Hey Bhagwan: Rachana's thought provoking pop masterpiece

By Mannu Shahi

Nearly half a decade of being a part of the Thamel music scene, Rachana Dahal quit the life of a cover artiste to embrace her inner creativity and bestow the Nepali music industry with profound tunes showcasing her distinct expressive qualities. Her journey to self-exploration to contrive her imaginations into peculiar melodies, and stern words and extract her innate finesse songwriting abilities is evident in her discography.  

Born on June 8, 1997, Rachana is a singer, songwriter and entrepreneur based in Kathmandu who is adored by a germinating young demographic for her authentic musical palate and vulnerable live performances. Discovering an aptitude for music from her childhood days, the singer gravitated towards guitar as a teen and enrolled herself in guitar lessons at a local music institute. There, the mentors acknowledged her singing abilities and facilitated her with the opportunity to perform live for an event, solidifying her decision to commence music as a career.

Debuting in the scene with the brilliantly executed “Bhumari” in 2019 in association with Channel Arbitrary, the video was released from their official YouTube handle. In December 2019, the songstress reclaimed the publishing authority and released her much-celebrated experimental rock tune “Soch”; followed by “Sapanako Raja” (April 2020) and “Daagbatti” (November 2020). The singer also released live sessions and audio versions of three more singles – “Aagya”, “Brahmanda” and “Hey Bhagawan” – on significant music streaming platforms in 2022.   

Her lyrical themes range from intensely personal experiences to societal issues like an outcry of a sexual abuse victim, life’s strange yet very real traits, tragic events she endured alongside her family, self-love and becoming our own saviours. 

At points, Rachana, with her quirky tunes, embodies the antithesis of a typical Nepali pop figure but has curated significant enthusiasm for her music while maintaining her originality, which only further affirms 

her artistic prowess.

And last week her channel has been flooding with new content for the official lyrics version of some of her older materials. She started out on August 25 with the formal YouTube publication of “Hey Bhagwan”, a tune which she manifested with long-time collaborator and seasoned musician Firoj Bajracharya of Jyoti Records as the sound engineer. The lyrical video encompasses the artwork of Sabin Bhandari and video edits of Prithivi Bikram Shrestha. 

The signer writes, “With our seared conscience, we have dulled our moral sense of right and wrong. It’s pitiful how only because of our fear of suffering, death and the fear of wrath from a higher power makes the majority of humankind believe in the idea of God. Corrupted by a sinful nature, the entire humankind stands guilty.”  

As in the description this sombre art-pop tune dwells in the dark corners of one’s thought patterns whilst simultaneously critiquing the absurdness of some universal ideologies. 

Initiating with gloomy synth layers topped by a minimal leading melody, Rachana joins in with this almost-animated vocal timbre and breathy and nearly cracking in places, creating a vulnerable aura with the first chorus. 

The drums enter with the verse uplifting the structure but the singer diverts the storyline into this angst-filled convoluted narrative questioning the meaning of existence itself. The chorus returns, this time sturdier, functioning as the dynamic peak of the song with angry rock ballad aesthetics, but the immediate post-chorus with a softer arrangement and flowy vocalise phrases revolves the song back to its art-pop flavours. Such a brilliantly crafted tune and my personal favourite from her recent lyrical publications, the subsequent videos being “Brahmanda” (extended version) and “Sapanako Raja”.