The Kathmandu Post |
Patan Breaks Pop Express Record |
March 8th - 2006 |
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Nikesh Maharjan, a ninth grader from Patan was trying hard to find
his place in the hysteric crowd that had gathered beside the van that
housed the resting artistes. They all wanted the same thing: their names
scribbled by their favorites on a piece of paper. Nikesh wanted one
too from his favorite singer Kranti Ale. Young Puja, a seventh grader from Bhaktapur was also trying to get
hold of Nirnaya Da NSK's autograph. The performing artistes of the “Shikhar
Lights Music Pop Express - Concert on Wheels” - Mausami Gurung, Kamal
Man Singh, Nirnaya Da NSK and Kranti Ale - had no respite even after
completing their job on the stage. They were, nevertheless, thoroughly
enjoying this extra work behind the stage as well, happily obliging
to their fans' requests.
The concert on Wednesday morning at Patan Durbar Square certainly had
the largest and the most extravagant crowd of all the venues so far
of the five-day Pop Express. The grounds and the temples were filled
with a record audience of more than 6,000 that mostly comprised of youngsters
and students as usual and a couple of old people.
Right from the word go till the end, the euphoric crowd made the most
out of the hour-long concert, singing and swinging along with the singers
who belted out their regular numbers as in the earlier venues. Kranti
Ale didn't sing the whole of She's The Bomb but his duet with Mausami
in Chyangba Hoi Chyangba once again wrapped up the concert in a grand
fashion. The second show of the day that took place on the Chuchchepati
Grounds from 3:30 in the afternoon was equally successful and drew almost
3,000 people.
Nirnaya, who seemed to have a massive fan following wherever he went,
termed the concert as a “unique experience”.
“Because of the show, we are getting the chance to visit and know different
places we had earlier only heard of. Besides, it has also given us the
opportunity to interact with a wide range of audience unlike other shows
which usually have mostly youngsters only,” the rapper shared his thoughts.
“It's obviously tiring to perform at two different venues in a day but
the audience has been very appreciative.”
The concert, organized by Surya Nepal Pvt Ltd and managed by Party
Nepal moves on to the Sifal Grounds and Sankata Square today. Show timings
are 11 am at Sifal and 3:30 pm at Sankata. |