By Mannu Shahi

Jerusha Rai is a singer, songwriter and guitar player from the Nepali music scene based in the US. She started creating a buzz in the music industry around 2010-11 with some cover tunes followed by her debut melancholic indie anthem Oblivion.
This song opened a new dimension for her followers and extended her fan base further.
However, it was her debut album, 'A Dark Place To Think', that shook the entire Nepali music scene, as for the first time ever a Nepali female artist just in her mid-20s wrote, recorded, arranged, performed, produced and designed the cover art for the album all by herself.
The music industry here had never seen such an independent artist venturing on these many levels of multitasking before; whether a male or female.
And the songs each had specific stories to them, realms of fascinating characters, intellectually crafted musicality, rhythmic intensity influenced by Kiranti cultural practices and to top it all off an intensely authentic aura diverting the songs to a world only explicit to her artistic persona.
This was followed by her video releases of singles like Blest, Barud, Sunsann I, tracks that were later included in her second album, 'Sunsann'.
The nine-track album shows the artist collaborating with many different producer friends of her and also coming out with more Nepali lyric songs talking about serious issues concerning the Maoist war and its after effects on the people whose regular lifestyles were affected by the movement.
And even during this lockdown, Rai has been active through her social media pages raging voice against the caste hierarchy pre-dominant in the country till date.
She has been interviewing many social activists on FaceBook live as well as collecting funds for indigenous tribes victimized by the police brutality at Bharatpur, Chitwan.
This 20th September, Sunday Jerusha Rai will be going live talking about her journey as an artist, singer/songwriter and music producer as a part of The Sunday Sessions with Prateebha episode 10. Prateebha, a prominent journalist for 13 years has interviewed politicians, writers and individuals from various sectors of the country and has also contributed as a lecturer to the Asian Center of Journalism, Ateneo de Manila University for a decade.
Supported by Quoxote’s Cove and Book Bus Nepal this hour long show will start form 9 am onwards through QC Book Shop’s Facebook page. So don’t miss out some lovely morning music with tea and chat from one of the most inspiring Nepali musician in the contemporary scene.