For someone who is considered a pioneer of abstract expressionism in Nepal, Kiran Manandhar is abstract about his craft. At age 68, Manandhar does not see the need to explain himself, or his art. His bold and vibrant brush strokes on canvas capture movement in the temporal and spatial planes. “I still do not understand what is abstract, there is no way to define it,” Manandhar told us while showing us around his exhibition. “Sometimes, even before I decide what I am about to create, a drop of colour hits the canvas. That’s the beginning of a dialogue.”&nbsp; The ongoing exhibitions are bursting with the products of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/art-for-arts-sake">Manandhar’s lively palette and wide imaginings</a>. The visuals are quick to grab the visitor’s attention, but the emotional depth lingers longer.&nbsp; In his series, Women, what initially look like distorted, animalesque forms reveal themselves to be powerful abstractions of the essence of womanhood. It is all there: strength and vulnerability, nurturing and rebellion, solidarity and sorrow, compassion and love.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250807090820_0152fa0ff18278c9bdec0710052244332deb3b4eaf030071df4eeab890610776.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250807090820_0152fa0ff18278c9bdec0710052244332deb3b4eaf030071df4eeab890610776" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Kiran Manandhar"> </figure>  The works portray the patriarchy, and how Nepali women have become each other’s pillars. The <a href="about:blank">complexities of womanhood </a>are often best understood only by women themselves, but Manandhar seems to have the heart, mind and eyes to explore them artistically. Several pieces from the Women series and Manandhar’s other artworks, are currently on display across Kathmandu Valley in the <a href="https://mona.com.np/">Museum of Nepali Art</a>, <a href="https://kathmanduarthouse.com/">Kathmandu Art House</a>, Kathmandu Guest House and Patan Museum. The exhibitions honour the maestro’s five decades of artistic exploration and features not just his iconic works, but also represent a timeline of his life journey. As a child, Manandhar used to accompany his mother to the Bishnumati River, which at the time was clean and wide. During her evening puja, he would watch the flicker of votive lamps as they floated down the dark waters. &nbsp; Later, he sculpted sand figurines on the banks or rendered flowers in watercolour. Painting soon became a passion, but the young Manandhar was a rebel: rigid schools never held his interest and he preferred to roam by the river. Growing up without a job, he survived on little, searching for free meals outside mosques, and spent hours fishing and observing life unfold around him.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250807090816_774263f821feba7a3353ac2959d24d7e2e306a00f91ccf3a9f34cfedb33cac51.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250807090816_774263f821feba7a3353ac2959d24d7e2e306a00f91ccf3a9f34cfedb33cac51" data-rendition-name="original" width="1499" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Kiran Manandhar"> </figure>  He ended up in Varanasi. He remembers sleeping on railway platforms, eating leftovers from garbage piles and being beaten and chased away by the police. Yet, in letters home, he wrote that he was staying in hotels and dining lavishly.&nbsp; “No one rises easily in art. There’s always struggle, pain, and relentless effort,” he reflects. “Almost every artist has had to fight their way up.” Eventually, he enrolled in Banaras Hindu University and &nbsp;earned both a BFA and an MFA in painting. As he came to his own, Manandhar began exploring the broader Nepali art scene and travelled to France, Germany, and Japan for art programs and residencies.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250807090820_c19ed015bc1ba7f1fb90c329c7fb45d60066288631631f9ed472c14a0d5ebd2a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250807090820_c19ed015bc1ba7f1fb90c329c7fb45d60066288631631f9ed472c14a0d5ebd2a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Kiran Manandhar"> </figure>  Along the way, he imbibed influences of contemporary movements in art but was mostly drawn by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/review/Manandhar-fourth-exhibit-Nepal,2641">expressionism</a> in a cubist style — but infusing it with influences of his Nepali roots. Manandhar has plenty of heartfelt advice for younger artists: “One reason art hasn’t progressed as much as it could is that we often dismiss young people and their potential. Wisdom is hoarded instead of shared. But these learnings must be passed down.” Which is exactly what he seems to be doing with his multiple exhibitions around the Valley. TUG-O-WAR Manandhar describes his creative process as a playground with three players: colours, canvas, and himself. From that moment, the painting unfolds on its own terms. He begins to see possibilities and builds upon them, even as he is caught in a constant, dynamic tug-of-war. What emerges from this push and pull are masterpieces. “As soon as I see colours or even think of painting, I’m completely consumed by it. My only fear is: what if one day there are no more colours? What if one day I cannot paint anymore?” His Aatma Series takes us on a spiritual journey. The aatma (soul) transports visitors somewhere beyond the visible to unknown terrain. In Aatma IV, we are pulled into a hypnotic spiral, falling into Manandhar’s own Bermuda triangle of emotions and abstraction.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250809060824_1bfea0c248ecca3d8543f7e9e77b71eb756be4b9aab65f46ed197561ea3edc50.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250809060824_1bfea0c248ecca3d8543f7e9e77b71eb756be4b9aab65f46ed197561ea3edc50" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="6000" loading="lazy" alt="KIRAN MANANDHAR"> <figcaption>Aatma IV</figcaption> </figure>  His Ganesha paintings take a more serene approach with soft curves and muted tones that emanate wisdom. In contrast, the Bhairava radiates the raw ritualistic energy of a mask dance. Both are deeply rooted in Nepali tradition, yet boldly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/painting-a-painter">contemporary in expression</a>. Then there are the Self-Reflection and Untitled works perhaps intentionally open-ended. Viewers will find human forms, birds, fleeting figures, and swirling emotions scattered across canvases and lokta paper with acrylic, oil pastels, charcoal, and mixed media.&nbsp; Even by Kiran Manandhar’s standards this is as abstract as art can get. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; KIRAN Till 18 September&nbsp; 10am-6pm Museum of Nepali Art Kathmandu Art House&nbsp; Kathmandu Guest House&nbsp; Patan Museum

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Kiran Manandhar in the abstract

American artist Peter Makela was in Nepal in 2022 on a Fulbright scholarship when he experienced the Matya festival in Patan in which devotees made the rounds of the city’s shrines.&nbsp;
He joined the procession, walking through 2,600 stupa and 140 bahal of the town. That immersion left a lasting impression.
As part of Gallery Mcube’s international residency program in Patan, he put his inspiration to canvas in the exhibition Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping. The exhibition also coincides with this month’s Matya festival.&nbsp;
Makela has visited Nepal often in the past 11 years but he mostly stayed in and spent his time around Boudha. “This time I stayed in Patan, put the sites I wanted to visit on my map, and off I went,” he tells us. “Each of my artwork is inspired by the stupas and shrines in Patan that I visited.”
The stupa and Ganesh are recurring motifs in his watercolours, and the elephant gods are located in chaityas — reflecting the interplay and blending of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths in Kathmandu Valley.&nbsp;
The stupas and Ganesh are painted in vivid red, yellow, blue and green against abstract backgrounds meant to represent the sky.
“I use the sky as a backdrop because the sky has no border,” says Makela. “The four colours represent the four elements, the different Buddha families and also lights bouncing off of a rainbow.”
The use of just four colours for all the artwork stands out, and combined with the absence of heavy canvases, frames or stands render Makela’s art striking in its simplicity.&nbsp;
The Ganesh is always holding something and the art also portrays the elephant god’s sacred vehicle, the mouse.
While his vibrant stupas and Ganesh reflect the tangibility of Patan’s tradition and heritage, it is as if the backdrops with their shades of grey and red and yellow capture the soul of the city’s shrines.
“If you look closely, there is a sense of form and formlessness at the same time,” he says.&nbsp;
Makela walked 108 kora around the shrines during his exploration of the town, and in the process developed a spiritual connection with Patan’s heritage and traditions.&nbsp;
The exhibition connects with visitors on a deeper, more spiritual, level as well. And with it, they feel a sense of pride as well as the need to urgently preserve Patan’s heritage for future generations.
“Peter’s inclination and approach towards Nepali art and culture is fascinating, and it reflects in his work,” says Mcube curator Manish Lal Shrestha, whose international artist residency program promotes Nepal’s cultural heritage. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping
1-5 August&nbsp;
10AM-7PM
Gallery Mcube, Patan

