Nepathya’s “Naina Taala”, a Dashain surprise for the fans

By Mannu Shahi

Bolstering three decades long splendid musical career, Nepathya, with their profound dominance in the Nepali music industry remains the most eminent and impactful outfit since their formation in 1990. 

The band has continuously been noted as trendsetters – garnering their distinct experimental flavours with elements extracted from various ethnicities residing in our rich and diverse cultural sphere.

Initially co-founded by Deepak Rana (now a Chopper pilot), Bhim Poon (now a resident of Hong Kong) and Amrit Gurung, the group envisioned a mixture of folk melodies with pop and rock flavours long before this fusion was considered hip in the Nepali 

music fraternity. 

With the rejuvenation of Nepali folk, its repertoire and stylistic ornamentations, Nepathya, even now, sustains their prominence and relevance within a wider demographic more 

than ever. 

The group’s discography consists of nine albums to their credit: their  self-titled debut entry in 1991, “Himal Chuchure” (1993), “Min Pachas Ma” (1995), “Shringar” (1997), “Resham” (2001), “Bhedako Oon Jasto” (2003), “Ghatana” (2005), “Mero Desh” (2009) and “Aina Jhyal” (2010). 

Constant change of members and less-credibility shared with even major contributors in the past by the band hasn’t dated well and Nepathya comes across as a solo brand of Amrit Gurung rather than a band of equilibrated creative individuals. 

Nepathya has toured globally to perform in-front of their beloved fans from the Nepali diaspora community residing in countries including the UK, the USA, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Korea, Japan, China, the UAE, India and 

many more. 

Their most prestigious concert appends a sold-out show at the Wembley Arena, UK on 3rd August, 2013, where Nepathya became the first ever Nepali act to perform amongst a staggering 8,000 

attendees. 

Other heeded noble concert series of the band include ‘Education for Peace’ (2001), ‘Shanti Sangeet Yatra’ (2003) and ‘Nepathya for All’ (2006); earning from most of these performances were donated to 

charitable causes.

The present line-up of the band consists of Amrit Gurung on vocals, Dhurba Lama on drums, Suraj Kumar Thapa on keyboard, Subin Shakya on bass, Niraj Gurung on guitars and Shanti Bahadur Rayamajhi 

on madal. 

And together they’ve recently released the rearrangement of “Naina Taala”, a set of folk verses originally written and sung by the Gurkha soldiers serving in India. 

Amrit Gurung recalled this tune hummed by his village elders during his visit to Pokhara, the catchy phrases instantly grasped his curiosity 

and with some further research the singer traced the skeleton of the song. Thus, the band describes this single as a “folk tune that originated from the camps, barracks and trenches of the brave Gurkha 

warriors.”

Released on 30th September, Friday, via the official YouTube handle of the band, the visual work archived and edited by Katha Haru compliments the song with its vintage aesthetics, black and white colour settings, minimalistic approach and lyrical accessibility. The group’s devoted pack of fans are overwhelmed to receive this Dashain gift from their beloved veteran musicians. So do check out the video in case you’ve missed it.