A story of separation, a song of escape

Sometimes it seems that the song is exactly like Chujang Dukpa's 'Asare Mahina'!

is, Asare Mahina - this is the song, which told the suffering of the Nepalese people in the seventies. Told the story of escape. Added a new wave to Nepali music. After listening to the same song that created a frenzy among the audience, everyone started thinking, 'This song has told my story too.' He taught anyone to dance even in sorrow. It was this one song, which brought Chujang Dukpa, who was not even heard of in Nepal, to the peak of fame overnight. Made a singer of such Ajambari song, whose voice will continue to resonate until then, as long as Nepali people have to leave their family for their family. He will have to leave his home and go abroad to improve his home. You will have to flee for a happy dream and wander in a foreign country.

Asare Mahina, was a song composed at that time, when the musical atmosphere of Kalebung was very popular. That was in the seventies. While in Kalebung, Kira Kancha to Sangeeta Subba, Madusudhun Lama to Rahul Upasak were born. The musical atmosphere of Kalebung, where many songs of folk taste were made, suddenly became heated, when Amber Gurung was also in Kalebung - Dr. Graham taught music at Holmes, walked to the town hall and performed. Narayan Gopal and Gopal Yojans used to come from Nepal, they used to have a meeting night at the Dharma Hall in Kumudini, and people would come from Tista by truck to Kalebung to see them. With Parijat, the Ralphali team used to come from house to house and sing, "The fiddles of the belly of the starving epic poet, our songs."

What should our songs really be?

When Tulsi Gajmer, who was making songs quietly in the middle of the musical upheaval, wrote 'Asare Mahina' after holding this question, then Chujang Dukpa found new wings of flight.

Chujang Dukpa used to sing songs of Gopal Yonjan. His voice was good. However, he used to make 'mistakes in tuning'. Singer Ashok Rai came to take care of his mistake. He put Chuzhang on the big 'stage' for the first time. In the Dharma Hall of Kumudini, he wore a gown in front of Karma Yonjan.

When Chujang, who had learned to warm up the 'stage', started singing 'Asare Mahina', he became a hit singer without recording. 'Asare Mahina' began to reverberate in every corner of the hill. This song started to be heard in Deusi-Bhailo. This song was sung during Puja-Parva. That's why Chujang, who was unknown until recently, became a famous singer in Kalebung. In places, he was called only to sing 'Asare Mahina'. He started reaching from Sikkim, Darjeeling, Assam to Kakadbhita. He met Uma Chhetri of Gumbahatta when his song became a hit in his village. He fell in love. He started writing letters. When he got a chance, he started visiting the tea shop. That meeting, that love later turned into marriage.

Now both paths have become one. Uma used to write songs. Chujang used to give voice to it. When Chujang sat down to paint, Uma would come to fill in the colors. Gradually Chuzhang's life became more colorful. It was during that colorful time, Uma sewed a red-black dharke hat with love, Chujang went on a musical tour of Nepal around 1977 wearing that hat.

was the team of Bagina, where Chujang also had 'Asare Mahina' lyricist Tulsi Gajmer, Ashok Rai, singer Sangeeta Subba, Nilamani Rai, Yogendra Ghatani, Kamal Upasak and Uttam Khadka. A team of more than twenty people was on a month-long musical tour of Nepal. Nepal's Premdhwaj Pradhan, Prakash Shrestha and Kumar Basnet also joined there. Musical program started with

Mechi Tarna. It took almost a month to reach Kathmandu via Bhadrapur, Dharan, Biratnagar. At every program in Nepal, Chujang would be the first to climb the stage and start singing -

'Asare mai,

It rained, touching,

How can I explain this to my heart?' Singing the same song, when the team reached Kathmandu, the chance to record 'Asare Mahina' came. Singer Ashok Rai's birth place was near Darjeeling Bhote Basti. His mother's house and Gopal Yonjan's house were next to each other. Karma Yonjan and he were born just a day before. That's why they used to say 'ta ta-ma ma'. Because of that proximity to Gopal Yonjan, it was easy for Chujang to reach Radio Nepal. After years of singing, he recorded 'Asare Mahina' for the first time. Nilamani Rai and Sangeeta Subba also reached Radio Nepal for the chorus of

song. However, the chorus is still not there. What to do now? Upon enquiry, it was learned that singer Aruna Lama and Tara Thapa are also coming to record the song. Then what was needed? The team asked for help. Aruna Lama did not waste time, she was ready when asked. She rehearsed for a while and came to give the chorus in 'Asare Mahina'.

