The year is 2001, the place: somewhere in the city of Nirmal Pradesh in India. It is an auspicious day. A newly married couple takes leave from the bride’s house. The journey to the groom's village is an extended voyage that requires a boat, a bus, a train, and another bus ride. Right off the bat, viewers cannot help but draw relevance to Nepal. We have the same class and caste system. Women are bound by the patriarchal society that treats them as less than equal and takes away their life choices. The practice of dowry is still prevalent in these parts of the world.&nbsp; The only difference: we don’t have the extensive railroads like India. Back to the story: on the train compartment, our couple encounter two more newly married pairs, the brides similarly attired with a veil covering their faces. When the train reaches his station, the groom gestures for his wife to get off. &nbsp;Only after reaching the village— when his mother unveils his bride to the waiting family– does the groom realise that the woman he has brought along from the train is not his wife. Laapataa Ladies starts with this rather bizarre premise that can only happen in movies. But the presence of three brides– all donning bridal red, all veiled, all of them in the same train compartment– gives enough plausibility for the audience to be engaged. A satirical approach to the patriarchy and the deeply-rooted customs that have oppressed women, the film is a wittily crafted piece of art. Adapted from Biplop Goswami’s story Two Brides, director Kiran Rao has made Laapataa Ladies a story about how getting lost helps two women to find their individual selves. The character of Jaya (Pratibha Ranta)– who ends up getting off the train with the groom Deepak (Sparsh Shrivastav), &nbsp;and Phool Kumari (Nitanshi Goel)-- Deepak’s wife who gets left behind–are two ends of a spectrum. Phool is the idealistic daughter– bright-eyed, naive and proud of the homemaking skills she has been taught. Jaya, on the other hand, is what the patriarchy would label ‘rebellious’ because she would rather go to college than be married. While Phool is the kind of person to live within restrictions that forbid women from uttering their husbands’ name out loud, Jaya is defiant of such limitations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240619100624_adc3650769df398de6fe7f5730fe1150c30f7118cfef1c36907256bf214fd1ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240619100624_adc3650769df398de6fe7f5730fe1150c30f7118cfef1c36907256bf214fd1ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1668" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Laapataa Ladies review"> </figure>  Without celebrating any definition of what women have to be – either by conservative or progressive standards, the film centres around how the two women each navigate and make their own place in the patriarchal world. Apart from the simplistic storytelling, the film’s highlight is its portrayal of female relationships. In a world where many films are still about heroes and heroism, seeing women, women-led stories and the depth of their relationships is a rarity. And unlike how women are stereotypically portrayed in films to drag each other down, the film does just the opposite. Rao’s Laapataa Ladies is thus a breath of fresh air. The relationship Jaya and Phool develop individually with supporting female characters makes the viewer’s heart full, like the friendship that gradually flourishes between Jaya and Poonam, the eldest daughter-in-law of the house Jaya is not supposed to be in. Poonam has a knack for sketching but does not think much of it. It is Jaya who encourages her to draw and realise her potential. And while Poonam might never take up sketching professionally –that part is never dealt with within the film– that her skill was validated and appreciated is a meaningful detail. Meanwhile, everyday casual conversations that take place between the women in the film also have a deeper meaning. And though it is set in rural India, the issues the women face seem universal, especially to women across South Asia and the global south. A scene that stands out is a conversation between Manju Mai – who runs a food stall at the train station where Phool is stranded – and Phool. Phool is cooking for Manju Mai and when Manju asks if she would be okay cooking in a kitchen foreign to her, Phool replies, “As women, we are only taught to embrace a kitchen foreign to us”. Laapaata Ladies might come across as preachy at times, but aside from that, this two-hour-long film is a reflective, thought-provoking piece about women finding their place in the world. Laapaata Ladies is streaming on Netflix.

