Their official journey together began with the music video ‘Mayaloo’ in 2017. Nevertheless, Sharif Shrestha who danced in the popular musician Sajjan Raj Vaidya’s song met Sajjan in the year 2015 in the US.
Sharif is in Kathmandu these days, willing to explore the creative field, being in Nepal who talked about his first encounter with Sajjan, and he shared, “I had known him even before meeting him in person. But we came face to face when I went to meet him to get permission to use his music in a campaign to raise funds for Nepal, during the earthquake in 2015.”
Enduring Friendship
He said Sajjan was surprised and happy that Sharif asked for Sajjan’s permission to use the music. Sharif who is a Biochemistry graduate from Hamilton College found out that he is more into creative aspects than what he was studying. His meeting with Sajjan became fruitful to explore his creative endeavor and added, “Sajjan is a living proof that if you have the heart to create music, you can do it even without much financial support and by yourself.”
Likewise, on January 2, Sajjan released his first debut song in English —‘Somebody Else’ where the production team Downtown Flux comprising — Kailash Subedi, Sajjan Raj Vaidya, Saumya Karki, Sharif Shrestha, and Nurbu Lama — created a video, which has garnered more than four hundred thousand views till Tuesday.
About this music video, Sharif wrote in his Facebook account, “Still remember the day a few months back when @sajjanrajvaidya played me the first demo of “Somebody Else” for the very first time. I had a stable 9-to-5, had just gotten a promotion and was practically living in my dream city. But I was existentially and mentally exhausted because of an utter dissonance between what I did and who I was. It was easier to bottle this baggage up than truly embrace it, because questioning what I had meant I was ungrateful and years of working hard for it didn’t mean shit. I carried on without an outlet to the brewing frustration. Maybe that’s why at that moment when I heard the song, I actually teared up- it was cathartic.”
He added, “While this song describes a dwindling relationship with a partner, in my head, this song was portraying my relationship to myself. I am elated our vision and hard work are now going to be available for the world to watch and see.”
