Nepali pop singer Ramkrishna Dhakal, comedian-actor Jeetu Nepal, melody queen Rima Gurung along with other artistes entertained thousands of Nepalese expats during an entertainment programme entitled Suvakaana Suadur Nite. The event was organised by Nepal Culture Council (NCC) recently at Asian Town. Chaired by Rupesh Yadav, co-ordinator of Suvakaana Suadur Nite, R K Sharma businessman and member of Non Resident Nepalese Association International coordination committee (NRNA-ICC) was the chief guest. People came from different parts of Qatar to enjoy the musical evening.
The event kicked off with a welcome song by the artistes of UNI dance crew. The dancing act of UNI was heart-rending. In a similar vein, a 30-member group of Nepali Cultural Center (NCC) performed a spectacular dance sequence portraying the cultural mosaic of Nepal.
“It is our good fortune that we could devotedly work as per our interests in this land, miles afar from our birthplace,” tells NCC artiste Yasoda Basnet. Krisha BC, winner of a singing reality show in 2015, performed a song of Pramod Kharel.
Singer Deepa Lama performed two songs from her latest album. Lama, who performed for the first time in Qatar, was motivated after seeing the response of audience members.
Model and dancer Rishika Chauwdary performed three dances on Nepalese, Hindi and Bhojpuri tunes back to back. Chauwdary said it was her third time performing in the country, and that it was the most memorable performance of her life.
Dancer and model Apechhya Bashyal performed three times in Hindi, Nepalese and Maithili songs. Performing for the second time in Qatar, Bashyal was thrilled by the big venue and the response of the audience. Singer Aabhas Labh performed three songs in three languages – Bhojpuri, Hindi and Maithili. Also a dentist, Labh has already performed in Qatar and in 30 other countries. “Qatar is my most-visited country,” said Labh. “Some of my folks ask me whether I am bored with frequent visits to Qatar, and I answer them that Qatar is my most favourite destination and I am never tried to go there.”
Rima Gurung, the melody queen, performed four songs at the programme. She has sung numerous songs of almost every genre. She feels soothing and sentimental type of songs suit her. In today’s world, although people ‘watch’ the songs rather than listen to them, she still believes that only a good song and music would do justice to it rather than simply a nice video. Initially involved in commercial songs, after marriage she has become more choosy and selects only quality songs.
The major attraction of Suvakaana Suadur Nite was Ramkrishna Dhakal performing five songs. The audiences were capturing the moments with their mobile phones and cameras when he was singing. Dakhal started his musical career early in his childhood when he covered popular songs by another prominent singer of Nepal, Narayan Gopal, as well as others at both formal and informal settings.
Nepali comedian Jeetu Nepal (Mundra ) performed a standup act impersonating Prime Minister of Nepal KP Oli and former PMs Sher Bhadur Deuwa and Puspa Kamal Dahal Prachanda. He said that Qatar has not only become a major destination for Nepalese workers but also for artistes. In a lighter vein, he added that many Nepalese artistes did not get a chance to perform in Kathmandu, but could perform in Qatar to large audiences.
He also praised the work of Doha-based Nepalese performers. If truth be told, he said, Qatar has become a fertile ground for competent and skilful Nepalese artistes who manage their time between their offices and artistic pursuits. Their performance reflects patriotism and longing for their country. He said many Nepalese artistes have devotion and faith in their skills and talents as much they have for their day-to-day office work.
Folk singer Sabitri Joshi was expected to perform four of her best songs, yet only managed to perform one because of a technical problem. Likewise another pop singer Kamal Khatri couldn’t manage to perform a single song as organisers announced that the time had already ended.
Audience member Sita Thapa was happy to see the live performance of her favourite singer Ram Krishna Dhakal. Rita KC, Muna Thapa and Seetal Gurung said they were thrilled to see 12 artistes including Bhojpuri, Nepali, Hindi and Mahitali songs on the same stage.
The programme was hosted by Sushil Nepal and Prakash Das. Dinash Raya, Rupesh Yadav and Sakti Cheetri co-ordinated the programme.
SING ON: Popular singer Ramkrishna Dhakal takes the audience on a melody trip; Deepa Lama stages a performance and Rima Gurung belts out a popular number.