Pinki Sris Rana

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A tale of two brides in Laapataa Ladies

2023 was a year when the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and big blockbuster movie formula finally stopped bringing crowds to the cinema. It took the Barbenheimer cinematic event earlier this summer to revive the industry which has been on a constant slump post-pandemic. The second half of the year saw some exceptional films from across the world, most of which were overshadowed by the combo of Barbie and Oppenheimer. Here is a pick of some notable movies of the last few years ahead of the holiday season for you to enjoy over any number of your favourite streaming platforms. <h2>Barbenheimer (Barbie + Oppenheimer) </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231224071232_58f1fa1ac867739c65e877ed65833e907c811f42d4c5fe805aa1e27d900686b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231224071232_58f1fa1ac867739c65e877ed65833e907c811f42d4c5fe805aa1e27d900686b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="2023 movies NT"></figure>  No 2023 film list would be complete without the obvious mention of Barbenheimer, the seemingly oxymoronic double bill of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Nolan’s epic stars Cillian Murphy as the “father of the atomic bomb”, Robert J. Oppenheimer, as the film takes the audience through quantum theory, Oppenheimer’s journey from struggling student to Los Alamos, and existential cold war anxiety. Rather than a dramatic reenactment, Oppenheimer feels like more of a character assassination, a meditation on the dangers of moral indecision, and the absurdity of power and those who wield it. With the reignition of nuclear anxieties most markedly triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Oppenheimer is more than just a reflection but a warning. Oppenheimer’s monochromatic cinematography is in complete contrast to the burst of neon that is Barbie. However, remarkably, these films are not too dissimilar in that both are tinged with existentialism. Through various shades of pink, Gerwig tackles the question of what it means to be a woman in our modern society and the patriarchal pressures that distort women’s sense of self. It is unsubtle but smart, accessible yet witty. It is not an arthouse intellectualisation of the human experience but it does touch on pertinent themes, and more importantly, it is an incredibly fun watch. More than capturing the zeitgeist of our post-covid, late-stage capitalistic world, these films marked the return of cinema or rather catalysed the refound joy of cinema-going. <h2>The Boy and the Heron</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231224071228_d802632e263ee5cd8f8945ef02725a75cc2a65dab9f4d6d78e303aad10047925.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231224071228_d802632e263ee5cd8f8945ef02725a75cc2a65dab9f4d6d78e303aad10047925" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1463" loading="lazy" alt="2023 movies NT"></figure>  A decade after announcing his retirement, acclaimed Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki made an unexpected comeback to cinema this year with the release of The Boy and The Heron. Studio Ghibli’s latest masterpiece touches on familiar themes such as grief, the moral ambiguities of war, childhood memories, nostalgia, nature, and nationalism all presented via the prism of magical realism and mystery. A film that was almost certainly worth Miyazaki breaking his retirement for. <h2>Close </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231224071228_27085c2a3e391a0e5377e4321beababa814ad33d8260020fffdda7d43d33f003.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20231224071228_27085c2a3e391a0e5377e4321beababa814ad33d8260020fffdda7d43d33f003" data-rendition-name="original" width="2025" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="2023 movies NT"></figure>  It is a heartbreakingly beautiful film that captures the tragedy that is the end of childhood naïvety and the silent dangers of societal norms and conformity. An overt description would fail to capture the poignant essence of this Belgian coming-of-age film which won the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix. The rich cinematography and lush backdrop of flower fields perfectly balance the raw emotive performances, leaving a taste in the audience that is beyond bittersweet. <h2>All the Beauty and the Bloodshed </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231224071228_0573a0e0276c14541996b668086c2d5da6311ee149bfe0ce4eec973fdb0577f0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20231224071228_0573a0e0276c14541996b668086c2d5da6311ee149bfe0ce4eec973fdb0577f0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1642" height="2461" loading="lazy" alt="2023 movies NT"></figure>  This gripping Oscar-nominated documentary follows Nan Goldin, one of the greatest photographers of the last century, and her battle to hold the Sackler family accountable for their complicity in the American opioid epidemic. Goldin herself narrates the film as she recounts her dysfunctional childhood, her journey through New York’s underground scene, the fight against AIDS, and her struggles with opioid addiction. This film is poignant yet empowering and a strong reminder of the often-forgotten power of an individual’s courage and community pride. <h2>Wes Anderson’s adaptations of Roald Dahl</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231224071228_5f544b7b89ba58c09565e3905fa47473a3bfd58890aee6ae888807930d7d0646.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231224071228_5f544b7b89ba58c09565e3905fa47473a3bfd58890aee6ae888807930d7d0646" data-rendition-name="original" width="462" height="699" loading="lazy" alt="2023 movies NT"></figure>  Netflix was graced by Wes Anderson’s quartet of reimagining of Road Dahl’s lesser-known short stories. Wes Anderson and Roald Dahl can only be described as a perfect match with Anderson’s eccentric yet measured style perfectly capturing the ridiculousness that is the crueler side of humanity. These full-bodied featurettes may be short but they are far from sweet. <h2>Cairo Conspiracy (Boy from Heaven) </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231224071236_08f7cd05a6a1fa6a7a9553229591b2ac6aae2f3d4b33108932597b188c374934.