The funeral rites of singer Dirgaraj Adhikari (popularly known as Bhedi Kharke Saaila), who passed away at the age of 85 on Monday, were performed at Marsyangdi, in Sundarbazaar, earlier this week. Adhikari, a noted singer in the Nepali musical sphere, is known especially for popularising the Thado Bhaka—a genre of folk music popular in Nepal’s western districts.

Thado Bhaka was popularised by the duo of Deubahadur Dura and Panchai Subba Gurung in the first decade of the 1900 AD. Many of their songs were as popular as ever in Lamjung, but they were limited to the region only. 

Singer Adhikari is revered for he popularised this genre of music around the country, sometimes improvising on songs by the duo and other times by creating his own. Musicians working today at the Lok Dohori scene in the west credit Adhikari for pioneering a hybrid form of music, which combined the Thado Bhaka with the Adhunik Nepali tunes. 

Singer Bima Kumari Dura, who was present at the cremation ceremony, had collaborated with Adhikari in more than a dozen songs. Speaking to the Post, Dura said that Adhikari’s place in Thado Bhaka is “irreplaceable.” 

“I was always interested in Thado Bhaka but, I was more engaged in the mainstream Lok Dohori music. It was him who, after we met at Damauli Mahotsav in 2006, taught me the nuances of the genre,” Dura recalled, “Since then, we have collaborated occasionally. Those moments were special and came with a lot of learning opportunities for me.” 

Popular Lok Dohori artists including Buddhiman Dura, Sita Dura, Minmaya Gurung, Dhanmaya Gurung, among others, and the Gadaki region chairperson of National Lok Dohori Academy, Shankar ‘Birahi’ Gurung, paid final tributes to Adhikari. 

Adhikari was suffering from a chronic long-term lung disease since a decade. After his treatment failed in Lamjung, he was taken to Bir Hostpital, on September 8, where he breathed his last on Monday. 

Adhikari is survived by three daughters and a son.