Dipendra Khaniya is an established media personality. The same Dipendra Birkta Khaniya who probably came to the capital Kathmandu from Nawalparasi for a bright future. He started his professional journey from the Book Corner in Bagbazar. Since he was very interested in the media sector, many media persons were his friends. In this process, I also met him in the same Book Corner.After some time, he went to the vegetable market in Bagbazar in the morning and collected information about the daily vegetable market prices and informed them through the community radio Sagarmatha, that is, he got the opportunity to join the media sector. After this, his career journey in the media sector began. After that, he started working as a media person established in the Communication Corner in Kupandol. Khaniya was ambitious in nature. In this process, around 2060 BS, he expressed his desire to open an organization working in the media sector under his own chairmanship. We supported him and an organization called Saathi Sanchar Nepal was born. In this organization, I was accompanied by various media personalities including famous comedian Manoj Gajurel, Navin Dahal, Amardhwaj Lama.
Sometime after registering Sathi Sanchar Nepal, I got permission to operate an FM radio called Radio Audio with the help of my friend Sashindra Gautam. He started the work of establishing a radio station on the fifth floor of a commercial building in Baneshwor, Kathmandu. Since I was staying nearby, he would call me from time to time during the construction of the radio station and I would go. He would consult me about the layout design of each room and the design of the studio. I remember that the owner of that house would suggest that the first thing to do before building anything else was to put up a radio tower. It was clear that the owner of that house also seemed happy about establishing a radio station.
In this way, I would spend 6 days a week at Radio Nepal and every Saturday morning with the same Khaniya. An old mother and her 2 daughters would run a tea shop on the roadside in Baneshwor Chowk from 4 am. We used to spend every Saturday morning drinking tea and discussing various things.
Later, the radio station was ready and the idea of operating a radio station in a separate genre was made. It also came into the limelight as a comedy radio. After the radio was operational, the employees would request to send employees when necessary. I would send friends I knew to work there. Later, when I moved from Buddhanagar, Kathmandu to Balkot, Bhaktapur, my trips to Kathmandu started to become less frequent and my meetings started to decrease. Later, he also built a house in Gamcha, Bhaktapur. It was in this Bhaktapur that we started meeting.
In a one-day meeting, Dipendra Khaniya told me that he had sold his house in Bhaktapur and bought land in Anamnagar and built that house to live with the radio and himself in the same place. Later, when the house was ready, he invited me to his house, but I never got to go.
