5 things about Lochan Rijal

Musician Lochan Rijal is known for his reverence for Nepali ethnic melody. Hailing from Panchthar District, he even made his way to the vigorous doctorate in Ethnomusicology from University of Massachusetts, USA in collaboration with Kathmandu University (KU).

He's been working as an Assistant Professor and Coordinator at the Department of Music (KUmusic) in KU, and is currently busy working to rebuild the premises of KUmusic in Bhaktapur, damaged by the recent earthquake and the subsequent flood.

Rijal is best known for his songs 'Chandrama', 'Chetana', and 'Sukha Dukha' among others. Although he's been maintaining low profile as a musician, he's soon coming up with his fourth solo album. Here he shares with Republica five lesser known things about him.

He loves cricket

He has always loved sports, and while he was a student at Nepal Police School in Saanga, he was even selected for the Cricket Association of Nepal's Viking Cup, where his team secured the second position. "I miss playing cricket a lot. Since I don't have much free time these days, I'm unable to practice it as much as I'd like to. Nonetheless, I keep myself engaged with other forms of workouts, like running."

He wakes up at 4 in the morning

Every morning he gets up at 4 o'clock and sets off for an hour long run. Morning is his favorite part of the day, and he loves to de-stress himself by taking in the fresh morning air. "It's an overwhelming experience," he says, adding, "When I was in the US back in 2010, I'd go out for a run even when it was snowing outside. I loved the sound of the snow being crunched under my shoes."

He is a good cook

But he doesn't always enjoy cooking traditional food. This imaginative musician likes to improvise with dishes, too. "I cook almost every day. I love making chicken and I like to mix it up with Nepali and/or Italian spices, something I have been doing since my US days," he adds.

He loves collecting musical instruments

"My recent acquisitions are a Korean Shaman Drum, the Janggu—a Korean ceremonial percussion, a flute and an Ektarey. My upcoming album features all of these instruments," he shares. Apart from them, he possesses many other ethnic instruments such as Arbajo, which he crafted all by himself, Tungna, and Sarangi, among others. Following the great quake, he went inside his apartment for a quick visit to pick his guitar, Arbajo and Sarangi, which he safely put in his car for about a month.

He is a perfectionist when it comes to music

"I recorded a song entitled, 'Sukha Dukha' for over 50 times. It was a simple song with just my voice and a Sarangi for music. Later I wasn't quite satisfied with how it turned out, so I ended up revising it. After many attempts, I finally mixed it with Arbajo and that's when I was content," he explains. He ended up shooting the video for the song in his kitchen! When it comes to music, he doesn't settle with anything less than perfect. "Some songs come in perfect tone, while others don't. I'm ready to work harder and wait for however long it might take to make it perfect, or even discard it, but I don't compromise."