Narayan Gopal - First Successes

First Successes

By that time Prem-Manik duo had started to sing their own compositions. Following suit Narayan Gopal too composed six original songs written by the contemporary poet Ratna Shumsher Thapa. In that collection four of the songs were for solo vocal (स्वर्गकी रानी, आँखाको भाखा आँखैले, भो भो मलाई नछेक, मधुमासमा यो दिल) and two were for duet ( बिछोडको पीडा and ए कान्छा ठट्टैमा यो बैंश जानलाग्यो). All these songs were eventually recorded in Kolkata, India, while he was in that country for his studies. These songs started to attract attention within Nepal and India, and in short time he became recognized as a major Nepali singer.

Nepal at the time had recently been liberated from Rana rule. Midst these wave of social and political changes, Narayan Gopal was able to lend his voice to songs related to love, life, hope, and patriotism. While the East-West highway was under construction, he recorded ‘जाग, जाग चम्क हे नौजवान हो,’ whereas in the fervor of patriotism ‘आमा ! तिमीलाई जलभरिका औंलाहरुले चुम्न’. Such songs made him popular among the youths of Nepal. His songs further evolved as he became more selective of songs with right combination of words, music, and emotions. Along with his contemporaries such as Pushpa Nepali, Bacchu Kailash, Tara Devi, Amber Gurung, Prem Dhoj Pradhan, Nati Kaji, Shiva Sankar, he added a new dimension to the modern Nepali music. To broaden his style, he started to hold discussions with his admirers, his competitors, and his critics. It was in this process of development that he visited Darjeeling, India, during the March 1965. The visit was fruitful for two reasons: there he met his long-time fan and future wife, Pemala Lama, with whom he fell in love; and it was there that he met another young, struggling musician Gopal Yonzon, with whom he formed a close friendship as mitjyus, in part because both had Gopal as their names.