A different kind of radio station that makes everyone laugh, a journalist friend Dipendra Khaniya (Dipendra Birkta Khaniya), who made a different identity by operating a different kind of radio station, did not even realize that he was getting bored inside. Maybe if he had shared this problem with us, he would not have had to leave this world?
May God rest your soul in peace.
Tribute
दिपेन्द्र खनिया सञ्चारकर्मीको रुपमा स्थापित ब्यक्ति । उहि दिपेन्द्र विरक्त खनिया जोे सायद नवलपरासीबाट सुन्दर भविश्यकोलागि राजधानी काठमाण्डौमा आए । बागवजारको बुक कर्नरबाट आफ्नो ब्यवसायिक यात्रा शुरु गरेका थिए । सञ्चार क्षेत्रमा खुव रुचि राख्ने भएको कारण थुप्रै सञ्चारकर्मी उहाँका साथी थिए । यहिक्रममा मेरोपनि त्यही बुक कर्नरमा उहाँसंग भेट भएको थियो ।
केहि समयपछि बिहानै बागवजार स्थित तरकारी बजारमा गएर हरेक दिनको तरकारी बजार भाउको जानकारी संकलन गरेर सामुदायिक रेडियो सगरमाथमा मार्फत जानकारी गराउने अर्थात सञ्चार क्षेत्रमा आबद्ध हुने मौका पाउनु भयो । यसपछि शुरु भयो उहाँको सञ्चार क्षेत्रमा कर्मयात्रा । यसपछी कुपण्डोल स्थित कम्युनिकेशन कर्नरमा स्थापित सञ्चारकर्मीको रुपमा कार्यगर्न थाल्नुभयो । महत्वाकांक्षी स्वभावका थिए खनिया । यसैक्रममा २०६० सालतिर आफ्नै अध्यक्षतामा सञ्चार क्षेत्रमा कार्यगर्ने सस्था खोल्ने इच्छा ब्यक्त गरे । हामीले साथ दियौ र साथी सञ्चार नेपाल नामक सस्थाको जन्म भयो । यस सस्थामा म लगाएत चर्चित हाँस्य कलाकार मनोज गजुरेल, नविन दाहाल, अमरध्वज लामा सहित विभिन्न सञ्चारकर्मीको साथ थियो ।
साथी सञ्चार नेपाल दर्ता गरेको केही समय पछि मित्र सशिन्द्र गौतमको सहयोगमा रेडियो अडियो नामक एफ.एम. रेडियो सञ्चालनको अनुमति पाएको सुनाए । काठमाण्डौको बानेश्वरमा एक ब्यापारिक भवनको सायद पाँचौ तलामा उसले रेडियो स्टेशन स्थापनाको कार्य शुरु गरे । म नजिकै डेरा गरि बस्ने भएकोले सो रेडियो स्टेशन निर्माण कालमा बेला बेलामा मलाइ बोलाउथे र म जाने गर्दथे । उहाँले हरेका कोठाको लेआउट डिजाइन देखि स्टुडियोको डिजाइनको बारेमा सल्लाह लिने गर्नुहुन्थ्यो । मलाइ याद छ सो घरका मालिकले अरु बनाउदै गर्नु सबैभन्दा पहिला रेडियोको टावर राखिहाल्नु भनेर सुझाव दिन्थे । यसले प्रष्ट हुन्थ्यो त्यो घरको मालिकपनि रेडियो स्टेशन स्थापनामा खुशि देखिन्थ्यो ।
यहि क्रममा मेरो हप्तामा ६ दिन रेडियो नेपालमा र हरेक शनिवार विहान उनै खनियासंग बित्ने गर्दथ्यो । बानेश्वर चोकमै विहान ४ बजेदेखी एक बुढी आमा र उनका २ छोरी मिलेर सडकपेटीमा चिया पसल चलाउनु हुन्थ्यो। हामी त्यहि चिया खादै विभिन्न कुरामा छलफल गर्दै बित्ने गर्दथ्यो हरेक शनिवारको विहान ।
पछि रेडियो स्टेशन तयार भयो र छुुट्टै विधामा रेडियो संचालन गर्ने सोच बनायो । त्यो हाँस्यव्यंग्य रेडियोको रुपमा पनि चर्चामा आयो । रेडियो सञ्चालन पछि कर्मचारीहरु आबश्यकता हुदा कर्मचारी पठाउन अनुरोध गर्ने गर्दथ्यो । मैले चिनेजानेको साथीभाइहरुलाई त्यहा कामगर्न पठाउने गर्दथे । पछि मेरो बसाइ बुद्धनगर काठमाण्डौबाट बालकोट भक्तपुर भएपछि काठमाण्डौको यात्रा मेरो पातलो हुनथाल्यो र भेटघाट कम हुन थाल्यो । पछी उहाँपनि गामचा भक्तपुर तिर घर बनाएर बस्नु भएको रहेछ । यहि भक्तपुरमा नै भेट हुन थाल्यो ।
एकदिनका भेटमा दिपेन्द्र खनियाले भक्तपुरको घर बेचेर अनामनगर तिर जग्गा लिएको र त्यहि घर बनाएर रेडियो र आफु एकै ठाउँमा बस्ने निर्णय सुनाए । पछि घर तयार भएपछि घरमा आउने निम्तो त दियो म कहिल्यै जान पाइन ।
फरक धार त्यो पनि सबैलाई हसाउने विधाको रेडियो सञ्चालन गरेर फरक पहिचान बनाएका सञ्चारकर्मी साथी दिपेन्द्र खनिया (दिपेन्द्र बिरक्त खनिया) आफु भित्र भित्र बिरक्तिएको थाहनै भएन । सायद यो समस्या हामीलाई साझा गरेको भए उनले यो संसार त्याग्नु पर्दैनथ्यो की ?
भगवान तिम्रो आत्माले शान्ति पाओस ।
श्रद्धाञ्जली