Sayaun Thunga Phulka

"Sayaũ Thũgā Phūlkā" (Nepali: सयौँ थुँगा फूलका, pronounced [sʌjʌũ tʰũɡa pʰulka]; lit. ' Made of Hundreds of Flowers') 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.[1][2][3] The previous Nepalese national anthem, "Shreeman Gambhir", had been adopted in 1962, but it was dropped following the abolishment of the monarchy.[4]

Sayaũ Thũgā Phūlkā

English: 'Made of Hundreds of Flowers'
सयौँ थुँगा फूलका
National anthem of    Nepal
Lyrics	Byākul Māilā
Music	Amber Gurung, 2007]
Adopted	3 August 2006
Preceded by	“Shreeman Gambhir”
Audio sample
"Sayaũ Thũgā Phūlkā" (instrumental) file help

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.[5]

Official lyrics in Nepali

Devanagari (official)	Romanisation	IPA transcription
𝄆 सयौँ थुँगा फूलका हामी, एउटै माला नेपाली सार्वभौम भई फैलिएका, मेची-महाकाली। 𝄇 प्रकृतिका कोटि-कोटि सम्पदाको आँँचल वीरहरूका रगतले स्वतन्त्र र अटल। ज्ञानभूमि, शान्तिभूमि, तराई, पहाड, हिमाल अखण्ड यो प्यारो हाम्रो मातृभूमि नेपाल। बहुल जाति, भाषा, धर्म, संस्कृति छन् विशाल अग्रगामी राष्ट्र हाम्रो, जय जय नेपाल।[6][7][8]	𝄆 Sayaũ thũgā phūlkā hāmī, euṭai mālā nepālī Sārvabhaum bhai phailiekā, Mecī-Mahākālī 𝄇 Prakṛtikā koṭī-koṭī sampadāko ā̃cala, Vīrharūkā ragatale, svatantra ra aṭala Jñānabhūmi, śāntibhūmi Tarai, Pahāḍ, Himāla Akhaṇḍa yo pyāro hāmro mātṛbhūmi Nepāla Bahul jāti, bhāṣā, dharma, sãskṛti chan viśāla Agragāmī rāṣṭra hāmro, jaya jaya Nepāla!	𝄆 [sʌjʌũ tʰũɡa pʰulka ɦami | euʈʌi mala nepali] [saɾvʌbʱʌum bʱʌi pʰʌilieka | metsi-mʌɦakali] 𝄇 [pɾʌkr̥itika koʈi-koʈi sʌmpʌdako ãtsʌlʌ] [viɾɦʌɾuka ɾʌɡʌtʌle svʌtʌntɾʌ ɾʌ ʌʈʌlʌ] [dzɲanʌbʱumi | ʃantibʱumi tʌɾai | pʌɦaɖ | ɦimalʌ] [ʌkʰʌɳɖʌ jo pʲaɾo ɦamɾo matr̥ibʱumi nepalʌ] [bʌɦul dzati | bʱaʃa | dʱʌɾmʌ | sãskɾiti tsʰʌn viʃalʌ] [ʌɡɾʌɡami ɾaʃʈɾʌ ɦamɾo | dzʌjʌ dzʌjʌ nepalʌ][9]

English translation[8]

Singable English translation[10]

𝄆 Woven from hundreds of flowers, we are one garland that's Nepali 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!

𝄆 Woven from hundred flowers, we are garland Nepali 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 (Pratinidhi Sabha) of the Kingdom of Nepal, the old national anthem was suspended. On 30 November 2006, the National Anthem Selection Task Team (NASTT) 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.[11]

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.[12]

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.[12][13]

See also

• Rāṣṭriya gān

References

1. Nepalnews.com Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd
2. eKantipur.com - Nepal's No.1 News Portal Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
3. officially declared as the new Nepal national anthem on August 3, 2007
4. Marshall, Alex (2015). Republic or Death! Travels in Search of National Anthems. London: Random House Books. pp. 33–63. ISBN 9781847947413. The Maoists...when they did finally agree peace, deciding to work within the political system after the public started protesting against the king in Kathmandu, one of their terms was that the anthem be changed.
5. "Nepal's national anthem third in 'The most amazing national anthems'of world. list". Republica. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
6. ‘व्याकुल माइला’ को एउटै मालामा अँटिएका हामी नेपाली
7. गुन्जियो नयाँ राष्ट्रिय गान – BBCNepali.com, 2007
8. Dowling Club Overseas Trip Fellowship Report, Nepal (April 5-14th, 2019), By Dr. Nav Paul
9. The transcription is based on sources from Nepali phonology and Nepali language. See also Help:IPA/Nepali.
10. National Anthem of Nepal, Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka
11. People's Daily Online - Nepali cabinet approves new national anthem
12. Marshall, Alex (1 August 2012). "Olympics 2012: The secrets behind national anthems". BBC News. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
13. Marshall, Alex (2015). Republic or Death! Travels in Search of National Anthems. London: Random House Books. p. 53. ISBN 9781847947413. I was asked to press play when one of the ministers brought out his own CD. He'd brought his own song to play. I couldn't believe it!

External links

• BBC News has articles in English and Nepali about the new anthem, with a full vocal recording in the latter version.