This week I am listening to “Ma Sadhai” by Axata Singh, a song that I used to love performing back in the day, long before I started writing my own songs. There are lots of memories associated with this song, including my early performing days in Canada, when I used to play for community events, film festivals, and fundraisers organized by the Nepali community in Toronto, and this song was an absolute crowd favourite :).
Growing up in Toronto was an enriching experience, characterized by its vibrant beauty and multicultural atmosphere. Despite the relatively small local Nepali community at the time, influential figures like Yogendra dai, Sabin dai and Surendra dai played pivotal roles in supporting and inspiring Nepali youth. They encouraged the exploration of cultural heritage, the nurturing of connections to our roots, and the promotion of intellectual growth through values centered around idealism and activism, all aimed at fostering ongoing community development and progress.
I still have memories of being a teenager digging into Nepali music sites for hours, downloading songs, and learning how to sing and play them on the guitar. This was well before the YouTube era, so to find beautifully written Nepali pop songs back then was extremely challenging and rare, especially to find songs sung by female artists.
I had the honour of tracking down the original singer-songwriters and getting permission to sing and upload a full acoustic version of this song a few years ago (check the link in my bio under “unplugged”). Originally recorded in 2002, written by Bhasker Rai (Xmarica), and produced by Kashish Das Shrestha, this song is an absolute gem.
Here is my rendition of “Ma Sadhai” by Axata Singh.
#masadhai #axatasingh #bhaskerrai #kashishdasshrestha #songsthatmademe
Listen to the original here:
