Sayaun Thunga Phulka
"Sayaũ Thũgā Phūlkā" is the national anthem of Nepal. It was officially adopted as the anthem on August 3, 2007, amid a ceremony held at the conference hall of National Planning Commission, inside the Singha Durbar, by the speaker of the interim parliament, Mr. Subash Chandra Nemwang. The previous Nepalese national anthem, "Shreeman Gambhir", had been adopted in 1962, but it was dropped following the abolishment of the monarchy.
The lyrics of the National Anthem were penned by the poet Pradeep Kumar Rai, alias Byakul Maila. The music was composed by late Amber Gurung. The national anthem is simply worded, praising Nepali sovereignty, unity, courage, pride, scenic beauty, progress, peace, cultural and biological diversity, and respect. In August 2016, BBC ranked Nepal's national anthem third in its list of Rio 2016: The most amazing national anthems, citing its musical differences compared to other anthems.
Official lyrics in Nepali
| English translation | Singable English translation |
Spread sovereign from Mechi to Mahakali. ? A shawl of nature's wealth unending From the blood of the braves, a nation free and non-moving. A land of knowledge, of peace, the plains, hills and mountains tall Indivisible, this beloved land of ours, our motherland Nepal. Of many races, languages, religions, and cultures of incredible sprawl This progressive nation of ours, all hail Nepal! | Sovereignly extended from Mechi to Mahakali. ? Millions of natural beauties, history like a shawl Bloods of the braves make it free and immotile. Land of peace, knowledge in the plains, hills and mountains One-piece beloved country, motherland Nepal. Races, languages, religions, cultures in-credible Progressive nation, I salute Nepal-aa! |
Loose explanation
The following explanation is meant for capturing the true essence of the national anthem:"We Nepalis, from different lingual, racial, religious or cultural background are the individual flower of a whole garland of the Nepali race. We have always been sovereign and we are spread out from our territories of Mechi to Mahakali.
Blessed with Nature's millions gifts and blessed by the blood sacrificed by our Heroes, we are independent and are immovable - standing still with pride.
Nepal - the land where knowledge shines, the peaceful nation consisting of Terai, Hills, and Mountains - is indivisible. It is our beloved motherland and we shall preserve its sovereignty at any cost.
A melting pot of diverse races, numerous languages, and religions, Nepal is rich in its large diverse culture. We are a progressive people of the progressive nation and we don't look back - Jai Nepal!"
History
After the unanimous decision on May 19, 2006, by the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Nepal, the old national anthem was suspended. On 30 November 2006, the National Anthem Selection Task Team selected poet Byakul Maila's song as the new national anthem of Nepal. The new national anthem was selected from a total of 1272 submissions made from across the country. It was officially approved on 20 April 2007.On August 3, 2007, Sayaun Thunga Phulka was officially declared as Nepal's national anthem by the House of Representatives.
Criticism
In the screening process, Byakul Maila was required to prove he was not a royalist and encountered difficulties when it was discovered that he had once edited a book of poetry that contained a contribution from the king.Some of Nepal's Maoist rulers prefer a stronger, more revolutionary anthem akin to the communist L'Internationale, and even took their own CDs into the final selection meeting hoping to overturn Byakul Maila and Amber Gurung's effort.