Shiva Shankar
Encyclopedia
Shiva Shankar Manandhar was a singer, music composer of Nepali songs and the chief actor in the first Nepali movie
, Aama. For nearly a half century beginning from 1950 to late 1990, his name has probably been mentioned more often in books, journals, lectures and conversations about Nepalese music than any other musicians.
Singing and composing music for songs of love, tragedy, devotion (bhajan) and patriotism, he pioneered many of the genres of the modern Nepali songs. He has composed music for around 1,200 Nepalese songs. He himself sang about three hundred songs. For these contributions Shankar was bestowed with dozens of prestigious national awards.
Shankar was recruited to the service of the state-owned Radio Nepal
in 1951 by Bal Krishna Sama, the pre-eminent playwright of Nepal. Soon he was assigned with duty to explore and mentor new musical talents, supervise, and quality control the songs being recorded in the studio for radio broadcast. Together with his colleague Nati Kaji, he made Radio Nepal
an institution for breeding modern Nepalese music and songs. All Nepalese singers and musicians of the later half of the twentieth century came into prominence through this institution. Radio Nepal
fostered not only the in-country musical talents, but also motivated several prodigious musicians of Darjeeling (India
), to blossom in Nepal. They included Ambar Gurung, Gopal Yonzan, Aruna Lama
and several others.
While working at Radio Nepal, Shiva Shankar composed music for many prominent Nepalese singers. These included Tara Devi (singer)
, Mira Rana, Nirmala Shrestha, Gyanu Rana, Aruna Lama
, Kunti Muktan, Ganga Malla, Puspa Nepali, Narayan Gopal
, Prem Dhwoj Pradhan, Yogesh Vaidhya, Udit Narayan
, Dhruba KC, Manik Ratna, Deep Shrestha, Bhakta Raj, Bacchu Kailash, Rubi Joshi, Deepak Bajracharya
, etc. He composed music for prominent lyricists such as Ram Man Trishit
, Kiran Kharel, Bhabuk, Yadab Kharel, Laxman Lohani, and MBB Shah (Mahendra of Nepal
). Performing for fifty years, he helped Nepalese music attain popularity in what was termed as the "Golden Age".
Besides creating popular melodies, he also experimented with innovations in Nepalese music. He demonstrated how the folk songs rendered with few simple musical instruments could be enriched with an ensemble of modern contemporary orchestra symphony. A trend of modernization with introduction of pop-style songs he started catalyzed the emergence of the present day full fledged Nepalese pop songs. Although he pioneered changes and innovation, he always advocated for preserving the unique essence of Nepalese style, so that Nepalese songs would not be overshadowed by foreign songs and music.
Shankar played the leading role of a "Lahure Dai" in the film Aama (Mother), the first Nepali feature movie produced in 1964 (2021 BS) by the Government of Nepal. However, he did not pursue an acting career except for a few cameo appearances in documentaries. Nevertheless, he composed music for several movies in the early days of the Nepalese film industry.
community, in Pako, Newroad of Kathmandu, Nepal
. Man Bahadur Manandhar was a volunteer music teacher in the local community and taught classical Newari songs to the youngsters. Shiva Shankar’s musical aspiration was probably inspired by his father’s community activity. Unfortunately, his father died at very early age. He completed his secondary school education, but did not pursue any formal musical education before being established as a singer and music composer. In 1974, he pursued a graduate course in Indian classical music
at Kalanidhi Sangeet College in Kathmandu.
His post-retirement period coincided with the onset of commercialization in Nepalese music. He could not adapt into the glamour of commercialization and eschewed from making commercial music. As his contemporary colleagues in music, he remained virtually silent after retirement. In 2004, he fell gravely ill with terminal
stage liver cancer
. He died on November 14, 2004.
Cinema of Nepal
Nepal does not have a very long film history but the industry has its own place in the cultural heritage of the country. Most Nepali films use Bollywood-style songs and narrative and are shot on 16-millimeter film...
, Aama. For nearly a half century beginning from 1950 to late 1990, his name has probably been mentioned more often in books, journals, lectures and conversations about Nepalese music than any other musicians.
Singing and composing music for songs of love, tragedy, devotion (bhajan) and patriotism, he pioneered many of the genres of the modern Nepali songs. He has composed music for around 1,200 Nepalese songs. He himself sang about three hundred songs. For these contributions Shankar was bestowed with dozens of prestigious national awards.