Nilamani Rai was stunned to stand and sing with Aruna Lama - no pretense, no arrogance. It takes a great heart to become a great artist. After recording the song, Radio Nepal gave the singer twenty-five rupees and the others seven rupees. The actors returned to the hotel in the evening with that money in their pockets.

On that day, four other songs were recorded along with 'Asare Mahina' in Radio Nepal. However, in the age when there was no cassette, 'Asare Mahina' became a hit, just like nowadays someone goes viral on social media. This was a song, which brought Chujang Dukpa to every Nepalese heart. Radio started playing every day in Asare month in Nepal. That's why this song started echoing in the homes of every Nepali. This song of grief began to resound in the fields. The sound of this song started to be heard in the hooting of the cars. This song started beating in the heart of Harnepali, which was connected by

music. Chujang was born near Jorbanglo near Darjeeling. It was December 6, 1955.

His family was fine. Bau used to work in the 'Customs Office'. So he used to roam around. However, he was unconcerned. He did not care much about his family. There was a job at hand. He was drunk and swinging. That's why, Chuzhang's childhood was not very happy. Chuzhang had eleven siblings in total. Three of them were taken by the disease at a young age.

Chuzhang himself was very sick, always coughing. If Kantar was like that, when he was walking alone, he would fall down a tree, get scared and run away. That's why the mother used to keep saying, 'Yo will die too.' Chujang's brother Dawa Dukpa still remembers, 'If the mother had been weak, our life would have been ruined.'

The mother continued to take care of the house. However, the children did not get the life they wanted. He did not get a chance to read properly. Chujang studied up to four classes in a Congress school in Darjeeling. After that, Bau's 'postings' are everywhere, they keep going around. In the midst of that tour, his dream of going to school was broken. Childhood is lost. When he came to Kalebung after wandering around, he was finally able to study in the night school of 'SUMI'.

After arriving in Kalebung, Chujang's life changed. Gradually he got mixed up in the climate of Kalebung. He began to love Kalebung as much as himself. That is why, Kalebung also gave him everything - gave him a new life, gave him an atmosphere to learn music, gave him a job to support his stomach, gave him a teacher to learn music, gave him a stage to sing on, and most importantly gave him an evergreen song like 'Asare Mahina'.

Chujang loved to sing and play drama since childhood. However, it was difficult to get a stage at that time. At this time, the Nepali Study Committee Kalebung used to organize a grand musical competition. The program was so grand that sometimes even the best singers could only sing at two o'clock in the morning. Apart from this, Kumudini Homes had another program on 24th May. It was these two events that gave Chuzhang a stage, an opportunity to show his art. Singer Ashok Rai was shocked to see the art. And began to lead Chuzhang together.

Ashok Rai was a famous singer. His song had become a hit in the sixties. In 1967, when he came to Kalebung as a teacher at Kumudini Homes, the young PD found a new opportunity to learn music. However, Ashok Rai was not only a singer, he was also a teacher, he was involved in politics. He used to run in the Communist Party. He was also the founder of 'All Bengal Primary Teachers Association'.

That's why Ashok used to take Chujang along with him to sing the awakening song wherever he went to the communists' program. Many people started to think of Chuzang as a communist as he walked while singing the songs of the communists. At this time the politics of Darjeeling changed. The Gorkhaland movement started in the hills. That movement was violent, where the slogan was given - 'Communists and snakes met together on the road, who will hit first?'

That's why, they started chasing the communists from the mountain. "If you surrender, if you don't, leave the mountain" - Goramumo started a campaign to uproot the Red Party. Singer Ashok Rai also fell into the rap of anger. He was socially ostracized. So he left the mountain and fled. However, that was not enough, they also burnt the house of Kalebung where he lived. Amidst the panic, Chuzhang was alone again. With no one to guide him, no friends to sing with him, Chujang started counting the days. Just then, a new rumor came, 'Chujang is also a Communist. Shouldn't he surrender to the party?' Hearing this, his senses disappeared.

Chujang was only a singer. He did not care about the party, nor did he need the flag. However, where did the protestors have anything to do with all this? He was suddenly picked up from Gumbahatta one day. At a meeting of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (Goramumo) in Khamdong, they vowed, "I will not sing communist songs for the rest of my life." The company of comrades is to leave forever. Now they will sing songs only for the benefit of the caste. Do you understand?'

