Shanti Thatal () is an Indian music composer and singer,, known for her works in Nepali film industry. She has more than 200 songs to her credit, including music for several Nepali films. She is the first female music composer of the Nepali film industry.

Personal life

Thatal was born on 4 April 1938 in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Ne ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

to father Manu Singh Thatal and mother Chandra Maya Thatal. She initially learned music under the mentorship of Shiva Prasad Singh and Bhanu Ghosh. She did her schooling at St. Teresa School, Darjeeling and went on to complete her bachelor's degree in music. Later she moved to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

to learn music at

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...

. After returning to Darjeeling, she joined the Himalaya Kala Mandir, a music, arts and drama institute in Darjeeling, and also learnt music from

Amber Gurung Shree Amber Gurung ( ne, अम्बर गुरुङ) (26 February 1938 – 7 June 2016) was a Nepalese composer, singer, and lyricist. He composed Nepal's national anthem, "Sayaun Thunga Phulka". Early life Amber Gurung was born in Darj ...

. The legendary Nepali singer

Aruna Lama Aruna Lama (9 September 19454 February 1998) was an Indian-born Nepali language singer from Darjeeling. She is popularly known as 'Nightingale of the Hills'. She sang hundreds of Nepali songs, including some for Nepali film, and left an indel ...

was her best friend. She considered

Gopal Yonzon Gopal Yonzan, also spelled Yonjan, (26 August 1943 – 20 May 1997) was a Nepali lyricist, singer, and composer. He was known for his patriotic Nepali songs. His voice range allowed him to sing songs of every genre of Nepalese music. He belongs ...

and

Karma Yonzon Karma Yonzon is an Indian composer of Nepali music based in Darjeeling. He is the brother of musician Gopal Yonzon. He has composed music for numerous singers like Narayan Gopal, Aruna Lama Aruna Lama (9 September 19454 February 1998) was ...

as her favourite musicians. She also started teaching music at Kendriya Vidhyalaya. After her education, she moved to

Gangtok Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's populat ...

, Sikkim to join a government job. She became a Director at the Culture Department of the Sikkim government. Music remained her passion. Shanti Thatal never married. She now lives her retired life in Darjeeling.

Music

Initially, Shanti was a singer. She composed the playback music for Ishwor Ballav's musical play (gitikatha) called ''Yeuta Nilo Suryasta'', after which she gained fame as a music composer. She went on to score music for the Nepali films '' Paral Ko Aago'' (1978) and '' Bachana Chahane Haru'' (1982). Some of her well-known songs are ''Mayalu Ley Samjhe Ki Kaso'', ''Udi Jaun Bhaney Mo Panchi Hoina'', ''Dherai Chubul Nagara'', ''Samhalera Rakha'', and ''Chaubandi Ko Toonama''.

Awards

She was awarded the Master Mitra Sen Smriti Award for Music in 2002 by the Sikkim government. She was felicitated with

Jagadamba Shree Puraskar Jagadamba Shree Puraskar () is an award given for contribution to Nepali Language, Literature, Art and Folk Culture Field. It is awarded to a person or an organization who has contributed in the field of Nepali language, literature, art or folk c ...

in 2020 for her contribution to Nepali music.

References

External links

Music of Shanti Thatal

Samhalera Rakha (Album)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thatal, Shanti People from Darjeeling Indian musicians Living people 1938 births Indian Gorkhas Jagadamba Shree Puraskar winners Rabindra Bharati University alumni Women musicians from West Bengal Nepali-language singers from India

Personal life

Music

Awards

See also

References

External links