Nepal Academy of Music and Drama organised an inter-district multilingual folk song conference at Birendranagar, in Surkhet, on Monday, March 13. The conference saw renditions of folk songs popular among various communities including the Tharu, Bote Khampa, Gurung and Magar communities, among others.

One of the main attractions of the event was the performance by the 85-year-old singer Aatmaram Bote and his wife 63-year-old Tulsa Bote, who together sang songs in the rare Bote language.

Speaking about the couple’s performance, senior composer at Radio Nepal, Bulu Mukarang, said, “I heard many praises of this couple when I went to Chincu village to research about the Raji culture, so I thought we should honour their talent as they have done so much to keep our traditions alive.”

The Academy also honoured a number of artists who have contributed to the promotion of folk music in the region, including Aatmaram Bote. Other artists to be honoured at the event were Bhima Subedi, Khadka Kumari Pun, Tila Garanja and Dinesh Gautam.

Speaking about the event, member of the Academy, Pabitra Gharti, said, “We organised this programme in an attempt to protect and promote languages popular in the region. It is the responsibility of both the state as well as the citizens to protect their folk music, dances, theatre and instruments.”

Another senior artist, Premdev Giri, said, “Due to increase in western influence, we now face a huge challenge in protecting our cultures and traditions. Organising events like this can go a long way in preserving our endangered heritages.”