It was back in 1972 when Chand got a major break. When the then Yugoslavian President, Marshal Josef Tito arrived at Nepal on an invitation from the late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah, Chand was chosen to be the MC of the day at Royal Nepal Academy. Impressed by his presentation, he got a letter from the director general of Radio Nepal, Ram Raj Paudel, requesting him to come to the office the next morning upon which he was promptly hired.[break]
Bhaswor Ojha
But Chand’s passion for public speaking goes back to his college days at Tri Chandra. Since he always wanted to be a presenter and speak in public, he had immediately grabbed the microphone and made his first ever announcement when the college needed an MC for an event.
“It was for a program organized by the Pakistan Embassy on its independence day. That’s how I started my career as a speaker,” he reminiscences. It was his communication skills, supported with proper education that turned Chand’s passion in public speaking into a full-fledged career.
Chand accredits his father for making sure he got a good education. His childhood was spent in Myanmar with his father during the Second World War.
“My father was working as a store keeper and couldn’t speak English. So during the war, when the Americans came to ask for bullets, he had a local translator,” he explains. It was then that his father promised to himself that he’d send his children to a good school.
On the day of his admission, his father gave his name as Harish Chand which later went on to become a popular household name through Radio Nepal. When he was five, he was admitted to Our Lady’s Convent School and the mother superior of the school asked him to pick a name from a bowl filled with paper slips with different names on them.
“That’s how I got the name Michael and I started using that name. That’s the name on my citizenship, certificates, travel and academic documents,” he says.
During his Radio Nepal days, when he was preparing to go live, the director asked if he had a Nepali name as he didn’t want to give listeners the impression that Radio Nepal wouldn’t hire a Nepali candidate. So the name Harish was used for news reading but he got the liberty to use his name Michael for other programs which went on for the next 32 years.
“I wasn’t given news immediately and I did other programs. During that time since there was no television we were stars and we enjoyed that immensely,” he says.
But it was challenging to be working under a very strict regime. “We were constantly under surveillance and everything was monitored. So far as news was concerned, there would be intervention from the royal palace as that was the custom during the Panchayat period,” he says.
While working as an MC at Rastriya Nach Ghar he met Bhuwan Thapa Chand, the first ever silver screen actress of Nepal and the couple got married in 1976.
“I was a bit nervous to be married to a celebrity. As my career picked up, I felt that though I might not be as popular as my wife, still people knew me for my own achievements,” he says and quickly adds, “But I have to admit that she’s a film star and she’s far more popular. Being a broadcaster my popularity is different. When we go out together, there’s a section that recognizes her and there’s another section that recognizes me. So that makes both of us happy,” he says.
Right after his marriage and while he was working as a news presenter, he joined Radio Deutche Welle, the voice of Germany with Radio Nepal’s agreement. He worked at the English news department for three years. When he came back, he continued with his news reading at Radio Nepal.
He was also the concept creator of a pioneering hit music program Musical Hour which ran for nine long years. After that program was brought to an end, he conducted Music Mania which also ran successfully for three years.
In 1979, another opportunity landed up at Chand’s doorsteps. The founder of Goethe Institut in Kathmandu was looking for a Nepali who was willing to go to Germany, learn the language and then come back and teach in Nepal.
“He happened to be a friend of my radio boss in Germany who recommended me and that’s how I left for Germany for three years,” he says.
In 1982, he completed the diploma and came back to Nepal again and started working with Goethe Institute. He taught German language during the day time and worked at Radio Nepal in the evening.
Even after the institute closed down in 1997 following a financial crisis, Chand still continued teaching and started an organization called Goethe Center which ran from 1997 till 2000. The German Embassy then decided to help the institute and based on cultural agreement signed between Germany and Nepal, the center was supported well in terms of logistics and infrastructure as well as providing training to teachers.
Chand is now the Director of Goethe Zentrum and he’s the first ever Nepali to get a diploma in German language from Munich University of Germany. He has taught and contributed in promoting German language for more than three decades, which is why he was also awarded with Civilian Order of Merit, Germany’s higher civilian honor. That also makes him the first Nepali to receive the honor in the South Asian region in the category of German language teaching. Keeping in view his contribution in radio broadcasting, he was also awarded the Gorkha Dakshin Bahu.
“The present is always supported by the past and had I not been a radio personality, I would have been no where today, so I’m indebted to Radio Nepal,” says Chand.
Since his three daughters Sheela, Sheetal and Shirush are settled in the US, it’s just him and his wife now. “There’s a vacuum as suddenly we’ve been left alone but it’s the same for many families so I shouldn’t really complain,” he says adding that though his children have become adults with lives of their own, his life is still pretty much the same.
His day begins at half past five in the morning when he wakes up followed by a short walk around the neighborhood. His wife prepares breakfast and then he heads to work. This is the routine he has been maintaining for the last 31 years.
The spirited man who doesn’t look his age leads a disciplined and active life. “I believe in Karma and I don’t expect any results though sometimes I may want to know what has happened. My secret for being happy is accepting things the way they are,” he says. And the calm demeanor that one gets to witness certainly validates his statement.
nistha.rayamajhi11@gmail.com
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