The concert was a treat for music lovers who swayed to the Nepalese
rock band and singer Ritu Lama. By Usha Wagle Gautam
Prominent Nepalese rock band Nepathya, along with award-winning singer Ritu Lama, entertained a crowd of over 4,000 Nepalese expats in a concert held at West End Park, Industrial Area, last week. The musical show was organised by LG Association Nepal and presented by John Decagon and Jeevan Thapa.
The evening kicked off with former Nepal Television (NTV) singing star Ritu Lama performing her top five songs. Her number, Timi Bina ko Zindagi (Life without you), was well received. Performing for the first time in Qatar, Lama got encouraged by the response she got from audience. After the show, she said, “I am motivated to come to Qatar in future to perform.” She compared the day with the same cheerfulness as she won the first female singing star award in her home country two years earlier.
Mohan Shah, a local Nepalese artist in Doha, came up on the stage after Lama. He was happy to share the stage with the popular Nepathya band and thanked the organisers for giving him a platform to show his singing talents.
In the two-hour show, Nepathya performed their 15 biggest hits. The audience cheered and danced while the band’s frontman Amrit Gurung sang Nepalese folk melodies in rock version. Accompanying Gurung in the show were Suraj Thapa on guitar, Sunil Thapa on keyboard, Niraj Gurung (bass guitar), Shanti Rayamajhi on madal (a Nepalese ethnic percussion instrument) and Dhruba Lama on drums.
It was surprising for all the audience how Shanti Rayamajhi played solo madal — incessantly for 15 minutes in the programme. The songs performed by Nepathya — Chhekyo Chhekyo, Chari Maryo, Jomsomai Bazaar Ma, Bheda Ko Uun Jasto, Resham, Taal Ko Paani and Rato Ra Chandra Surya among others are the all-time hits of the band formed in 90s by three students in Pokhara — a city in Western Nepal.
The playlist represented folk music of Nepal across three geographical regions of the country. This was the first show of Nepathya in Qatar. Frontman Gurung appreciated the crowd and said without the audience response the band was nothing.
Nepathya has performed in many international venues, including Wembley Stadium, London in 2013. Among the audience, Suraj Thapa who came to the show said that he was reluctant to believe Nepathya was performing live in Qatar as the band’s concert scheduled earlier was cancelled.
“I guess it’s more like a dream to see Nepathya in live concert and I really enjoyed the show a lot,” he said. Damodar BK, a big fan of frontman Gurung, was happy as he fulfilled his lifelong dream to take a snap with the singer.
Manoj Chaudhary, Dil Bhattarai, Bishwa Thapa, Dipak Gurung, Lal Bhatta, Pramod Kandel, Sachin Karki, Santosh Pariyar, Prabin Gurung, John Decagon, Anirudra Timilsina, Naren Khadka, Shankar Khadka and Yubraj Khadka managed the event.
