Bhotekoshi tragedy through tunes of sarangi

By Phadindra Adhikari

Lekhnath, Oct. 12:

Kasto bazaar, kasta thiye gharharu

Chhin bharmai bagar bho saharharu 

2083 saal bhadau 10 ko dinma 

Khusi lagyo sabko harey eakai chinma 

(What kind of markets, what kind of homes they were/ in the blink of an eye, towns turned into riverbanks/ on August 26, 2026, everyone’s happiness was swept away in an instant.)

Sambar Bahadur Gayak recited these lines from a karkha, a traditional narrative song, about the Bhotekoshi disaster in Pokhara on Sunday. 

Before performing the seven-minute song, he said, “I had been preparing a song about the Bhotekoshi disaster, but today the Budhigandaki brought another tragedy.”

At ‘Gandharva Gunjan’, organised by the Pokhara Pragya Pratisthan, singer Januka Gayak crooned another song recounting the devastation caused by floods.

Bagima aayo Trishuli Ganga,  dekhayo bagar, Sansar heri man bujhau maili rune kam nagara

(The Trishuli River came rushing, leaving behind a barren riverbed, look around the world and console yourself, maili do not weep.)

Januka was accompanied on the sarangi by her husband, Balram, who played the traditional string instrument. The song was originally composed by Jhalakman Gandharva.