Sikkimese musician conferred with National Diaspora Music Award
Sikkimese singer and musician Jiwan Sharma, will be honoured with the Urwara National Diaspora Music Award 2079 (Bikaram Sambat). Urwara Foundation is going to confer him this honour for his continuous contribution in the field of Nepali song and music for the past 3 decades.
According to Devaki Abhilashi, president of the organization, more than a dozen other personalities who have contributed in different fields, including her, are being honoured at the ceremony. Singer Jiwan Sharma will be awarded the National Diaspora Music Award – 2079 in a grand ceremony to be held in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, in the second week of November 2022.
The esteemed musician in conversation with Sikkim Chronicle, said that he also didn’t have a great deal of detail about the award that he was being conferred with but was himself reluctant on his eligibility on the esteemed award. He also told that this award wasn’t his but all of Sikkim’s and that he wanted to dedicate this honour to all the upcoming singers and musicians in the state who are opting to express their art through Nepali.
Speaking to Sikkim Chronicle Sharma said, “a foundation called Urwara from Kathmandu, Nepal recently contacted me, since I had indulged in many charity showcases in the country. In one of those ‘Ekal Saanjh’ events, I was acquainted with the people of the foundation.”
He added, “I was abruptly told that I was being awarded and my first reaction was that of reluctance and if I was eligible enough, since this was a National Award. They then said that it was done through proper selection and scrutiny by the jury and the team. So, I saw the confirmation in the paper after they sent me the link.”
Sharma, a well known singer and musician has a plethora of accolades, of which a couple he mentioned was “Geet Samman Sikkim” and an honorary award by “Sikkim Kalakaar Sangh.”
As the accolade itself is called the diaspora awards, Sharma spoke about topics on how the purity of Nepali music is in an ever evolving scenario, but what is needed is the foundational knowledge which keeps the integrity of music intact, even if the lyrics face a certain metaphorical diaspora.
Upon being inquired about the topic of ‘if youngsters in Sikkim opt for Nepali music, and if they do it correctly’ and ‘the westernisation of Nepali music and the divergence in enunciation of words’ he said, “Music is a synonym to education and when you talk about education, there are ways to progress in education, there are bases, foundation, and certain rules that dictate education and so does music.”
He added, “If our (Sikkimese) youngsters opt for a foundational and educational approach to learning, that creates a base for good music. You need to learn from the base, you need to learn you ABCs to form words.”
Further, talking about the ways to that approach, he said, “you can either go to a class to learn music or you can learn by the way of acceptance. Either you go through all the bases or learn to accept Nepali music, which will in-turn build your interests and then you can learn through all these numerous ways through the internet. When you have a good foundation, it will sound melodious, it doesn’t matter how much you twist the lyrics or the enunciation.”
“I am a son of Sikkim, I was born here and bred here, so this award isn’t just mine it is of all Sikkimese people,” Sharma said.
“To all the artistes in Sikkim, I’d want to say that you have to be visible (in the artist circles and communities, and to the public) and that you have to keep putting your work out in the open, because if no one knows your work it will be obscure and there won’t be any reception, let alone accolades,” he added.
“This particular award I want to dedicate to young, talented Sikkimese musicians and artistes,” he concluded.