We should be proud that Nepal has such a singer as Udit Narayan. That was what I used to think at least. But reading his interview in www.expressindia.com, it makes me feel how low our dignity as a country has fallen. No, I do not blame Udit Narayan. It is his rights and enjoyment not to claim Nepal as a home. I feel great that at least he claims to have got initial training in KTM (he called the trainers "local directors").

Citizenship changes, but not your birthplace. Mithila is a city in Janakpur, I believe. Mithila was a state back then some centuries ago, but Udit Narayan was born not a century ago.
It is a living loss to Nepal. Some how I can't help thinking all good people claim to be not from Nepal, but those stinking ones come back and run for municipality. Why do we stink, why does Nepal stink?
This should give us all Nepal a motivation: not to force a Nepali to be a non-nepali. Partly it is our failure to embrace the different peoples of Nepal totally. The ruling classes in Nepal should learn a lesson, especially in these hours of turbulence, from this interview alone. It is not Udit but the ruling classes and all intellectuals in Nepal who should learn Nepal.
To be honest, I also got my important job in my life in Mumbai, thanks partly to which I came to the US. I liked Mumbai, felt like people there are nice and I can actually understand Udit Narayan. Mumbai was my hometown too, but I guess I was still a Nepali.

Just a thought!

Guys,
u should understand, Hamilai pani Gopal Yonjan or Aruna Lama or any popular manchhe from Darjeling le Usko birthplace India bhaneko man pardaina.
Uniharule yedi aafulai Indian bhaneko bhaye, they wouldn't be popular as much, right?
Its the same case for Udit. He wouldn't be that popular if he would say that he is proud to be a Nepali, Right?
It is just for him to say he is an Indian.

No point arguing. If one is not happy then just send him hate mail or orgainse rally to condemn him !!!

sick nepali mentality! don't bother someone who does not want to be called nepali. like many said, he rocks as a playback and will continue to do so. if some nepalis are grabbing US citizenship (after struggling for many yrs), these nepalis are not nepali anymore, are they? they are US citizens. likewise udit did the same. why try and claim and say udit is a nepali? maybe he WAS and not anymore. who cares? if i like his voice, i'll listen to his songs, if not i won't. nationality does not matter.

Udit - voice only....

ssNY,

that's not udit's voice... i guess that's sonu nigam.
thanks for the music video though...

Even if I was mistaken, it was brought to you by Bush and Blair in the "gay bar"....

Forget about Udit narayan jha guys. Someday manisha koirala will become Indian citizen and will call herself Indian. and will say i was born and grew up in nepal and my grandfathers were primeministers of nepal but now i am indian.

Someone asked Udit Narayan about his nationality. He got emotional and showed his Nepali passport and said that if he considered himself Indian why would he be carrying a Nepali passport?

Regardless of his nationality, an artist is international, you cannot limit an artist to geographical boundries. An artist should not be judged on his nationality.

ssny, thank you for the song. I loved it. Udit's voice is just awesome, he is a great singer.
-Shiv

Michael J fox was Canadian, so was Peter Jenning. Russel crow is an Australian so is Nicole Kidman....So what does it matter where are they from? In this global economy and cosmopolitian society, what does it matter if someone from one country and not from other? Should I be proud or ashamed because I am from Nepal? why ?
Just enjoy Udit's songs and forget about where he went to school, early career, his ex girlfriends,or where he peed during his toddler years .....

O keta haru ho!, Udit nepali hos ki, Bengali hos ki, Indian hos ki Timiharulai ke matlab? Ke ramro singer bhayo bhandaima Nepali nai hunuparchha? Timiharulai Geet sunna paye bhayena. Timiharulai aap(mango) khana sawal chha ki aap ko bot ganna? Nachaido kura garer tension napara na yar. Pheri Nepali huda chai ke???? I am fed up with you guys. You people always talk nonsense.

There are boundaries in this world because of which you try to feel proud of something or somebody not available in other parts of the world. It might not be a good example, but today I called a hotel reservation company www.hotelcorps.com to buy a couple of tickets and a room for 2 nights to Disney World at some deal.
The operator asks:
O: Are you married?
Me: Yes
O: do you have kids?
Me: Yes, 2
O: Are you a US citizen?
Me: No, getting there soon
O:Which country are you from, then?
Me: Nepal
: These tickets are not available to you, Sorry, Hangup!

Apparently your origin does matter, to say the least. However global the economy is alone, you pay different prices depending upon your origin. Noe tell me about arts, artists and so on.
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There are institutions which care where you are from, there are governments who do, then why not care some folks care where Udit Narayn belongs!
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Should Manisha be exiled from Nepal, I'd not drop even a crocodile's tear. If she voluntarily opts for abandoning Nepal, so much the better.

testdirector,
You can go after Disney for such behavior. It is illegal to discriminate against immigration status or the country of origin. If you have a lawyer talk to him, if you dont have one find one who will take your case. Your lawyer will advise you of what to do next.

