Maya Gurung Sangeetik Sanjh to be held

 By Nabin Raj Kuikel, Lamjung, July 28: Veteran folk singer Maya Gurung (Devi Maya Thapa Gurung) is to be honoured through a special musical event titled ‘Maya Gurung Sangeetik Sanjh.’

The programme will be organised by the Lamjung District Committee of the National Folk and Dohori Song Academy Nepal in Besisahar on September 26.

The organisers formally announced the event during a press conference held in Besisahar.

 According to the Academy, the programme is being organised to recognise Maya Gurung’s more than four decades of contribution to Nepali folk music, while also raising funds to establish an Artists' Welfare Fund. 

The event will feature performances by nationally renowned as well as local folk and dohori artists.

 Academy Chair Prashant Tamang said the programme aims not only to honour one of Nepal’s pioneering folk singers but also to institutionalise social security for artists.

 Programme Coordinator Anuj Adhikari said the musical evening would contribute to preserving and promoting authentic Nepali folk traditions while paying tribute to a senior artist.

Born in Nalma, Ward- 5 of Besisahar Municipality, Maya Gurung is regarded as one of the pioneering singers who helped establish the authentic identity of Nepali folk music.

 Raised amidst the traditional songs performed during Rodhi gatherings, communal farming, weddings, religious festivals and village life within the Gurung community, she developed her musical talent without any formal training.

 She began singing at around the age of 12 and has been professionally active in the folk music industry since 2040 BS.

Her musical career gained national recognition from 1984, when she won a gold medal after performing the song ‘Gaun Shaharma Lamjung Darbar’ alongside Uma Gurung in the Regional Open Folk Song Competition organised by Radio Nepal. 

The song was subsequently broadcast regularly by Radio Nepal and became popular throughout the country. 

Even today, it is regarded as one of the timeless classics of Nepali folk music.

During a musical career spanning more than four decades, Maya Gurung has lent her voice to more than 200 folk songs and released 11 music albums.

 Most of her songs vividly portray the indigenous culture, language, traditional attire and rural lifestyle of Lamjung, the Gandaki region and the Gurung community.

In recognition of her outstanding contribution to folk music, Maya Gurung has received numerous national and international honours, including Radio Nepal’s Gold Medal, the Prabal Janasewa Shree (Fourth Class) conferred by the Government of Nepal, and the Gandaki Pragya Pratishthan Women's Honour, among others.

 Last year, she performed overseas for the first time at Marsyangdi Night-6, organised by the Lamjung Sewa Samiti Hong Kong.