Profile

Sugam Pokharel was born on September 20, 1979 in his hometown Biratnager. He was born to Yeknath Pokhrel and Shardha Pokhrel. He has four siblings and is the youngest in his family. His elder brother Sunil Pokhrel is also quite an established name in the theatre circles. During his early days, Sugam was an introvert and always preferred spending time on his own. He informs, "And it is no different now! I never could make myself to hang around with the opposite sex. To be honest, I used to be shy with them around. That must be the reason why I landed up having only a handful of female friends. I don't know why but that is the way I am.

He received his basic education at Mini Land Boarding School, Biratnagar. However, he doesn't even have the slightest memory of the number of schools he changed during his childhood. Somehow, he managed to complete his School Leaving Certificate from Sishu Sadan School, Biratnagar. To continue his studies further he came to Kathmandu and got admitted at R R College from where he completed his studies till Intermediate Level. After which, he joined Tri Chandra Campus where he studied till the third year with humanities as his majors!

ENTRY INTO THE MUSIC SCENE

While still of a tender age, he always loved playing in his own compound with the Radio playing in the background. Since Hindi songs were the 'in' thing those days, he enjoyed it. In fact, since his school days, he had a passion for music. After some years, along with some of his friends from school he formed a band called 'Spokes'. "Though I was already involved in music, I realized that some sort of a training was essential and went ahead for it!" Though, he has been in the music scene since 1996, it was only in 2001 that he accomplished his dream. With the concept of 'One Man Band' as in '1MB' he cut his first solo album 'Sunya'. So far, he has released three albums, the latest being 'Sutra'.

Some of his songs like "Pheri Tyo Din" and "Mero Sansar" among many others have been hugely successful and since then there has been no looking back. "Since 'Sunya' -- (my very first attempt to make myself noticed in the Music Industry) was well received, I was determined to do even better in each of my ventures. I took the initial success as a responsibility and that I should never let my fans down along with the expectations of my well-wishers. Every step I take, I am challenging myself and trying to improve my skills and my talents." remarks Sugam.

So far, he has performed at many solo programs in Darjeeling and Kalimpong but till date has not done so in Kathmandu due to various reasons. "There was talk about it but because of certain unavoidable circumstances we were not able to go ahead with the plans!"

Critics claim that his style of singing and his pattern has a touch of western influence. He takes his stand and clarifies, "I compose music according to the demand of my songs and what they speak about. I want to create something different from the rest and that is the reason why my songs and my music have a different flavor!"

In 2003, Sugam was honored by 'Hits FM Music Awards' with the 'Best New Artist' title along with nominations for the 'Best Album of the Year'. At the last 'Image Awards' he succeeded in getting into the nomination category of 'Best Pop Singer'. These are just to name a few. He elaborates that people behind his success are none other than the listeners, his fans and his well-wishers. So, far he has been releasing one album a year and informs that it would be no different in the coming years. "I enjoy being involved in the media and music, and intend to continue with it in the coming years as well!"

BESIDES MUSIC

Sugam is also a radio jockey and has been hosting the programs -- 'Naya Pusta' and 'Nawa Rang' at Sagarmatha FM 102.4. He is also a video jockey and soon he will be seen on Nepal 1 with a program called 'Maya Ko Dori'.

LOVE/ MARRIAGE

"I believe that love is a feeling which unites people from everywhere. I take it as Khaye Pani Pachtaune Nakhaye Pani Pachtaune. I knew Liza Ghimire -- my wife for the past six years and our affair continued for four years. We got married on July 2, 2002.

To begin with, our affair started with a simple phone conversation. We had common friends and she saw my phone number in our friend's diary. Apparently, she liked my name and started calling me and as they say, the rest is history! We now have a daughter. She was born on July 2, the day of our fourth marriage anniversary.