Even 22 years since the song’s making, ‘Parelima’ has been making memories for everyone its nostalgia is indelible. ‘ Parelima’ is still one of the go-to songs played and strummed during any get-together. Since their origin in 1994, the veteran Nepali rock band has been known for bringing people together with their music. It’s less a song, but more of my identity now,” she says. “I have sung so many songs, but most people remember this song from my discography. Upadhya believes this song carved her identity. We faced the same while recording the song but at the end, everything was worth it," says Upadhya. So even if a single person made a small mistake, we had to redo it from the beginning. While she has a vivid memory of the musicians and technicians involved in the song, Upadhya says recording the song was a feat in itself. Radio Nepal widened its reach, and the song was a hit. Although the local radio station played the song, it got exposure only when Upadhya recorded it in Nepal in 1974, after she moved here. "I instantly fell in love with the song, as I was touched by the fact my mother composed a song dedicated to me, her youngest daughter," says Upadhya.Īs she was living in Assam back then, she instantly went to the studio and recorded the song. Raised in a family of singers, Upadhya was given the famous ‘ Mai Chori Sundari’ by her mother, who had composed it for her. Singing came naturally to Bharati Upadhya. We couldn’t afford many re-takes so whenever we performed we gave our best,” says Pradhan, who initially recorded 200 copies of the song and later sold a few to Radio Nepal, who played the song regularly.Pradhan also sang the song for the 1995 Nepal Bhasa movie, ‘ Rajamati’, based on the story of the same ballad that made the song reach a new height in terms of popularity and love. “I took my own madal and taught a musician who could play tabla. Travelling miles from his homeland, in the Kolkata recording studio, he didn’t have an artist who could play madal, an important instrument required for the song. However, it wasn’t easy for Pradhan to record the song. While he had been performing the song in his own style live on stage and events, the need to document the recording of the song was significant for Newa culture, he says “By making the song travel to many houses, I felt that it would preserve and promote the Newa culture,” says the 84-year-old musician. “It was the motivation from my friends and community members that led me to travel all over to Calcutta (Kolkata) to record this song,” says Pradhan. However, when the song was recorded in 1963, the ballad found a new voice with legendary singer Prem Dhoj Pradhan. Composed in the 19th century, the person behind its creation remains unknown. What’s one particular Nepal Bhasa song everyone knows? From being played during the guard of honour of Prime Minister Junga Bahadur Rana, during his 1850 state visit to England, to being played during cultural programmes even today, the classical ‘Rajamati Kumati’ is timeless.