Devkota is a popular name in the Nepali lok-dohori scene. The singer started his musical journey with the album Jeevan Bhayo Urath Bagara in 2006, which was well-received by the audience. After that, there was no looking back for Jay. Till date, the artiste has already released 23 albums, and has sung around 150 songs in total. He recently released a record on the occasion of Teej, titled Nachau Didi Bahini, and is now gearing up for a Dashain release. Rajita Dhungana caught up with the talented singer to talk about his life as a folk musician and his other interests. Excerpts:

How do you find the Nepali lok-dohori scene?

The Nepali lok-dohori scene is improving gradually, but it’s difficult to make a living by selling albums alone. There is so much piracy going around. So, we (folk artistes) mostly release one or two songs at a time. If they are liked by the audience, we are invited for stage performances. That’s the only way to survive in the industry. It all depends on how many musical programmes one gets.

What kinds of music do you listen to?

I mostly like to listen to lok-dohori. Raju Pariyar and Bishnu Majhi are two of my favourite singers. I also listen to hindi music sometimes.