Kathmandu, the UNESCO-designated city of film, is all set to celebrate cinema with the 22nd edition of KIMFF from 28 May to 1 June. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kimff-turns-21-wz756ixn">Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival</a> this year features a selection of 65 films from all over the world on the theme of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">mountains</a>. The festival opens with the Nepal premiere of Jeremy Power Regimbal’s documentary ‘Between the Mountain and the Sky’ featuring Surkhet-based educationist and CNN Hero Maggie Doyne.&nbsp; Launched in 2000 by a journalists’ collective, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/kimff-2019-p8070ipt">KIMFF has evolved over the years</a>, bringing in new themes like climate breakdown, indigenous groups, tourism and Himalayan culture. “This time we are prioritising people-driven stories and, most importantly, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/homecoming-with-music">Nepali voice</a>,” says KIMFF convener Ramyata Limbu.&nbsp; This year’s films reflect broader changes in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-cinema-s-melodramatic-realism">Nepal’s filmmaking landscape</a>, as access to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/tech-and-transition-in-nepal">technology</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/they-have-stories-to-yell">storytelling platforms</a> expand. Kimff’s Nepal Panorama section over the years has become a launchpad for many of the country’s leading independent filmmakers. This year, The festival is widening its scope with its inaugural Kathmandu DocLab. This is a five-day incubator designed for the South Asians by the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/documenting-the-anthropocene">South Asian filmmakers</a> and aims to foster local talent from the region and equip them with the tools to craft globally resonant stories.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052209054_6ae4c176750255257e98b623cec24307747b6d6ae08bd0c7c0aeaae014219f59.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2025052209054_6ae4c176750255257e98b623cec24307747b6d6ae08bd0c7c0aeaae014219f59" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Kimff 2025 NT"> </figure>  “DocLab is a place for filmmakers to come together to work on their ideas and to make the stories even more engaging,” says its director Alok Adhikari. “Documentaries are regarded as a boring genre. We want to change the narrative by learning to tell engaging stories.” The DocLab aims to demystify fund-raising for films outside South Asia and simulate a real-world <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/documentary-films-come-of-age">film market</a>. The nine selected participants will be mentored by Anam Abbas (Pakistan-Canada), Arun Bhattarai (Bhutan), and Rintu Thomas (India). “In <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12940">documentary filmmaking</a>, a regional context is even more crucial, which South Asians inherently understand,” explains Adhikari. “Too often, when these ideas are pitched to Western investors, key cultural elements get lost in translation.” After the workshop, participants will pitch ideas to audiences and filmmakers. The top three projects get prize money, and DocLab will also connect them with international industry partners to secure funds.&nbsp; This year’s festival will also host a Cut.Katha Documentary Pitch, supported by the British Council, in which five <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/she-is-the-story">Nepali women filmmakers </a>will pitch short documentary projects. Other highlights include a Nikon Youth photography/filmmaking workshop and a VR installation of &nbsp;Maya: The Birth of a Superhero. “Kathmandu is now a regional hub for documentary filmmaking, offering industry connection, creative collaboration and access to the global film market much like the world’s biggest film festivals,” says Ramyata Limbu. The festival is taking place simultaneously at QFX Chhaya Centre, Astrek Park, and GAA Hall in Thamel.&nbsp; <h2>Watchlist</h2> <h2>Have you seen my gods?&nbsp;</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052209054_82a2592d31907b782dadc670056d256424aec941d472803839252979377faed6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2025052209054_82a2592d31907b782dadc670056d256424aec941d472803839252979377faed6" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="533" loading="lazy" alt="Kimff 2025 NT"> </figure>  A compelling and deeply personal journey to track down the whereabouts of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-deities-in-transit">Kathmandu’s stolen sacred deities</a>, many of which are displayed in museums across the United States. To honour his grandmother’s final wish, Joshi looks for stolen gods. &nbsp; 60 min | Nepal/United States | 2025&nbsp; English/ Nepali Director: Amitabh Joshi&nbsp; <h2>Butterfly Bhutan &nbsp;</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052209054_8e90fc879ea35a62ea29fd7a25de1d3b591805ddabaa1ee88f8b553abeebc803.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052209054_8e90fc879ea35a62ea29fd7a25de1d3b591805ddabaa1ee88f8b553abeebc803" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Kimff 2025 NT"> </figure>  Sonam Phuntsho, a devoted Buddhist, starts questioning the environmental impact of acrylic prayer flags. The documentary follows Sonam as he starts removing flags, getting push back from his own community.&nbsp; 30 min | Bhutan | 2024 Dzongkha Director: Sonam Yangzom <h2>Songs of Love and Hate&nbsp;</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052209054_2cde15daafd995354ae1f84a4cd5b1c85114181768bce612244d00ccd7a220f2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052209054_2cde15daafd995354ae1f84a4cd5b1c85114181768bce612244d00ccd7a220f2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1065" loading="lazy" alt="Kimff 2025 NT"> </figure>  Prem hosts a popular radio program on relationship advice. Afflicted by a heartbreak himself, he navigates an emotional rollercoaster of love along with his listeners.&nbsp; 17 min | Nepal | 2024&nbsp; Nepali Director: Saurav Ghimire&nbsp; <h2>The Lama’s Son&nbsp;</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052209054_d70f429797cafa56b540be1b7167a6349fe0288c040645a7dfe5107f9cf8952b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052209054_d70f429797cafa56b540be1b7167a6349fe0288c040645a7dfe5107f9cf8952b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Kimff 2025 NT"> </figure>  A Bonpo Lama waits for his sushi chef son to return from New York. But he does not want to come back threatening the family’s ancestral lineage.&nbsp; 72 min | Nepal | 2025&nbsp; Lo-Kay/Tibetan Director: Kesang Tseten&nbsp; <h2>Kottukkaali</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052209054_d02176866a12a849d966afe64a25afcb09b1b788d1e3e7422efa87e24b7e040e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="2025052209054_d02176866a12a849d966afe64a25afcb09b1b788d1e3e7422efa87e24b7e040e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2049" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Kimff 2025 NT"> </figure>  A woman falls in love with a man from a lower caste, and spotlights the dangerous discrimination still dormant in Indian families and society.&nbsp; 101 min | India | 2023&nbsp; Tamil Director: Vinothraj PS

