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Megha Shrestha was raised in a musical family. She grew up listening to her mother hum to the tunes of Lata Mangeskar and Narayan Gopal in the kitchen.

“I believe music is in my genes”, says the 26-year-old singer-songwriter. “I can't remember a time when my life wasn't associated with music.”

In seventh grade Shrestha realized she could hold a tune, much to the delight of her classmates. For her it was a revelation, because until then she had thought that everybody could sing.  

It didn’t take her long to be aware of her musical talent. At 14, when she was in eighth grade, Shrestha entered Nepal Television’s ‘Voice of Teen’. She made it to the top 16 out of 300 contestants from around the country.

The experience was a catalyst for her dream to become a singer. She finally thought music was her calling.

After her appearance in a televised singing contest, Shrestha’s musical talent was no longer a secret. She started being recognized and praised by her schoolmates at St. Xavier’s School, Jawalakhel.

From then, Shrestha started performing with her school band whenever there was a musical event. This would continue throughout her college life.

In 2016, while studying there, Shrestha took part in ‘Women in Concert 2016: Talent Hunt Edition’ organized by Abhaya Subba, frontwoman of the band Abhaya & the Steam Engines. The event, held on International Women’s Day to empower young women through music, was a life-changing experience for her. Shrestha took home the winning title that year. She was 21 at the time. 

“Looking back, Women in Concert led me to where I am today,” Shrestha says. “I had such wonderful mentors and I still live by the lessons I learned from them during the boot camp.”

Shrestha graduated college with a business studies degree in 2018. But the music bug never left her.

In 2019, she auditioned for the third season of ‘Nepal Idol’ aired on AP1 TV. It was another turning point in her life. Shrestha says it was her mother who urged her to audition for the show.

“I didn’t take part in the previous two seasons of the show, but I had a gut feeling that Season 3 was where I would make my mark,” she says.

Her instinct was right. The rendition of ‘Hidda Hiddai’ by 1974 AD Shrestha won the hearts of the show’s judges in the audition round. She was the first and the only Golden Mic winner of that season.

Shrestha made it to the top five of the season, but getting eliminated from the show didn’t deter her.

“During my elimination, I remember one of the judges, Indira Joshi, telling me ‘every mic you hold from this point forward will be a golden mic’. That praise has stuck with me ever,” she says.

Shrestha looks back at her experience as an Idol contestant and feels grateful. She says it taught her everything she needed to know to become a full-time musician.

Nepal Idol opened the doors for Shrestha in the music scene in a true sense. She got to tour different parts of the world for shows following a stellar stint as an Idol contestant. A promising musical career was ahead of her. But then the pandemic hit, and Shrestha had her moment of crisis. When people from every walk of life were losing their jobs, she started wondering if her musical aspirations were naive and misplaced. 

“It was just the start of my career and the odds were suddenly stacked against me. It really made me think if what I was doing was worth it,” says Shrestha.

But Shrestha remained steadfast in her dreams. In 2020 she recorded her debut single ‘Polcha’, written and produced by Lokesh Bajracharya. She then went on to collaborate with artists from Nepal Idol and record some more singles. Moreover, she now has her own band, ‘Megha and the B.E.A.T.S’.

Slowly but surely her determination seems to be paying off. Besides being a full-time musician, Shrestha has also made a foray into television as the host of  ‘Band Champion Nepal’, which is currently being aired on AP1 TV.

“I remember when I first got the call to host the show, it took me half-a-second to say yes,” she says. Transitioning into a TV hosting gig was not at all difficult for her. She is a performer at heart and feels at home on any stage.

“Being on Nepal Idol helped me a lot in terms of confidence-building,” Shrestha says.

So what’s next for this up and coming pop-rock sensation? Well, for now, she is working on her new songs and planning a tour with her band. She also wishes to continue her studies. But, more than anything, her wish is to find a stable footing in the music industry.

“I believe I was born to sing,” she says. “Music is the only thing that makes sense to me.”

Rumor has it that Salman Khan is planning to visit Nepal. Khan, who last traveled to Nepal in 1992, is said to have been invited by Nirmal Purja, the renowned Nepali mountaineer and a member of the British Army. The Bollywood superstar is positive about a possible visit, according to reports.

