Amrit Gurung Ordinary dreams of an extraordinary

By Madhukar Narsingh Rana

As published in ekantipur.com. (the original article is http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=164339)

Only a day after the Terai's political factions declared war on hill-origin settlers, and people were being killed and chased away, the kid who was born in the hills did something that seemed only possible in rhetoric: Amrit Gurung sang for peace and people sang along with him!

The town of Lahan, which was surrounded by the gloom of human dismal, saw fragments of peace in their bedlam of chaos. And no matter how brief it might have been, they experienced something they never thought existed: solidarity! When I asked him during my first interview with him, did he feel fear or not, he charmingly replied, "This is my country and I don't think I should be afraid of my own country."

If there was one word to describe him, I would call him a romantic. His imperialistic ideals are as intimidating as looking in the eyes of a caged tiger. Born on June 1, 1968 in thetiny little town of Kaalbang, Pokhara, Amrit Gurung says, "I was extremely lucky to have been able to experience a vibrantly ordinary childhood of a village. I grazed livestock, ploughed the fields, participated in honey hunting and built a track that's still used by the people of my village."

And if you can call that ordinary, then we have had probably the most banal childhood a child can have. Now the sole guardian of the folk-rock band, Nepathya, Gurung used to be a "backbencher" of the class and it was painting that infatuated him more than music. "I loved colours and always found it amazing how it could express my feelings and emotions," explains Gurung. "However, there are things that happened in my life that were beyond my control and comprehension; I gave away my aspirations to master the art."

With his bags packed and filled with new hopes, Gurung arrived at the then exotic city of Kathmandu. "I didn't know what my plans were but singing was definitely not a part of it."

Amrit Gurung says that he was a "bathroom singer" and always "space filler" and didn't like to front anything. "It's really an accident how I became a singer but I always knew that there was something veiled in my vocals," says he. "And Nepathya happened out of the dreamy passions of our youth.

"It was actually because of Bhim's fervent persuasion that I was convinced that I could do anything in the music field," explains Gurung. It was through the passion of Bhim Pun (who now resides in Hong Kong), Deepak Rana (chopper pilot) and Amrit Gurung that Nepathya was born nearly two decades ago. With them caught up in their careers, Amrit Gurung has kept the fire of their fervent burning with flair and prowess unmatched by any in Nepal.

While most of the ministers and governments were confined to their concrete jungle, Amrit Gurung set out into the dense forests infested with turmoil and terror, where peace was killed, which he believes, "for illogical and irrational beliefs." He went to places even feared by police and army and brought more than 200,000 Nepalis together and gave them a beckon of hope and faith. If music was intended to spread peace and humanity, Amrit Gurung's Nepathya achieved both.

At times when bland apologies were enough to justify the killing of innocents, Nepathya decided to wage their own war against violence and injustice! Their tours, Shantiko Lagi Sikchhya (Education for Peace) and Sundar Shanta Nepal (Travelling Peace Concert), toured the country and opened up slipshod eyes. Nepathya is not only a socially aware band but a voice of our motherland.

Wherever they went, they offered solace, hope and faith. "I grew up in a society where bahuns and chyames celebrated life with jubilance, singing and dancing together. It's sad to see that now after being a democratic country; we're fighting over something that shouldn't have even existed in the first place. And maybe that's why I've been socially aware from my very childhood," explains Gurung. "I also have strong ideals, which I'm not going to compromise in any way and probably this is also why I've always been able to stand up for what I believe in."

However, the activist - by the way, he doesn't like to be called one - prefers to be lost in the bosoms of nature most of the time. "I'm not a misanthrope; it's just that I like being alone at times. I love the feeling of solitude. And as Wordsworth said "My heart too has been broken to some extent by the society."

Amrit Gurung spends months in the mountains and says he has visited most of the Himals surrounding our motherland. "There's something majestic and affectionate about the mountains. I think that the word imperialistic was actually invented only to describe the mountains. But above all, I love the nostalgic feeling that I get when I'm surrounded by the God's magnificence."

Beyond the mountains and music lies the true love of his life. He is married to his high school sweetheart and has a 7-year-old daughter who is the only person in his life who gets away from bothering him. "She's given me something unexplainable in words. I feel a beast has been given a job to protect a delicate flower. And I love that feeling."

Being hot headed and a perfectionist, Gurung prefers to be reserved. But the few people whom he chooses to stick with can see Amrit Gurung in a jovial jubilance now and then. One of his favourite things to do with his friends is to go to Gopal Dai's bhatti pasal at Basantpur. The inebriates' abode where the likes of Gopal Yonjan, Narayan Gopal and Amber Gurung once spent their times conjuring up tunes that changed the nation. "Gopal Dai [the barkeeper] really has some splendid tales to tell about our heroes and booze to go along with it," he flippantly adds.

And he says that he loves Newari food and has travelled all over the Valley to sample their "exotically savoury" tastes. He is very much fond of the local booze and says, "Though I don't drink much, I love to sample the local spirits that are brewed in the backrooms of some Nepali families."

However, he says that it is not the glass of wine but a glass of tea that inspires him. "Many of my compositions were born while talking to local people while sipping a cup of tea. It's them and their lives that inspire and evoke emotions inside me."

He is not some yippie/yuppie/hippie with long hairs. Amrit Gurung has mastered everything that he desired. He still paints, he was a producer in Nepal Television for four years and continues to make documentaries and will probably make a film soon, too, he sings, and his songs are still inspirations to many.

Amrit Gurung is no more different than you or I but he is one of those few extraordinary dreamers who dared to dream for their country and for their people.