Keeping the reservation issue aside, of course it does matter where you are from but an artist cannot be bound to geographical boundaries. The talent of the artist takes them all over the world and they become public domain.
-Shiv

Greenmapletree silly Russel Crow is a New Zealander who claims to be an Australian.

Shiv,
Well yu are right probably, but I just let it go; I currently have other, more important things to do (including to find cheaper deals:-). I again agree theoretically artists are universal, but there are discriminations everywhere, including in arts and among artists, so I prefer to be realistic. Probably most world famous artists might have occasionally changed their citizenships but not tried deliberately to hide their birthplace. Again, as some folks have mentioned, it is Udit's business first and foremost, and also Udit needs to live and earn too, so he might have knowingly lied too. We should still consider Udit as ours, even if he himself does not any longer be called Nepali. He is a star singer foremost, but again for us nepalese a star nepalese singer. We should embrace him, like we embrace Budhha no matter what Budhha would have called himself if he had been alive now. I'd not consider Udit has betrayed us or let us down. It seems it is the other way round.
These are all realities mother Nepal has to witness and has not been able to do anything but look on. Many many Udit may have cursed Nepal in the past and will in future but is it not we Nepalese who should make our mother Nepal proud of herself rather than the other way round? There will certainly be a lot more Nepalese who may ask , "Why we should make Nepal proud when the whole world is getting smaller, more consolidate and intertwined and global?" But I'm sure if you ask an American, you are bound to get a proud answer. And another question I also ask myself, "Why do I care now that I'm changing my citizenship?" I wish I could make Nepal proud but I'm also fast disappearing into an oblivion. And another is, "Why should we Nepalese be successful? Why should I be successful when many other Nepalese are already successful?" What I personally see in these questions is a climax of pessimism rather than blissfulness.
Well forgive me if I sound a little senti, we need a thousand of successful, hard-working artists like Udit Narayan and I'd like to salute him. Our duty is to convince many many of those Udits that whatever they are doing will be counted, if not now, then in future as contributions to their motherland.

testdirector,
You have a jackpot waiting for you and are looking for a cheap tickets? Well you will have to do it your self and you wont be sorry. Once you complain (from lawyer) about this incident they will negociate and in the worst scenario you will get free vacation.

About Nepal, I hear you. I know it gets frustrating at times when we see Nepal going down the dranin but we cannot do anything other that chat here in sajha. I think you need to visit Nepal more often :-)
-Shiv

Haha, Udit Natrayn and my dad studied in the same college in Rajbiraj i think. My dad wasted him man, dharodharma!!! He used to use up all of udit's fancy deodrants or w3hatever, all of his fancy soap and what not. Dad says he was really hard wprking though and that he also helped him out with schoolwork but he was only interested in swimming. my mum's older sister went to bombay a while back and her whole family was welcomed by Udit. She says dood gets a ride in a limo and fancy cars, lives in a 2 storeyed penthouse in Bombay.
SPEAK OF CHANGES IN A MAN'S LIFE!

Artists like Udit make me proud. I have hard that he is humble and respects people regardless of his success.
I did meet him in person when I was in Nepal and I liked his personality. I wish him more success and luck. He deserves it.
-Shiv

I too had heard what Shiv says about him. I heard that he doesn't charge anything when recognized Nepali banners like Tulasi Ghimire etc ask him to lend his voice in their films. I had heard that he sings in Nepali films for free which tells me that he still feels tied to the "Nepalipan". Wish him everlasting prosperity and success.

Keep rolling...

yea, there are losers like Kamana publisher Puskhar Lal who think they can use 'nationalism' whenever they want. So they try to blackmail artists like Udit or on the other hand Niruta.

If we can be proud of Arnico who went to China and didn't come back, Bhrikuti or Sita who went and didn't come back, why not Udit?

Go Udit bro, make your life happy and be successful wherever you are. I for one will always enjoy this song:



पानी मुनी घुमाउने साँचो, नबोल्नी लाइ बोलाउनु के खाँचो ?
माया बैगुनी, नभइ नहुनि, हो माया बैगुनी नभइ नहुनि

हे हे हे, तिमी गयौ तर्केर फर्केर , म पनि आउदिन फर्केर्,
माया बैगुनी हे नभइ नहुनि

shree 5 ! if i was udit narayan, i would have charged for the songs to those film makers and donate the money to needed one in nepal....schools... hospitals...etc. i like his songs. he is the best of the best in bollywood from nepal.udit ji ! good luck chha hai sabai nepali daju bhai ko.falos fulos.