“My mother was always supportive,” she says. “My father was a bit skep­tical at first but eventually he too started supporting my choice.” Her father’s initial reluctance was more due to her young age than anything else. Coming home past mid­night frequently is still a big no for Nepali teen­agers, especially girls, but her job called for just that. “After a point, my par­ents were kind enough to even re s c h e d u l e my household chores and our family time to accommodate my late night shows,” she adds.

As she has an older brother who is also a musi­cian, Rachana took to music early. But she discovered her potential much later. “I believe everyone’s a musi­cian. They just need to dis­cover their potential,” she says. “Likewise, I think I was born to do music. I would easily catch lyrics and mel­odies of songs from an early age.” Her earliest memory with music is singing the whole “Sweet Child of Mine” by the American rock band Guns N’ Roses to her par­ents when she was in Grade I. She also participated in music concerts in school and was among only a handful of female classmates to take up music instead of dancing. But singing was not her first choice. Dahal wanted to play guitar and at the age of 16 got enrolled into a l o c a l m u s i c institute. The teachers there discovered her singing skills and she got the opportu­nity to perform in her “first real con­cert.”

“I felt a sense of empowerment while singing in that show and I was showered with appreciation by everyone when I left the stage,” Rachana says. “It was then that I started think­ing of myself as a singer and decided to up a career in music.”

Rachana then started sing­ing covers with local bands. She performed in various ven­ues in Kathmandu, honing her skills while also earning a decent bit to make her finan­cially independent. But when the music started feeling like work and she saw low respect given to a cover artist, she decided it was time she worked on her orig­inal music.

With her guitar and vocal skills and the ability to pen lyrics and melo­dies, Rachana quit the cover music scene and started composing her own songs. She released her debut song/music video “Bhumari” in April 2019. The song about how a relationship can get toxic over time and how that toxicity takes a toll on mental health brought Rachana into the limelight and introduced her as a serious indie music artist.

“I write about my feel­ings and experiences,” the songstress says about her music. “I imagine myself in different situations and write songs accordingly.” While continuing music is her goal, Rachana does not expect much in return besides gratitude. Her uncompromising attitude to her music will not let it be dictated by financial pres­sures. “I’m also doing wed­ding management to help my financial situation,” she says. “I plan to take forward both these careers” O

Rachana will be perform­ing at The Annapurna Express Music Festival 2 on February 8 at Tangalwood, Naxal