Geshan's Blog

            Without doubts this is a typical Sanjay Leela Bhansali flick, nonetheless it keeps up with his valued grandeur and the class he offers in his movies. Bhansali must have extracted superb performances from the two new comers who belong to big families. The promos are scintillating and inviting the viewers to the theaters from the word go. Let’s see what the new comer Monty has to offer in the music department. The covers are covered with dark blue that is the brand color of the film I guess, all the artists are credited in a comprehensive fashion and the cover depicts Salman and Rani as well, it will be interesting to see them in the movie. The lyrics of most of the songs are penned by Sameer.

            The album listening bon-voyage starts with the title track “Saawariya” vocalized by assistant music director Sahil Hada. The guitar plucks, innocent voice and the feeling of attachment are the plus in the song. The rhythm is catchy and seems to stick to your mind from the first listen, lyrics are also written effortlessly. Some components remind the old melodies of Kishore Kumar. The user of percussion by the music director is also admirable. Over all the first punch is short, sweet and on the target. Next is “Jab Se Tere Naina” crooned by the effervescent Shaan. The lyric is simple and woven remarkably with the free flowing music. The instrumentation is crude but has that soothing feel. Shaan has do a marvelous job and justified the hard efforts of the music director. Subsequently, Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya Ghosal have a song to offer entitled “Masha Allah”, the beauty praising lyrics go in sync with the gentle composition. The rhythm remind of the golden era of Indian Music. Exceptionally sung by Ganjawala, his narcotic voice makes you listen to this song over and over again. Two words for this gem of a song Masha Allah. Next number in the album is “Thode Badmas” rendered astonishingly by the talented Shreya Ghosal. She has maintained perfect harmony with the simple but powerful compositon. Lyrics by Nusrat Badr is fully able to prove the qualities of a man and even Bhansali has proved his compostion skills in this song. Consequently, its time for a new singer Parthiv Gohil to croon “Yooon Shabnami”. Still with the slow and stable flow the composer has played with the percussions in this songs in a astounding fashion. The qawalli in the middle adds extra zing to this song. The lyrics is comforting and the singer scores in all bases.

            At track 6 we have “Daras Bina Nahin Chain” by Richa Sharma, Shail Hada and Parthiv Gohil. The background music looms in to this song from the start which give it that raw feel. Again a unadventurous composition, but this one has a dark sense attached to it. The lyric and the classical feel given to the song add to the over all aura of this song. After that Shreya Ghosal lends magical voice to “Sawar Gayi”. The lyric by Sameer is just OK in this song but the composition makes the song a hit material. The rhythm is subtle but has the gravity to sweep you off your feet. The unsophisticated orchestration compliments the impeccable word done by the singer. Next on the list is “Jaan E Jaan” rendered effortlessly by the soulful voices of Kunal Ganjawala and Shreya Ghosal. Lyric penned down by Sameer is emotional and has that impact. The compostion and arrangement is again mind-blowing and the singers also have put their heart and soul to uplift the song. Consequently “Pari” submerged in the addictive voice of Kunal Ganajawal is all set to enchant our ears. The praising in the lyric still continues but this song could be made better with good use of instruments. In this song Ganjawala also has some palaces to improve. Then the legendary singer Alka Yagnik vocalized “Chhabeela”. The earthy instrumentation is the USP of this song and here you have a song with that dance feel. Lyrics is just ok, on the contrary Yagnik has done a formidable job. I didn’t expect any remix in this sort of an album but last but not the least there is “Saawariya REPRISE” not remix by Sahil Hada. The comoposition is not that different that the first track but the singer proves his vocal skills very well in this fortifying track. 

            The album has a good balance between old and new singers which is good. The length of songs is also encouraging as the title track itself is not even 3 minutes. Though the whole album has that 70’s feel and slow tracks rule the album towards the end you seem to feel bore due to similar compositions and instruments except of the title track. All in all it is a very good album but think before buying, if you are a remix fan and like 4/4 dance beat numbers this is not the album for you. If you adore old songs and think slow compositions rock then don’t miss this masterpiece.

Geshan Manandhar

Around 850 Words

6 years back the musical voyage of Drabyaz band got underway when they were in their eighth standard in Biratnagar. Them they were known as Mirage Guys who were rock performers but with shift of genre to Rock and rap-core they renamed themselves to Drabyaz. Promoting unique music their different is derived from the word Drabya which they say mean “precious jewels”. They want to give ever green songs to the nepali music scenario.