He understood. Swear by mud. After that he left the communist song and started singing the song of Bhatabhat caste liberation. That was not enough. He was also a painter. Thaka Thaka also started making the green flag of Goramumo. It was only after making a map of stars and stripes on thousands of green flags, Chuzhang finally breathed a sigh of relief, when the movement had reached an agreement. After the

movement, however, Chujang became Subas Ghising's favorite singer. The reason was the same song, 'Asare Meyada'. Ghising was not touched by that song that tells the story of turning. Because Ghising himself was a young man returning from the platoon. The pain of escape was still in his chest. Because of that song, Chujang once again caught the eye of Ghising.

That's why, Ghising kept calling Chujang to do programs in places. Around 2000, a cultural department was opened in Kalebung by the Darjeeling Gorkha Mountain Council, where Chujang was appointed as an A-grade singer. Eventually he became an employee of Dagopapa.

At that time Sharmila Waiba, Navin Singh, Thupden Bhotia and guitarist Bhupendra Kishore Sharma also got jobs along with Chujang. After getting a job, Chujang's day also changed, his life changed. Music, which was just a hobby for him, now became a livelihood. Chujang started walking from the cultural department singing songs of joy. Chuzhang was a bit strict about

music. He would sometimes attend rehearsals as well. That's why he used to clash with his colleagues. Someone is coming from the lower village. It's going to be a little late! Friends said. However, he felt that this is more of a responsibility than a job. Along with the music, we also have to save the department. Don't you have to deliver a good report above?'

Another run in his life had begun. In the midst of that exercise, he was soon seized with kidney disease. Day by day he became more and more restless. With Chujang Dukpa The fun of doing

work was different. Why was it less fun to walk with a famous singer who heard it on the radio? Even today, Naveen Singh, who sings 'Asare Mahina', says, 'I have never seen another singer who can become a singer because of a single song.' He was also very fond of painting.

After coming to Kalebung, he met Bhakta Pariyar. Learned painting with him for a long time. After that, he lived half his life by painting. He used to do 'Tibetan painting'. Sometimes they used to make grazing chaunri. Sometimes they used to make llama chanting. Sometimes the 'Tibetans' wearing coils made maps of the youth. And he used to take them to 'Art Imperium or Beauty Palace'. As much as he could earn from there, he used to run the house from it until the 90s.

painted, played harmonium and sang. At that time, his daily life was like this. He went out to collect 'antiques' when he got the chance. Every time he went to sing, he would come home with some old things.

Chuzhang was simple. He spoke very little. He drank little. He used to say, 'Singer's breed is like this. It's okay to drink a little. Didn't you have to make a mood?' But sometimes, while making a mood, he would drink a little too much. They used to get stuck. When he was afraid that others would see him while walking, he would quietly take off his hat and put it in his coat pocket and go home.

He must have thought that my identity is the hat on my head. No one will recognize me without a hat on my head.

Chujang sang dozens of songs, but 'Asare Mahina' was enough to make him known. The same song was later 'remixed' by Prashant Tamang. When Prashant Tamang won 'Indian Idol', he asked for permission to 'remix' 'Asare Mahina' in a new cassette. Chujang gave permission without causing any damage. So Prashant sent a message, 'I want to give you something. Tell me what can I give?'

He got a mobile phone as a gift. Prashant once again sang 'Asare Mahina'. "But, sometimes things are reversed," Nilima Dukpa, Chujang's daughter, sometimes complains, "Baba let her sing quietly." However, after singing that song, many people forgot the name of the real singer. Many began to remember the month of Asare as the song of the Pacific. Isn't it ironic that the new generation forgets the original singer?'

Chujang did not live long. He spent half his life in struggle. By combining painting and singing, he lost the rhythm of life. He left the earth only at the age of 54.

When Chujang passed away, his wife Uma was alone again like Maichang in that 'Asare month'. Crying and asking questions to herself. Because of this, she started hating Harthok, who was connected to Chujang's memories. Chujang left the food uncooked at home. Chujang put her under the chicken coop with the harmonium she was playing. And every day she started asking herself, 'This is my mind alone, how to explain it?' Chasing after Chuzhang, she herself drifted away like a raging river never to return.