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20231224071236_08f7cd05a6a1fa6a7a9553229591b2ac6aae2f3d4b33108932597b188c374934" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="2560" loading="lazy" alt="2023 movies NT"></figure>  This Palme d’Or nominated, Arabic political thriller is a co-production between Sweden, France, and Finland, and follows the naïve son of a village fisherman as he is unwillingly made a pawn in a political-religious power game for the future of Egypt after being accepted to study at the prestigious Al-Azhar University. This film is beautiful and gut-wrenching making it clear why it won the best screenplay at Cannes. <h2>Past Lives</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231224071228_f739b85eca6b3768f19dbf4f062e9c91d62e99583344b17aa6862129c6a94e96.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20231224071228_f739b85eca6b3768f19dbf4f062e9c91d62e99583344b17aa6862129c6a94e96" data-rendition-name="original" width="972" height="1440" loading="lazy" alt="2023 movies NT"></figure>  Celine Song’s A24-produced directorial debut took the film world by storm this summer and for very good reason. It follows childhood sweethearts Na-young (Nora) and Hae-sung who reunite years after Na-young’s emigration to North America. In some ways this “What if?” film is very much reminiscent of Linklater’s “Before Sunrise” but is also a meditation on cultural identity, memory, nostalgia, and migration. A must-watch. <h2>L’immensita (The Immensity) </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231224071228_742f8454c3e18560e2bd2c570491cacc9755607500df7fd6a1b9587e82800d3f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20231224071228_742f8454c3e18560e2bd2c570491cacc9755607500df7fd6a1b9587e82800d3f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2764" height="4096" loading="lazy" alt="2023 movies NT"></figure>  Penelope Cruz stuns in this turbulent Italian drama. While this film touches on pertinent issues such as gender dysphoria, sexism, abuse, and gentrification, it is more of a demonstration of the strength of a mother’s love and the power to embrace unconformity even if it requires sacrifice. L’immensita is heartbreaking but joyful and Cruz’s performance is truly a tour de force. <h2>Kathal </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231224071228_b9aa000d50b1d5deb28577f9a7c2f6f647f9675d163db692ae6138198f96c03b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20231224071228_b9aa000d50b1d5deb28577f9a7c2f6f647f9675d163db692ae6138198f96c03b" data-rendition-name="original" width="450" height="630" loading="lazy" alt="2023 movies NT"></figure>  Kathal (Hindi word for Jackfruit) is a Netflix-produced Indian satirical comedy film that follows a small-town police inspector as she investigates the missing Jackfruits of a local politician. This lighthearted film is more than just a quirky comedy and elegantly touches on prevalent issues including corruption, caste discrimination, gender inequality, fake news, and class dynamics.

Reel Rendezvous

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b866d9c7e80680e067853jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="817"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Scroll, scroll, scroll your mouse, gently down the screen. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a scene.Ever since the first lockdown, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-qfx-cinema-needs-a-happy-ending/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cinemas have remained mostly shut</a>. Movies did return to our lives with a bang – but with a deep “ta-dum!” and that dramatic red N on the monitor.Enter <a href="https://www.netflix.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Netflix</a>: our quarantine companion, late-night friend and biggest supporter of procrastination, with its ‘next episode’ auto-plays and daily notifications of the movie or new season.After getting disenchanted by regular cable tv and learning about how entertainment has moved to OTT (over-the-top) media platforms that thrive on a strong Internet connection, we started asking our friends and relatives living abroad to share their Netflix account with us, so that we could enjoy entertainment that our rupee couldn’t afford. They willingly or unwillingly obliged.But now, with the new $500 allowance per credit card per year from a Nepali bank, you can independently purchase your own memberships to multiple streaming platforms, offering endless entertainment at your fingertips, with remote controls that now come with bright red built-in ‘Netflix’ buttons. This button is proof that tv viewing has changed forever.Back in 1997, Netflix started as a simple DVD-by-mail rental service. In 2007, it launched a movie streaming service, which led to a cultural explosion that turned it into the biggest international streaming giant, with more than 207 million members who pay decent money for unlimited access to quality movies and tv series every month.Users pay from $8.99 (single screen streaming) to $15.99 (up to 4 screens per account at a time) per month for curated feeds that are designed to intuitively offer content that are suited to your personal taste, based on your viewing history.Netflix used to be exclusively for watching movies, but lately it strategically shifted its focus to tv and web series, investing billions of dollars in original content, including record-breaking shows like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6468322/">Money Heist</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5071412/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ozark</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2442560/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Peaky Blinders</a>.Netflix also bought 83 hours of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108778/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Friends</a>, episodes of which people across ages enjoy watching on repeat, along with other popular programs that people used to follow on traditional box tv sets.There are also award-winning documentaries like <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81045007" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">My Octopus Teacher</a> and one-hour comedy specials like Hannah Gadsby’s <a href="https://www.netflix.com/np/title/80233611" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nanette</a>. Additionally, Netflix offers offline viewing, a feature that is precious to those who want to plan their binge-watching when travelling or entering areas without WiFi.Besides Netflix, there are a few others worth spending on, but in Nepal we may require a VPN to view some of these. