Entertainment

Pradhan and friends play for Nepal

Adrian Pradhan, the former lead vocalist of the rock band 1974 A D, has been involved with numerous charity musical programmes in the past. Pradhan and friends play for Nepal

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Published at : May 28, 2015

Adrian Pradhan, the former lead vocalist of the rock band 1974 A D, has been involved with numerous charity musical programmes in the past. Pradhan, along with his musical troupe, Adrian & Frendz, was invited to India three weeks ago to perform at a charity programme for earthquake victims in Nepal. The Kalimpong-born versatile artist shared the stage with renowned Indian artists and Kalimpong-based singer Bipul Chettri on May 8 and May 10 at the DLF Cyber Hub, Gurgaon, India. The event was sponsored by the Hindustan Times. Since then, Pradhan and his musical crew have been raising funds for quake victims by playing at other places too. This week, Pradhan performed in Seoul, South Korea. Pradhan is now scheduled to travel to other parts of Nepal and will also perform in Darjeeling. The Post’s Anup Ojha talked to Pradhan over Viber about the musician’s relief work. Excerpts:

Earlier this month, you performed at a programme in Gurgaon with renowned Indian artists to raise funds for the quake victims back in Nepal. How did that go?

It was one of the greatest moments in my musical career. I got a chance to perform with Farhan Akhtar, Parikrama, Vishal Dadlani, Indian Ocean, Soulmate, Eshaan Noorani and many other legendary Indian musicians. It was an unforgettable experience. It felt really good to see such noted artists from India performing for the sake of the quake-affected Nepalis. I really appreciate their coming together for this cause. As for me, I felt that it was time for me to give back to my country, whose people have given me so much over the past 20 years. What I am doing now is what every Nepali needs to do—help the nation pull through.

How did the concept of participating in fundraising programmes come up?

I personally wanted to do something for the quake victims. I was planning to do a charity show, and then I got this invitation from Sonam Sherpa, the lead guitarist of the Indian rock band Parkirama. Sherpa was the one who came up with the idea for the Gurgaon event.

How much money did the concert raise? How did you get the money to the earthquake victims?

I am informed that we raised Rs 480,000. The money was handed over to the quake victims through Save the Children. We also performed in Seoul this week, but we don’t know how much we raised there yet.

Where will you be touring next?

Adrian & Frendz is travelling to Kalimpong, along with Parikrama, to perform there on June 7.

We will keep doing what we can musically and I believe that people will connect through our music; and we will do our best to collect funds for the quake victims. We want to heal them through our music too.

Where were you when the Great Earthquake shook the country? What did you do?

I was at home with my family, and it was the scariest moment of my life. All my family members and relatives are safe. When I learned about the scale of destruction, I was deeply saddened. When the whole nation goes through hard times, it hurts everyone a lot.

Your message for the Nepalis who are going through difficult times?

I ask all of you to be strong and not to lose hope. This is a time of crisis, and we all need to help each other.