Krishna Narayan Shrestha is one of the finest living musicians in the Nepali Hindustani classical music tradition. Since in his early twenties, the 67-year-old maestro has won prizes in different Radio Nepal competitions and has been awarded the Gorkha Dakshin Bahu IV. In 1950, he joined the newly established Radio Nepal and rose to the post of musical director before his retirement at the age of 60, in 1987.
Among the more well known of his former students are the harmonium player Govinda Kipu, the dilruba player Uttam K.C., and the singers Bhakta Raj Acharya and Sunita Subba. He took some time off teaching to talk to Himal in his small room, crowded with instruments, at his family home in Patan Sundhara.
It was my father's wish that I learn music. He was inspired after hearing an Indian ustaad who could play many different instruments, like jaltarang and tablatarang. He came to Nepal to play at Chandra Shamsher's palace. My father went with my Guru-to-be, Shri Ganesh Lal, to hear him. He was so taken with the ustaad's playing that he told Guruji that my mother was expecting and that, if she gave birth to a boy, the boy would be totally under his instruction.
When I was old enough, my father took me to Guruji — not to learn music for my living, but purely because of his interest in music. I stayed with Guruji until he died, at the age of 72. Even though music was my father's interest, it eventually became my profession, because I spent so Jong at it and had so little chance to study anything else.