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Sajha Feature

MANOSE: Himalayan Bamboo Flautist | View Interview

Origins

Manose's hometown, Boudha, Nepal stands on the ancient route leading from the Himalayan mountains down into the Kathmandu valley. It is just upriver from Nepal's most holy Hindu temple, and is home itself to an important Buddhist shrine. An influx of Tibetan refugees who naturally congregated around the great Boudhanath shrine, and the outward growth of Kathmandu city has created there a nexus where everyone from religious pilgrims, to rowdy enclaves of traders, and Western adventurers converged to meet, mingle, haggle, and gawk. Typical of crossroads the world over, it is dusty and colorful, a Babylon of languages and traditions.

It was here that eight-year-old Manose fell in love with the bamboo flute one night, when a fortuitous breeze wafted its song through his bedroom window. Truly, the sound of the bansuri is seductive. Compared to a silver flute it has a resonate quality that seems to actually penetrate the listener physically. And because it is not valved like a silver flute, its potential for subtle expressiveness is practically limitless. We can understand therefore, young Manose's instant infatuation.

He purchased a two-rupee flute from a street hawker and began to carry it with him in his school bag where it vied for space with his favorite sling shot. His real relationship with music began when Manose heard about an old man who played haunting music on the shenai. That man, Madan Dev Bhatta, a disciple of Ustad Bishmilallah Khan, initiated Manose into the study of classical raga music, often known as North Indian classical music.

At the same time, Manose began to collect cassettes by flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia. To augment the lessons he was getting from Bhatta, Manose would play the cassettes again and again, trying to copy what he heard, often practicing five or six hours a day. "I wanted to learn," says Manose. "I wanted to have something."

Musical Achievement

Now, as a performer in a variety of genres from raga, to Nepali folk, to fusion rock, his sound he has matured into something at once virile, tender, and playful. From the demanding study of raga music, he has acquired technical mastery and an astonishing ability to improvise. At the same time, we find him wonderfully free to draw inspiration from wherever he finds it, be it the swaying sweetness of a samba, or the lightening fast lines of Celtic masters. When asked what or who has had the greatest musical influence on his playing, he thinks for a moment and says "the sound of the flute."

He is widely recognized as Nepal's premiere flautist and is the recipient of national awards including instrumentalist of the year. And even while living in the United States, he still manages to be a vital part of the music scene back home. His debut music video airs regularly on Nepali TV, he is a member of one of the county's most popular pop bands, and last year he performed in Nepal's first jazz festival where he shared the stage with Australian great Don Burrows.

In the United States, Manose performs and records with the likes of Grammy-nominated fusion artist Jai Uttal, The Chicago Children's Choir, singers Krishna Das and Deva Premal, tabla maestro Swapan Chowdary, and blue grass great Peter Rowan. He is also a member of the New Maihar Band, an ensemble created by living legend Ali Akbar Khan. He has performed in Canada, France, England, Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

After all this, no matter where he goes, or what genre his is playing, it is his pure love for the sound of the flute that remains most palpable is his music. This is clearly a young man who "has something."

Manose on the Musical Life, and Playing with 1974AD [Courtesy Manose & Nepalisite]

"I joined 1974AD in 1998. I also play as a solo performer, and with other artist, so I join the band whenever and where ever I can in the world. I'm very happy that the band is doing well. Being a rock star is fun but it takes a lot of energy. It's really beautiful to be able to touch the young generation through music. I'm happy to be able to introduce them to the bansuri, and maybe open their eyes to all kinds of music they might not be interested in otherwise. My musical roots are in Nepali classical, and Nepali folk, but I also play everything from jazz, Celtic, to kirtan. My philosophy is think not what music can do for you, but what you can do for the music. So I'm just trying to bring good music to everyone.

When 1974ad was in the US and I was touring with them here in 2003, the audience was mostly younger Nepalese living in the US, first and second generation. It's interesting to see how Nepali people are living abroad, what people keep, and what they let go of being outside of Nepal. A lot of the other kinds of shows I do are attended more by non-Nepalese. I get to meet so many interesting people. One thing, it is very interesting playing for kirtan in the US. People love it! They even dance! There are a lot of people in the US who have been influenced by Eastern spirituality and inspired by Eastern culture so there is a base of interest in what I do. They come to the music with maybe more reverence and a desire to learn about it than others. Also I get people who are music lovers. I play for all ages and all kinds of people; I love my audience. Somehow I'm able to communicate with them, so I feel the same toward them no matter where or what kind of show. A true listener is the same whether it is on Earth or Mars. I'm really lucky to get such appreciation for my music in the US and in Nepal both. I feel it's a good achievement for me that I can be a professional musician and devote myself full time to music. That way I can touch that many more people! Being in the US, getting encouragement from musicians who I respect, it shows how even a boy from the far corner of the world can do so much if he is focused on his goals.

I love all my concerts and they're all so different. Its hard to choose a favorite, but I have to mention one I did last year with Jai Uttal, a Grammy-nominated world musician from the San Francisco area. We played for the Chicago Childrens' Choir's musical production of the Ramayana. I personally liked it because the whole thing had an awareness of oneness. It involved more than 60 very talented kids from all different ethnicities who played the characters from the Ramayana and sang. It was accessible for both eastern and western audience members, and I felt proud of being part of it, and representing Nepal with my bansuri. It was so moving that some of us cried while we played and so did people in the audience.

I also do some teaching. I started teaching in Nepal when I was seventeen or eighteen. I got my start at the Kirateshwar Sangeet Ashram, and started teaching for The University of Wisconsin's Nepal program, and Naropa, and various American study-abroad programs. That's partly what brought me to the US in the beginning. I met a lot of western people through that teaching. When I first came to the US in 1998, I realized that one of the best places to work on spreading this music, other than Kathmandu, would be California. Some of the best classical player in the world, like Zakir Hussain, and Ali Akbar Khan live here. California is very diverse and open-minded. Now days, I do some teach through the Ali Akbar College. It's also beautiful to share music that way. My musical path isn't about entertainment, it's about something else that every human should know. That s what I'm trying to spread through my music, that awareness of the possibility for oneness. That's my ultimate ambition.

I'm planning to be in Nepal for at least a couple months this winter and do lots of concerts and playing with 1974AD. In May I'll be in Europe with a world music ensemble. If anyone wants more info they can email me at manose@manosemusic.com. Also, my tour schedule is posted on my website so you can check it out at www.manosemusic.com."

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