Currently affiliated to the Kathmandu University Department of Music as Associate Professor, Rijal has had more than a decade of experience as music educator, traveling to different parts of Nepal, fusing the music from the western regions with the eastern, and reviving traditional Nepali music from near extinction.[break]
Along with that, in 2009, Rijal was associated with the BBC Radio in a project to document the musical traditions of the Limbus, Sherpas and the contemporary folk musicians of Nepal. Similarly, he also worked with an Italian film project to document Lhotsampa music in the Bhutanese refugee camps in east Nepal. He is also the Youth Advocate for the UN Millennium Development Campaign.
Chandra Shekhar Karki
The Week met with Rijal to talk about his musical travels and the condition of Nepali music at present.
What kindled the interest in music in you?
I come from a very rural part of far-east Nepal. In my childhood days, we had no access to radio or TV, and there was no way I would be listening to music. Later, when we came to Biratnagar, I was exposed to various forms of music, from Nepali folk and modern to Bollywood dance numbers. There, as if instinctively, I was drawn to music. With some friends, I formed a band while in Biratnagar and we started playing at concerts. Most of my music and songs were self-composed, and I even recorded a few songs at Music Media in Dharan.
But still I hadn’t thought about giving my full time to music until I came to Kathmandu for my Intermediate studies. I was acquainted with Pranil Timilsina through a friend, and then with Nabin K Bhattarai, one of the most popular singers of that time. It was in fact Nabin who encouraged me to take up music. I used to play in concerts then, and at the same time I was preparing for medical entrance examinations.
Nabin took me to the KU Department of Music where I met Professor Gret Matthias Wegner. There, for the first time, after looking at the course structure, I thought that music academia had a greater and wider scope, even in Nepal. After that, I abandoned my entrance preparations and enrolled for Bachelor’s in Ethnomusicology.
How do you define ethnomusicology?
Music has many sciences, like dimensions or branches. Some are related to the theories of music, some with its practical aspects, while some are also about the making of musical instruments.
Ethnomusicology is one such dimension which is concerned with the study of music in cultures. In other words, it’s the anthropology of music. It was first started in Europe and slowly spread to the rest of the world.
In Nepal, Professor Wegner formally researched Nepali music and trained musicians. Thus, in 1996, the foundation of ethnomusicology in Nepal was first laid. Kishore Gurung, himself a multifaceted musician, is considered a very fine ethnomusicologist in Nepal today.
Ethnomusicology is basically about analyzing ethnic music, processing and documenting it. It’s also more or less about how different ethnic music is related.
How did your family respond to your decision of taking up ethnomusicology instead of medical studies?
My family was supportive of my decision right from the start. They trusted me and believed that I wouldn’t waste my life or my time. But somewhere, they were skeptical, too. It was the time when people thought that there was no scope of music studies in Nepal. Many people still do, but my family was very understanding and they helped me, especially my elder siblings.
In fact, during the hard times in my family, music has helped to maintain financial and emotional balance. I was doing well and was earning good money through music. With the number of concerts I was doing, the schools I was teaching music at, and also from the Nepal Music Centre where I was working as program coordinator, I was able to help my family through sticky spots.
Your journey in music began from being an amateur musician and today you’re an ethnomusicologist. How’s this journey been?
I was also doing concerts and was recording music at the same time while still a student. Though my first album did considerably well critically and commercially, the turning point in my life was choosing to study music.
Then I did research on local Nepali music with the Hri Research Center and Nepal Music Center who gave me an opportunity to learn a great deal about Nepali music, especially about the Gandharvas [Gaines, Gayaks], their ways of singing ballads and their musical instruments. Inspired by that, I recently came out with two new singles: ‘Chetana’ (Consciousness) and ‘Paurakhi’ (The Hardworking). ‘Paurakhi’ features a lesser known Gandharva instrument called the Arbajo.
So to sum up, my journey in music has been quite smooth where I got to follow my interest and do something remarkable.
Can you elaborate more on the musical instrument arbajo?
Arbajo is a lute-like instrument played with the sarangi. It’s not as widely received as the sarangi, mainly because it’s played as a complementary instrument to sarangi. While playing with the sarangi, arbajo almost acts like the bass to sarangi’s lead.
Not many people, even the Gandharvas who are known to be its original makers and players, play it these days. There are very few Gandharvas who are well acquainted with the Arbajo.
Arbajo is completely handcrafted with local tools. It has a hollow body and a hollow neck which enables resonance and produces melody. It has four nylon strings which in the past used to be woven from animal gut. However, there’s no specific standard as to its size and shape.
There’s no exact evidence of the Arbajo in history but there are similar instruments scattered in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. There is Rabab in Afghanistan and Ramaicha in India which are quite alike the Arbajo.
What’s the state of traditional Nepali music at present?
Our history tells us that musicians weren’t given high positions in our social hierarchy. However, during the times of the Ranas, Ustads [classical music maestros] from India were brought to the palaces where they entertained the kings and the Ranas. These Ustads sometimes mentored local musicians. That way, some musicians in Kathmandu got national recognition.
In Nepal, ethnic groups have their own music, like the Gandharvas and Tharus. Certain kinds of music are associated with particular communities. But with the increasing attraction to international music, our local and ethnic music is gradually fading away. For example, very few people listen to the ballads of the Gandharvas these days.
Along with that, many people belonging to such groups themselves have begun to doubt the future of their own music. So there are some people who have now disowned their old ways of singing and playing their traditional instruments. In general, the local Nepali music scene is today on the brink of extinction.
What do you think can be done to preserve our local and ethnic music?
In foreign countries, especially in America and in many European countries, people value art as equally as they value education. Even western history depicts the talents of wonderful artists such as Beethoven and Bach. In modern times, many talented musicians emerged in the western world and made names. Today, who doesn’t know about Hollywood and American music? The reason why the music scenario from those parts of the world is more received than ours is because there’s more inclusiveness of arts in daily life there.
While at the same time, in our case, arts and music are given very little values. This has to be changed first to conserve our local music. Young students must be familiarized with various ethnic musical instruments. They should be taught such instruments in schools too. And also, people must be encouraged to listen to our local music. A considerable media attention is also required.
With that, the government should come up with strategies to preserve and promote local Nepali culture and music on the international stage.
What do you want to say to the younger generation of aspiring musicians in Nepal?
The younger generation should think about excavating our hidden local cultures and bringing them to everybody’s notice. In fact, unlike the common assumption, music today has even wider scope than it did in the past. I don’t think performance alone is all in music. There are technical aspects in music which are considered equally important as performance. And with the increasing number of businesses related to music, young people can also think about becoming tomorrow’s big music entrepreneurs.
Music is like an ornament of a country as it plays a huge role in defining a country’s future.
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