Walking, working, worshipping in Patan

Duthik: Stories from Dolpo at The Kala Salon is Chering Gyaoo Gurung’s ode to his homeland of Dolpo using its native textiles and jewelry. It is also an urgent call to preserve the region’s culture, eroded by encroaching modernity, migration, and a changing climate. ‘I have always loved the textiles of my home, and these, along with the lapis, coral and other minerals used in our jewelry, have inspired my art,’ writes Gurung in his artist’s statement. The famous Dolpo blankets, weighty, richly coloured with linear patterns, hang alongside his paintings in the Salon, on the top floor of the Chhaya Center in Thamel. One of the blankets is his grandmother’s. “It almost still smells smoky, since we only use firewood,” says the soft-spoken 25-year-old. Dolpo in the trans-Himalaya is to the north of the Dhaulagiri range. Most people, incluyding the artist’s family are pastoralists, herding 100 yaks, goats and sheep. Many families also collect yarsagumba, and at one point that would make enough money to last the year, but not anymore. “From Dolpo, it is pretty unheard of to pursue art,” says Gurung, who is not traditionally trained in thangka like other Himalayan artists like Tsherin Sherpa or Dorjee Karmarong. But his passion for art showed early, when he came to Kathmandu at five to study.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250723080712_be467c0e9b9f2fd01148efb464a1c785b8c9ba66f09dd8308c311859a3682a9d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250723080712_be467c0e9b9f2fd01148efb464a1c785b8c9ba66f09dd8308c311859a3682a9d" data-rendition-name="original" width="667" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The fabric of society"> </figure>  “In Dolpo, we used to go to school for six months and work with our parents for six months. An aunt suggested that I might as well get some tuition during this time off. Once I came to Kathmandu, we found French sponsors and I stayed here to study,” recounts Gurung. Gurung lived in a hostel and studied under that sponsorship until grade ten. He got support from home for further studies until a bachelor’s in art, which he only finished two years ago. In the meantime, for him, art was a hobby he was good at, he would often win at competitions that this school took him to. Following graduation, many of Gurung’s peers did a lot of commission work and got burned out, while he received residencies, allowing him to stick to his own process and ideas, subsequently developing a style and a voice of his own. Gurung was the first of his family to move to Kathmandu like he did, and while that has led to a blossoming art career, he is wistful about the life he left behind. “The people I left behind lived sort of a perfect life in the village,” he says, even as it is clear herding yaks would not have been enough for his independent spirit. And migration is a big theme in his work, six of the paintings at the exhibition are named as much. Two of them show a mother walking with a baby on her back, and one depicts a snow leopard on the move with its cub.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250723080720_a916959c5a945e9d8c147219a094a548d9a08c8eb93d554a5e62105551a86592.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250723080720_a916959c5a945e9d8c147219a094a548d9a08c8eb93d554a5e62105551a86592" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="The fabric of society"> </figure>  “People migrate in generations, and because of this, they lose culture,” notes Gurung. Three others under the theme are spirals of clothes and masks, seemingly saying that migration causes deep changes in, and confusions about, one’s identity. The fabric of Dolpo and the outfits are prominently featured in almost every painting. “The women, in particular, are complete in how they dress up,” says Gurung. His women wear bhakkus and belts, and blankets and a complete set of necklaces and jewelry. An important detail is the vajra, traditionally a powerful Buddhist and Hindu mythical object and weapon, that the women use as a clip to hold the hems of their shawl together. “Note how the colours of the fabric are dull,” points out Gurung, explaining that these cloths are dyed naturally with ‘stone’ colours but fade quickly in the sun and the dust storms of Dolpo. To Gurung, the fabrics signify the Dolpo culture that he is so fond of, but disappearing. He laments that people would rather buy similar but cheaper blankets from Kathmandu or Tibet, and are abandoning traditional occupations, instead running hotels. “His feeling for Dolpo really shines through, and makes the paintings feel very warm,” says curator Sophia Pande. “I think the exhibition shows the unique style Chering has developed, and his range.” Another Dolpo detail that features heavily is bhoj patra, or birch bark paper which is used to write on as well as roofing material, given that it is waterproof. The sap of the birch tree is so sweet that it is also tapped and boiled for sugar. “People also carry it on yarchagumba trips, to use as light plates or cups. They can be washed and reused too,” adds Gurung.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250723080716_84ceef8066260cbe271158790e77bfc867dbab9cbaf23d13dc39202ef2a949f1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250723080716_84ceef8066260cbe271158790e77bfc867dbab9cbaf23d13dc39202ef2a949f1" data-rendition-name="original" width="667" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The fabric of society"> </figure>  Like the Dolpo blankets, reams of this bhoj patra and a bowlful of yarcha are also displayed and give a nuanced understanding of the Dolpo way of life. Gurung also has a series of paintings on the bark paper, the first of which is a sky blue ‘DHARMA MASK’ or ‘MUKUT’. &nbsp;“I mixed acrylic paint with glue and diluted it to use like watercolour on the bhoj patra, and I was very happy with how it turned out,” he explains of the piece. Gurung works out of White Yak studio in Lalitpur, a name he chose for the rare and revered version of the animal. “I plan to carry on with this subject matter as I haven’t exhausted all my ideas,” he says, “and I can still get better with my colouring.” Duthik: Stories from Dolpo By Chering Gyaoo Gurung The Kala Salon Chhaya Centre, Thamel 11am-8pm Until 17 August

Vishad Raj Onta

The fabric of society

An amalgam is an alloy of metals, but at Siddhartha Art Gallery it is a collection of 61 Nepali artists showcasing their work together. It is not just established and upcoming artists themselves, the exhibition is also an amalgam of the medium they work with: drawings, acrylics, ceramics capturing the diversity of voices, perspectives, and methods.&nbsp; “We have brought them all together to show their diversity and the span of their expression,” explains Sangeeta Thapa of Siddhartha Art Gallery who curated the exhibition at its inauguration on 8 June. “It has provided a platform to multiple artists to showcase their work and interact with each other.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250623060628_d34d23fab184e398f594d471936ab62ff83b52fd89d93fe2f64fdae73e6c7133.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250623060628_d34d23fab184e398f594d471936ab62ff83b52fd89d93fe2f64fdae73e6c7133" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Amalgamation NT"> </figure>  Spread out over two sections of the gallery, it has works by well-known Nepali artists like Kiran Manandhar, Manish Lal Shrestha, Binod Pradhan, Sabita Dongol to Krisha Tamrakar, Manorama Khatri, Nabin Nalbo and Tenzin Rigdol.&nbsp; Each artwork pushes viewers to develop perspectives of their own. Sabita Dongol’s Flow of Life displays a woman with four hands, with trees, animals, utensils and a comb in the backdrop. Dongol uses combs as the central motif.&nbsp; We asked her why. “It is an expression of innate feminity. It untangles the hair, is a symbol of problem-solving and harmony. The four hands represent the multitasking role women play.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250623060628_c5400aab7539323df91ea7d34e41eaf4869f636dff85de4825efc964e39f6dd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250623060628_c5400aab7539323df91ea7d34e41eaf4869f636dff85de4825efc964e39f6dd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1006" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Amalgamation NT"> </figure>  In Silent Boundaries, Krisha Tamrakar presents four works including a pressure cooker, a plastic bag of onions, a woman’s handbag and a pair of slippers -- all inside threadwork cages. “This series explores the unsettling transformation of accessibility into inaccessibility. What was once dear to us, in relationships or in life, maybe unreachable the next moment. The objects are metaphors, and the threading are the unspoken barriers we impose on each other,” says Tamrakar. Nabin Nalbo’s portraits of famous personalities stand out, it is as if the people will step out of the frames and speak in real time. Nalbo says he has represented inspiring people in his art: “It reflects a sense of belonging to the Nepali identity.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250623060628_4ac5790931f581cfb9ff580faa238f8ced04e318cbb68c32005e9f19483580ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250623060628_4ac5790931f581cfb9ff580faa238f8ced04e318cbb68c32005e9f19483580ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Amalgamation NT"> </figure>  Manish Lal Shrestha’s creation of the ace, queen, king and jack of diamonds also gives a different sense of visual appeal, using coffee granules. Shrestha says he is trying to visualise the current debate about monarchy in Nepal. “Whether the king or commoners, leaders should be open-minded and sharp, just like a diamond. The game of cards is what politics is all about.” Viewers may want to pay multiple visits to Siddhartha Art Gallery to take in all of this vast exhibition. It is best to be inspired in instalments by the artistic talent on display and be moved by them. &nbsp; Sudiksha Tuladhar Amalgam 2025 Sidhhartha Art Gallery Babarmahal Revisted premises Until 8 July 11AM to 5PM &nbsp;

