The first ever national folk music competition in Nepal, organized by Nepal Music Centre, took place at the NMC on Friday the 4th of December. Prior to this event, regional qualifying tests had been carried out in Pokhara, Dhang, Dankuta and in Kathmandu. At the final, 12 musicians – 3 from each district - gave the best of their performances in singing and playing their sarangis. Among the judges were renowned sarangi musicians, as well as teachers at the Nepal Music Centre, including the Norwegian teacher, Svein Westad. (Cut from one of the newspaper articles!) Some of the performers had composed their own songs, about the importance of keeping up the soon vanishing sarangi tradition of Nepal. The winner, Govinda Gayak from Pokhara, sang a religious story of the Hindu god Krishna, belonging to the important and highly treasured Hindu songs. The event was covered by several nationwide newspapers, like The Himalayan and the Kathmandu post.
Svein
Svein
