Raju Lama

Mongolian Heart sings its heart out

by MALIN GURUNG

FROM ISSUE # 165 (September 2009) | IN THIS ISSUE
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ANUP PRAKASH

For an eight-album-old artist who has spent over 15 years in music, Raju Lama is a revelation. He is tender, polite, almost meek showing no signs of his celebrity stature but at the same time, he is also a media-man, always appositely speaking ready for anything you throw at him. We caught up with Raju to talk about Mongolian Heart's latest offering Raju Lama Mongolian Heart Volume 5.

"We've come a long way from the humble beginnings," says Raju, fresh out of the photo-shoot. "Even after releasing so many albums, I am equally apprehensive when releasing anything new, as if it is my first," he adds owning to the failure of his first album. But this time, Raju has double the reason to be scared, "The whole lineup of the band has changed. So, this album is akin to my first release," he adds.

But at the same time Raju is also very happy about the album's outcome. It will  have a total of 11 songs (nine on audio cassettes), each of them written and composed by Raju himself. The band has been gradually evolving with each of its albums during the past years but this album clearly marks Mongolian Heart's arrival in the truest sense. This time, the songs are different, but not overtly so that they lose out the band's well-charactered charm and flavour.

"I try to push myself further and I am always up for change," says Raju. He reveals that he 'cracked' his voice recording for the high-pitched, Sufi-esque track Maaf Garideu. This is only a part of the album's lineup, which is as diverse as chalk and cheese. From Sufi, there is a 600-year-old Tibetan folk song Rinzin Wongmo, which, Raju informs is rumoured to have been written by the 6th Dalai Lama himself. Then there is the Kirati folk song titled Sumnima and also a duet Timro ra Mero while Yo Manma cha Nepal has a patriotic feel to it. The first single from the album Halla Chalecha is already receiving good airplays. The song talks about how the media profiled him during his recent US stay and also the pain of living in a foreign land. "This one is very personal," he adds.

When queried on what inspires him to write songs, he replies that he is a very moody songwriter. "It just falls in to place," says he. About his personal life, Raju silently reacts with a sly grin. He asks for input from his band members who declare him as a 'jolly' person.

Good camaraderie between a frontman and the band members is key in any band's success, and in Mongolian Heart's case, it seems to just ooze out. Raju is unabashed in praise for his new band members and says they are more mature who take the craft more seriously and that he is more in comfort with them than his previous members.

Raju Lama Mongolian Hearts Volume 5 releases this month.