An amalgamation of artists

Global temperature increase is nearing 1.5°C since pre-industrial times, pushing the planet close to irreversible climate tipping points. The Himalayan region is warming even faster than the global average. The exhibition At the Tipping Point: Art and Ecology from the Rooftop of the World seeks to bring the climate emergency into focus, showing that it is not a distant threat, but a present reality reshaping the natural world around us. The exhibition at Taragaon Next features work from 12 artists, including Amit Machamasi, Chris Jordan, Himali Singh Soin, Joana Moll, Maksud Ali Mondal, Monica Ursina Jäeger, Robertina Sebjanic, Salil Subedi, Samyukta Bhandari, Saurganga Darshandhari, Ursula Biemann and Utsa Hazarika.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250617150624_dcdda5b774c21e7f4d2a7e2182aa37a627ebd18f2733491689589d65d287ad82.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250617150624_dcdda5b774c21e7f4d2a7e2182aa37a627ebd18f2733491689589d65d287ad82" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Himalayan tipping points NT"> <figcaption>Amit Machamasi’s Not the Same Anymore, The Irony, and Seeds and Tools</figcaption> </figure>  They highlight the strategic location of Nepal and call for a ‘fundamental rethinking of the ecological imagination- where the local and the global, the visible and the invisible, the scientific and the spiritual converge’ though photographs, paintings, multimedia visuals and sounds. “The world will wake up when you say Everest, it is an important barometer to look at ecology, especially that of Nepal,” says curator Arshiya Lokhandwala from India. “The idea was to look at not only local but global issues as well.”&nbsp; The exhibition began on 5 June with powerful performance art titled Earth Emergence by Salil Subedi who falls from the back of a tractor trailer filled with wet red clay. Amidst sounds of gongs and singing bowls, the audience is taken into a journey of Mother Earth as Subedi approaches what appears to be Mount Meru.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250617150624_965e76bb3c322fc8915428ce168e7ef4419e73be744bb7427e8970cd3a2514db.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250617150624_965e76bb3c322fc8915428ce168e7ef4419e73be744bb7427e8970cd3a2514db" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Himalayan tipping points NT"> <figcaption>Salil Subedi's Earth Emergence. Photo: NABIN BARAL</figcaption> </figure>  Chris Jordan's Midway: Message from the Gyre and Albatross was eight years in the making and depicts the stark fallout from environmental degradation. His eerie images of dead baby albatrosses covered in plastic waste serve as a powerful critique of globalised consumerism. Samyukta Bhandari’s Echoes of Survival addresses the plight of sparrows amidst urban noise. The exhibits consist of a labyrinth of exposed wiring, ceramic sparrow figurines and mirrors, representing the friction for coexistence between sparrows and humans. The mirrors with the sparrow figures symbolise the sparrows colliding with windows.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250617150624_09ba776a03042e47faa97d3ba2cecf7d4adf88b04f02461ff1edd1ba2a488671.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250617150624_09ba776a03042e47faa97d3ba2cecf7d4adf88b04f02461ff1edd1ba2a488671" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Himalayan tipping points NT"> <figcaption>Photo: SUDIKSHA TULADHAR</figcaption> </figure>  Maksud Ali Mondal’s Fungal Habitat presents a self-sustaining ecosystem through the life cycle of a mushroom. As the audience moves through the exhibit, the scent of fungi permeates, underscoring the fact that decay and renewal are a part of life. The Newa traditions of food, harvest, and communal bonds is the highlight of Yomari wo Yomha ji and Grain of Gold by Saurganga Darshandhari. Says the artist, “In Newari tradition, Yomari is made of rice flour, and the grains are grown from the soil. Hence, linkage with the earth is established. These traditions are passed on from one generation to another, and the sweet delicacy is usually made by women, so I tried to create happiness through cooking and linking it to yomari, and the bird, so that she can fly as free as a bird."  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250617150624_df04d076e834c362b00ba17aa0b71988a22b941b35ee0ba7ee9ed0f7cda27cb0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250617150624_df04d076e834c362b00ba17aa0b71988a22b941b35ee0ba7ee9ed0f7cda27cb0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Himalayan tipping points NT"> <figcaption>Photo: NABIN BARAL</figcaption> </figure>  Such communal bonds are very much tied with the land and harvest, but rapid and haphazard urbanisation has had much adverse impact, as Amit Machamasi’s Not the Same Anymore, The Irony, and Seeds and Tools portray. What were once farmlands are now being plundered and plotted to give way to unplanned and disastrous development. “There must be development, roads must be expanded, but not at the cost of nature,” says Machamasi, as he explains one of the other photographs on display: “The small crow was photographed when the tree that it was residing on was cut off for development.” Our misguided approach to development has a dire impact on the overall ecology, from heat stress in the Tarai to the drying of natural springs in the hills to receding glaciers in the mountains.&nbsp; At the Tipping Point: Art and Ecology from the Rooftop of the World Until 31 August 10:00AM to 5:30PM Taragaon Next Hyatt Regency premises

Himalayan tipping points

“एकादेशमा…” is how every bedtime story that Nepali parents tell children starts. It is a portal to shared childhood memories, and a collective moral code.&nbsp; The stories live in our hearts, and as adults quietly mould the way we see the world. The jolts of everyday life and distance from parents fade treasured oral traditions, and fairy tales that once stitched generations are lost.&nbsp; Some of these tales come to life in Roshan Bhandari’s exhibition, Once Upon A Time / एकादेशमा at Takpa Gallery. Folktales have been transformed into visual stories, showing fables passed down through generations, heard crackling through old radios, and discovered in the pages of well-worn books. Bhandari moves between abstraction and figuration, creating a masterpiece of deliberate fusion. Yet, they remain grounded in the figurative, allowing viewers to follow a narrative thread. The result is a dramatic, emotional landscape of unfolding stories. He explains: “A lot of it is abstract because it carries the soul. And the soul has no shape. You cannot shape the soul and the subconscious. It flows.” &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061308068_ca93afbf07dc2dac0e8d4a5c7011ddd3c555ba4cce553686700be1fdd3746e11.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025061308068_ca93afbf07dc2dac0e8d4a5c7011ddd3c555ba4cce553686700be1fdd3746e11" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Morals in murals NT"> </figure>  The final piece in Bhandari’s previous series, The Story of Mountain - Contemplation, now stands as the opening to this new collection. The painting captures a young girl in a moment of introspection, embodying the quiet inner strength of Nepalis. &nbsp; She is suspended in time, mirroring the weight of everyday life in the mountains, marked by limited access to roads, healthcare, and education. The bold brushwork reflects the layered complexity of her emotions, caught between the harshness of reality and the strength it takes to endure. Around her, mountain goats graze calmly, life goes on, but she pauses. Not necessarily in defeat but in reflection. It is a moment of stillness we so often overlook in our own fast-paced lives. “She’s my kind of Mona Lisa,” Bhandari says with a broad smile. The aggression of the brushstrokes speaks to the intensity of her struggles, while the vibrant colour palette suggests that there is hope even in hardship. Life, the painting reminds us, is a balance between chaos and calm. Whispers of Nature tells the story of a radiant woman from the Tarai who can speak to birds and animals, but is an outcast, accused of witchcraft.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061308068_31790cb4120cfe78f79e868fccbfa91617bf534acb4b9e339f1fb5a6d57ced53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025061308068_31790cb4120cfe78f79e868fccbfa91617bf534acb4b9e339f1fb5a6d57ced53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Morals in murals NT"> </figure>  A Tale of Virtue and Reward on the other hand highlights the timeless truth that compassion, even when quietly practiced, never goes unnoticed. It portrays the contrasting outcomes of benevolence and malevolence -- a moral reflection on how the intentions behind our actions shape the fate that follows. Many of the wildlife-inspired tales in Bhandari’s work echoes a bygone era, when humans and animals lived in closer harmony. Though fantasy made animals talk, reason and relate, the core of these stories remain real. They make us ponder the growing rift between humans and nature today. &nbsp; Tied by Love, Freed by Empathy echo themes of freedom, coexistence, and justice, while From Humble Roots to Golden Roads offers lessons in how small acts of goodness can pave the way to hopeful outcomes. Each piece carries tales of timeless truths and its own distinct moral core. “Roshan Bhandari’s visual form is incredibly attractive. There is a sense of movement within the paintings, almost as if something is alive inside them,” says Tsherin Sherpa, artist and founder of Takpa. “The narratives are woven in such a unique and engaging way. These age-old stories are presented through a contemporary visual lens, which makes them feel both timeless and fresh.” &nbsp; Once Upon A Time / एकादेशमा Till 21 June Tuesday-Thursday: 11AM-6PM Friday-Sunday: 11AM-7PM Closed on Mondays Takpa Gallery, Lazimpat