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Movies/b?ie=UTF8&amp;node=2649512011" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Amazon</a> is at a similar price point, and trying to beat Netflix’s movie collection with its own. Amazon charges $8.99 per month for a Prime Video membership without any additional Amazon shopping perks.For premium movies, Prime requires you to rent or buy them separately. Currently, Prime Video has roughly 24,000 movies and over 2,100 shows under its belt. Prime also offers select content in 4K Ultra HD quality, making investing in a 55-inch LED Smart TV totally worth it.<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Movies/b?ie=UTF8&amp;node=2858905011" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Video</a> is compatible with all browsers and devices, but the best part is, it offers a 30-day free trial (credit card required) so you can explore all you want before investing in it. From Amazon original award-winners like the latest <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Metal-Riz-Ahmed/dp/B08KZCFW1C" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sound of Metal</a> to all-round entertainers like the classic whodunnit <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Knives Out</a> and everybody’s beloved <a href="https://www.amazon.com/T-Extra-Terrestrial-Henry-Thomas/dp/B009GN6DT4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">E.T.</a>, Prime makes sure that once you’re in, you will not run out of movies to enjoy.While Amazon Prime is popular in South Asia, <a href="https://www.hulu.com/welcome?orig_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hulu</a> ranks second-best in the USA. Hulu’s most basic plan costs $5.99 a month, but without ads it is double. For those with deeper pockets, there’s also Hulu Live TV, a premium service with 60 channels that offer sports, news and entertainment, along with standard content for streaming. Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, Homeland and American Idol are just some of the hit TV shows that you can happily binge-watch on Hulu, which is more oriented towards TV viewers than movie fanatics. The one downside is that Hulu only allows two streams from the same account at the same time, making it difficult for an entire family to share.The ultimate family-friendly streaming platform is probably <a href="https://preview.disneyplus.com/unavailable/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Disney Plus</a>, with movies only up to PG-13 ratings, further emphasising that its focus is on kids’ entertainment. If you are a Marvel movie fan, Star Wars nerd or animated movie enthusiast, this OTT platform is perfect for you. Pixar movies and theatrical productions are also in Disney’s kitty, but it is the Disney classics in its vault (including The Little Mermaid, The Jungle Book, Aladdin and the new age favourite Frozen) that make it a no-brainer for anybody with children. All this for just $7.99 a month, with full access to its library and no ads.Another platform that is clearly aiming for family audiences is <a href="https://www.apple.com/tv/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple TV</a> Plus, with a very small content library of over 30 Apple Originals, a variety of content across genres. Apple TV Plus has a fairly generous family sharing plan, allowing up to six family members to use the same account. Even better, they can use their own logins, so you can quietly keep your embarrassing password to yourself.Despite being a big brand, Apple is aggressively pricing its OTT platform at just $4.99 a month. Apple spends on quality, backing big budget productions that provide fresh, original content only, such as the Jennifer Aniston-starrer The Morning Show.Apple hasn’t yet convinced audiences with mind-blowing content yet, but cross-product sales offers do help increase its subscriber base; within 3 months of purchasing a new iPhone, you can avail the offer of a one-year free Apple TV Plus membership.There is one tiny inconvenience: besides Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which can be accessed from Nepal, the rest of streaming platforms listed above can only be accessed via VPN, so before subscribing to them, you might want to consider spending $5 per month on average on a high-performance VPN (Virtual Private Network).A VPN is beneficial even for Netflix and Amazon Prime viewers because it gives access to a slightly different, wider content feed that, say, viewers in the USA get to see.What exactly does a VPN do? It connects you to a proxy server, becoming an intermediary between your device and the Internet and successfully hiding your IP address so that you can view content that is not accessible to Nepal or the region. VPNs let you break through geoblocks and keep your real location protected, so you can get your hands on all kinds of content, apps and services across borders with unlimited bandwidth. Exciting, indeed!The most highly recommended one that offers good value for money is <a href="https://www.expressvpn.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ExpressVPN</a>, the top-rated VPN of the year 2021. ExpressVPN has thousands of servers across 94 countries that ensure smooth, lightning-fast streaming and excellent data security. Moreover, 30-day money-back guarantee also makes it a risk-free decision. Other excellent VPN options for Nepali users to explore are <a href="https://nordvpn.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NordVPN</a> (best budget option), <a href="https://privatevpn.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">PrivateVPN</a> (most secure connection), <a href="https://surfshark.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Surfshark</a> (rising in popularity), <a href="https://www.cyberghostvpn.com/en_US/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CyberGhost</a> (best for beginner users) and <a href="https://www.ipvanish.