The standing pillars of modern music here in Nepal from the legendary Gharana of Bhakta Raj Acharya are Satya/Swaroop Acharya. I called them standing pillars coz of the fact that almost none disagree with me. The Satya/Swaroop Duo has been the prominent sibs who are god gifted with beautiful vocals and have been trained and taught by the mightier Bhakta Raj Acharya until today. The duo spent a couple of hours talking about the music they do their current project and lot more. Here’s how they’ve enlightened me on the occasion of Guru Purnima;
Greetings and thank you. What’s been up lately?
Namaste!! Well currently, we’re busy in recording songs, attending programs and composing. Satya is working on his solo Gazal album while I (Swaroop) am working in lots of album. I’m also planning to launch my solo album very soon. This time, it’d be something different and like no one have expected. Also, ‘Acharya,’ a movie based upon the life of our father, Bhakta Raj Acharya would be released in September. So, we’re pretty much into it.
So what type of album should we expect and how about the movie?
Like I said, Satya’s would be a Gazal album. Almost half of the work is done. The name is yet to be confirmed but one interesting thing is that all the songs have been written by Sir Byakul Maila (who also wrote our national anthem) while all the composition work has been done by Manoj Raj who’ve learned for almost 2 decades in India. While I’ve my mind set on something different and extra ordinary. I’m thinking to do an experimental album with an innovative approach. What I believe is that it’s not necessary for the album to get success commercially. Rather, it should strong enough to leave an impact in the hearts of those who listens it. I’m mentally prepared for it. The album would be a blend of western pattern of music precisely blues fused with the classical spirit.
Was it necessary to be in music only coz of the fact that you’re bore in the Acharya Gharana?
Actually it wasn’t necessary. But, the family environment, as obvious, was full of music. The morning would start hearing Baba doing Reeyaz. One important thing is that music was into our genes. And with trainings from Baba, it helped us nourish our musical interest more immensely since the childhood. Not just our father but our grandfather was also a maestro who used to sing Bhajans. We were destined to sing under the guidance of our father. Also, we believe that music should be god gifted. The family environment and everything else was full of music that we we’re drown into music and we’re obsessed to music.
One obvious question; both of you must be lucky to be born in the legendary family, aren’t you?
We’re fortunate to be born in the Acharya Gharana. You can call us lucky for that. Besides that, we’re bound into limitations and restrictions. Before we do, say or even sing, we should keep in mind that we’re from the Acharya Gharana. We’ve to maintain the legacy of our father. This has made us sincere and disciplined in what we do. Before doing anything or taking any decision, we have to think about it over and over again. We are bound to walk on the path guided to us by our father. In a family, if a father is an IGP somehow the son is also an inspector or in similar field. What we mean to say is that the pathway is same. It has its own pros and cons. We can never say we are a good or the best singers’ coz our father and the entire senior artist will always be ahead us. People say we sing extremely well but at the end of the day when Baba listen our song; he’d easily point out the mistakes in Sur and notes. So, we are always like an innocent child. This in turn has helped us built our Sanskar which many of today’s artists lack. We feel so sad when they exclaim that they are the best singers, composers or whatever. They just forget that someone who inspired them or taught them is number one. Such artists lack discipline and respect towards seniors and love and supportive nature for the younger ones. One thing that we are extremely happy about being born in the legendary Acharya Gharana is that our father gave a well nourished culture; respect seniors and admire younger ones. We don’t boast about ourselves.
What have you observed in music then and now?
The veteran musicians were best coz when they work on music literature, was an essence. Rules of music like Sur and Taal were the attributes. Music was something that they work to make a song lively and rich in feel, words and arrangements. 2030 to 2040 witnessed the golden era in the Nepali music industry. Today, everything has changed. Even the cheap music, lyrics and arrangements sells. Back then, Radio Nepal was only the place for the singers where they’ve to undergo voice test. This was maintaining the quality in music. Today, a strong authority to censor the songs is a must. If not then the music industry would crash and call for greater accidents. If we don’t act now, then the result would be extremely inevitable. Music should be taken as devotion and we should focus on our well decorated culture. Music is a way to communicate with god. It’s like a temple where everyone can worship but making the premises dirty is sin.
