Legendary musician Amber Gurung, who also composed Nepal’s national anthem, has died at a hospital in Kathmandu, members of his family said.
Gurung was 78. He was suffering from pneumonia, diabetes, high blood pressure and ailments in the food canal.
Born to a former British-Indian armyman, Ujir Singh Gurung, on February 26, 1938 in Laldhiki, Darjeeling, India, Amber Gurung had shown his inclination towards music from an early age. Although his father wanted him to join the army, he chose music as a career.
According to his family members, Gurung’s ancestral home is in Rising, Gorkha, from where his father migrated to India, where Amber was born. The maestro went to Turnbull School in Darjeeling.
One of Gurung’s most famous compositions is the 1950 song ‘Nau lakh tara udaye’, penned by Agam Singh Giri. Within a week of its recording, the record was sold out. The All India Radio banned the song saying that it stoked anti-India sentiments. According to popular belief, Gurung was invited to Nepal by then King Mahendra as he was impressed with the composition.
There was a time when Gurung ran a music school in Darjeeling, where greats such as Aruna Lama, Karma Yonjan, Jitendra Bardewa, Indra Gajmer, Ranjit Gajmer and Sharad Pradhan were associated. While in Darjeeling, Gurung studied classical music, and he used to tell his students that music is not just for entertainment.
Gurung officially came to Nepal in 1969, and was immediately put in charge of the music department at the Royal Nepal Academy, a responsibility he fulfilled for 30 years. In 2010 he was appointed Chancellor of Nepal Music and Dance Academy.
The master composer’s fame rose exponentially after giving music to Madav Prasad Ghimire’s play Malati Mangale, Devkota’s Muna Madan and Satya Mohan Joshi’s four theatrical renditions. He also prepared the background score for movies such as Man ko Bandh and Jiwanrekha.
Although Gurung never completely fulfilled his father’s wish to see him in the force , Nepal’s Army in 2011 conferred upon him the title of honorary General recognising his composition for ‘Rato ra chandra surya’.
Photo: Susan Maskey/ youtube