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IPVanish</a> (great for HD streaming).THIS WEEK ON NETFLIXIf you want to dive deep into a movie and feel every moment: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5727208/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Uncut Gems</a>, an Oscar-worthy performance by Adam Sandler that makes you sweat, stress and worry as much as the rich, shady characters of the diamond district of New York, shown in the movie.If you want an animated movie that takes you on a fun family adventure: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7979580/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Mitchells vs. the Machines</a>, a Sony Pictures production that gives solid competition to Disney and Pixar with its lovable wannabe filmmaker teenager Katie. Shoutout to her technologically challenged dad, who is, let’s face it, all our dads.If you love a bittersweet dramedy that tells the story of a dysfunctional family through realistic, intelligent writing and relatable adult characters: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5536736/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Meyerowitz Stories</a>, directed by Noah Baumbach of Marriage Story fame. Watch Dustin Hoffman play the father’s role with panache.If you want to get inspired by excellent salesmanship (with questionable ethnics) and enjoy the story of how Ray Kroc made McDonald’s the biggest, most successful burger chain in America: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4276820/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Founder</a>, starring Michael Keaton as a conniving business fox, based on a true story.If you like the idea of a French movie that is funny and far from sophisticated or depressing: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6857988/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">I Am Not an Easy Man</a>, an out-and-out comedy led by a shameless chauvinist who has a tough time navigating his life when he wakes up to a world where women and men have reversed gender roles and the changed power dynamics make for an entertaining watch.If you miss watching a thrilling Bollywood movie at the movie theatres: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7212754/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ludo</a>, featuring a brilliant cast (Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Rajkumar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, etc.) that intertwines four totally different stories bound by fate, chance and crime.

Saniaa Shah

How to Netflix and stay safe during lockdown

<img width="640" height="361" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101152/636a26df9c7e80680e043a3cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Rap music entered the subcontinent’s musical firmament decades ago, but its essence has never been as well encapsulated as in the new Bollywood film, Gully Boy, that is in cinemas in Kathmandu this week.Right at the outset, protagonist Murad (Ranveer Singh) points out what contemporary Indian rap sounds like: “What kind of song is this? Look, this is my car! Look, this is my girl! Look at all this gold I have!” Yes, those are the rap songs we usually see from the likes of singers like Yoyo Honey Singh in most Bollywood songs.Gully Boy, however, takes us to the origins of rap, born from a need to express and to seek release from pain and suffering, from the need to stay honest and sane in a fake world, a need to seek your own centre in the constant glut of sensations that the world throws at you.It starts with the eponymous Gully Boy Murad (meaning ‘wish’, cleverly named) who lives in a slum with his extended family, just as his father brings home a second wife who is closer in age to him than his father. Murad goes to college so that he does not have to become a chauffeur like his father. But disturbed by everything he sees around him, he writes poetry at night, and is touched one day when he sees a rapper perform the kind of songs he writes.The rest of the movie is more or less predictable, but still a heartwarming tale of his eventual success as a rapper. What makes this movie watchable are the typically Indian characters, and very relatable across South Asia. The one who stands out is Shrikant aka Sher (Siddhant Chaturvedi) who essays the role of Murad’s mentor with the confidence of a seasoned performer, and not the newcomer that he is. Safeena played by Alia Bhatt is another instantly memorable character. Bhatt turns the role of a supportive girlfriend, a role that may have passed in the blink of an eye, into a fiery portrait of a millennial woman. She is studious, but also adventurous. She loves her parents, but does not hesitate to lie to them when she is going out with her boyfriend. She is smart, and keeps her own communication apps well hidden as she outs another girl who is flirting with her boyfriend. Murad and Safeena’s childhood sweethearts may seem too romanticised and unrealistic in other parts of the world. But not here in South Asia, where everyone is familiar with the game of cat and mouse with family, and sneaky ways to hang out. Meanwhile, the movie also manages to portray what life in Mumbai’s slums actually look like. Murad lives in a cramped loft of a two-room shed, and counts among his friend people who steal cars and deal with drugs. Director Zoya Akhtar’s last movie, the glitzy Dil Dhadakne Do that lacked an engaging story, had fallen flat both commercially and critically, and she had almost been slotted into a rich-world storyteller. With Gully Boy, she proves her versatility and her ability to mine all kinds of social strata. Ultimately, the movie succeeds in showing what rap means in India. For those who are alien to the genre and think rap is about ranting whatever comes to the mind (‘JPT’ in Nepali cyberlingo) Sher (meaning ‘couplet’, another clever name) gives a lecture about the centrality of poetry and rhythm in rap. Sher’s constant mentoring, and Murad’s incessant practicing, also break the myth that stars are born. Instead, it shows how much hard work it takes to be good at what you want to do. One of the most memorable scenes is when Murad is arguing with his father about his dreams, and breaks into rhythm naturally, as if he had internalised it with constant practice. Such poetry fills every moment of our lives, and we only need to open our eye and ears to see and hear them. Gully Boy reminds us how each of us have stories to tell, and if we do not tell them, we may just explode. Ultimately, it is a celebration of the human need to spell out our feelings in the form of art, so that we can connect with each other.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfbxcD6biOk

Gully Boy

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

Thousands of Nepali students dreaming of an American education have been forced to look elsewhere as the Trump administration’s visa restrictions make their future uncertain.
