Ashwasan Dahal
Emperor of Voice and King of Tragedy, Narayan Gopal was born on 1939 in Kilagal Tole, Kathmandu and died on December 5, 1990. He died on the same day Mozart died (An Austrian composer born on 1756 AD and died on December 5, 1791 AD). He was raised in singing environment because his father, Asha Gopal Guruacharya, was also a musician. Narayan Gopal started to sing before passing voice test from Radio Nepal. He first sang at the 40th anniversary of Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus. After listening to his melodious voice his friends Manik Ratna Sthapit and Premdhoj Pradhan suggested him to take a voice test in Radio Nepal. Before that, he was a tabala player in Prem-Manik group. In 2018 BS, he gave voice test in Radio Nepal. Those days, contestant would usually sing Hindi songs for voice test. But Narayan Gopal was the person who sang a Nepali song written by Dr. Ramman Trisit. The song was “Jiwanko Pankhako Swad.” The judges were Janardan Sama, Natikaji, Tarani Prasad Koirala and Govind Lal.
Narayan Gopal came into singing in the era of Golden Age of Nepali music. The era of Golden Age of Nepali music began after the song “Naulakha Tara” by Music Maestro Amber Gurung, and written by Aagam Singh Giri. It was recorded in Kolkata. When it was played in Bishal Bazar, Narayan Gopal, who was walking with his friend, stood in a position for a moment. After this song, Narayan Gopal became a prominent figure to take the Nepali music to the next level.
His favorite poet was Ratna Shumsher Thapa and he sang six songs written by Ratna Shumsher. Among six songs, 5 songs were done solo by Narayan Gopal and one song, “Ae Kancha Thattaima” was a duet with Tara Devi. This song gave nickname “Kancha” to Narayan Gopal. In memory of Ustad Sahila he said, “Leave other things; I became Kancha after singing that song.” That was the time when Astaman Shrestha became ‘Sahila’ after singing “Sahiaji Chandaniko Ukamila.”
Ishwar Ballav, a great lyricist brought Narayan Gopal and Gopal Yonzon together to make them each other’s mits (ritually bonded friends) in 2021 BS. Here starts the “Miteri Era” (a part of Golden Age) and that era gave many hit and evergreen songs like: “Pahad Sukeko Chaina”, “Galti Hajar Hunchhan”, “Timrojasto Mutu Mero Pani”, “Lau Suna Ma Bhanchhu” etc.
Narayan Gopal was not limited to Ratna Shumsher and Gopal Yonzon. He also gave amazing hit songs by singing songs of Laxmi Prasad Devkota, Bhupi Serchan, Dinesh Adhikari, Hari Bhakta Katuwal, Khestra Pratap Adhikari, Kali Prasad Rijal, Chadani Shah, Bhairabnath Rimal, Madhav Ghimire and Iswor Ballav.
Similarly, he was a great actor too. He acted for the role of a blind person in the drama “Tyag” written by Durgalal Shrestha in 2013 BS. He was also good at mimicry which is mostly known to his few relatives. After retiring from his job (General Manager of Rastriya Naach Ghar) he used to tease Pemala Lama (a longtime fan and wife of Narayan Gopal) from balcony by mimicking his neighbors. He used to say “Oh, wife of Narayan Gopal, where are you going?” Premdhoj Pradhan (1938-2021) a friend and contemporary of him remembers an incident of his mimicry. Narayan Gopal presented news in Chinese language to Prandevi, mother of Premdhoj Pradhan.
Narayan Gopal was physically quite fit. He earned nickname “Tarzan” from his friend Amber Gurung. Similarly, Amber was also a person with a well-structured body. A dangerous incident once occurred in their life. After untimely demise of Saran Pradhan, husband of Aruna Lama, the latter was totally broken. (Saran who just died at the age of 30 years was a shining star in the music scene at the time). She had to take care of her two children. She started teaching for survival because singing only cannot fulfill basic needs of her family. With collaboration of many friends, “A solo evening” of Aruna Lama was organized to raise fund for her economical support. When the event was over, some opponents of Narayan Gopal went to Gurung and said, “Narayan Gopal has blamed you for misappropriating some fund in the event.” Amber was enraged and he challenged Narayan for a fight. Both powerful men were likely to wrestle without a ring. Their cold war lasted for a long time and it ended when they worked together in the musical drama Malati Mangale written by poet Madhav Prasad Ghimire.
After his retirement from Rastriya Naach Ghar, Narayan Gopal used to stay home and read history books as he was interested in history and was a student of history too. (He was teacher of history in Amarsingh Secondary School, Pokhara for a short period after coming from Darjeeling).Once, his friend Dr. Bishwambher Pyakurel (senior economist as well as lyricist of the song “Timile Bhaneka” sung by Narayan Gopal) told him that rather than staying idle at home, he may spread knowledge to others. With request of Pyakurel, Mr Mahesh Upadhaya (VC of Tribhuwan University) appointed Gopal as associate professor at Lalit Kala Campus. It was an honor to Narayan Gopal by Tribhuwan University.
Narayan Gopal was also a man with a sense of tragic experiences. During his last days at Bir Hospital, ill Narayan Gopal became a victim of insomnia and he shared his view to his friend Nagendra Thapa. After listening to him, Nagendra said to him, “Please remember Lord Pashupatinath; it may help you to sleep”. Narayan Gopal, in an ill tone, replied “I cannot do that because when I remember Lord Pashupatinath I see the face of Jog Mehar Shrestha.” Remembering a home minister of Panchayat period during the end of Panchayat can be categorized as sense of tragic experiences of Narayan Gopal.
At last, but not the least, Narayan Gopal Guruacharya — Guru or Acharya — was the real “Guru” of Nepali Music.