Those inclined to lyricism will find in these songs much that is their cup of tea. The songs will also bring them closer to divinity if they are of spiritual bent.
The thread of devotion that runs through some of the lyrics will draw them closer to the presence of God.[break]
The author of the songs points out that right from the time people are born their minds are entangled in something or the other, in some way or another. Such entanglement is to be observed even in the baby playing or crying on its mother’s lap.
As that baby goes through childhood, its concerns become centered on what to wear, what to eat, schoolwork, friends, and on going about here and there.
With the attainment of youth, thoughts turn to amorous love, material wealth, work and livelihood, even a wish to do something for the country. And with the onset of full maturity, the focus shifts to the wellbeing of the family, to religion and rituals, and concerns over physical wellbeing and good health.
Thus is the mind of man entangled with some concern or the other throughout the entire course of life. One is easily reminded here of Shakespeare’s seven ages of man.
Some of the lyrics included in the collection have been recorded and selected for broadcast by Radio Nepal. In those days, recording of such songs was no easy matter.
“Maya ta maile laisaken,” one of those songs, was actually broadcast by Radio Nepal, with vocalization and instrumentation by the late Dwarika Lal Joshi.
The modern songs in the collection are mostly centered on the theme of amorous love. They dwell on the travails and tribulations of unrequited love. Some of them can be categorized as complaints. A few, such as “Chhitizko Chandrale” and “Asahaya Chha” are more in the nature of laments.
The verses in the national songs section are, by their nature, exhortative in tone and invoke the glories of this land, of this country.
These are appropriate themes during a period when the country is in a state of political transition and passing through testing times, with public discourses entangled over the fraught question of regional autonomy.
Similarly, the devotional songs bring out the creative potential of the committed soul. Some of the songs also tend towards the meditative.
The style of the songs contained in the anthology is marked throughout by rhyme and rhythm. Perhaps this was to be expected, as unrhymed meter is the exception rather than the norm in Nepali poems and lyrics.
Generally speaking, although no exact comparisons can be made with poetry in the English language, the stanzas range from the quatrain to the rondeau to the rhyming couplet. These can lend themselves to a variety of vocal treatments.
People in the entertainment industry who are looking for lyrics for vocal artistes to sing and to set to music may find in this collection a veritable treasure trove.
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