The US was long considered a top destination for higher studies, making Nepal the 10th biggest country of origin for international students in America.&nbsp;
However, that number has seen a significant decline with the total for Nepali students now at 16,482. Some 8,000 Nepali students obtained no-objection certificates to study in the US from the Ministry of Education in the past year.&nbsp;
India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom and Japan are the other popular destinations for Nepali students. There are no clear numbers for Nepalis going to India, but a slight decline was noted this year after the deaths of two female students.
The US State Department has issued a circular to its embassies not to issue new visas to applicants until further notice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the directive stated that the department planned to expand the screening of applicants' social media.&nbsp;
While new applicants are barred including those applying for visitor visas, students with scheduled interviews are allowed to proceed.
“Many of our students are affected by the new restrictions, but those who had applied for student visas earlier have got interview dates,” one Kathmandu-based college counsellor told us.
Meanwhile, even foreign students with spotless records already in the US have not been spared, as visa scrutiny intensifies under the new policy. In a move that underscores the growing sense of insecurity, many US colleges advised international students to carry their passports and documents at all times, even when traveling locally.
“Me and my friends did not go home this summer because we were not sure we would be allowed back, so we just went to Niagara Falls,” said a Nepali undergrad in Ohio, who like many interviewed for this report did not want her name used for fear of repercussion.
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Nepali students have adopted a cautious stance, with many choosing not to return home during summer vacation due to fear of visa revocations as well as travel bans. Meanwhile, over 7,000 Nepalis with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will have to come back to Nepal by 5 August or face deportation. Thirty-seven were flown back to Kathmandu on Omni Air last week.
“The US is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education, and the ban will definitely impact bright students,” says Narottam Aryal of the King’s College in Kathmandu.
Indeed, Nepali undergraduates admitted into Ivy League colleges for the 2025 academic year have been asked to look for alternatives. The entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board resigned on Wednesday citing interference from the Trump administration on the selection of this year’s cohort. Some Nepali students already on Fulbright scholarships have noted disruptions, delays and even cancellation of stipends.&nbsp;
The student visa restrictions were initially just for foreign students admitted to Harvard University, but it was later extended to all Chinese students and now to all students. Universities like Columbia which actively recruit foreign students, face sharp enrolment declines, threatening their financial stability and diversity.
An Indian female PhD candidate at Columbia University had her visa revoked by the US State Department, and said she was targeted on the basis of her social media posts on Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Social media vetting of political activism has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in a country where such rights were a given.
Many students have been informed via email that their visas have been revoked for getting speeding or parking tickets, but even others with no criminal record have been affected. The fear of deportation looms large amongst international students, including those from Nepal.&nbsp;
For most Nepalis who migrate to the US for education, the journey is a high-stakes investment. They come largely from middle-class families, often rely on a patchwork of scholarships, work-study programs, loans, or even the sale of family assets to afford fees.
Most Nepali students pursue STEM subjects which offer extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods that help fund their education. But with the US backsliding on education and humanitarian matters, countries like the UK and Canada are becoming more attractive despite their own recent stricter controls on student visas.&nbsp;
The UK universities saw a 63% rise in Nepali students’ admissions in 2024. Japan is another popular destination with 64,816 Nepali students enrolled as of 2024.
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Already, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are poised to benefit from the increased scrutiny of US student visas. Several Hong Kong universities are offering unconditional admission to affected students, while Malaysian institutions are targeting previously US-bound Asian students. China and India have 330,000 and 280,000 students respectively in America, but the numbers for China have seen a sharp drop in the past year.
Elsewhere, branch campuses of American institutions such as NYU in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown in Dubai and Northwestern in Doha are getting more admission applications, and universities in the Gulf region are expanding infrastructure to accommodate those who would otherwise have gone to the US.&nbsp;
Even educational institutions in Nepal are hopeful that the US visa restrictions can be an opportunity to at least keep Nepali undergrads in Nepal, and also attract foreign students from the region.&nbsp;
“Many students might choose to complete their undergraduate degree here in Nepal and then move abroad for their Master’s degree later,” says Aryal of King’s College. “There was a need for quality higher education in Nepal anyway in terms of innovation and opportunities, so this could be the time to reduce our dependence on other countries.”