Posting a picture with Khan on his social media, Purja writes, "What a pleasure meeting Salman Bhai! Humble and Legendary! See you soon in my country brother!”

When Tenzing Sherpa got the role of the ‘music player’ in Club Jolly Blues—the first discotheque in Kathmandu—back in 1992, he didn’t know the profession was called disk jockeying. He was an ordinary music-loving teen who used to go to the club every evening to listen to music and the club owner, with whom he had developed a friendship, offered him a job. He got himself the stage name DJ Tenzing and started playing with CDs and simple mixing devices as there were no professional instruments or training in Nepal in those days.

Born and raised in Solukhumbu, Sherpa came to Kathmandu for higher studies after completing his SLC. Until then, he had no fixed aim in life. He just wanted to make enough to pay his college fees and rent. “I used to leave the club at 2 am and attend my college at 5 am,” Sherpa shares about his initial days in the profession. “I then slept after returning from college at 9 am.”

Even long after starting out on this journey, he hadn’t dreamt of a professional career as a DJ: playing music was just a hobby and a small source of pocket money. But DJs started getting space on outdoor musical concerts and festivals after 2006, which made them more sought-after and increased their earnings too, and it was only then that Sherpa chose DJ as his permanent career. By then, the Internet and other technologies had also developed, which came in handy for him to practice new styles of playing.

After seven years at Club Jolly Blues, in 1999, Sherpa joined Club X-zone at Durbar Marg. He played there for around three years. He also worked at Hyatt Regency’s Rox Bar and Hotel Yak and Yeti’s Club Platinum. He started doing  freelance shows from 2008. Till date, he has done over 1,000 stage programs in and outside the country, including in the US, the UK, Korea, Japan, Israel, Germany, Belgium, France, Luxemburg, Portugal, Spain, Netherland, Hong Kong, Qatar, and India, among other countries . “There is nothing better than seeing people dance and love your remix,” he shares when asked about the best part of being a DJ.

Also read: Sugam Pokharel: The ideal Nepali pop culture Idol

In 2007, to promote his maiden album “DJ Tenzing”, he organized “DJ Tenzing All Nepal Tour” with several popular Nepali singers. The album includes various popular songs like ‘Isarale Bolaunu Pardaina’, ‘Jham Jham Istakot’, ‘Jhimkai Deu Pareli’, ‘Lalupate Fulyo Banaima’, ‘Yo Gaun Ko Thito Ma’, etc. Sherpa has also done a show at Everest Base Camp with the theme of “Stop Global Warming and Save the Himalayan”. Besides that, he was one of the judges in a DJ reality show “War of DJ” which aired for three seasons from 2010 to 2012.

“I have seen many ups and downs in the DJ fraternity during my three decades in the industry,” he says. For example, in the past, DJs didn’t have money, but they had prestige, but these days, things are exactly the opposite, Sherpa remarks. DJs are only regarded as ordinary guys with laptops and headphones, he notes. “I have groomed myself by mixing manually but youngsters nowadays just put software at auto-tune,” says Sherpa.

“I wish the government had plans to promote nightclubs as they also attract a decent number of tourists and thus contribute to the economy,” he says. Sherpa thinks that these clubs, which employ people from diverse backgrounds, have been devastated by the pandemic. But instead of helping them out in these difficult times, the government seems intent on stifling their growth, he laments.

There are many DJs in town today: half in the scene to cultivate their hobby while the other half is determined to make it a career. Sherpa sees the future of DJ aspirants as bright as the number of clubs in the country is steadily rising. “It is not that difficult to sustain financially, and if you can maintain good PR, you will get the shows and tours on a regular basis.”

Miss Nepal World 2020 Namrata Shrestha has entered the ‘Top 40’ of Miss World 2021. The final of the pageant has been rescheduled for 16 March 2022 in Puerto Rico after being put off in December 2021 due to the Covid-19 risk.

Shrestha had also entered the Top 10 of the ‘beauty with a purpose’ round back in December. This time too, she entered the Top 20 as one of the ‘15 fast track winners’. Writes Shrestha in her Instagram, “As we have been told from Day 1, “We all are winners” WE ARE!!! To my sisters chosen to advance further in the pageant yesterday, a big congratulations, I can’t wait to reunite with you all in Puerto Rico this March!”