Morals in murals

Gender, diversity, equity and inclusion have deliberately been turned into slurs, as the world’s most powerful nation silences activists at home and abroad. It is therefore audacious and reassuring that an art exhibition titled Feminist Futures is being held in Kathmandu. Nepal is one of the few remaining safe spaces in South Asia for open-minded discussion on balancing the scales of social justice, and Taragaon Next has curated an exhibition with artists from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. South Asia is not safe for women, New Delhi has one of the highest numbers of sexual violence cases against women in the world. Horrific crimes against women frequently make it to the headlines in Nepal.&nbsp; Feminist Futures: Art, Activism, and South Asian Womanhood attempts to highlight this through the transformative power of art to express experiences and aspirations tied to womanhood and feminism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025020111024_fc6e1ebf5619487b41127782e1163abc4c77623c2a87657023d535e49ed7bba2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025020111024_fc6e1ebf5619487b41127782e1163abc4c77623c2a87657023d535e49ed7bba2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Of women, for women, by women NT"> </figure>  “We wanted to bring this region together for a common cause,” explains Namita Saraf of Taragaon Next. “We wanted to give visitors something to reflect on and be inspired by. Art expresses emotions, and its intensity is what can bring change.”&nbsp; The exhibition is spread over Taragaon Next’s tubular brick structures and includes paintings, photographs, installations and videos from artists Anita Dube, Anoli Perera, Ashmina Ranjit, Bidhata KC, Mithu Sen, Naiza Khan, Pushpamala N, Sheba Chhachhi, Tayeba Begum Lipi, and Uma Bista. It is curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala. Nepali artist Ashmina Ranjit at the launch event on 25 January performed Sita! An Ideal Wife depicting the difficulties and injustices women face when they get married (pictured, above).&nbsp; “Patriarchy treats women as objects and does not give women the rights of ‘ansa’ and ‘bansa’,” Ranjit tells Nepali Times, using the rhyming Nepali words for ‘inheritance’ and ‘ancestry’. Nepali activists have been struggling for equal inheritance rights and citizenship for the children of single mothers for decades, with little progress.&nbsp; While a seemingly subtle force, art has the potential to spread awareness and catalyse reform. However, the true power and impact of art lies in its ability to connect with the community. When art resonates deeply with people, inviting them to interpret, reflect, and react, it is transformed from being just personal expression into collective action.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025020111024_3bf7561e4abbf1331f35fb4ac42627c9dee279520b91000b72ee09881ad68228.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025020111024_3bf7561e4abbf1331f35fb4ac42627c9dee279520b91000b72ee09881ad68228" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Of women, for women, by women NT"> </figure>  “Being able to engage a large audience rather than a whole community and deliver an impactful message beyond boundaries is what an artist dreams of,” adds Tayeba Begum Lipi from Bangladesh. Anita Dube from India exhibits Sea Creature, a collection of eyes embedded in a hand. She explains, “The eyes are the eyes of God, but when they come together as people’s eyes, incredibly beautiful energy emerges.” Sri Lanka’s Anoli Perera’s I Let My Hair Loose represents the protest against the male gaze. Women are constantly uncomfortably stared upon by the opposite sex, so her portrayal of the faces of women covered in long hair shows that women represent strength and value equal to, if not more, than men. Nepali artist Bidhata KC says her work Being a Daughter, Being a Woman is aimed at changing mindsets across generations. She says: “The idea is to show the independent identity of women as equal human beings, not merely as girls or daughters.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025020111024_d0acf07611201d126841e1743756a5a5954566d3cc1ecac5646abb77d6ec1aac.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025020111024_d0acf07611201d126841e1743756a5a5954566d3cc1ecac5646abb77d6ec1aac" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Of women, for women, by women NT"> </figure>  Some pieces at the exhibition are stark and confrontational denouncements of violence against women, others are more subtle critiques on the invisibility of women’s labour. Both force viewers to introspect: when can the world truly become a place of equality and safety for women? Kathmandu, with its space for free speech and artistic expression, is the ideal &nbsp;venue for this and other exhibitions at a time when there are increasing threats around the region and the world constricting open expression.&nbsp; Says Bidhata KC, “Kathmandu is all about art, our temples, and religious shrines. Our very existence is defined by an artistic culture in which women have always been portrayed as powerful.” In a cultural setting where stories of women are often marginalised or stigmatised, the exhibition highlights the creativity and strength of South Asian women as they reclaim the narrative, and lead a growing wave of feminist activism.&nbsp; This goes beyond simply challenging oppression. It advocates a future where art, activism, and solidarity can uplift and empower women at a time when Trumpian regression threatens to trample social justice. &nbsp;&nbsp; Feminist Futures: Art, Activism and South Asian Womanhood Every day 10AM-5:30PM until mid-May Taragaon Next Hyatt Regency premises

Of women, for women, by women

Four Nepali and four Dutch artists will feature in a project to draw attention to what has been lost as Kathmandu Valley is transformed from an integrated rural-urban society to a metropolis of 4 million people. The transition has happened just in the last 30 years with the growth accelerating after the start of the 10-year conflict in 1996. What was once an emerald valley has turned into a concrete jungle. The NEDNEP3 2024/2026 art project of the eight artists will unfold in two phases with a current show till 5 January in the Netherlands, and during the Kathmandu Triennale in February 2026. The ongoing exhibition is in the northern Dutch city of Haarlem at <a href="https://www.devishal.nl/kunst/from-burning-rice-fields-to-urban-growth/" target="_blank">De Vishal</a>, a popular hub of contemporary art.&nbsp; The exhibition is curated by Dutch artists Erna Anema and Renate Schwarz, who have been frequent visitors to Nepal and they have selected the works of four Nepali artists (Sujan Dangol, Kripa Tuladhar, Sunita Maharjan and Sagar Chhetri) along with artists Maartje Smits and Liesbet Bussche and themselves from The Netherlands. Anema and Schwarz spent five weeks at the ceramics workshop of Dil Bahadur Prajapati in Thimi, making their ceramic sculptures for this project and meeting Nepali artists and planning their collaboration. Sujan Dangol was in The Netherlands during the preparations and the grand opening of the exhibition at De Vishal in Haarlem. He also conducted workshops there and at the renowned Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam.&nbsp; Erna Anema’s work is titled Moraines to Clay and uses clay, oil on canvas in a large installation. She says, “I want to take you on a journey from the pressed clay circles of the Kathmandu Valley supported by sculptures representing the moraines to the towering ice giants of the Himalayas, which are represented on the left wall in sculptural forms.” Anema’s installation includes two clay tiles sourced from one of the valley’s remaining fertile rice fields.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122804128_04e9ed612274775036fc408a7d957e446b84402926b535c7b740ccd0b4a84442.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024122804128_04e9ed612274775036fc408a7d957e446b84402926b535c7b740ccd0b4a84442" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="From Burning Rice Fields to Urban Growth"> <figcaption>Erna Anema's Moraines to Clay</figcaption> </figure>  Liesbet Bussche’s Building Rings are grinded and sanded out of clay blocks, a light building material often used in quick expanding areas of the city. The installation of the carved rings is combined with brick dust and explores urban materiality from a makers perspective. Liesbet’s first project with clay was realised with Pukar Risal in 2008 in the streets of Kathmandu during NEDNEP 1. Kripa Tuladhar’s Remembrance of Shadows is made of traditional lokta paper and thread and evokes the Asan neighbourhood, which she says becomes a canvas of its people, marked by those who have passed through it. “Layers of movement from the footsteps of our ancestors, crumbling bricks and windows, and the future pushing its way against the old reshaping it,” she adds, “cutting out these traces in paper, layering them, like the city’s layers of history, memories of the city are encapsulated in fleeting shadows.” Renate Schwarz has sculptures titled Jars of Then and Now with clay and plastic taps that draw attention to water. The abundance of it in the lake that was once Kathmandu Valley, torrential rain, the glacial streams in the mountains. Water irrigated the Valley’s soil, making it fertile. Says Schwarz: “The transformation of the Kathmandu Valley has struck me ever since my first visit in 1984. What a mega tsunami of change has come over this valley … with my sculptures I express the delicate balance between water, clay and craftsmanship.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122804124_92e1b1a2b10f9fc3e91691989bf44302d9b1ce81c77b0187db2c9f0e3579667d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2024122804124_92e1b1a2b10f9fc3e91691989bf44302d9b1ce81c77b0187db2c9f0e3579667d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="From Burning Rice Fields to Urban Growth"> <figcaption>Renate Schwarz's Jars of Then and Now</figcaption> </figure>  Nepali photographer Sagar Chhetri’s Brutality of Geometry explores the definition of land and how earth, soil, vegetation all become monetised commodities. The photographs depict the greed that drives the ecocide of hillsides by real estate ‘plotting’ on the Valley’s rim. The photos show maps of property, and Chhetri explains: “As an artist, I wish to respond to and investigate this geometry of brutality on the land in depth.” Sujan Dangol’s Mandala is a mixed media tribute to the original fertility of Kathmandu Valley with a collection of 54 types of grain, beans, and spices that used to grow here. He also collected bamboo, copper, glass, plastic, and steel utensils to represent the shift from an agricultural era to an industrial one. “The place which we call home—the Earth—is not only ours. Coexistence with animals, birds, plants, insects, water, and soil is essential for the well-being of our Ecosystem,” Dangol says.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122804124_058b88c5a00c1a8ab178b37a734cfb900eeb090d8e5602eb6469049e28300a98.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024122804124_058b88c5a00c1a8ab178b37a734cfb900eeb090d8e5602eb6469049e28300a98" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="From Burning Rice Fields to Urban Growth"> <figcaption>Sujan Dangol's Mandala</figcaption> </figure>  Sunita Maharjan’s Curtain of Change is stencil print on handmade cotton and depicts her hometown of Kirtipur, where the ancestral lands of her ancestors are now occupied by Tribhuvan University. “The continuous influx of students has altered the fabric of Kirtipur - both figuratively and literally,” Maharjan says. “In Curtain of Change I want to document and comment on the evolving identity of my hometown, where urbanisation, industrialisation, and educational migration intersect, leaving both visible and invisible marks on the community.” In Wild Bees in the Netherlands Maartje Smits uses letterpress prints on paper to show the &nbsp;sudden disappearance of honeybees in Europe, and how the artist decided to become a beekeeper, hoping it would help. But honeybees are competing for survival with wild bee species. “Just as with the Kathmandu Valley, the Dutch landscape has been hollowed out and built up.” She says. “Food and nesting places for flying pollinators are scarce, so trying to save one species can mean the demise of another.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122804124_16461120522a119da0966d714da5e20f67c123fccc8a029419dc344e5d6b35ea.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2024122804124_16461120522a119da0966d714da5e20f67c123fccc8a029419dc344e5d6b35ea" data-rendition-name="original" width="1658" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="From Burning Rice Fields to Urban Growth"> </figure>  NEDNEP3 2024/2026 From Burning Rice Fields to Urban Growth De Vishal, Haarlem (29 November-5 January) Kathmandu Triennale in Nepal (February 2026)