Nepal’s strategic position between India and China makes it sensitive to US policy shifts. India, a key ally, is also under US scrutiny for potential student travel restrictions. Chinese universities are already offering more scholarships to Nepali talent to capitalise on the US retreat.
American universities have challenged student visa restrictions in the courts. A federal court in Boston revoked the blanket ban on Harvard, and the State Department has ordered the resumption of processing student and exchange visitor visas.&nbsp;
Some are still hoping that President Trump will backtrack on the student visa restrictions, just like he has done with many of his more drastic executive orders.
Even so, the visa see-saw and longer-term uncertainties about living in the United States and its education system means students across the world are making alternative plans.
Says Aryal: “Policies of foreign countries change according to their needs, so excessive dependence was never a good idea. We should work to create different opportunities and choices of higher education within Nepal, so students are retained.” &nbsp;

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;

The Everest Industry

That winter day in January 1664 marked an exceptional event in the reign of King Pratap Malla of Kathmandu. It was 15 Paush 784 of the Nepal Sambat and for the first time, a historical event was being immortalised on canvas for generations to come.&nbsp; The occasion was the grand Tuladaan ceremony of the King’s youngest son Chakrabartendra Malla from his wife Anantapriya, an Indian princess from Cooch Behar in present-day Assam.&nbsp; During the ritual, the prince was weighed against gold, silver, pearls, and other precious stones, which were then offered to Goddess Taleju Bhavani, the guardian deity of the Malla dynasty.&nbsp; The 170 x120cm painting captures the time of King Pratap Malla in all its splendour and is more than a personal tribute to his son: it is a significant visual historical document. It was evidently completed five years later in 1669, and could be considered a photographic record, with retrospective recreation of the event by the unknown artist. A Tuladaan ceremony is performed to purify one’s karma, quell impending bad luck, or as an act of charity and devotion. Chakrabartendra Malla was not well, and the ritual was performed in hopes of restoring his health. King Pratap Malla had arranged for each of his sons to take turns ruling Kathmandu so they got administrative experience. But Chakrabartendra died just two days after assuming power in 1670 (790 NS). This painting is considered the earliest known example in which the composition is dominated by an architectural landscape: the Taleju Temple. Given the stylistic features such as side-profile facial depictions and the rendering of human forms, it is believed that the Nepali artist was trained by a Rajput master.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051" data-rendition-name="original" width="3248" height="4395" loading="lazy" alt="Tuladaan NT"> </figure>  During that era, there were regular exchanges of artists between Northern India and Kathmandu Valley. The painting is also a melding of Nepali, Tibetan, Mughal, and Rajput art styles of the time. Pratap Malla could have been inspired by a painting of Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s Tuladaan ceremony for his son Khurram in 1607. The Mallas and Mughals shared cordial relations, which is reflected in the cultural influences seen in the art and attire of the period.&nbsp; The clothing of the Malla ruling class, in particular, features colourful tunics, turbans, and jewelry that display strong Rajput and Mughal stylistic elements. The musicians in the upper tier are also dressed in Indian-style clothing, while the ensemble on the lower steps wear local attire, notably without turbans. Their hairstyles also differ, with the lower group wearing their hair tied in a bun at the front. This national treasure is currently in storage at the Collège de France in Paris, and has never been publicly displayed. Nepal’s art scholars like Gautam Vajracharya, Pratap Aditya Pal and Anne Vergati have written about this iconic paubha in the past, but the only detailed study is from the perspective of music history by researcher Richard Widdess who had access to high resolution copies of the original.&nbsp; Widdess from the Department of Music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London describes the paubha as the most significant and richly detailed documentation of music in Nepali art. He identifies distinct musical ensembles on the terraces of the temple, and remarkably most of them are actively used today. One of them reflects the Mughal naqqārakhāna model — a loud outdoor ensemble typically composed of kettledrums, trumpets, and cymbals, traditionally performed from the gateway of the emperor’s palace to announce his entrances and exits. The depiction of such an ensemble in the tulādāna painting is likely the earliest known representation of a complete naqqārakhāna in Nepal — considered the forerunner of the panche baja, the traditional Nepali ensemble. On the stepped pyramid base of the temple are two groups of musicians playing local instruments: dhimey, bhushya, and dha. They are unmistakably Newar musicians, wearing short skirts and short-sleeved tops, with bare heads and legs—clearly distinguished as local performers.&nbsp; Higher still on the temple pyramid are musicians of apparently higher status, positioned close to the king, and his courtiers, possibly professional court musicians from India, well-versed in rāga and tāla. A dāphā group is also clearly depicted, identifiable by their characteristic instruments.