Unless you are an avid follower of musical bands of Nepali alternative rock genre, you are most likely to hear about “Monkey Temple” for the first time. Formed in 1998 with a bunch of St.Xavier’s high school students, they made their way into the music through the then rising underground music platform. In fact, Monkey Temple is one of the first alternative rock bands in Nepal. The one thing that sets Monkey Temple apart from other contemporary bands is that it is the first ever Nepali Band to be featured on MTV India. It’s most popular song “Anumati” from the album Shades of Grey was aired on the MTV India.
The band’s founding members were Sareen Deoja on Vocals, Subodh Gurung on Guitar, Devasish Yonjan on Drums and Sanjay Rana on Bass Guitar. However, with most college-days bands, the inevitable happened with the Monkey Temple as the members took their separate ways in life to pursue their higher education and career. Their first album “Black Bee and the Flower” was released in 2002 after which they took a decade long break until Sareen Deoja brought the band back to life again.
Ten years was a long time and it was very difficult to get the band back in original lineup. Sareen decided to carry on the Monkey Temple legacy with new members, making a comeback with the band’s second album “Shades of Grey” in 2012. The lineup included Sareen on Vocals, Prajwal Bhattarai and Srijan Bikram Gewali on Guitar, Samrat Shah on Bass and Pratap Risal on Drums. This lineup also didn’t last more than a couple of years.
Releasing their third album in 2015, titled with the band name “Monkey Temple” itself, the new lineup consisted Sareen himself on Vocals, Dipesh Shrestha on Guitar, Pratap Rizal on Drums and Jenish Maharjan on Bass, which has remained intact ever since. The same lineup released their fourth album “Ajambari” in 2019. Sareen Deoja was the only founding member who never gave up on the band and kept it alive for more than two decades, and probably more to come.
Monkey Temple is one of the few successful Nepali Bands in both the national and international arena. Sareen’s voice has that unique flavor of rock and melody which expresses the vibe of the song. The solos and riffs along with the percussive bass rhythms adds to the authenticity of the band.
It’s never too late to start listening to Monkey Temple.
You are never too old for Alternative Rock.