Rice fields to concrete terraces

This year’s Miami Art Week brought high-profile openings and exhibitions with some exciting exhibitions and installations from South Asia and Nepal. The event was a dynamic mix of galleries, immersive installations and schedule packed with must-see art fairs, pop-ups, and cultural events with Art Basel taking centre stage.&nbsp; This was the 22nd edition of Art Basel and brought in 286 galleries from 38 countries, the largest contemporary art event in US with 75,000 visitors, collectors and art lovers.&nbsp; The Art Week has the NADA fair featuring the work of Nepali ceramic artist Shushank Shrestha, who had a whole booth by the French Gallery, Galerie Lefebvre &amp; Fils. Louis Lefebvre, director of the gallery had reached out to Shrestha last year after seeing photos of his graduating show in New York. &nbsp; A whole booth for a single artist is an honour, and it showcased Shrestha’s 14 brightly coloured ceramic figures that playfully explore mythical characters from Nepali culture and blends it with the artist’s fascination for super-heroes. The figures evoke a touch of humour, childhood memories of fun and family moments.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122508128_49675d8240747eaa76403605db7a0b6767952b0198ab565f65026e3dc9ec9870.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024122508128_49675d8240747eaa76403605db7a0b6767952b0198ab565f65026e3dc9ec9870" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali artist at Miami Art Week NT"> </figure>  Shrestha’s mastery in the techniques of ceramic making can be observed from the glazed gigantic, free-standing multi-coloured Garuda with extended wings that take centre stage. It has minute details providing an emotional connection to viewers familiar with Nepali culture.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/amalgamation-of-nepali-art">Amalgamation of Nepali art</a> The exhibition drew much attention from visitors, with many marveling at its attractive presentation and the artist’s ability to maneuver the flexible medium into imaginative characters through the coiling technique.&nbsp; The challenge of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/take-to-pottery-during-the-pandemic">ceramic making</a> is that the process from the start to the finish is delicate, the clay itself being sensitive to moisture when moulding and to heat when firing.&nbsp; Shrestha’s booth is a powerful reminder that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali artists have entered the world stage</a> following the footsteps of Lain Singh Bangdel, Siddhimuni Shakya, Lok Chitrakar, Mukti Singh Thapa, Udaya Charan Shrestha, Ang Tsherin Sherpa, Hitman Gurung, Koshal Hamal, Sneha Shrestha, and others.&nbsp; Shushank Shrestha is a Kathmandu-based artist and a graduate of New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. He received his BFA from Kathmandu University School of Arts in 2016, and his work has been exhibited in Nepal, Pakistan, China, France, and the United States.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122508128_ebfae6a66c43872b968e76df82ca8189b93ca28a5ffe17e5c93ae295953b4ba4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2024122508128_ebfae6a66c43872b968e76df82ca8189b93ca28a5ffe17e5c93ae295953b4ba4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali artist at Miami Art Week NT"> </figure>  Galerie Lefebvre &amp; Fils was founded by Henri Lefebvre in 1880 with an eclectic collection and has a legacy of exchanges with museum curators and ties with private collectors. In 2009, the gallery started to focus on contemporary ceramics, highlighting the renewing nature of the medium and its relevance to society.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-art-now-in-vienna">Nepal Art Now in Vienna</a> Another highlight of the art week was the Great Elephant Migration from India. The installation on Miami’s South Beach featured a hundred life size elephants from the <a href="https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/nilgiri">Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve</a> in South India. The individual elephants were all hand crafted by <a href="https://www.therealelephant.com/coexsistence-collective">Coexistence Collective</a>, a group of 200 local indigenous artisans and designed by <a href="https://www.shubhranayar.com/">Shubhra Nayar</a>.&nbsp; The elephants are made from an invasive weed that crowds out other native species and reduces biodiversity threatening to overtake the natural habitat of Indian elephants. The project also provides sustainable income for the local community through 20 villages with workshops that make the elephants.&nbsp; Ashish Kapoor, a London-based Indian artist, sucks viewers into a vertiginous concavity that confound our perception. &nbsp;Wangechi Mutu, a Kenyan American multi-disciplinary artist presents culturally specific and transnational presentations of contemporary realities, while offering new models for a radically changed future informed by feminism, Afrofuturism, and interspecies symbiosis.&nbsp; Swosti Rajbhandari Kayastha is curator at the Nepal Art Council.&nbsp;

Nepali artist at Miami Art Week

Things are getting a little surreal in the Subcontinent. The erosion of regionalism is making South Asia an abstract concept. Which is perhaps what makes a new exhibition of expressionist art in Kathmandu so emblematic. Glimpses of the Mind: Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism in South Asian Art’ at The Kalā Salon in Thamel showcases a selection of outstanding surreal and abstract expressionist works by Nepali and Sri Lankan artists.&nbsp; “What you see is that painters from Nepal started exploring new impressionistic styles later in their careers, often after going abroad, especially to Europe,” says archivist-curator of the gallery, Chakshita Rana. Walking past paintings in the Glimpses of the Mind exhibition is like taking a series of Rorschach Tests. Stare at a painting long enough and the deep recesses of the mind stare back, the canvas morphs into hearts, trees, mountains, and wide-eyed, worried faces. The paintings are from the vast art collection of Pratima and Prithvi Pandé and the exhibition includes works by Nepali artists Jeevan Rajopadhyaya, Uttam Nepali, Sunil Sigdel, Manuj Babu Mishra, Ram KC, Kiran Manandhar, Sunita Rana, Shyam Lal Shrestha, Birendra Pratap Singh, Surendra Pradhan as well as Manoranjana Herath from Sri Lanka.&nbsp; While the paintings may not represent objective reality, they convey the murkier and more confusing parts of the universe and the mind. One painting shows a person in a yellow suit jumping over a cow with a purple mask, amidst a backdrop of a dark blue starry sky with a dark sun.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120612124_5a1945393bb3f542153421ae45cb350d48de0735605c973ebb8fae10b1490b48.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120612124_5a1945393bb3f542153421ae45cb350d48de0735605c973ebb8fae10b1490b48" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="South Asia in the abstract"> </figure>  This is one in the Surrealism category, an art movement that began a century ago largely out of Freud’s writings on dreams and the unconscious mind. Surrealist paintings feature real objects, often combined seemingly illogically with other bizarrely drawn objects. &nbsp; One of the most recognisable in this style is Salvador Dali’s ‘The Persistence of Memory’ with its iconic melting clocks. Indeed, one of the dreamlike pieces by Sunil Sigdel also has a clock in the background, although the primary focus is on two bald figures waist-deep in either muddy water or quicksand. One is blue with orange lips and the other is orange with blue lips, and both look quite distressed. Through its absurdity, surrealism made it okay to challenge the rigid notions regarding reality and of what art should be. Abstract Expressionism then came through in the 1940s and 50s, still featuring themes of the subconscious. But this style did away with any forms at all, and instead focused on spontaneity and emotion. “Paintings in these styles are expressive and individualistic,” explains The Kalā Salon founder Sophia L Pande. “The artist’s voice really jumps out, and they are often making a very personal or political statement.”&nbsp; Impressionistic paintings leave much more to the imagination of the viewer, although it is easier to guess what the artist has in mind in some paintings, more than others. One dark blue canvas by Uttam Nepali could be a skull, an alien or a dog. Another of Nepali’s paintings has shades of green, brown and orange that could be a tree, or an intense fire. The form is not as important here to interpret the work — more relevant is mood and choice of colour.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120612124_4cbc05a47715e173fa5c85cef7a3a37141dda2c7494264e83b2bba9dac334b8d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120612124_4cbc05a47715e173fa5c85cef7a3a37141dda2c7494264e83b2bba9dac334b8d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="South Asia in the abstract"> </figure>  Kiran Manandhar’s paintings have his distinctive quick dry brushstrokes in vivid colours, and are all arranged in a row at the exhibition. Explains curator Rana: “We decided to put his paintings next to each other so that the evolution of his work stands out.”&nbsp; The paintings by Manoranjana Herath from Sri Lanka feature sharp geometric shapes, with lots of triangles and faces in green and blue — reminiscent of Picasso-esque cubism. The Kalā Salon is showing a larger exhibition of Herath’s work starting 13 December.&nbsp; “We are primarily a non-profit, and because of the depth of the collection we can regularly show works of many different Nepali artists, spanning a lot of genres and time periods,” says Pande. “Most exhibitions feature the work of only one artist, at one time in their lives. We hope to be a valuable resource and inspire new Nepali artists.” The gallery also sponsors three-month long residencies for promising artists twice a year. One male artist and one female are chosen, often self-taught or fresh out of a Bachelor's in Fine Arts. &nbsp;At the end, a show of their work is held at the Salon. Three such rounds have been held so far, and the first cohort for 2025 has already been selected.&nbsp; Says Pande, “We are committed to giving these talented young artists a start and exposure in art, and a chance to become immediately self-sustaining.” The Kalā Salon&nbsp; Chhaya Center Mall, Aloft Hotel 11am-8pm&nbsp; Till 10 December