&nbsp; Dāphā bhajan is likely the oldest surviving tradition of Newar devotional singing, and this paubha is the oldest visual record of it. Pratap Malla himself is believed to have composed songs that continue to be performed by dāphā groups throughout Kathmandu till today.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3" data-rendition-name="original" width="596" height="768" loading="lazy" alt="Priceless paubha in Paris NT"> </figure>  The artist’s thorough attention to musical detail may be attributed to King Pratap Malla’s own deep interest in music. His inscriptions on this painting and elsewhere proclaim his mastery of all branches of knowledge, including music. He is also known as the author of dance dramas and poems, penning his name as Kavindra (king of poets). Some noteworthy elements of new art techniques stand out: for example, the roof of the temple is filled with realistically rendered white doves, pigeons, and crows. This is a rare feature in paubha, where animals and birds are stylised, mythological forms. This remarkably talented unknown artist has managed to also render an orthographic projection: the front and side view of Nepal’s first architectural paubha. The Taleju Temple, with its staggering multi-tiered structure and numerous steps and platforms, is masterfully translated into layers within the painting. This represents a significant artistic achievement of the time, especially considering that dimensional perspectives had not started in deity-based paubha.&nbsp; The artist has also made a meticulous effort to capture architectural details such as the toran (ornamental arch) and temple struts with impressive precision. There are flickering lamps along the steps and some people carrying what appear to be oil pots.&nbsp; It is a full moon night and the dark sky is adorned with all the gods and goddesses, who are depicted as blessing the ceremony while seated on stylised thangka clouds. There is a lot happening in this painting, with people engaged in various activities. The artist has also rendered a forest backdrop behind the temple, complete with deer, trees, and flowers. Could there have once been a royal garden behind the Taleju Temple?&nbsp; More details and clarity can only be achieved if we are able to view the original or a high-resolution scanned version of the artwork. Many countries proudly display art depicting historical events in their national museums with great reverence. France, for example, has The Coronation of Emperor Napoleon and Empress Joséphine by Jacques-Louis David (1808–1822), along with numerous paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Many were commissioned by Napoleon himself for future generations to remember.&nbsp; For Nepal, the equivalent is the Tuladaan paubha which is a visual record capturing a historic moment involving one of Kathmandu’s greatest kings, on the very day the event took place. Sadly, we await the day when this masterpiece is displayed, shared in high resolution for detailed study, or more rightfully — repatriated to its homeland, where it truly belongs. &nbsp; Shaguni Singh Sakya is the Director of the Museum of Nepali Arts (MoNA) at Kathmandu Guest House in Thamel. <h2>Gods homeward bound</h2> The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign and Nepal’s Department of Archaeology are convening the first international conference on the Recovery of Cultural Heritage from 16-18 June in Patan. The conference will address urgent issues of theft, illicit trafficking, the campaign to repatriate looted cultural artifacts, and explore how the return of sacred antiquities contributes to justice, healing, and reconciliation for communities and nations affected by cultural loss. American art crime professor Erin L Thompson and Saubhagya Pradhananga of the Department of Archaeology will deliver the keynote. Meanwhile, author and Nepali Times publisher Kunda Dixit will lead a conversation on Illicit Trafficking: Public Opinion and Role of Media with Erin Thompson, Amr Al Azm, associate professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio, as well as Bradley J Gordon, a lawyer based in Phnom Penh. There will be sessions looking at repatriation perspectives from Cambodia, India, Vietnam, China and Poland, international frameworks for repatriation, emerging digital technologies in the repatriation of cultural heritage, cultural property agreements, museums as well as trends in the art market, and heritage diplomacy and the role of media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="1350" loading="lazy" alt="Heritage recovery NT"> </figure>  <h2> </h2> Some of the other highlights include James K. Reap, a professor in the Master of Historic Preservation Program at the University of Georgia who has a session on the US response to illicit trafficking. Art historian Lea Saint-Raymond is taking on “Gods at Auction: The Market for Himalayan Artefacts”, while lecturer of criminology at the University of Glasgow Emiline Smith is delving into transformative approaches to heritage ownership and repatriation. Helena Arose of Antiquities Coalition and Melina Antoniadis of NOSTOS Strategies that specialise on the return home of cultural heritage as well as Hao Liu of International Cultural Heritage Law at the School of Law at Shandong University are some of the others attending. The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign was set up in 2020 to develop a coordinated movement to reclaim Nepal’s stolen gods and goddesses, with an aim to ensure that recovered items are returned to their original shrines, niches or sanctums. Ahead of the conference opening organisers have arranged for a film screening of Loot &amp; Return: 4 Documentaries at YalaMaya Kendra in Patan Dhoka between 14-15 June. Following the conference is a multimedia exhibition titled Absent Gods: Nepal’s Lost Heritage from 31 July to 4 August at Patan Museum.