Min Pun, Ph.D. Tribhuvan University, PN Campus LECTURE – 10 Childrenmusic MA 2nd Year (English) “Music Under Development: Children’s Songs, Artists, and the (Panchayat) State” - Ingemar Grandin Min Pun, Ph.D. Tribhuvan University, PN Campus

THE AUTHOR: Ingemar Grandin Ingemar Grandin wrote his M.A. thesis on Nepali modern songs (a¯dhunik git) in 1984, and went on to do his Ph. D. fieldwork in Kirtipur in 1985-1988. He lived with his family in Lalitpur in the 1990s and often returns regularly to the Kathmandu Valley.

Ingemar Grandin is presently an Associate Professor at the Department for the Study of Social Change and Culture at Linköpings University, Sweden. He completed his doctoral dissertation on ”Music and Media in Local Life: Music Practice in a Newar Neighbourhood in Nepal” at the Dept. of Communication Studies at Linköping University in 1989.

His thesis was based on field work carried out during the late 1980’s when he was staying for several years in the town of Kirtipur in the Kathmandu valley. At the time he was affiliated to the Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies, CNAS, at Tribhuvan University. He also worked for Studies in Nepali History and Society published by Mandala Book Point.

THE ESSAY: ”Music Under Development: Children’s Songs, Artists, and the (Panchayat) State” Grandin’s essay is about the children’s songs, which have been considered as marginal or unimportant or insignificant. Regarding the marginality of children’s songs, Grandin gives an example of Gopal Yonjan who is an important personality in the field of Nepali music. He is remembered as a composer, a song writer, a flutist, a studio-owner, a college music teacher, and a close friend of Narayan Gopal.

Gopal Yonjan’s songs Birsera pheri malai nahera (sung by Narayan Gopal), Makhamali cholo chahidaina (sung by Mira Rana), and Kalakala salasala (sung by Aruna Lama in Kanchhi film) are among the hit songs. But Yonjan’s Git Manjari (first launched in 1993), a collection of songs for children, appears to be marginal or insignificant as compared to above mentioned songs for adult. Though there was a growth of Nepali music during 1980s and 90s, children’s songs remain unmentioned or marginalized.

So marginality is one of the features of children’s songs for two reasons: As Gopal Yonjan’s case illustrates, children’s songs are in the margin (not in the mainstream) as compared to other adult songs in Nepal such as modern songs and folk songs. In the educational context, children’s songs appear as similarly marginal or unimportant. For example, singing has not been included in the school curriculum.

CHILDREN’S SONGS AND DEVELOPMENT (NATION-BUILDING) Children’s songs as musical genre and practice can be related to development or nation-building in three ways: The development of music Music for development/ nation-building Artists and opportunities

1. The Development of Music Children’s songs can be taken as new musical genres, new musical techniques for the study of music. In this sense, children’s songs as music or as cultural apparatus can be seen in the field of communication and media. During the three decades of Panchayat era, the governments had “double agenda” – physical and cultural development. Music can be taken as cultural development. Radio Nepal, Ratna Recording Corporation, National Theatre, Royal Nepal Film Corporation, Royal Nepal Academy contributed to develop music in Nepal.

In the Panchayat era, the Nepali music was roughly developed into two genres: Adhunik git (modern songs) and lok git (folk songs). Besides adhunik git and lok git, there were other new musical genres: songs for Nepali films, gitinataks (opera), rastriya git (patriotic songs). Children’s songs and pragatisil git (progressive songs) were not considered as a musical genre. Interestingly, after 1990 movement, around 500 patriotic songs and more than 100 songs were banned from broadcasting because they were panchayati songs.

Children’s songs as developed music: Children’s songs are basically practiced by adult world. Ram Krishna Duwal’s Basuriko dhunsanga and Guje Malakar’s Sunko darbar bhanda are two developed songs for children. Radio Nepal and Ratna Records have contributed to develop children’s songs. Similarly, schools also took part in the development of children’s songs by conducting cultural programmes at Parents’ Day and other occasions.

2. Music for Development Children’s songs can be a tool for development such as songs for “consciousness-raising”. Music can be taken for nation-building purposes as educational apparatus and can be used in the field of education such as schools. But the Panchayat state and its Education Plan made children’s songs as vehicles for their ideas and values (ideology). Children’s songs developed by Nepali artists come in different purposes. They are didactic, patriotic, romantic.

Examples of Didactic Children’s Song: 1. ka kha ga gha, e bi si di lekhne bani ramro risaune, karaune rune bani naramro khaja khane bani ramro bhokai basne naramro kocih kochi dherai khane bani pani naramro 2. basuriko dhunsangai nachna hami thalchau madaluko talasangai gauna hami thalchau naochau gauchau naochau gauchau ani lekhna thalchau naochau gauchau naochau gauchau ani padhna thalchau

Examples of Patrotic Children’s Song: 1. Sagarmathako yo desha nepala sal Sundar sitala hamro himala 2. Nepal – my dear Nepal I will make my mother happy and serve my country

Examples of Romanic Children’s Song: 1. kopila hu phula bhai phulna baki cha 2. Children are the buds of light, the morning sun the flowers of our fate, and the future of Nepal. In their smile heaven opens. If they cry there is a landslide in our chest. They have God’s own face and are the pearls of our eyes. They wear a red rhodondendron flower in their hair. They are the twinkling stars of the earth.

3. Artists, Opportunities and the State Joahna Pfaff-Czarnecka (1997) claims that, among other things, in the education system, the panchayat state have “forceful tools” which could promote “cultural unity as a means of political control”. Pigg’s (1992) study of development ideology argues that schoolbooks “offer us a window” on state ideology and that this rhetoric was “highly influential”. Moisala’s (1991) accounts of “nation-building politics and modern music” attributes much to the “successful cultural policies” of the panchayat state.

Nati Kazi, Shiva Shankar, Tara Devi, Gopal Yonjan, Rayan, and Raamesh are some of the famous artists who have engaged in the development of music in Nepal. These musical artists not only made Nepali music as their career, but also helped the modern musical conglomerate to which children’s songs belong.

CONCLUSION Thus, by means of development-oriented efforts in education and communication, through children’s songs, the Panchayat state opened up new opportunities for artists who could use music for their own purposes. Musical artists of children’s songs used these opportunities not only to personal advantage for artistic aims, but in order to change the face of the country. But the educational apparatus was not to support musical artists as the cultural apparatus was used for the development of music.

Dr. Min Pun minpun@gmail.com www.minpun.com.np Associate Professor, Department of English Tribhuvan University, PN Campus, Pokhara minpun@gmail.com www.minpun.com.np