Buddha Lama

Anup Das is a Nepali guitarist and bass guitarist active in studio recordings, live performances, and session work across Kathmandu’s music scene. His playing appears in multiple recording studios—including Mahol Studio, Studio Sangam, and Studio King—where he is frequently featured in bass‑guitar sessions, rhythm‑guitar recordings, and instrumental projects.He is known for his versatile guitar work, performing everything from acoustic covers to bass‑driven Nepali folk, pop, and contemporary arrangements. His presence across numerous studio videos and recording sessions highlights his role as a reliable session instrumentalist, contributing to the sound of many artists behind the scenes.With a growing digital footprint through studio features and performance clips, Anup Das represents the class of dedicated Nepali instrumentalists whose craft supports both emerging and established singers in Nepal’s evolving music industry.

Narendra Bataju Narendra Bataju (died 2018) was a Nepali-born sitar and surbahar virtuoso renowned for his mastery of Hindustani classical music. A disciple of Ravi Shankar, he became an influential cultural bridge between South Asia and Europe through performance and teaching. Key facts Born: Kathmandu, Nepal (year not publicly documented) Died: September 2018, Paris, France Discipline: Hindustani classical (Maihar gharana) Instruments: Sitar, surbahar Based in: Paris since 1972 Early life and training Blind from birth, Bataju began learning sitar at age eight. He pursued formal training for a decade at the Conservatory of Music in Lucknow, India, earning a master’s diploma and two Grand Prizes. His prodigious skill earned recognition from Ravi Shankar, who praised his natural musicality and emotional sensitivity. Career and recordings Settling in Paris in 1972, Bataju performed for the Nepalese royal family and later across European concert halls and festivals, including the Centre Mandapa, the Musée du Quai Branly, and the Festival du Tibet et des Peuples de l’Himalaya. His recordings include Sitar: Râga Kirvani / Surbahar: Râga Gunkali (1975), Les Sitar et Surbahar de Narendra Bataju (1980), and Jog Kauns / Misra Pilu (2006). Collaborations and performances Bataju collaborated internationally, performing alongside the Egyptian oud player Hussein El Masry at Paris’s Cité de la Musique (1996) and appearing at cultural events such as France’s Festival de l’Inde. His cross-cultural work extended to Western artists, including contributions to Symphonie celtique (Tír na nÓg) by Alan Stivell. Legacy Celebrated as a pioneer of Indian classical music in France, Narendra Bataju inspired new generations of European and Nepali musicians through his teaching and emotive performance style. His artistry remains documented in a modest but significant body of recordings and archival radio broadcasts.

Lochan Rijal is a multi-instrumentalist, a singer, songwriter and a scholar of ethnomusicology. Born in the Panchthar district of Nepal, he grew up around music performed at festivals by the local people of that region. The experience influenced him to explore the potential of sound and develop his passion into his profession. While in college, he began teaching music to school children in Kathmandu while also working in the pop and rock music scene, producing award-winning albums, before moving onto something that fed his scholarly ambitions. In 2014, he graduated with a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Massachusetts and Kathmandu University. He also works as the associate professor and Head of Kathmandu University’s Department of Music.

Manohari Singh (1931–2010), born in Kolkata to a Nepalese Bhusal family, is celebrated as one of South Asia’s finest woodwind and orchestral arrangers. Though globally known for his work with R.D. Burman, his Nepali heritage and musical upbringing in a Nepali household shaped his tonal sensibility, melodic phrasing, and emotional depth — qualities that strongly resonated with Nepali film composers.His mastery of alto saxophone, flute, piccolo, clarinet, mandolin, and bansuri made him a sought‑after session musician whose sound influenced the orchestral palette of Nepali film music in the 1980s–1990s. Many Nepali composers — especially those working in Mumbai and Kolkata studios — relied on his phrasing style, brass‑woodwind layering, and melodic counterlines as a reference point.Although he did not score many Nepali films directly, his arrangement style, brass band roots, and Nepali musical lineage helped shape the cross‑border sound that Nepali cinema adopted during its modern era. His work as part of the Basu–Manohari duo also inspired Nepali arrangers who studied Indian studio orchestration.