South Asia in the abstract

One Friday night last month, we were swapping stories about Vipassana, a rigorous <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/practicing-mindfulness-in-schools?fbclid=IwAR2X1T9SNG1tWe61UPqMUgHjOWNZ4U1foJyURLJMrjYAsUdr4u_mz1rmC1U">meditation</a> technique of silent observation, over dinner. We spoke of its ten days of noble silence, of respiration, observation, and sensation.&nbsp; I told them about my first retreat in Lumbini last year when my mind kept getting distracted: ‘What is happening in the outside world? Is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/those-were-the-days-knea0341">K P Oli still prime minister</a>? When I emerged ten days later, he was still PM. During my second Vipassana in February this year, I reassured my mind that nothing dramatic could unfold in ten days. Still, my gut knew this country was always one headline away from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/trial-by-fire">revolution</a>. By my third retreat, I was confident, even cocky.&nbsp; At that dinner, I joked: “What could possibly change? If Oli survived my first two meditation retreats, the world can hold steady for a third.” I should’ve known better. On 1 September, I was back at Shivapuri for the second time, my third retreat, with no expectations — only hope that ten days of noble silence would peel yet another layer from my mind.&nbsp; Vipassana is a paradox: brutally difficult, yet infinitely generous. It is the tool needed to tame and know your unconscious mind, and to know yourself even a little through it is a profound achievement. My room at Z House had the best view of the Kathmandu Valley. I developed a ritual: press my hands against my cheeks and stare down at the city. The city below looks chaotic, but somehow beautiful in its stubbornness, where pollution and pride coexist. From up there, it looked like no one was free, trapped in their egos, pettiness and misery.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250913090920_9e77930ed911289c05a731605157f402c06249347e33964dc59c58d32dc2a6d6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250913090920_9e77930ed911289c05a731605157f402c06249347e33964dc59c58d32dc2a6d6" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="1300" loading="lazy" alt="Vipassana during Nepal revolution"> <figcaption>Those undergoing Vipassana in Sundarijal had no idea of the chaos and mayhem the country was undergoing. Photos: AARSALA ADHIKARI(Photo: Sonia Awale)</figcaption> </figure>  Then, softer thoughts of Metta and compassion would emerge. If only every single person could sit in silence and know their breath, just once. Blessed with ten days of Dhamma teachings on universal law, I imagined our 334 patriarchal parliamentarians and the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/house-of-cards?%2F">Oli, Deuba, Prachanda trinity</a>. UNSEEN CHAOS On the seventh and the eighth days of Vipassana (8–9 September) there was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-burns-despite-pm-resignation">black smoke rising from the Valley </a>below. Why were people burning all that garbage? There was no traffic on the straight road down from Budanilkantha. There were gunshots, and I assumed locals were shooting at marauding monkeys. I mistook the sound of helicopters at night for flights circling after takeoff.&nbsp; On the ninth day and in the morning of the tenth, it rained heavily. I tried to spot Dharara like I did every day, but the city was shrouded in a blanket of thick black smog. Even after two days of heavy rain, the smoke had not been washed down. This did not make sense, but my mind had returned to the safe harbour of my meditation. Nothing to see here. On the morning of 9/11, the tenth day, as we emerged from silence, the hall outside filled with chatter. Many people left, weeping, overwhelmed by the experience of the past ten days. We joked about our hardships and dreamt of delicious food, feeling a wave of accomplishment after a documentary about how Vipassana had transformed Tihar Jail in New Delhi.&nbsp; The hall radiated with inspiration and hope. Then, as the film ended an assistant teacher made an announcement: “There are serious protests going on in the Valley. K P Oli has resigned as prime minister. There are no cabinet ministers. The military has taken over, and a curfew has been imposed.”&nbsp; The news hit like a lightning bolt. Mental tranquility gave way to gasps of “What the f**k?” In the main Dhamma Hall, some women erupted in applause. We had spent ten days cultivating Metta, only to step out and realise the world had erupted into chaos. We huddled, trying to piece together fragments of what was happening. The Valley was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-turmoil-will-hit-tourism">still covered in black smoke</a>, the main road was still quiet. A neighbour turned up the radio, reporting deaths, destruction and curfew.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250913050944_ce09e04207ef5eb72ea55800b76df0c16a9d46a3eea957a4ecb0d67e978c2595.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250913050944_ce09e04207ef5eb72ea55800b76df0c16a9d46a3eea957a4ecb0d67e978c2595" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Meme doing the rounds on social media"> <figcaption>Meme doing the rounds on social media. </figcaption> </figure>  A first-time meditator, Shivani Karn, overheard a neighbour from wall cross telling his son that people had been shot and that he should not go to school any more. She had wanted to flee the Centre, but stayed on. Stranded foreigners from Argentina to China were bewildered and terrified. Volunteers debriefed us, recounting the shocking details: buildings burning, ministers’ houses ransacked, Oli fleeing, Deuba and his wife beaten up. The leaders were all in the Shivapuri barracks up the mountain. Over 15,000 inmates had broken out of prison. It was a catastrophe unfolding in real time. The city felt ripped out from a nightmare. In the common space, people complained about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-gen-z-protest-turns-deadly">corruption and the ban on social media</a>. But an understanding emerged: both those in power and those who grant it are bound by the law of cause and effect. Driving down from Shivapuri on the morning of 12 September, my heart sank. The smog I had seen was smoke from still smouldering buildings. It was not garbage burning, but the rage of the people. Those were not people scaring away monkeys, but guns that killed innocent lives. The sound of aircraft were actually helicopters rescuing politicians.&nbsp; We drove past Singha Darbar, a charred ruin. Another Vipassana meditator, Anjali Baidya, shared a chilling memory. She recalled being 12 years old in 1973, watching from her home in Makhan Tole as Singha Durbar first caught fire. History had repeated itself 52 years later.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250910140912_e6bf05bfe95f519e05ab8d9016587211b241340fd23a0f9ae728e74747fc5f29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250910140912_e6bf05bfe95f519e05ab8d9016587211b241340fd23a0f9ae728e74747fc5f29" data-rendition-name="original" width="8064" height="6048" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal in ashes"> <figcaption>Singha Darba, the seat of the government, set ablaze on 9th September. Photo: KAMAL PRASAI</figcaption> </figure>  One Bhatbhateni supermarket after another were scorched, police stations, government offices, once symbols of everyday life. There were soldiers everywhere, not police. &nbsp;Amidst the devastation, a deeper truth settled in. This, too, was Anicca — impermanence. Anicca teaches us that all things are constantly changing, including our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. Political systems, power structures, national crises are all transitory. This understanding is crucial for healing. When we cling to the idea that a leader, political system or ourselves are permanent, we set ourselves up for disappointment and anger when it inevitably changes. The Dhamma teaches that responsibility is shared. The anger and fear on the streets are similar to feelings many carry inside. We Nepalis have intergenerational trauma. What I saw was not an abstraction: the gunshots and chaos echoed the terrifying nights of 1 February 2005 in Panauti, a grim replay of the fear I knew as a child at Malpi school, huddling with friends for safety.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-next-nepal">What next, Nepal?</a>, Shristi Karki Our national history is a series of ruptures that become personal landmarks. I was nine years old at my aunt’s birthday party on 1 June 2001, when the celebration was abruptly called off and we were sent home into the silent shock of a royal massacre.&nbsp; This pattern must be broken, and it starts now. The path to national healing must begin with individual healing. We can learn from the story of Angulimala, a violent figure who was transformed by the Buddha’s compassion. The Buddha walked steadily toward him and said, “I have stopped, Angulimala. You must stop too.” Angulimala realised the truth, renounced violence, and was enlightened. Cycles of anger and conflict can be softened and transformed. Nepal’s long-term well-being depends on our ability to approach the Dhamma as a pragmatic tool. Inner calm can help us process collective trauma. By cultivating forgiveness and compassion, we can create a stability that begins within. True healing begins when we stop externalising our pain or intellectualising our emotions, and start nurturing our own inner peace. As the dust settles, the true noise begins: the roar within. We are left with a stark choice: remain trapped in this endless loop of rage, or we can deliberately choose to stop. The Dhamma is not some philosophy for a meditation centre; it is the raw truth of our applied wisdom. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/madam-prime-minister-of-nepal">Sushila Karki, Nepal’s first female prime minister</a>, may have emerged as a new ‘messiah’ but we must begin to take responsibility and accountability. Change cannot come from chaos, it is a conscious effort we must make precisely when it feels most impossible.&nbsp; The path forward is not through the streets, but inward — into the ruins of our own self-righteousness. The disparity and deep-seated grudges are the quiet kindling that have brought this new revolution. The rage on the streets is about suppressed dignity, and a burning hunger for justice.&nbsp; It is time to check the recesses of our minds and hearts, sit down, breathe, and to ask: “When do we stop running, and when do we start healing?”&nbsp; Alisha Sijapati is a writer specialising in cultural heritage, and a former Nepali Times correspondent.

