Autobiography-jhalakman gandharva

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Jhalakman Gandharva (झलकमान गन्धर्व) was a pioneering Nepali folk singer who popularized Gaine Geet, giving voice to Nepal’s marginalized Gandharbha community.

Born on July 29, 1935, in Batulochaur, Pokhara, Jhalakman began singing at age nine, traveling village to village with his sarangi.

His haunting ballads, especially “Aamale Sodhlin Ni”, mourned the death of Nepali soldiers abroad and resonated deeply across generations. His songs are melodious and heart touching.

Many from the younger population may be unaware of Gandharva’s contribution to Nepali music, but people from my generation remember him for the genius he was.

A maestro in both violin and sarangi, he could seamlessly transition between the two musical instruments as per the need of melodies in his songs.

And this trend will continue.

His song Aamai Le Sodhlin Ni was even ‘recreated’ in the film Koshedhunga, which was released this year, in the voice of Ashish Aviral.

It has been exactly 22 years today since the death of Jhalakman, who was born in Batulechaur, Pokhara, on July 29, 1935. Among them, Allare Nani, Tansen Ghamailo, Bala Joban, Danphe Chari, Nir Chari Ghumer Danphe, Dhaan Ko Bala Masyam Le Jeleko, and Aau Basam Thakain Maram became popular.

The establishment of Jhalakman, a witness to the experience of a skilled, renowned artist arising despite caste discrimination as a National Artist, was a matter of pride and self-respect for the Gandharva community.

We regularly publish letters to the editor on contemporary issues or direct responses to something the Post has recently published. Since the age of nine he started to play sarangi and sing folk songs around the villages of kaski district.

One of the most recent and popular covers on YouTube is by Indian composer-singer and lyricist Arko Provo Mukharjee.

However, recently, with the rise of social media, particularly YouTube, some old classics are being imbued with new life and vitality, including the evergreen voice of Jhalakman Gandharva. Please send your letters to [email protected] with "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line. Special sensitivity towards folk life and folk practice is also needed.

In the guise of beggars, they would travel from village to village, house to house, and marketplace, singing the Karkha about the bravery of their ancestors to the tune of the Sarangi. They used to mock me too, calling me a Gaine because I sang folk songs.”

It can be easily inferred that Jhalakman and many artists worked caught between respect and discrimination in such an environment.

He was the light bringer of a specific Nepali geography, a specific kind of folk practice, and a folk tradition.

The interest and research being conducted about Jhalakman today are due to his well-wishers and admirers. He died at the age of 68 on November 23, 2003.

Jhalakman was not just an ordinary individual; he was a representative of Nepal’s richest musical community.

They recounted the tales of the unification of Nepal, the Kot Parba Massacre, the wars against the British, Tibet, Sikkim, and the Indian principalities, and the World Wars in a melodious tune to the general public. Similarly, there is the account of Maniram Gaine acting as a messenger for Prithvi Narayan Shah while singing the Karkha.

After the recording tradition began, the credit for introducing and popularizing the Sarangi and Gandharva musical tradition into the mainstream goes to Jhalakman.

This is why the Gandharva music/culture is disappearing.