Remember when the ground beneath our feet shook and we thought that that catastrophe would change the way we think and act for years to come? It was as if all our greed, our hopes, and dreams were challenged by the inescapable reality of life. What good, after all, is greed, hopes and dreams, if our very existence is threatened?

Under the weight of that existential dilemma, some of us wept our hearts out, some of us shriveled up in shock, and all of us waited for the disaster to be over. We ached to return back to a ‘new’ normal life; though what would make up the new normal reality we did not know. Amid the chaos, we reached out to far-flung settlements to help our fellow Nepalis. At the time, the expression of empathy was heartwarming as it was humbling.

All intrinsic human feelings want a way out. They need expression. And what better way to express yourself than with a poem, and with music imbued to it. And there is a song, released a couple of months after the tragedy, that perhaps best expresses what we all were striving to express. It is called Dhulai Dhulo, a poem written by Viplob Pratik and composed by Nhyoo Bajracharya.

“This is my attempt to come out stronger from the disaster and to urge my fellow countrymen to do the same; I thought about what I could do from my place to contribute to the resolve; I write and I thought I could contribute through a poem; that is how Dhulai Dhulo came out to be,” Pratik said in an interview with Kantipur TV.

The poet then discussed the idea with the veteran composer Bajracharya and then, in an attempt to express the inexpressible, a total of 10 artists lent their vocals to the song. The song has been adapted into a video, produced by Doremi Studio, and is available on YouTube.

At its core, Dhulai Dhulo is a song of hope. We know it when the opening verses, accompanied by an ominous set of guitar rhythms, ring in: “Dhulai dhulo ko mushlo bich pani/ Jhilmil jhilmil jhilmil prakash chha…Mann ma dridh biswaash chha/ Biswaash chha…” (Amid the dense fog of the dust, lies a bright, bright light/There is an unwavering faith in us/ an unwavering faith). Or it is a song of undaunted resilience: “Ho ghara bhatkiye ko chha/ Tara chhaina mann bhatkiyeko.”(The home might have fallen, but our hearts remain resolute).

The song, then, is also one of awakening. A shift in our being: “Attyaudoo trash haru bich/ Biujhiyeko jeevan chha…Astaudo aash haru bich/ udaudo athota chha—athota chha.” (Amid the chaos, new life has sprung/ Amid crumbling dreams, a new resolve is rising).

Pratik’s verses are simple, subtle, and capture the essence of our collective expression. Isn’t that what we all want to believe? That we are strong and can face tragedy with faith in ourselves, with whatever resources we have. In Pratik’s reading, it seems, faith and hope is the utmost resource.

This is not your run-of-the-mill sentimental song about the disaster. The song plays with various motifs of despair and hope. Are we to mourn the loss? Or do we resolve to outlast it, with hope? The song rightly advocates the latter: “Jun sristi le lagyo srijana, yo mann maa chha hai kudiyeko/ Samaye ko roop ferne socha, tesaile ho tesaile batuleko.”

A year has passed and the journey to find the ‘new’ normal has staggered at the face of continuous obstacles. Greed and prejudices have found their way back into the new normalcy. That is why the song is more relevant than ever. It serves as an apt reminder of the horrors we have lived by and the hopes we saw of new beginnings at the face of insurmountable odds. Odds and horrors that continue to fade with the passing months as the resolve that arose from the “Dhulai Dhulo”, slowly but surely, returns back to dust.