Vipassana during a revolution

After prolonged negotiations over the weekend, Nepal’s new <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/madam-prime-minister-of-nepal">Prime Minister Sushila Karki</a> on Monday appointed three members to her Council of Ministers, but the youth group that put her in power does not like her choice. The GenZ group that initiated the movement that toppled Nepal’s government accused Karki of not being consulted about the choice of Om Prakash Aryal, a lawyer who was helping with negotiating with the Army, as the Home and Law Minister.&nbsp; GenZ’s purported leader <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/who-or-what-is-hami-nepal">Sudan Gurung</a> led a group of his supporters and families of youth killed in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/raising-nepal-from-the-ashes">last week’s demonstration</a> at a midnight protest outside the prime minister’s residence, demanding Karki’s resignation unless she listened to them. Aryal is also a legal adviser to Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, who has supported the GenZ movement but refused their offer to lead the interim government.&nbsp; The other two ministers include former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal as Finance Minister, and the popular former chief of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kulman Ghising as the Energy Minister, Urban Development Minister, and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport. They were sworn in on Monday. While Prime Minister Karki has said she wants competent and honest technocrats in the Council of Ministers, GenZ has been pushing for candidates that do not seem to meet her criteria — including a military officer and Mayor Balen Shah’s candidate.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025091511090_f7db633bbf56c5e2a43b6cd248e522365f56cd34578d65cdeca243c65d807f6d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025091511090_f7db633bbf56c5e2a43b6cd248e522365f56cd34578d65cdeca243c65d807f6d" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="new ministers being sworn in"> </figure>  Karki’s list is said to include retired Lt Gen Balananda Sharma, &nbsp;Magsaysay Award winner Mahabir Pun of the National Innovation Centre, former Education Minister Sumana Shrestha who quit RSP on Sunday and Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang. Karki met the government machinery on Sunday at her Singha Darbar office. Speaking without a prepared text, she admitted that there had been a “huge loss” not just to government buildings but also to official and court records during the 9 September arson attacks. “I am ashamed to say that there has been a systematic targeting of sensitive and essential government institutions, we will track down the perpetrators and investigate them,” she said. Karki also assured officials that she had no intention of staying on as prime minister beyond 5 March, the date she has set for early elections. She added: “The destruction by criminal elements has added to our challenges, but we have to choose but to unite and rebuild. This movement was about ending corruption, improving governance and equality. Help me achieve those goals.” <h2>KNOW YOUR MINISTERS</h2> Om Prakash Aryal Home Minister, Minister of Law  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110916_6bbaa39c523979ea1a3e85bd496232fa0dcb6152718ede106078bb5f3d069c3c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250915110916_6bbaa39c523979ea1a3e85bd496232fa0dcb6152718ede106078bb5f3d069c3c" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="955" loading="lazy" alt="Om Prakash Aryal"> <figcaption>Om Prakash Aryal</figcaption> </figure>  Back in 2016, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/do-gooders-to-watch-out-for,3435">Om Prakash Aryal</a> filed a writ petition against the appointment of all powerful Lokman Singh Karki to the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), paving way for the impeachment of the head of the anti-graft body together with Prime Minister Sushila Karki, who was then Chief Justice. An advocate at the Supreme Court, Aryal gained widespread fame for his work in Public Interest Litigation. Most recently, earlier this year he filed a petition against then Prime Minister K P Oli and Minister for Land Management Bala Ram Adhikari, among others, for their alleged role in the non-implementation of Supreme Court order in the Giribandhu tea estate land scam in eastern Nepal. Aryal came from Gulmi to Kathmandu to be a singer, but ended up pursuing a career in law instead. Aryal also served four years in the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and was based in Geneva with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). Rameshore Khanal Finance Minister  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110916_1655aeec3a17a048663b95c0dec3ab302300c51d61f6aed682b17fe5c1532c58.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250915110916_1655aeec3a17a048663b95c0dec3ab302300c51d61f6aed682b17fe5c1532c58" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="666" loading="lazy" alt="Finance Minister"> <figcaption>Rameshore Khanal</figcaption> </figure>  Former Finance Secretary Rameshore Khanal has over 30 years of experience in the civil service, and led reforms in government accounting and reporting, public procurements, tax policy and administration. He also served as Chair of the Board in Agricultural Development Bank and was Board Director in Nepal Rastra Bank, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Telecom Company, and Nepal Airlines. He also served as an economic adviser to Baburam Bhattarai when he was prime minister in 2013. In October last year, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-in-the-red">he led the government formed</a> the High Level Economic Reforms Recommendation Commission. The 440-page recommendation released last month included review of the fixed exchange rate with India and the provision for national political parties to receive grants so candidates did not have to depend on business donors at election time. He has announced that he is not going to take a salary, official residence, body guard or official car for himself. Kulman Ghising Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister, Urban Development Minister, and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110920_7704ba4dd27f06d423852bc9792610cc89acdbee6ff0b380904479c095d328ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250915110920_7704ba4dd27f06d423852bc9792610cc89acdbee6ff0b380904479c095d328ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1057" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="Kulman Ghising"> <figcaption>Kulman Ghising</figcaption> </figure>  The man credited for ending 18-hour-a-day loadshedding in Nepal was also considered for the post of Prime Minister before Sushila Karki was chosen by the GenZ movement on Friday. Ghising is a two-time CEO of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sacking-of-nea-chief-exposes-cronyism">his tenure was cut short</a> by the Oli-led governing coalition earlier this year and replaced by Hitendra Dev Shakya. Ghising’s removal was seen as being politically motivated, and outraged the public and commentators. Many expected Ghising to open his own party ahead of the 2027 elections two years later, but is seen to be close to the Maoist-Centre party. After being appointed NEA chief in 2016, Ghising cut off the dedicated electricity feeds to industries, and redistributed the saved power to the public — ending long power cuts. But he also imported electricity from India to ensure 24-hour supply during the winter dry season to meet demand. Several new hydropower plants came into operation during his tenure, and today Nepal had an electricity surplus.&nbsp; OTHER APPOINTMENTS Elsewhere, Sabita Bhandari Baral has been appointed Nepal’s first female Attorney General.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250915110920_4d60704a1e69309fdfb49a195f538c32159f27748fd2be88693c609ddb98d380.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250915110920_4d60704a1e69309fdfb49a195f538c32159f27748fd2be88693c609ddb98d380" data-rendition-name="original" width="730" height="506" loading="lazy" alt="Female attorney general"> <figcaption>Sabita Bhandari Baral</figcaption> </figure>  By Sunday, total casualties of the nationwide GenZ protests has reached 72. Prime Minister Karki has declared that bereaved families of those killed in the protests will be compensated while hundreds of those still receiving treatment in hospitals will be treated for free. &nbsp;