Shankar was recruited to the service of the state-owned Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal was established on 1 April 1951. Initially, the transmission lasted for 4 hours and 30 minutes through a 250 Watt short-wave transmitter. Over the years, Radio Nepal has strengthened its institutional capacity considerably and diversified itself in terms of programme format, technical...
in 1951 by Bal Krishna Sama, the pre-eminent playwright of Nepal. Soon he was assigned with duty to explore and mentor new musical talents, supervise, and quality control the songs being recorded in the studio for radio broadcast. Together with his colleague Nati Kaji, he made Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal was established on 1 April 1951. Initially, the transmission lasted for 4 hours and 30 minutes through a 250 Watt short-wave transmitter. Over the years, Radio Nepal has strengthened its institutional capacity considerably and diversified itself in terms of programme format, technical...
an institution for breeding modern Nepalese music and songs. All Nepalese singers and musicians of the later half of the twentieth century came into prominence through this institution. Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal
Radio Nepal was established on 1 April 1951. Initially, the transmission lasted for 4 hours and 30 minutes through a 250 Watt short-wave transmitter. Over the years, Radio Nepal has strengthened its institutional capacity considerably and diversified itself in terms of programme format, technical...
fostered not only the in-country musical talents, but also motivated several prodigious musicians of Darjeeling (India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
), to blossom in Nepal. They included Ambar Gurung, Gopal Yonzan, Aruna Lama
Aruna Lama
Aruna Lama is one of the well-known singers of Nepali music. She is popularly known as "The Nightingale of the Hills". She sang hundreds of Nepali songs, including some for Nepali films, and left an indelible mark as one of the best singers in Nepali music....
and several others.
While working at Radio Nepal, Shiva Shankar composed music for many prominent Nepalese singers. These included Tara Devi (singer)
Tara Devi (singer)
Tara Devi was a Nepali singer. She was known as the "nightingale of Nepal" having recorded over 4,000 songs during her lifetime.. Much of her music revolved around the themes of patriotism and love OhMyNews - 2006-01-23....
, Mira Rana, Nirmala Shrestha, Gyanu Rana, Aruna Lama
Aruna Lama
Aruna Lama is one of the well-known singers of Nepali music. She is popularly known as "The Nightingale of the Hills". She sang hundreds of Nepali songs, including some for Nepali films, and left an indelible mark as one of the best singers in Nepali music....
, Kunti Muktan, Ganga Malla, Puspa Nepali, Narayan Gopal
Narayan Gopal
Narayan Gopal Guruacharya is the most prominent and popular singer and composer in the history of Nepali music. He is popularly referred to as "Swar Samrat" in Nepali music. He is also known as "Tragedy King." He is well known as a singer as well as a composer...
, Prem Dhwoj Pradhan, Yogesh Vaidhya, Udit Narayan
Udit Narayan
-Career:King of melody, Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December, 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district , Nepal. His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.Narayan studied at P.B...
, Dhruba KC, Manik Ratna, Deep Shrestha, Bhakta Raj, Bacchu Kailash, Rubi Joshi, Deepak Bajracharya
Deepak Bajracharya
Deepak Bajracharya is one of the famous neapli singer and lyricist from kathmandu. Nepal. He has sung several songs till date. He is one of the most commercially successful singer in Nepal. He has done several tours around the world...
, etc. He composed music for prominent lyricists such as Ram Man Trishit
Ram Man Trishit
Ram Man Shrestha "Trishit" was a highly reputed lyricist of Nepali songs.He was a medical doctor by profession. He wrote many lyrics, most of which were tuned into music by Shiva Shankar and sung by Tara Devi . The friendship between Ram Man and Shiva Shankar lasted until the death of Shiva Shankar...
, Kiran Kharel, Bhabuk, Yadab Kharel, Laxman Lohani, and MBB Shah (Mahendra of Nepal
Mahendra of Nepal
Possibly no heir for the time period of 1911 through 1920. Previous Crown Prince: Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, from 1906 to 1911....
). Performing for fifty years, he helped Nepalese music attain popularity in what was termed as the "Golden Age".
Besides creating popular melodies, he also experimented with innovations in Nepalese music. He demonstrated how the folk songs rendered with few simple musical instruments could be enriched with an ensemble of modern contemporary orchestra symphony. A trend of modernization with introduction of pop-style songs he started catalyzed the emergence of the present day full fledged Nepalese pop songs. Although he pioneered changes and innovation, he always advocated for preserving the unique essence of Nepalese style, so that Nepalese songs would not be overshadowed by foreign songs and music.
Shankar played the leading role of a "Lahure Dai" in the film Aama (Mother), the first Nepali feature movie produced in 1964 (2021 BS) by the Government of Nepal. However, he did not pursue an acting career except for a few cameo appearances in documentaries. Nevertheless, he composed music for several movies in the early days of the Nepalese film industry.
