By Usha Wagle Gautam


Various Doha-based artistes performed during a benefit concert for the survivors of the Great Earthquake of Nepal last Friday at Quality Hypermarket on Salwa Road.
The artistes of QN Band, Sur Sadhana Kendra, and Aarambha Natya Dabali  among others performed during the first benefit concert held in Qatar and helped collect QR27,000 for the earthquake victims.
The organisers said the money from the four-hour-long programme will go to the quake survivors in Darhechowk VDC in the western district of Chitwan, where 189 houses were destroyed and five people died. Most of the villagers there are still staying outside in makeshift tents amid the rising mercury levels. Around 500 music enthusiasts witnessed the programme, and donated between QR1 and QR5,000 for the cause.
The concert started with a one-minute silence for the people who lost their lives in the disaster. The QN Band members then stepped onto the stage to perform four of their popular songs. Vocalist Nabraj Shrestha, guitarist Deepak Gurung, bassist Sudhir Pariyar, percussionists Raju BK and Ananda Tamang, and flutists Baburam BK and Mahesh Shrestha teamed up to play patriotic anthems for around an hour. Vocalist Nabaraj Shrestha said, “Even if we are late in organising such a programme, we have at least succeeded in taking a positive initiative.”
Dancer Raj Tamang was the second performer. He performed to the beats of a national song while wearing Nepal’s national dress. He said, “Instead of performing for myself, today I performed for my country.”
Dancing duo Kiran Lama and Sabina Lama showcased their talents on three remixed film songs. The dances were choreographed by dancer Kiran Lama himself who is also a dance instructor. He was happy to perform as he felt was doing something for his country. Likewise, Sabina Lama said she was pleased to dance along with the dancing ace Kiran and also for contributing something to her country.
Kiran Gurung performed a comic dance sequence and left everyone in the audience laughing. “It is difficult to make everyone laugh during such bad times, yet my focus and attentiveness to the crowd helped me succeed,” Lama said after his performance.
The Non-resident Singing Idol ’11 Dinesh Limbu performed a song from his album two times, as per the demand of the audience. He urged all Qatar-based Nepalese community to be united to support the earthquake survivors who are yet to acquire basic relief materials and safe shelters. “It is not the right time to get involved in blame game, we need to coordinate with each other to rebuild our country,” Limbu said.
Eight artistes from the Nepalese Cultural Center (NCC) performed a traditional Tamang Selo dance, choreographed by Vumika Rai. During the performance, the artistes were wearing ethnic dresses of the Tamang community.
Singers Ram Kumar Rai, Saroj Shrestha and Bijaya Shrestha of Aarambha Natya Dabali wrapped up the concert with their group performance. The song they performed narrated the Great Earthquake and its tragic consequences.
 The programme was presented by City Express Money Transfer, coordinated by community leader Sagar Nepal, and supported by Nepalese Cultural Family, Sandhya Group, Basanta Films, NCC, International Artists’ Society, International Artists’ Forum and Rhythm Natya Dabali.