Manose

"There is probably no one who has taken the bansuri more places and given it a greater expressive range." –India Currents

Manose's hometown, Boudha, Nepal stands on the ancient trade route leading from the Himalayan mountains down into the Kathmandu valley. It is just upriver from Nepal's most holy Hindu temple, and is home to an important Buddhist shrine.

Here eight-year-old Manose fell in love with the bamboo flute one night when a breeze wafted its song through his window. Truly, the sound of the bansuri is seductive. It has a resonate quality that mimics the human voice. And because it is not valved like a silver flute, its potential for subtle expressiveness is practically limitless.

He purchased a two-rupee flute from a street hawker and began to carry it with him in his school bag where it vied for space with his favorite sling shot. His real relationship with music began when Manose heard about an old man who played haunting music on the shenai. That man, Madan Dev Bhatta, a disciple of Ustad Bishmilallah Khan, initiated Manose into the study of classical raga music, often known as North Indian classical music.

At the same time, Manose began to collect cassettes by flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia. To augment the lessons he was getting from Bhatta, Manose would play the cassettes again and again, trying to copy what he heard, often practicing five or six hours a day. "I wanted to learn," says Manose. "I wanted to have something."

Now, as a performer in a variety of genres from raga, to Nepali folk, to fusion rock, his sound has matured into something at once ethereal, powerful, and playful.

He is widely recognized as Nepal's premiere flautist and is the recipient of national awards including instrumentalist of the year. And even while living in the United States, he still manages to be a vital part of the music scene back home. His music videos air regularly on Nepali TV, he is a member of one of the county's most popular rock bands, 1974AD, and he is a regular participant in Nepal’s fledgling jazz festival, Jazzmandu.

In the United States, Manose performs and records with Grammy-nominated fusion artist Jai Uttal, The Chicago Children’s Choir, singers Krishna Das and Deva Premal, tabla maestro Swapan Chowdary, and blue grass great Peter Rowan. He is also a member of the New Maihar Band, an ensemble created by living legend Ali Akbar Khan. He has performed in Canada, France, England, Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

Quotes

What transpires when Manose puts his lips to a flute is supernatural... hypnotic, sacred, seductive, simple, air through bamboo. –Los Angeles Yoga

There is probably no one who has taken the bansuri more places and given it a greater expressive range. –India Currents

The sound of Manose's flutes, are the sound of the Gods... there is a direct link. If you're open to it, they will speak through him. –John Densmore (The Doors)