SATV, Kathmandu, Sept. 5: When Nirmala Ghising sings abroad, she carries more than songs with her. She carries a language, a culture, a history and the collective experiences of a community.
From the small villages of Makawanpur to international stages in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Europe and the Gulf countries, Ghising has spent years taking Tamang Selo beyond the geographical and cultural boundaries in which it developed.
Tamang Selo is a musical tradition of the Tamang community, known for its distinctive melodies, rhythms and lively performances. For Ghising, however, music is not simply a profession or a form of entertainment. It is also a responsibility—a medium through which messages and identity can be passed across borders.
Her repertoire includes romantic and popular Selo songs as well as songs addressing historical injustice, exploitation, migration, gender and the struggles of marginalised communities.
This combination has made Ghising one of the artists helping establish Tamang Selo in international spaces. She has performed hundreds of Tamang Selo and other songs, travelling from one country to another and connecting audiences with the cultural world of the Tamang community.
For Nepalis living abroad, particularly members of the Tamang community, her performances often become more than musical events. They become occasions to reconnect with language, culture and memories of home.
Among the songs she performs is one written by Bhupal Rai and composed by Bharat Lama. The song questions the historical relationship between the Tamang community and the construction and development of Kathmandu, while also asking what the community gained after generations of labour and sacrifice.
She has sung numerous popular Tamang Selo songs, including Guransai Phulne, Pingai Maya, Silphool and Hoi Chyangba. She has also lent her voice to songs dealing with the pain of migrant workers, including Kasle Banayo Dajai Udijane Bus.
Ghising grew up in a small village in Makawanpur. Her childhood was not marked by formal musical training or abundant opportunities. Instead, music entered her life naturally through her family and community.
She grew up listening to her grandmother, mother, uncles and aunts singing at home. Outside the home, she heard villagers singing while working in fields, forests and hills.
“I was interested in singing and performing from a very young age. We grow up in the Tamang community listening to songs and music both at home and in society,” she says.
She began singing at village gatherings and school programmes. She also participated in occasional events held in the village. These small platforms gradually gave her the confidence to develop her voice and pursue music more seriously. Ghising does not view her international journey simply as an individual achievement.
“Since I have invested all my energy, time and dedication in the arts, I feel happy to be able to reach international platform together with Selo songs,” she says. “Selo has become the medium that has brought us here.”
Her international performances have helped introduce Tamang music to new audiences while providing diaspora communities with opportunities to reconnect with home.
Her concern about the commercialisation and distortion of Selo also reflects her desire to protect the tradition and preserve its cultural identity.
Ghising plans to continue contributing to Tamang music in the years ahead. She hopes her work will inspire younger generations to remain connected to Tamang culture and carry its musical traditions forward.
