force Security since 2010. Before coming to Qatar, he had a music business in his country, which suffered a huge loss. “I came to Qatar to recover that loss,” Kharel said, “And I have already recorded my first album titled Maya with my savings.” Also interested in charity works, Kharel has already sent over 500kg of cloths to disadvantaged communities in Nepal.
Lalit Kumar Limbu, a finalist, who works as a mason in Sanaiya since 2011, also qualified for the final. Limbu was a drummer in a music band in Nepal, and feels thankful to his current company for encouraging and supporting him to take part in the singing contest.
Finalist Madhu Lama won a singing contest sometime back. He has already released three albums and is looking to record his fourth.
Amrit Limbu, also a finalist, is document assistant in Qatar since 2008. Born singer, Limbu has passed school-level examination, and after his family couldn’t fund his education, he came to Qatar. “I am happy with my job and taking part in this singing contest was my dream,” Limbu said.
Finalist Ram Kumar Rai, a sales supervisor in Qatar since 2006 and in the final round, was previously selected as top 10 finalists of Singing Idol 2013 organised by Tamu Society.
Document controller Sur Bahadur Limbu, also a finalist, was a singer in Nepal and has composed many albums. “But, after the political stalemate [in Nepal] continued with frequent strikes, I changed my mind and came to Qatar,” said Limbu.
Making it to the final was a dream for electrician Kabin Gurung who had previously participated in Nepali Tara, a singing competition that aired on Nepal Television.
Jyoti Gurung, the only female finalist, has been in Qatar for just five months. Working in a cleaning company, Gurung used to be a semi-professional folk and dohari singer in Nepal. After having problems with her throat, she abandoned singing and got treatment. “I came to Qatar to pay my treatment loans,” Gurung said, “Maybe I will make a comeback as a professional.”
The organisers say the funds collected in the contest will go towards orphaned and street children in Nepal and to campaigns against child abuse.
The final will be held at the end of February at a sport clubs. “In the final round, contestants will be scored according to audience votes and judges’ markings,” said Raju Thapa, NNMF secretary.                           
The Nepalese singing competition is the first of its kind in Qatar and is supported by more than 100 social welfare institutions, Nepalese entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders.
Winner of the singing idol competition will win a cash prize of QR3,600, and a record deal.
The first and second runners-up will win cash prizes of QR1,800 and QR900, respectively, and get six months of free music training.
The contestants who finish fourth and fifth will bag cash prizes of QR500 and QR400, respectively.
The winning prize is sponsored by Maksud Alam, the second and third prizes are sponsored by Parbat Youth Society and the fourth and fifth prizes are sponsored by International Artists Society.
The contest is sponsored by Pigeon Engineering Project, Basanta Films, Umesh Adhikari, KB Kamal, Rajan Shrestha, Sujendra Shrestha Chanak Pokrel and Ashish Dhakal, among others.