Shiva Shankar Manandhar ( ne, शिव शंकर मानन्धर; 22 February 193214 November 2004) was a singer, music composer of Nepali songs and the chief actor in the first Nepali movie, '' Aama''. For nearly a half century beginning from 1950 to late 1990, his name has probably been mentioned more often in books, journals, lectures and conversations about Nepalese music than any other musicians. Singing and composing music for songs of love, tragedy, devotion (bhajan) and patriotism, he pioneered many of the genres of modern Nepali music. He has composed music for around 1,200 Nepalese songs. He himself sang about three hundred songs. For these contributions Shankar received dozens of prestigious national awards. Shankar was recruited to the service of the state-owned

Radio Nepal Radio Nepal ( ne, रेडियो नेपाल) is the state-owned Radio broadcasting organisation of Nepal. It was established 2 April 1951. Radio Nepal airs programs on short wave, medium wave ( AM) and FM frequencies. Regular broadcast ...

in 1951 by

Bal Krishna Sama Balkrishna Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana or Bala Krishna Sama ( ne, बालकृष्ण सम; 8 February 1903 - 20 June 1981) was a Nepalese dramatist. For his great contributions to Nepali literature, he was awarded the title ''Natya Sirom ...

, the pre-eminent playwright of Nepal. Soon he was tasked with exploring and mentoring new musical talent and overseeing the recording of songs in the studio for radio broadcast. Together with his colleague Nati Kaji, he made

an institution for breeding modern Nepalese music and songs. All Nepalese singers and musicians of the later half of the twentieth century came into prominence through this institution.

fostered not only the in-country musical talents, but also motivated several prodigious musicians of

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 blossom in Nepal. They included Amber Gurung, Gopal Yonzon,

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 ...

and several others. While working at Radio Nepal, Shiva Shankar composed music for many prominent Nepalese singers. These included Tara Devi (singer), Mira Rana, Nirmala Shrestha,

Gyanu Rana Gyanu Rana (Nepali: ज्ञानु राणा; born October 3, 1949) is a singer and a reality show judge, born in Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal. She wrote and sang popular Nepali songs like "Siri Ma Siri Ni Kanchha" and "Manchhe Ko Maya Yaha" w ...

Kunti Moktan Kunti Moktan (; ne, कुन्ती मोक्तान) (born 11 July 1962) is a Nepali singer. She is classically trained and sings Nepali folk and modern songs. She is best known for her folk–pop songs such as ''Choli Ramro'', ''Nis ...

, Ganga Malla, Puspa Nepali, Narayan Gopal, Prem Dhwoj Pradhan, Yogesh Vaidhya,

Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: * Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer *Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent *Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch * Udit Patel (born 19 ...

, Dhruba KC, Manik Ratna,

Deep Shrestha Deep Shrestha ( ne, दीप श्रेष्ठ) is a Nepalese singer and musician. Deep Shrestha is one of the coaches in ''The Voice of Nepal'' Season 1 (2018) and 2 (2019). "Jhaskiyecha Maan Mero", "Biteka Kura Le" and "Ma Ta Door Dekhi A ...

, Bhakta Raj, Bacchu Kailash, Rubi Joshi, and

Deepak Bajracharya Deepak (दीपक) is a Hindi word meaning lamp, from the Sanskrit source word for light. The name Deepak symbolizes a bright future. In the twentieth century, it became very popular as a first name for male Hindus. Names like ''Deepa'' (ma ...

. He composed music for prominent lyricists such as Ram Man Trishit, Kiran Kharel, Bhabuk, Yadab Kharel, Laxman Lohani, and MBB Shah (

Mahendra of Nepal Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until h ...

). Performing for fifty years, he helped Nepalese music attain popularity in what was termed the "Golden Age". Besides creating popular melodies, he also experimented with innovations in Nepalese music. He demonstrated how folk songs rendered with a few simple musical instruments could be enriched with an ensemble of modern contemporary orchestra instruments. The trend of modernization with the introduction of pop-style songs, which Shankar played a large role in starting, catalyzed the emergence of the present day full-fledged Nepalese pop songs. Although he pioneered changes and innovation, he always advocated for preserving the unique essence of Nepalese style, so that Nepalese songs would not be overshadowed by foreign songs and music. Shankar played the leading role of a "Lahure Dai" in the film '' Aama'' (''Mother''), the first Nepali feature movie, produced in 1964 (2021 BS) by the Government of Nepal. However, he did not pursue an acting career except for a few cameo appearances in documentaries. Nevertheless, he composed music for several movies in the early days of the Nepalese film industry.

