{"id":3486,"date":"2026-05-12T15:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/?p=3486"},"modified":"2026-05-12T15:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T15:04:08","slug":"earning-a-living-through-soulful-strings-of-sarangi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/?p=3486","title":{"rendered":"Earning a living through soulful strings of sarangi"},"content":{"rendered":"

KATHMANDU:<\/strong> In the rhythm of Nepal\u2019s highways and the hum of public buses, a 73-year-old man and his wife continue to carry a fading musical legacy across the country.<\/p>\n

Lok Bahadur Gandharva and his 60-year-old wife, Dalli Gandharva, have spent most of their lives playing the\u00a0sarangi<\/em>\u2014a traditional Nepali string instrument\u2014while singing folk songs to passengers on buses and microbuses.<\/p>\n

Originally from Tanahun district and now based in Butwal, the couple belong to the Gandharva community, long known for preserving oral traditions through music.<\/p>\n

Each morning, they set out from home, boarding different vehicles and performing for travellers along the way. Their songs\u2014often nostalgic and deeply rooted in rural life\u2014strike an emotional chord with listeners. For many passengers, the melodies evoke memories of home, family and the past.<\/p>\n

Voluntary donations from appreciative travellers remain their primary source of income. \u201cSome days are better than others, but this is how we\u2019ve sustained our household,\u201d says Mr Gandharva. Despite the uncertainty of daily earnings, the couple say their consistent efforts have allowed them to make ends meet.<\/p>\n

They have raised four children through this profession. \u201cBeing able to support our family through our own hard work is what matters most,\u201d says Mrs Gandharva.<\/p>\n

Over the years, their journey has taken them across Nepal\u2014from east to west\u2014offering not just performances but also a life of constant travel, human connection and cultural exchange.<\/p>\n

Yet, their story also reflects a broader challenge. With the rise of digital entertainment and changing career aspirations among younger generations, traditional practices like sarangi playing are increasingly at risk of disappearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our identity, our culture,\u201d says Mr Gandharva. \u201cWe will continue as long as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KATHMANDU: In the rhythm of Nepal\u2019s highways and the hum of public buses, a 73-year-old man and his wife continue to carry a fading musical legacy across the country. Lok Bahadur Gandharva and his 60-year-old wife, Dalli Gandharva, have spent most of their lives playing the\u00a0sarangi\u2014a traditional Nepali string instrument\u2014while singing folk songs to passengers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","override":[{"template":"2","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"1","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"no-crop","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0"},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"jnews_post_split":{"post_split":[{"template":"1","tag":"h2","numbering":"asc","mode":"normal","first":"0","enable_toc":"0","toc_type":"normal"}]},"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3486"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3488,"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3486\/revisions\/3488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nepalinewshub.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}