Darjeeling set to begin its own Nepali music awards

SNS, DARJEELING, 21 JANUARY 21 : The Hills of Darjeeling, which has always been known for its immense talent in the field of music, is all set to have its own music awards in the Nepali language from this year onwards.

Initiated by production house Baishnavi Production (BP) and christened 'Darjeeling Music Awards,' the honour will he given away on 30 January at Divyabani here.

"We had thought of starting such an award in the field of music in the year 2013 itself, but due to different political problems in the Hills in the following years, we never got to start it. The main aim of such an award is to encourage people in this field as music is an important part of life," BP coordinator Dal Singh Akela said here today. it was discontinued.

According to the organisers, the award will be given away to those related to Nepali music from allover the country. Nepali songs are made not only in the Hills, but at other places like Mumbai, Assam, Dooars, Sikkim, Dehradun, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

On an average, 500 songs  are released in Darjeeling alone in a year, with some also maintaining that Darjeeling is the capital of Nepali music in the country, with most recording and video production centralized here.

Darjeeling does not have an award dedicated to Nepali music, which we feel is very mportant as there is a need for valuation of talent there is in the field.This is a way we also want to show respect to their efforts," said BP director Binay Shankar.

The organisers claimed that it was not only Darjeeling that did not have an award for Nepali music, but no such award existed in the entire country. Earlier, for a brief period, there was an award called the Grihalaxmi Award for music here, but it was discontinued.

Mr Shankar maintained that they were starting out with awards in four categories  only, but that more would be included in the future.

This year, the awards, which consist of a trophy with  the initials M and D (abbreviation for Music Darjeeling) will be given for categories like most popular song, newcomer and best music video.

The organisers have  announced only the name of the winner of the Lifetime  Achievement Award for now, which will be given away to "lateVikram Subba, who was a noted recordist and a musician based in Darjeeling.