Diwas recently came out with Rato Mato – his solo compilation effort with covers of classic Nepali folk numbers as well as a progressive rock album titled Down the Staircase with Ayurveda. Without a particular objective in mind and happy with the great feedback received by his solo album, Diwas says his next Nepali album as a solo artist will have more originals. With a voice that’s as adept at crooning soft numbers as it is with working up crowds with a taste of Nepali rock, Diwas sums up his definition of music as being “…about connection, in the simplest terms. And that connection needn’t just be between the musician and the listener, but can take the form of a connection between a person and the past, or a connection between culture and generations.”
With parents who are fully supportive of his passion, Diwas is doing music fulltime with Ayurveda. He does, however, give guitar lessons to augment his income. He’s happy for the band to just break even for now. However, the group is making enough to move forward. With a B.A. in Economics from Ithaca College, New York, money is obviously not the reason behind touring with his music.
Diwas says he got a great opportunity to connect with a lot of Nepalis and non-Nepali people who were very supportive of Rato Mato and Ayurveda on this tour. This connection seems to be what he feeds on. On their recent five-week tour, in which they traveled all the way to Colorado and back, and performing at all major places in between, the band was able to play all kinds of venues – from the seediest bars to proper theaters.
Even when they play a regular Ayurveda progressive rock set, Diwas makes sure they always sneak in a couple of Nepali tracks to spread some Nepali culture. They have also played in colleges in the East Coast as well as in Nepali restaurants for exclusively Nepali crowds.
Diwas lists out his personal goals as to “have a lot of music out, and become a thousand times better than I am now.” Career-wise, the band aspires to be self-sufficient and have a couple of national, European and Southeast Asian tours under their belt within 5-6 years. Looking at the great turnouts at their shows, with many in the audience proudly sporting colorful Ayurveda t-shirts, Diwas’s goals don’t sound too farfetched.
“For me, music is a constant. It’ll always be there and I’ll always hear it, no matter where I am or what I’m doing,” says Diwas.
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With a Bachelor of Arts in Design, Shirish Dali is another young singer/guitarist who is making his voice heard. In 2006, while holidaying at home in Kathmandu, Shirish, together with friends and ex-band mates from the popular local rock act Albatross recorded and released the album, “Jo Jussanga Sambandhit Chha.” An acoustic single from the same album titled Sacred, composed and sung to the backdrop of a haunting slide guitar, won him the “Best Song in a Foreign Language” at the Hits FM Music Awards.
Now working freelance as a designer in the U.S., Shirish takes as much time out as possible to do what he does best – make music. From his first ever show in the US – as part of a dorm hall event in October in Minnesota a couple of years ago – to touring with the F1 Refugees, a loose bunch of Nepali musicians who are creating opportunities for themselves to play at different venues, it’s been a great trip so far. But even with two shows in Dallas with 300-strong crowds plus great turnouts in November this year at venues in Boston and New York, Shirish isn’t optimistic about doing music fulltime yet.
“It sounds very tempting but it just isn’t possible for us as Nepali nationals here in the US. We have to keep up with our status and finish college first, and then look for a job to support ourselves and to stay within that status,” says he.
Fresh out of high school, Shirish started in the restaurants and concerts scene in Kathmandu ten years ago. Since then, he has collaborated with various musicians from Monkey Temple and Atharva to Flower Generation, now known as Artha. His band Albatross –he decided to carry on with the same name in the US albeit with a different lineup – unlike Ayurveda, comprises an all-Nepali lineup.
Shirish’s philosophy about music is that it’s a very powerful way of conveying ideas and influencing people, something he says that doesn’t really happen in Nepal, even with so many great singers around.
“I like conceptual music, something that has purpose,” he says. With plans to spend more time in Kathmandu and make music here, Shirish is currently working on bringing out a new album with Albatross.
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As artists, both Diwas and Shirish took less trodden paths to follow their dreams. While they are yet to taste mainstream success, in a way, they’ve already got a taste of a considerable amount of popularity amongst the growing Nepali population in the U.S. It’s certainly not a given that these two artists and their bands, or the few other acts that are also actively pursuing music in the U.S., will be the next big things that the world will suddenly wake up to. But touring in the U.S. and playing what they created to a more global audience is already a huge achievement for Nepali musicians who usually grow up with such images in their heads but reduce it to mere wishful thinking and nothing else.
Right now, what these musicians have achieved is to set a great example and raise the bar for others to learn from. And this applies not just to aspiring musicians and singers but for all of those Nepali youths who want to pursue their passions and step away from the norms that often dictate life and cripples choice in Nepal. To make things happen for oneself, to forge ahead in foreign territory, and to enjoy it while you are doing it is what makes a real rock n’ rolla.
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