Namaste, and welcome! I’m Bigyesh Nepal, a sitarist, musician, researcher and educator from Kathmandu, Nepal, currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Music has been a constant presence in my life for as long as I can remember, although my journey into it has taken a few unexpected turns.
I grew up in the heart of Kathmandu, where I spent the first half of my life. My musical journey began in my teenage years when I picked up the guitar at around sixteen, inspired by my deep devotion to rock and heavy metal music. As I explored music through playing and listening, my interests gradually expanded to psychedelic rock, blues, jazz, world music and other experimental sounds. I was particularly drawn to the improvisational freedom of the blues, where music could unfold spontaneously.
My encounter with the sitar happened almost by accident. I came across Pandit Ravi Shankar’s Raga Jogeshwari. I was captivated by its emotional depth, intricate musicality and extraordinary technical sophistication. Although I was somewhat familiar with the sound of sitar from Bollywood and devotional music, this was something entirely different. The experience left me curious about the instrument and the world of raga, and I began searching for a teacher who could introduce me to it.
That search led me to my guru, Maestro Tara Bir Singh Tuladhar, with whom I began studying sitar through private lessons. Initially, I imagined learning the fundamentals and eventually incorporating the instrument into my own musical experiments. However, studying Indian classical music opened up a much deeper world than I had anticipated. The more I learned, the more I realised how much remained to be explored. For me, raga music has become not only a lifelong musical pursuit but also a process of self-discovery of immersion and improvisation.
Alongside my private lessons, I pursued formal music education at Tribhuvan University in Nepal, majoring in sitar and eventually completing a master’s degree in music performance. Over nearly two decades of playing sitar, I have continued to explore Indian classical music while also looking beyond its conventional boundaries. My musical interests extend to collaborations and experimentation, bringing the sitar into dialogue with other genres and musical ideas. My background as a guitarist and my continuing curiosity about diverse musical traditions inform how I approach performance, improvisation and creative expression.
Sharing music has become an important part of my journey. Through teaching sitar, I hope to help others discover the instrument, develop their musical understanding and find their own relationship with its rich traditions. Whether you are beginning your musical journey or looking to deepen your existing practice, I believe learning music is an ongoing process of curiosity and exploration.
My interest in music gradually extended beyond performance into research. I became increasingly curious about how music is learned, how traditions are passed between generations, and how communities sustain their musical practices as society changes. This led me to pursue a Master of Music Research at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, where I researched Dāphā, a traditional devotional music practice of the Newar community in Nepal. I am now pursuing a PhD at Monash University, exploring music as intangible cultural heritage and the role of cultural policy in sustaining traditional musical practices.
For me, performance and research are not separate worlds. Both offer ways of listening more closely, asking questions and understanding the meanings music holds for people and communities.
Today, I continue to bring together my interests in performance, musical exploration, teaching and research. Whether through playing the sitar, working with students, collaborating with other musicians or studying musical traditions and their futures, I remain driven by the same curiosity that first drew me to music.
Thank you for taking the time to visit my website. I hope it offers a glimpse into my musical and academic journey, and perhaps becomes a starting point for a conversation, a collaboration or a shared musical experience.