Commemorating the man whose words and music have influenced generations, the night reverberated with the renditions of local poets and singers taking the stage to pay their tributes to the genius.[break]
Organized by Quixote’s Cove, a bookshop at Jhamsikhel, at Jatra, a restaurant and bar in Thamel, the event had Word Warriors alongside Gandharvas taking the stage, contributing to make the evening a musical celebration.
“The whole idea behind the event was to showcase folk tradition merged with a contemporary style of celebration,” said Subani Singh, the organizer of the event. While the gandharavas performed “Bhannai Nahune” and “Ghatna” in their typical style, the Word Warriors recited Dylan’s lyrics as poems.
Yukta Bajracharya, a word warrior, who recited “The times they are a-changing,” said the event was special. “Dylan is very poetic in lyrics and the Gandharvas too are poignant, making this event musical and beautifully lyrical,” she said.
Swarup Ranjit performed “Blowing in the wind”, Nayan Sindhulia did “Last thoughts on Woodie Guthrie”, Ujjwala Maharjan recited “Masters of War” by Dylan Thomas and also a duet alongside Yukta on “Hard Rain.”
Laxmi, from the Gandharvas, who performed alongside her grandfather, said she was thrilled to be in Kathmandu and the audience were “always
inspiring.” Only 13, Laxmi had previously performed for the Music on the Move event at Yala Maya Kendra.
Also, at the event were present Sanyog Shahi, Bobin Bajracharya and singer Dinesh Rai to pay their tribute to Dylan. Sanyog played “Rainy day
woman,” “I’ll be your baby tonight” and “Standing in the doorway” while Dinesh Rai conquered through classics like “Forever Young” and “Blowing in the wind.”
The musical celebration which had the audiences immersed into the theme continued till late into the night.
The 1960’s folk-protest singer-turned enigmatic rock legend has released 34 studio albums, 13 live albums, nine bootleg albums and 14 compilation albums – that’s 70 albums – one for each year of his life.
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