Rajamati

Rajamati
Directed by Neer Shah
Produced by Prabhakar Bikram Rana and Laxmi Narayan Newa:
Written by Durga Lal Shrestha and Ramshekhar Naka:mi
Starring Hisila Maharjan
Shree Krishna Shrestha
Maniraj
Madan Krishna Shrestha
Hari Bansha Acharya
Release dates
  • 1995 (1995) (Nepal)
Country Nepal
Language Nepal Bhasa

Rājamati (1995) (Nepal Bhasa: राजमति) is the second big screen film to be made in Nepal Bhasa.[1] The first Nepal Bhasa movie is Silu, released in 1987.

Rajamati is about a luckless Newar girl named Rajamati from Kathmandu who gets involved in a series of failed relationships. The story is based on a 200-year-old ballad popular in Newar society.[2] Rajamati was born at Taha Nani in Itum Baha, a historical and sacred neighborhood in central Kathmandu.[3][4]

Cast

Hisila Maharjan as Rajamati, Shree Krishna Shrestha, Maniraj, Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya.

The song

The song "Rajamati" is one of the most popular songs of the Newars. It also gained fame because it was played by a guard of honor during the state visit of Prime Minister Jung Bahadur to England in 1850.[5] Maestro Seturam Shrestha made the first recording of the song on gramophone disc in Kolkata in 1908. Prem Dhoj Pradhan made another recording on 78 rpm gramophone disc in 1964.[6] Since then, it has been recorded by many artists.

In the song, a love-struck man tells how much he desires Rajamati, and that he will go to Kashi (Varanasi) and become an ascetic if he doesn't get to marry her. Then he describes her curly hair, long eyes, fair complexion and moles on the cheek.

The song then mentions three sunken waterspouts in Kathmandu, Thanhiti uptown, Kwahiti at the southern end and Maruhiti in the center (near Kathmandu Durbar Square);[7] and how Rajamati, who had gone to Maruhiti to fetch water, tripped on a large stone and fell flat on her back.[5]

The singer then laments how Rajamati was given away in marriage over her protestations because of a devious matchmaker, and how she ended up in a house without a decorative window.

References

  1. ↑ "Rajamati". Nepali Movies. 29 April 201. Retrieved 29 July 2011. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ↑ Bernstein, Sam (2000). Collecting Chinese art. S. Bernstein & Co. ISBN 978-0-9638932-6-0. Page 76.
  3. ↑ "Kathmandu kaleidoscope". Walking tours. Kathmandu: MD Publishing Co. 2000. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  4. ↑ "Know your city". The Kathmandu Post. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 Lienhard, Siegfried (1992). Songs of Nepal: An Anthology of Nevar Folksongs and Hymns. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas. ISBN 81-208-0963-7. Page 42.
  6. ↑ "Prem Dhoj Pradhan". Artist Nepal. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  7. ↑ "Traditional stonespouts". NGO Forum - Nepal. 2011. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
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