Sita Maiya Rajchal is not much taller than the sitar she plays – standing, by the way, which is unusual for a sitarist. “No one performs the sitar standing,” she told someone, outside on the patio behind Yeti Restaurant in Glen Ellen. Rajchal, a Nepali musician and professor, has been playing sitar, which is also an unusual instrument in Nepal, for more than two decades. But unusual doesn’t seem to bother Rajchal, who hopes a modern twist on traditions can keep a classic instrument and its music relevant to a younger generation. “If people don’t come to learn, it won’t be alive in the future,” said Rajchal.
Rajchal has been visiting from Nepal for two months, a guest of Yeti owner Narayan Somname, himself from Nepal. The two met when she was playing in a café owned by a mutual acquaintance and Somname invited Rajchal to play in his restaurants in Glen Ellen and Santa Rosa, which she has been doing throughout September.
When she was a child growing up in Bhaktapur, Nepal, her father, who she describes as a “music aficionado” enrolled the family in vocal lessons and soon Rajchal began performing locally. After receiving a diploma in Formal Music from Tamrakar Music Training Center and a gold medal from then-queen Komal Shah for her competency, she began to learn to play music as well.