Musical Instruments of Nepal

Book Release Programme

May 26, 2007, Saturday

Aarohan, Gurukul, Old Baneswor, Ktm.



Gurukul, Ktm, May 26, 2007, Saturday, A Book written by Ram Prasad Kadel (Founder President of Nepali Folk Musical Instrument Museum), edited by Dr. Norma Blackstock (Chief of International Relation Department of NFMIM) Musical Instrument of Nepal is released here by Chief guest Satya Mohan Joshi in the occasion. The Programme is held on the presidential of Mr. Prachanda Malla, a senior drama person. Janakabi Keshari Dharmaraj Thapa, journalist Prakash Sayami and Folk Musical Instrument specialist Ram sharan Darnal is also presented on the occasion.



Programmme started with a short welcome Speech from organizer's side by Mr. BholaRaj Sapkota.



After releasing the book, chief guest Joshi describe about Nepalese Musical Culture and said that the book will be a milestone in the Nepali Musical History. Mr. Sayami, Mr Darnal, Mr. Thapa and Mr. Malla also addressed on the occasion.



Writer Ram P. Kadel thanks to all who help him directly or indirectly to prepare the book and greets his gratitude to Aarohan Gurukul for managing book release porgramme.



Murchunga Player Mr. Madhav Lohani (Student of Ram P. Kadel in Murchunga) entertained to all participant by playing Murchunga in both melody and rhythm.



In book, the Instrument are divided in nine different groups and each instrument is described in short with black and white drawings and 52 photographs. The book has one Video CD related to Nepalese Folk Music and Instrument.



Book Review, Published in The Rising Nepal July 20, 2007(Daily)

By PRASUN TIMILSINA,

Title: VERY ENLIGHTENING

Musical Instruments of Nepal written by Ram Prasad Kadel;

Published by Nepali Folk Musical Instrument Museum (NFMIM), Kathmandu;

No of Pages: 310; Price: Rs 1000 (hard Cover), Rs. 700(Paperback),

ISBN: 9946-883-0-8



Folk Musical and folk musical instruments are those that provides the perfect identity or any existing group or community. Being rich in culture, we possess variance of folk tunes and folk musical instrument. But because of the heavy encroachment or say the influence of foreign musical instruments , our musical instruments are being shadowed and some have even lost their existence. To preserve our ancient and native musical instruments, we have to be aware about their importance. In fact, the local instruments symbolize the living ethnic community.



In this context, Musical Instrument of Nepal, a book by Ram Prasad Kadel, has explored the surviving inborn musical instruments. He not only has explored the musical instruments but he has also illustrated 362 different folk musical instruments about how they are played. Who play it? How they are made and how they originated?



The book has classified the Nepalese folk musical instruments in nine categories in the way they are made and played, photographs of the musical instrument player and the book also carries a free folk musical CD.



Wind instruments without Finger Holes, Wind Instruments with Finger Hole, Drum Without Tuning Paste Applied to the Drumhead, Drum With Tuning Paste Applied to the Drumhead, Bells, Cymbals and Gongs, Other Percussion Instruments, Plucked String Instruments and Murchunga and Binayo group (Jew's Harp) are the different categories of the musical instruments categorized in the book.



Having spent more than a decade in researching and preserving the musical instruments, the author has also established Nepali Folk Musical Instrument Museum (NFMIM) in 1997 after starting collecting the ancient musical pieces since 1995. His research shows there are 59 different ethnic groups and more than 100 castes which have separately developed their own instruments and evolved their music styles. Till now he has collected 250 Folk instruments in NFMIM.



The Nepalese culture, music, song and dance are the bonds of our being, as it is very rare for one element to exist without at least one of the other two. When a musician dies these days the knowledge of tens of songs may die with them. The tunes, lyrics and dance steps have been transferred from the older generation to the younger from time immemorial.



This book is the English version of his previous published book 'Nepali Lok Baja' in 2005 written in Nepali. He has further refined the book and has added more information than in the Nepali version. Kadel hopes that the English version would contribute to the world music and will help maintain mutual relations among the music lovers via music. As government does not seem to be giving interest in keeping alive the native music this book has the appeal to encourage the big heads in preserving the country's tangible musical heritage. The demise of the musical instrument will not only be a loss to Nepal but to the world music.

The local music tradition of Nepal serve many other vital needs and purposes in many communities. It is preformed according to the ritual calendar as it accompanies human life cycle and to the changing seasons. It can be used for healing and help access other states of consciousness. In the Newar community, professional music is used to realize the ritual townscape. In the caste of the Gaines(Gandharvas), their songs transport the history and epics of he people and they also voice cries and sufferings. On the other hand, some instruments are only touched by the members of certain musicians castes. In short, musical Instrument can tell us a lot about the people who play them and also who listen to them.



Kadel's research shows that there are about 500 musical instruments that are simply objects unless they are played and when they are played they come to life. A wealth of rhythm, melody, song, dance, religious rituals, ethnic culture and ethnic history are represented in folk music.



Nepalese Musical Instruments are not only the tools for creating specific sounds but they are frequently considered sacred, inhabited by gods and treated with respect as mostly plants, herbs and bones of animal are used to make them with some exception. The book would have been more attractive if he pictures were in colour so that readers could be aware of how exactly they look.