Chandra Raj Sharma is one of the finest musicians that we have in the country. During his time, he was a popular and a well-known artist and much in demand.
He was born on Falgun 24, 2000 BS to Sangeet Shiromani Yagya Raj Sharma and Hom Kumari in Maitidevi, Kathmandu. Since childhood, he gave priority to music rather than his studies. He had started singing from then on and not only that he tried his hand in composing music from that time on. Now wonder! Seeing this, his father always used to be proud of him! In fact, since Chandra Raj Sharma had a keen interest in classical music, his father had made an environment to let him learn the art. Initially, he was none other than Yagya Raj Sharma who had given him the basic education in classical music.
Chandra Raj Sharma got married to Tara Bhandari in 2017 BS. They have two sons — Naresh Aryal and Sudesh Sharma. Their eldest son Naresh Aryal had worked at Radio Nepal for tentatively 20 years as a presenter and the other son Sudesh Sharma has introduced himself as a caliber singer and a musician in the Music Industry of Nepal.
During his time, Chandra Raj Sharma composed music for almost 350 modern numbers. He has also sung over 50 modern songs. He has a vast knowledge in melody therefore, during the time when he was in front almost everyone appreciated him. He had received the utmost knowledge in music from his father. Not only this, but he also went forward to get a formal education regarding the field. He has done BMusic from Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Illahabad. After completing his education in music until bachelors, he also finished his studies until BCom.
He did devote a part of life to Nepali music. Mostly, he has composed music for Giti Natak, Nirtya Natak and Nepali movies. It was after he did music for a Giti Natak –Muna Madan — that he became famous and people started knowing his talent and praising it. And, this was just the beginning! He has also composed a fine music for Giti Natak like Kunjani, Dhaney, Swotantra Ko Samman, Rajkumar Biswantar, Bhrikuti, Shree Krishna Lila, Satya Harish Chandra and Mutuko Byatha. He was also equally popular in the field of composing music for Nirtya Natak. Some of the Nirtya Natak for which he has done music is Satya Nag, Durga Awatar and Bhasma Sur. The movies for which he did music are Kumari, Jiwan Jyoti, Dharti Aakash, Shree Swastani and Bhanu Bhakta. Besides all of that, he has also done music for a Sok Kabya — Gauri –, written by Madhav Ghimire and which got recorded at the Radio Nepal.
Chandra Raj Sharma also worked at Rajkriya Pragya Pratisthan as a music teacher for few years. He has also taught music to numerous others outside Rajkriya Pragya Pratisthan. He also taught music for some period at Nepal Sangeet Mahavidhyalaya. He also served Ratna Kala Kunj (a cultural institution) as a secretary and also worked for Pradhan Natya Samuha as a musician. He has also served the Cultural Department of His Majesty then. He served the place for nearly 27 years and by the time he was retired, he held the post of a Music Chairman there.
Concerning music, he has traveled many places in Nepal and abroad like India, China, North Korea, Burma, Thailand, Japan, Russia and Germany. For his contribution to Nepali Music, he has been honored with awards like Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu and Shree Pach Birendra Subha Rajya Visekh Padak, Chinnalata Puraskar, Rastriya Pratibha Puraskar, Radio Nepal Samman, Sikshya Puraskar and Chalcitra Samman among others.
by
Narendra Raj Prasai
Nepali to English
Translated by
Dipti Sherchan
