"Song of Loyalty to the Homeland" appears on a cassette bearing the title Modern Tibetan Folk Songs by a group calling itself Rang-tsen Shon-nu, "Youth for Freedom," or "Young Once Pro-Independence" - independence, obviously, from China. Musically, the group is perhaps best comparable to Simon and Garfunkel. Tibetan lyrics are accompanied by acoustic guitars rather than traditional Tibetan instruments. The recording has been available for several years in Tibetan refugee communities. In Tibetan restaurants and private homes, the sound of the Rang-tsen Shon-nu trio has become nearly as omni-present as photographs of His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV - the Precious Protector, the Wishfulfilling Gem. And yet, since the members of the group live as far apart as Darjeeling, Delhi, and Dharamsala - truly vast distances in a country like India - public concerts are few and far between. Tied down by their respective jobs, singer Ten-dzin Cho-sang and guitarists Tse-ring Pel-jor and Nor-bu Cho-phel manage to meet only at intervals. They have recorded a second collection of modern Tibetan folk songs, due for release in the near future.
In an unpublished interview, Nor-bu Cho-phel was questioned about the choice of the trio's musical medium. For Western audiences, wasn't this soft rock with overtones of light Nepali folk music somewhat passé? Wouldn't awareness of Tibet's sad fate be served more effectively by a heavy metal approach - or at least require some solid reggae, with aggressive English lyrics? Author-musician Nor-bu Cho-phel insists that this does not correspond with the function of his band:
We are addressing the Tibetan public, and as far as singing goes, Tibetan is the only language we have mastered. Others do combine traditional Tibetan folk with synthesizer and so forth, and that, too, may work: but further mixing this with English lyrics, by Tibetan performers like ourselves, so easily leads to pidgin song that invites ridicule abroad, rather than sympathy. Better be humble, then, and be really effective in one medium. All the more so since it works: Our songs have been extremely well received by the Tibetan community all over. In line with the name and actual purpose of our group, we seem, at least to some degree, to achieve our goal of keeping alive the undying flame.
The interviewer then asked the musician whether by "the Tibetan community all over" he meant the exile communities, which would explain the group's opting for a modern expression. Cho-phel replied, "I suppose you haven't been to Tibet? Some of our songs, and one in particular, are all over Tibet! Go and find out for yourself."
This last statement seemed hard to believe, especially in light of Stephen Batchelor's preface to The Tibet Guide:
A few days after arriving in Lhasa we were visiting the Potala. Many Tibetans were there and I was glad to be able to speak freely with them. However, that same evening a Tibetan man called on us in our hotel. He explained that he had been at the Potala that morning and had overheard some of the remarks that I had made, in particular my use of the term Bogi rang-tsen (Tibetan independence). He warned me never to use that phrase again. "Were someone in authority to hear those words," he told me, "you would be taken away and shot." Although I could not recall having used that phrase, from then on I was not only more careful of what I said, but more aware of the reality of the Tibetan situation, which is
...
Read Full Article
|