Music industry is devastating they say. What have you observed?
The political situation has directly affected the music industry. Coz of the same reason, a lot of good artist had already fled. Running away is not the solution rather; we should stand and fight for the situation to take it to a better flight. The political situation is in contagious phase. This is the best time to work actively to preserve and upgrade the music industry. The new constitution and the new political face of the country in the coming days would definitely upgrade the music and music industry. We are absolutely optimistic for the better change to come. After massive rainfall, the sky shall definitely show the clean blue sky. ‘Dhamilo pani ma Machha marne dherai hunchan.’ We are at a transition phase.
So you think censorship is a must? Definitely yes! We need more reality shows like that in India so that the real talent comes out of various parts of Nepal. We need true and genuine artists here. Media plays a great role in the promotion of music industry. We see the top Medias of the country playing cheap songs and videos. Medias are responsible to some extent in degrading the music scene. Censorship in music is must. After censorship, cheap singers, lyrics and arrangements cannot come up and they’d feel the necessity to learn and master in their profession. This way, only the best presentation would get platform. A revolutionary step for the betterment of music industry should be marked by a movement or a revolution. Artists should be literate and know what his rights are. We should not beg for our rights but we should be able to snatch it. The concept of Music Development Board should be implemented and all the artists should be united.
What is the thing that has hold you firmly in music?
It’s satisfaction towards this profession which is holding us to do music. We could have chosen some career motive stream or we could have done business. But music is only the thing which gives us happiness and satisfaction. So, we are into it. Money matters a lot but money is not everything. Music has always been addiction to us.
What are your favorite time pass?
We like travelling out with friends and go on tours in bikes. We love to listen to standard music. We study all the music related stuffs to get updated. We join parties very less only with our near and dear ones. We study the books of Nepali and world literature. Novels, Gazals are what we find to entertain ourselves. We like all Nepali writers as well as Gulzar, B.B Shirley, Robert Frost and much more. We even write sometimes. We also praise artist like John Lennon, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain coz they were poets as well. A singer is at his best when he’s a poet.
What should be a quality of an artist?
Euta kalakar le kahilai ghamanda garnu hudaina. He/she should adopt a good culture and should be disciplined in music as well as behavior. He/she should love and respect the seniors and should be able to guide the younger artists. No one is number 1 in music but its all part of the process. Anyone who say’s he/she is number one is foolish coz you can never compare yourself with others. An artist should not just sing in SUR rather he/she shold also be able to listen music in
SUR.
What is the reason behind classical music not coming to mass or media?
The classical musician or artists lack presentation solely. If we look at the eastern classical artist like Gulam Ali Khan Sahab, Hariharan, Mehendi Hassan, Shankhar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Asha Bhosle and Lata Mnageskar; we find great SUR and a blend of unique presentation styles. This is lacking here in our artists. Even the audiences or the viewers sometimes feel bored watching the performance. It needs change to get commercial. When you do Reeyaz, music is the easiest way to communicate with god. There’s no proper technique of listening and making others listen the classical music. Sangeet nai Sangaat ho. Music should be interactive and communicative.
Who do you listen to?
We listen to all the singers and composers of the golden era of Nepali music. We love the vocal techniques of Gulam Ali Khan Sahab, Hariharan, Mehendi Hassan, Shankhar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mnageskar, Zakhir Hussian, Ajoy Chhakrabarti, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, A.R Rehman, Ustaad Amir Khan, Hari Prasad Chaurasiya and more.
Who do you find much promising in Modern Nepali music genre in Nepal?
Well, there’re a lot of such artists. We see greater possibilities in Manoj Raj, Shreya Sotang, Rajina Rimal and a lot of others.
Lastly, any ending notes for the readers and fans?
Last but not the least, Acharya, a movie based on the life our father would be released in September. We urge everyone to watch the movie once. We’d like to thank everyone for supporting us and giving us a reason to do music. Lastly, we wish all the best to MuzBuzz Monthly Magazine in the days to come.