Nepal interim government faces first hiccups

While protesters were torching the Special Government Attorney Office at Mandala on Tuesday, they shouted slogans <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-gen-z-protest-turns-deadly">denouncing government corruption</a>. They did not seem to know that in reality the Government Attorney’s office was carrying out active investigations and prosecuting multiple cases of government corruption. Their case files have now been reduced to ashes. While attackers ransacked the building room by room and and burnt it down, they said they were protesting the government’s inability to catch the person who raped and murdered of 13-year-old <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/justice-delayed-and-denied">Nirmala Panta </a>in Kanchanpur seven years ago.&nbsp; In reality, the District Government Attorney’s Office has been carrying out and directing<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/justice-eludes-many-rape-survivors"> investigations against rapists and abusers</a> whose victims were even younger than Nirmala. As an ordinary Nepali citizen before joining the Government Attorney’s Office, I had read about &nbsp;Nirmala’s story in the media. It was a major case that shook the nation, and the biggest rape case I had heard about.&nbsp; But once I was behind my desk as a Government Attorney myself, not a day went by when there was at least one new rape investigation file. This was a serial horror on a nationwide scale. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/incest-sex-abuse,2547">rapists were not faceless strangers</a>: many were fathers, brothers, stepfathers, teachers, drivers who knew the survivors. I found all age groups from all parts of Nepal on those charge sheets. And every file I carried to the courtroom was in the hope of at least someone who wanted the crime against them recognised and the perpetrator punished. Now, all those files are gone. The news from Singha Darbar that the government’s data centre was saved from arsonists this week was a relief. But we lost all our records. The evidence was never digitised, there were no backup files. They lived only on paper, in ink, in fragile white file folders with green strings.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250914120920_353c6e03fa2f4cea8992c5c02ede101b4ad9ccc102f5af8407f333f518ef7200.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250914120920_353c6e03fa2f4cea8992c5c02ede101b4ad9ccc102f5af8407f333f518ef7200" data-rendition-name="original" width="5000" height="3333" loading="lazy" alt="The day justice died"> <figcaption>Photo: HEMANTA SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>  When the building burned, so did the only record of those crimes and the identity of the criminals.&nbsp; Imagine entire basements filled with such files: each representing a victim, a face, a life. More than 10,000 such cases are now smouldering heaps of ash. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-burns-despite-pm-resignation">Kathmandu burns despite PM resignation</a> Singha Durbar can be rebuilt brick by brick, just as it was after the earthquake. Who is going to rebuild these case files?&nbsp; The social media is cruel: it shows homes of politicians stashed with cash and charred dollar bills. But the media did not show an entire building full of criminal case files going up in flames. The smoke that filled Kathmandu’s sky on Tuesday carried away with it the hopes of<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-chance-on-transitional-justice"> justice of thousands of victims</a>, mostly young women. Our duty as Government Attorneys is to direct criminal investigations, prosecute criminal cases, plead in courtrooms, make appeals. On a normal busy day we prosecute at least five criminal cases involving survivors and perpetrators. THAT DAY On <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-8-september-massacre">8 September</a>, when the GenZ protesters were gathering at the Mandala outside, we were at the Police Club, attending the first ever Women Government Attorneys’ Conference. We wore our brightest blue sari uniforms and pressed blouses. Our heads held high, we celebrated our success as government attorneys who had led the prosecution of the highest number of cases involving <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/not-just-16-days-against-gender-based-violence">violence against women</a>. But the day had other plans for us. By 4 pm the program was halted after protesters were shot outside Parliament. The Attorney General directed us to go home immediately. As the hall emptied, a small group of us young women officers and one senior female advocate walked together through Bhadrakali towards our office. There was an angry mob approaching us. The moment they saw us in our official dress, they turned on us with verbal abuses — words so horrendous that it would have been enough to prosecute a slander suit.&nbsp; Heads and eyes lowered we walked on. They started spitting on us. Obviously, they were pouring out their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/genz-and-aragalaya?amp=1">anger against the government</a> on us civil servants. But they had no idea that the senior female advocate on whose coat they spat had pioneered the law granting Nepali women equal property rights. To us, she was not just a lawyer, she was a hero and a figure we had worshipped in our law books. Her name appears across Supreme Court documents for setting a precedent.&nbsp; We ran to save ourselves from their wrath and reached our Special Government Attorney Office. The mob stayed outside. We waited two hours in silence, praying fervently until the street was calm enough for us to slip away and find our way home. The next day, 9 September, was much worse. The protesters had already torched Parliament, Singha Durbar and the nearby Supreme Court. Then they came to set the Government Attorney Office alight. As a Nepali, I can understand the anger. But as a Government Attorney, I carry a deep scar. There is an immense void and sorrow. This is not about the loss of a building, or being spat at. It is about the silent victims whose stories were stored in all those thousands of files. Many of the survivors do not even know that their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/hunger-for-justice">struggle for justice</a> has ended.&nbsp; We are government employees never affiliated with any political party, doing our work honestly and independently. In the name of demanding justice, they destroyed the very place that delivered it. Mamata Shrestha is an Assistant District Government Attorney.

The day justice died

Nepal is gradually returning to normal after curfews were officially lifted on Saturday following Prime Minister Sushila Karki’s appointment as temporary executive head following this week’s violent unrest that toppled the government.&nbsp;
Karki dissolved Parliament on Friday night immediately after she was sworn-in as per the demand of youth activists who staged the nation-wide anti-corruption demonstrations this week. The date of the election has been set for 5 March 2026.
Karki made the rounds of Kathmandu’s hospitals to meet with demonstrators who were injured during the protests on 8 and 9 September in which 52 people were killed. Karki is also drawing up a list of candidates to join the Council of Ministers to be announced on Sunday.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the four main political parties in Parliament and their leaders have been self-reflecting, admitting their mistakes and expressing the need for reform and internal democracy.&nbsp;
But they have also issued near-unanimous denouncements of the decision by the interim government to dissolve Parliament, calling for the Lower House to be restored immediately.
‘The government formed from the streets in an undemocratic and unconstitutional manner bypassing Parliament is contrary to the spirit of the movement that has demanded good governance in accordance with Nepal’s Constitution prevailing laws,’ read a joint press statement issued by eight political parties on Saturday.
The leaders of the UML, including Prime Minister K P Oli who resigned on Tuesday, the Maoists and the Nepali Congress are still in the Shivapuri National Park military base, and appear to be incommunicado.
The parties continued: ‘We strongly demand the immediate convening of Parliament to create an environment where the demands of the people and agitating groups can be addressed through an elected institution.’
The Nepal Bar Council, the country’s legal body, joined the political parties in calling the dissolution of Parliament unconstitutional. Legal experts had expressed concern about the constitutional processes to ensure PM Karki’s appointment as executive head in the lead-up to her taking office.
‘Nepal’s Constitution is the result of a broad national consensus and reflects the aspirations of its citizens,’ the Bar’s press statement read. ‘Such acts erode public trust in democratic institutions and threaten the very foundation of our constitutional system.’
The President’s move to dissolve the House of Representatives is also contrary to the Supreme Court’s previous decision on the restoration of parliament, the Bar’s stated, referring to the top court’s verdict after former PM Oli dismissed Parliament in 2021.&nbsp;
The Federation of Nepalese Journalists echoed similar sentiments in its own statement on Saturday which read, ‘The Federation believes that the unconstitutional appointment of the Prime Minister against the Constitution and the dissolution of the House of Representatives, which is contrary to the previous precedent set by the Supreme Court, show ill will towards democracy.’&nbsp;
Meanwhile, the GenZ youth who had voted in favour of Karki to lead the transitional government welcomed the dissolution of Parliament, and continue to demand that the interim government investigate the shooting of demonstrators this week. They also want mechanisms to ensure accountability and zero-tolerance against corruption.
‘We call for an open, sustained, and participatory national dialogue with the Interim Government and all political actors, one that ensures the meaningful presence of indigenous youth and structurally marginalised communities whose voices are not only heard, respected, and embedded but are also actively consulted in the shaping of the policies, institutions, and decisions that will define Nepal’s democratic future envisioned by us,’ read a statement issued by the Indigenous GenZ collective on Saturday.&nbsp;
Across the country, authorities have also begun to launch investigations into the vandalism and looting during the protests, urging citizens to return stolen goods. A former lawmaker from the Nepali Congress, which was a part of the coalition with the UML has filed a complaint against Oli alleging that he personally issued the order to security forces to fire at protestors on 8 September.

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