Ethno Music Festival, Musician`s Meet 2021, Haldibari, Jhapa
With the generous support of University Grants Commission An Ethno Music Festival (Musician`s Meet) was organized on Friday, November 19, 2021, at Haldibari Madhyamik Vidhyalaya, Ward No. 2 with the communities around the surrounding areas of Haldibari. A total of seven communities along with local audiences were invited at a reception for the meet. Mr. Badri Prasad Upreti (Land Donor), Mr. Tanka Bahadur Pakhrin, Principal of Haldibari Madhyamik Vidhyalaya and Mr. Rajendra Younghang, Ward Chairman, Ward No.2 also made their presence throughout the festival.
The musician`s meet is an initiation of bringing all the musicians of different resident communities together. It also marks the beginning of the Ethno Musical Festival which will be held every year, with the sole objective of keeping the diverse musical culture intact, which are very close to extinction.
The meet was hosted by Dr. Lochan Rijal and the team from the Department of Music, Kathmandu University. The meet started off at 5 pm on a full moon evening, with a empathetic solo performance by Jit Bahādur Phāgu (Mundhum singer /Ektāre player), a 74- year-old senior citizen from Limbu Community (Kirāt Yākthum Cumluṅg), followed by a series of musical performance from Rai, Santhal, Damai, Rajbansi, Brahamin and Tamang communities respectively. In most of the local ensembles performers included both male and female of three generations. The performance lasted for three hours, where the musicians of different communities showcased their local musical heritage and musical skills despite of their color, caste, religion and race. The meet ended with a warm appreciation speech from the land donor and the local authorities motivating all the musicians including the team of researchers to move forward with such inclusive Musician`s Meet in days to come.