Early life
He was born to mother Ram Maya and father Man Bahadur on 22 February 1932 in a Manandhar household of the NewarNewar
The Newa , Newār or Newāl) are the indigenous people and the creators of the historical civilization of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. The valley and surrounding territory have been known from ancient times as Nepal Mandala, its limits ever changing through history.Newas have lived in the Kathmandu...
community, in Pako, Newroad of Kathmandu, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. Man Bahadur Manandhar was a volunteer music teacher in the local community and taught classical Newari songs to the youngsters. Shiva Shankar’s musical aspiration was probably inspired by his father’s community activity. Unfortunately, his father died at very early age. He completed his secondary school education, but did not pursue any formal musical education before being established as a singer and music composer. In 1974, he pursued a graduate course in Indian classical music
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
at Kalanidhi Sangeet College in Kathmandu.
Career
He took a job at Radio Nepal in May 1951 (2007 BS) and served there for the next 42 years. This was the period of his active creative life. For forty years in a row, he composed and sang hit songs. From 1987 to 1991 (2043-2047 BS), he was deputed as the Executive Director of the Ratna Recording Corporation. He retired from Radio Nepal in 1996 (2051 BS).His post-retirement period coincided with the onset of commercialization in Nepalese music. He could not adapt into the glamour of commercialization and eschewed from making commercial music. As his contemporary colleagues in music, he remained virtually silent after retirement. In 2004, he fell gravely ill with terminal
Terminal illness
Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
stage liver cancer
Liver cancer
Liver tumors or hepatic tumors are tumors or growths on or in the liver . Several distinct types of tumors can develop in the liver because the liver is made up of various cell types. These growths can be benign or malignant...
. He died on November 14, 2004.
Personal life
He was married to Badri Kumari Manandhar at the age of 24 and had three sons: Gaurishankar, Rabi Shankar and Shashi Shankar. None of them followed a career in music. Badri Kumari supported the family economically by running a family business. She died in September 1998.Various national awards
- First Place in the All Nepal Music Competition – 2019
- Best Music Composition Awards – 2020, 2021, 2025 and 2027
- Mahendra-Ratna Abhushan – 2022
- Gorkha Dakshin Bahu 4th - 2035
- Chinnalata Award – 2043
- Gunaraj Music Award - 2043
- Trishaktipatta 3rd - 2053
- Nepal Motion Picture Award – 2056
- Supradipta Birendra Pajatantra Bhashkar 3rd – 2060
- Image Life-time Achievement Award - 2058
- Natikaji Memorial Award – 2061
Recognitions and honors
- Nepal Motion Picture Artists Union – 2050
- Sadhana Samman by the Shadhana Art Foundation – 2054
- Radio Nepal – 2055
- Golden Jubilee Samman of Radio Nepal – 2056
- Nepal Samman by the Sagarmatha Academy – 2057
- Kathmandu Municipality Ward 13 – 2057
- Ahwan Organization - 2057
- Mahadev Samman by the Keshav-Sushma Bhajan Guthi – 2058
- Nepal Motion Picture Artists Union – 2058
- Mahendra Memorial Committee - 2058
- Kamal English Boarding School - 2059
- Radio Nepal - 2059
- Harati Samman – 2060
- Central Committee of Manandhar Union – 2061
- World Peace Bhagbat Bhajanashram – 2061
- Sangeet Sadhak Samman by the Nepal Sanskritik Sangh
Filmography
- Aama (Theme song, with Nati Kaji)
- Manko Bandh (with Nati Kaji)
- Kumari (with Chandra Raj)
- Pachis Basanta (with Nati Kaji)
- Shanti Deep (with Nati Kaji)
Broadway songs (Geeti Natak) and albums of situational songs
- AshirbadAshirbadAshirbad is an album of situational songs describing emotional expressions of a bride and her relatives during marriage ceremony in Nepalese villages. Ashirbad literally translates as blessing in the Nepali language. After the wedding, the bride moves into her husband’s family, usually far away...
("Farewell to Bride") - Lyrics: Laxman Lohani - NalapanimaNalapanimaNalapanima is a broadway musical describing patriotism of a Nepalese soldier during British-Nepalese war at Nalapani fort in 1814 AD, fought under the command of Balbhadra Kunwar. A wounded Nepalese soldier sought help from the British camp...
("Battle at the Nalapani Fort") - Lyrics: Bal Krishna Sama - Parikshya ("Ordeal") - Lyrics: Tulsi Dibas
- Swongu Nagu ("Three Stars") - Lyrics: Durga Lal Shrestha
- Sulochana (Based on an epic poem) - Lyrics: Shyam Das Vaishnav (Not Staged)
External links
- http://onlinesahitya.com/magazine/readarticle.php?AID=2858 Online Sahitya : Truly Versatile Shiva Shankar
- http://www.shivashankar.org/