ROLPA:- The ‘Progressive Music Festival’ organized by the Nepal Academy of Music and Drama and co-organized by the Rolpa Art and Literature Foundation has concluded with grandeur in Thabang, Rolpa. The festival, organized on Baisakh 19 and 20 with the main slogan ‘Progressive Tunes for the Nation’, has also adopted the nine-point ‘Thabang Declaration’.

The festival was inaugurated by Lumbini Province Speaker Tularam Gharti Magar. Although former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ was scheduled to be the chief guest, he was unable to attend the event the day before the event as he was involved in rescue operations after a jeep carrying passengers returning from the Jaljala Mela met with an accident.

At the festival, Naveen Roka Magar presented a paper on ‘History of Rolpali Art and Literature’ and Bhim Kumakhi presented a paper on ‘Progressive Music in Nepali Society’. Madhav Pradhan and Chiran Pun commented on Kumakhi’s paper.

On the second day of the program, national and local artists from Mechi to Mahakali presented popular songs, operas, and folk dances. The Thabang was filled with the performances of senior artists Jeevan Sharma, Uday Shrestha, Madhav Pradhan, Madhu Gurung, Bir Prasad Bhansari, Sharda Limbu, Narayan Sharma, and Keshari Gharti Magar ‘Alina’, among others.

The local Bhume dance by the chief guest and other participants added more excitement. Similarly, folk dance by the local Chahan Art Center and artistic tableaus of various tribes were the attractions of the program.

The program was completed with the special activity of Kushma Mahara ‘Pragati’, the outgoing member secretary of the Nepal Academy of Music and Drama, and the sponsorship of all 10 municipalities of Rolpa. The participants considered this program, organized in Thabang, the birthplace of the Maoist armed struggle, as a special achievement. In the context of the great role of progressive music in achieving democracy, this is considered the first effort made by the government level to protect it.

Despite the adverse weather conditions, the near-fatal accident and the administrative changes, the program was completed with enthusiasm. The 50-member team from Kathmandu led by Constituent Assembly member Keshari Gharti Magar ‘Alina’ and the management of artists from all over the country were cordial. The program, which featured folk dances of the indigenous peoples of all seven provinces, was choreographed by Pragya Shanti Kathayat.

The program was chaired by Kushma Mahara ‘Pragati’ and conducted by Navin Roka Magar and Academician Bakhat Bahadur Hamal.