Early life

He was born to mother Ram Maya and father Man Bahadur on 22 February 1932 in a Manandhar household of the

Newar Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation ...

community, in Pako, Newroad of

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

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. Man Bahadur Manandhar was a volunteer music teacher in the local community and taught classical Newari songs to the youngsters. Shiva Shankar's musical aspirations were probably inspired by his father's community activity. Unfortunately, his father died at a very early age. Shankar completed his secondary school education, but did not pursue any formal musical education before becoming established as a singer and music composer. In 1974, he pursued a graduate course in

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ''Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

at Kalanidhi Sangeet College in

Career

He took a job at Radio Nepal in May 1951 (2007 BS) and served there for the next 42 years. This was the period of his active creative life. For forty years, he composed and sang hit songs. From 1987 to 1991 (2043-2047 BS), he was the Executive Director of the Ratna Recording Corporation. He retired from Radio Nepal in 1996 (2051 BS). His post-retirement period coincided with the onset of commercialization in Nepalese music. He could not adapt to the glamour of commercialization and eschewed making commercial music. As with his contemporary colleagues in music, he remained virtually silent after retirement. In 2004, he fell gravely ill with terminal stage

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

. He died on November 14, 2004.

Personal life

He was married to Badri Kumari Manandhar at the age of 24 and had three sons: Gauri Shankar, Rabi Shankar and Shashi Shankar. None of them followed a career in music. Badri Kumari supported the family economically by running a family business. She died in September 1998.

Awards

''Note: all dates are in Bikram Samwat.''

Various national awards

* First Place in the All Nepal Music Competition – 2019 * Best Music Composition Awards – 2020, 2021, 2025 and 2027 * Mahendra-Ratna Abhushan – 2022 * Gorkha Dakshin Bahu 4th - 2035 * Chinnalata Award – 2043 * Gunaraj Music Award - 2043 * Trishaktipatta 3rd - 2053 * Nepal Motion Picture Award – 2056 * Supradipta Birendra Pajatantra Bhashkar 3rd – 2060 * Image Life-time Achievement Award - 2058 * Natikaji Memorial Award – 2061

Recognitions and honors

* Nepal Motion Picture Artists Union – 2050 * Sadhana Samman by the Shadhana Art Foundation – 2054 * Radio Nepal – 2055 * Golden Jubilee Samman of Radio Nepal – 2056 * Nepal Samman by the Sagarmatha Academy – 2057 * Kathmandu Municipality Ward 13 – 2057 * Ahwan Organization - 2057 * Mahadev Samman by the Keshav-Sushma Bhajan Guthi – 2058

Filmography

* '' Aama'' (Theme song, with Nati Kaji) * ''Manko Bandh'' (with Nati Kaji) * ''Kumari'' (with Chandra Raj) * ''Pachis Basanta'' (with Nati Kaji) * ''Shanti Deep'' (with Nati Kaji)

Broadway songs (''Geeti Natak'') and albums of situational songs

*'' Ashirbad (album)'' ("Farewell to Bride") - Lyrics: Laxman Lohani *'' Nalapanima'' ("Battle at the Nalapani Fort") - Lyrics: Bal Krishna Sama *''Parikshya'' ("Ordeal") - Lyrics: Tulsi Dibas *''Swongu Nagu'' ("Three Stars") - Lyrics: Durga Lal Shrestha *''Sulochana'' (Based on an epic poem) - Lyrics: Shyam Das Vaishnav (Not Staged)

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110823174958/http://onlinesahitya.com/magazine/readarticle.php?AID=2858 Online Sahitya : Truly Versatile Shiva Shankar * https://web.archive.org/web/20110904190639/http://shivashankar.org/ * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shankar, Shiva 1932 births 2004 deaths Actors from Kathmandu Newar Nepalese Hindus 20th-century Nepalese male singers Deaths from liver cancer Musicians from Kathmandu