Astha Tamang-Maskey : a Singer on the Rise

Living

Being a music addict, I often find myself at concerts and gigs, swaying to the rhythm of live musical performances. On one such occasion I was at Alliance Française, attending a jazz musical show when I first became familiar with the name Astha Tamang-Maskey. The girl with the guitar caught my attention and after a few searches on the internet, her song started appearing on my playlist. Almost two years have elapsed since the event but very recently I got to meet her in person. She was 10 when she started singing, 14 when she discovered the songwriter in her and 15 when she recorded her first song. Now at 20, she has an album, “Sabai Thikai Hunchha” and a growing number of independent singles under her belt. With both of her parents involved in music, she grew up in music and eventually fell in love with it, but never had she thought that she would take it up as a career. Yet here she is, standing as one of the best musicians of the Nepali music industry and carving a niche in the global music scenario.


Astha Tamang-Maskey is a Nepal born Canadian resident. As a child, she was the ‘good girl’ who used to do all that she was told. She was the perfect child who was good at studies and took part in extracurricular activities. She spent the first 12 years of her life in Nepal after which she went to Toronto. “Canada is fast paced whereas Nepal is laidback,” says the songstress who loves both the countries equally. However big a star she may be, she is still a normal girl. On a typical day, she wakes up at around 8, takes a shower and goes to school where most of her day is spent. She plays with her little brother or hangs out with her close circle of friends during her free time. She loves to have long telephone conversations and as she isn’t a television person, she turns on the internet. She also listens to music and writes a song or two. Her day is incomplete without music.


When she was younger, her relatives and parents used to coax her to sing because she was good at it; but it wasn’t until she was 19 that her musical career officially took off. She got a chance to come to Nepal which she promptly took and it proved to be the turning point in her life. Once she was in Nepal, she started doing little circuits around the town and Astha Tamang-Maskey became quite a popular name. A year in Nepal was a major experience for learning and exploring. After a recorded album and faithful crowd of fans she went back to Toronto and updated her collection via YouTube. Now she is back in Nepal and plans on doing a round of shows and release two videos ‘Sabai Thikai Hunchha’ a nepali song and an English song.


Astha Tamang-Maskey credits her best moments to the days when she had just started writing songs; times when she is performing; and to the moment when after a performance someone comes up to her and says that they could relate to her song. The bubbly musician faces her life with the mantra ‘be positive’. No matter what the situation may be like, she always manages to draw up the positivity and manages to stand through it. A music career is the hardest thing because it is financially upsetting at times and makes you want to give up, but during those darker times, Astha remembers an advice given by her close friend-‘Never ever give up. The second you give up might be the moment where you could have made it.’


Astha describes herself as a workaholic, who is often a bit harsh on herself, and would like to change her habit of neglecting herself health wise and mentally. After doing music for so many years, she ‘definitely’ wants to take it further and has no plans otherwise. ‘People have a hard time finding their passion, I was lucky to have found mine and I am going to stick to it,’ the passionate singer asserts. She wants to be a successful, well-known musician but at the end of the day she wants to be remembered as a person with a good heart because that is important.


Her music is a way of expression, a language that is a voice for her feelings. She pens down her sentiments into her songs and each of her songs is a part of herself and her true personality. Her favorites are always her current compositions for she can relate the most to the recent ones. “I am a normal, regular girl who likes to write and sing songs,’ says this down to earth girl who doesn’t want to be  treated differently. During her time in Kathmandu www.kgarira.com will be handling her events and if you want to contact her or know more about this versatile singer, you can always visit www.asthamusic.com.