Mantra: Sounds of Himalayas

20th year of Mantra in music and still going strong

“We were performing live in Sikkim and we just completed our performance, a female fan came running like thunder on the stage, jumped up and gave a deep kiss on Bhasker Dai’s cheek,” recalled Praggya Lama, lead guitarist of melodic rock band Mantra from Darjeeling about the most memorable event that happened to the band.

Though some might find it as the perks of being a musician, there are some disadvantages as well. Talking about the same he added, “There is a misconception that musicians especially who are in rock bands are into drugs and are bad influence to the youngsters. And looking around the world’s music scenario it is somewhat true. However, it is up to the musicians about leading their life. This misconception creates hindrance in being a full-time musician which I also had to go through.”

Mantra is a familiar band formed in 1999 and is not a new name for those who love rock genre in Nepali music and they have given hits like ‘Sadhai Sadhai’, ‘Bir Gorkhali’, ‘Himali Nepali’, ‘Sanskriti’, ‘Ekantama’ and many more. Moreover, musicians being associated with a band dream of performing nationally and internationally. They expect to meet people who simply appreciate their music and them as performers. And it’s been two decades for this band, who is garnering love and appreciation from their fans.

This year to celebrate their 20th year of establishment, the band released the new version of their evergreen hit ‘Sadhai Sadhai’ on their official YouTube channel. In the new version of the song, Mantra has collaborated with various other Nepali artists. Also, the band is working on their new upcoming single ‘Lahure’ depicting the feelings of soldiers.

Moreover, it is obviously not an easy journey for a band to be intact and continue producing music together. Revealing the reason behind the band’s continuation in music, Praggya explained that their teamwork is the key to the band’s success whereas, mutual-understanding, sharing and a bond among the band members as a family has kept them intact for such a long time. He added, “We somehow managed to come to this point. And I feel it’s just yesterday we had formed the band. And the love for the music is what gives us energy to continue in this field.”

Like any other Nepali rock bands, Mantra too started their journey as musicians, still in their teens, with covering international artists/bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica, Skid Row, Mr. Big, White Lion, Queen and so on. And they also looked Nepali bands such as Nepathya, 1974 AD, Kandara, Mukti & Revival, and Robin & Looza as their inspiration.

‘Timi Bina’ was the first recorded song of Mantra which was included in compilation album “Gorkha Rocks” (2002). After that, Mantra came up with their first self titled album “Mantra” (2003) that included the super hits like ‘Ekantama’, ‘Bir Gorkhali’. A year later, ‘Sanskriti’ from the second album “Rock Yatra” (2004) became a huge hit. ‘Himali Nepali’ from the third album “Himali Nepali” (2006) was another hit that hyped the Mantra’s fame further. Likewise, they came up with their fourth album “Mantra Mugdha” (2011).

With the flow of time, this band has seen it and experienced it all in terms of changes in technology used in the musical field. They released their first song in the form of cassette, CDs then flash drives. Talking about the challenges they faced and how they overcome them Praggya shared, “During our initial days we had to deal with audio companies and it was up to them whether our creation would get selected or not. And with time, technology took shifts and with the easy access to the internet, it became easy for the listeners to listen to their favorite songs without much hassle. However, there are advantages of new technology. It has become an easy platform to promote yourself where your creativity can be disseminated to the world at once.”

For Praggy music is a medium to heal people where it is hard to find a person who hates music. He said, “Music purifies soul and gives company to your every mood.” And as for the plans ahead about the band, he added, “We will be releasing our singles every year as it is convenient in today’s musical scene and we will be having consistency in our creativity. This year as it is our 20th anniversary we are looking forward to musical tours in UK, USA along with Japan.”

Praggya’s Guitars and Processors:

• LTD 250 - ESP

• Custom 24 - PRS

• Gibson- Les Paul

• Pacifica – Yamaha

• Boss GT-100(new)

Prabash’s Guitars and Pedals:

• Fender Player Series Jazz Bass

• Analog pedals

Members:

Bhaskar Dewan (Vocal), Praggya Lama (Guitar), Manish Thapa (Keys), Prabash Subba (Bass), Briz Chaudhary (Drums), Bidhan (Saxophone) and Bishal Rai (Former drummer).