Band is composed of 5 members, Kshitiz Pokhrel in Bass and vocals, Bibin Rijal beating drums and lending his voice for rap core, Sandeep Shrestha in heavy riffs and rhythm. Similarly Aman Dula in lead guitar, mouthorgan and flute, finally Amit Sharma in classical and plugging. The band except Sandeep who joined in later was formed in Biratnagar as the members were of same locality they used to jam together which later tranfromed into a band. Running out from a hostel to record their first song when they were in standard eight was an exciting moment Kshitiz recalls. They are primarily inspired by Linkin Park and voice that they are the first to do alternative rock and rap-core together in Nepal. To name inspirations in the local scene they were quick to point Sugam Pokhrel, Sabin Rain and DA 69.

All being students they say that it’s not easy to practice 2-3 hours a day but they still do that. Concentrating that they have not achieved family support they want to inform that families should support their children who are into music. They also point out that understanding, sacrifice and musical commitment help to sustain a band better. On being asked on rap core they insist that it is a form of rap but it has rock and painful lyrics with rising and falling beats in it which separates it from conventional rap and hip-hop. They divide the work of lyrics writing, composition and arrangement in themselves and claim that all members are involved in all the processes. As it was a new sort of music in Nepal they had some difficulty in arranging the songs in the beginning but they were helped by Mohit Munal and Araj Keshav for the arrangement.

Their debut album is also named Drabyaz which has 8 songs of which video Bhana Timi is on air and getting popularity in musical shows of different TV channels. Tagging Ma Ramro Chhora as their best track from the album they say all teenagers can relate themselves with this song. Howde keti ko katha and Bibas are some distinct tracks in their album. Their songs are climbing up the charts in a significant manner. They promise to release their album within Dashain and also open up that another video is in the pipeline. On the contrary, they say that Nepali music scenario has a politics of its own; it seems that it invites new artists with open arms but the music companies have their own way of treating the new artists which they don’t support. The power war is clearly evident in Nepali Music companies and even media houses. They emphasize that Music companies should judge the artists on the basis of the music quality not only on their own profit motive. Being a new kind of genre with emphasis on head banging and punk music, on being asked if they promote violence they simply tell it is a mirror image of the current social situation. They add it’s their plea against violence via music. On being questioned about tried and tested formula to generate hits mixing rap and rock together they argue that they have tried something really different and unique in Nepali Music scene.

They are running high on promoting the album and are busy in concerts in the coming days and weeks. Concerts are scheduled in different parts of Nepal and India in the coming months. They have really worked hard to compile this album and want to thank all the people behind them specially Mohit Munal, Araj Keshav, their friends, Sumit P.J.B Rana, Amrit Sunuar, Manoj and Rajan Maharjan. They well come all kinds of comments, compliments and suggestions about their songs and album on the whole which can be forwarded at kshitizp@yahoo.com. They are even open to any sort of criticism but point out that fans should respect the privacy of the artists. They duly request everyone to listen to their songs and give feedback about their work.

Geshan Manandhar

Around 800 Words.

We can get piles of statistics proving FOSS better than proprietary and the best solution for a developing country like Nepal. But it’s not about just proving that it’s the best viable solution but implementing it. FOSS in comparison to proprietary solutions costs almost nothing; it is the most important factor in a country like ours. Let’s find out how and why we should ultimately switch to FOSS.

1. The cost factor, the cost of a single copy of Windows XP + Office is 28.5 months of average income of a Nepali. So it is better to get a distro of Linux and Open office.org for free.
2. Till now we use non-licensed and pirated software also because of our loose laws in this sector but if the laws were strict we would be compelled to use registered version of all the software that would cost a scalable sum of money, so switching to FOSS and spending some money for support would be a better option.
3. FOSS is more secure, reliable and stable than proprietary solutions.
4. There exists a system of collaborative problem-solving in FOSS with use of tools like Wiki, forums, bugzilla etc.
5. Open standards and vendor independence is another aspect why we should adopt FOSS.
6. Meeting local technological needs, technological independence, raising local expertise so raising employment.
7. Availability of localized content and software.