Yo Mann Ta Mero Nepali Ho :: Prasant Tamang

Well... so to speak of being Nepali and of Nepali origin living anywhere in the world raises a few thoughts in my mind. I have been recently watching the Indian Idol reality show. The show is great as it showcases the talent of the Indian artistes and the upcoming ones too. It seems like with all the other reality shows as well such as the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and The Voice of India the talent seems to be flowing from everywhere in and around India. On one such show we have Prashant Tamang of Darjeeling who in spite of no formal training has proved us all his credentials by reaching the top thirteen and I pray that he does better in the upcoming shows.

I would like to mention that, now Prashant Tamang having reached the final thirteen, everyone has been talking about him. People in Nepal have been saying that he has done all us Nepalis proud but I would like to ask, if not for achievers like Prashant have the Munglanes (Moong la neas) been thought of as Nepalis and treated as one? Well let me tell you that there are people on the other side who are as much Nepali and have been since. It’s sad that sometimes the lines are drawn but “Munglan le bhule ko chaina.”

Specially when we look at the Nepali music world Munglan has made very big contributions and has not stopped doing so even today. Uday/Manila Sotang, Adrian Pradhan, Ciney Gurung ,Abhaya are a few names that come to my mind and if we go into looking at instrumentalists, there are more names. The history of Nepali Music often boils down to names such as Gopal Yonzon and Aruna Lama who are basically Munglanes as well. I think the song by the late great Aruna Lama - “Nepali Gaurav Garchau Afnai Panma Ghamandi Tah Hoinau Hai, Sabai Ko Saathi Banne Baani Hamro Pachaute Tah Hoinau Hai….." says enough to make one realize how much Nepal the Munglanes have carried with them.

The Munglanes have been referred to as “chayateras” but “chayateras” have never branded Nepalis, so I think it’s time we started pondering upon such matters. What do you think? Lets Talk About It!