Ani Choying Drolma (born 4 June 1971), also known as Choying Dolma and Ani Choying (''Ani'', "nun", is an honorific), is a Nepalese

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

nun of Tibetan origin and musician from the Nagi Gompa nunnery in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. She is known in

and throughout the world for bringing many

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

chants and feast songs to mainstream audiences. She has been recently appointed as the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to Nepal.

Early life

Ani Choying was born on 4 June 1971, in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, to Tibetan exiles. She entered

monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...

life as a means of escape from her physically abusive father, and she was accepted into the Nagi Gompa nunnery at the age of 13. For a number of years, the monastery's resident chant master (who was trained directly by the wife of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche) taught Ani Choying the music that she is famous for performing.

Musical career

In 1994, guitarist Steve Tibbetts visited the nunnery and eventually recorded much of the Tibetan music with Ani Choying on two albums. The recordings, titled ''Chö'' and ''Selwa'', were released to critical acclaim. Tibbetts and Ani Choying embarked on small performance tours, which included shows at several historical Tibetan monasteries.

Discography

#Chö (1997) (with Steve Tibbetts) #Dancing Dakini (1999) #Choying (2000) #Moments Of Bliss (2004) #Selwa (2004) #Smile (2005) #Taking Refuge (2006) #Inner Peace (2006) #Time (2007) #Aama (2009) #Matakalaa (2010) #Inner Peace 2 (2010) #Mangal Vani (2011) #Clear Light (2012) # Zariya - Ani, A R Rahman, Farah Siraj— Coke Studio (Season 3) at MTV (2013) #Rebuilding with Love World Tour

Humanitarian work

Ani Choying has been involved in several humanitarian works. She has advocated the need for an official Earth Anthem for the planet supporting the efforts of Indian poet-diplomat

Abhay K Abhay Kumar en Name Abhay K.(born 1980) is an Indian poet-diplomat and currently serves as the Deputy Director General of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi. He served as India's 21st Ambassador to Madagascar and Comoros fr ...

in this direction. She was part of India Inclusion Summit where she delivered a heart-warming speech.Spreading Cheer with Magic Wand of World Music
KnowYourStar.com, 27 March 2015.

Book

She published her autobiographical book Phoolko Aankhama in 2008. The book has been translated into 14 different languages.

References

External links

Official websiteNPR: Buddhist Nun Shares the Sound of Music
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drolma, Ani Choying 1971 births Living people Tibetan-language singers Tibetan Buddhists from Nepal People from Kathmandu Nepalese people of Tibetan descent Performers of Buddhist music 21st-century Nepalese women singers Nepalese Buddhist nuns 20th-century Buddhist nuns 21st-century Buddhist nuns Six Degrees Records artists 21st-century Tibetan women singers