Pinki Sris Rana

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Festival of mountain films

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe11dc9c7e80680e0da4fcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="973" height="690"/><figcaption>Director Bernardo Bertolucci and producer Jeremy Thomas, with photographer Lynn Davis (behind) and screenwriter Rudy Wurlitzer on the Little Buddha recce in Chitwan, 1992. Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption></figure>In 2005, Hollywood actress Cameron Diaz, hosted a documentary series for MTV called Trippin’. The show had celebrities visit ecological locales around the world to educate young viewers about nature.The first episode was filmed in Nepal, featuring Diaz with actress Eva Mendes, rapper Redman and Mark Hoppus of the hit rock band Blink-182. The film was shot on location in Kathmandu and Chitwan.Carolyn Syangbo was a production liaison for the show in Nepal, and recalls the producers being concerned about paparazzi in Chitwan. In Honduras, the shoot was nearly ruined because fans and media recognised Diaz and Mendes.“In the end, I said, look, I am going to be really honest and burst your bubble, no one knows who Diaz is here,” Syangbo says. “It took me ages to convince them that we did not need a security protocol to control paparazzi in Chitwan.”When Michael Palin was in Pokhara in 2004 to shoot his BBC series Himalaya, he was pleasantly surprised not to be recognised at all by Nepalis — until he was mobbed by a British tour group while filming in Boudha.In 2015, Benedict Cumberbatch was being filmed near Pashupati dressed in a frayed overcoat followed by a camera crew and a microphone attached to a pole overhead.Marvel’s Doctor Strange was being shot in Kathmandu, but after the first photo went viral, crowds gathered in Thamel, Indra Chok, Swayambhu and Patan to catch a glimpse of the actor.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe11df9c7e80680e0da4fdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2878" height="1200"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe11e49c7e80680e0da4fejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2880" height="1128"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Director Scott Derrickson decided to film Doctor Strange in Nepal to feature an “Eastern city" that would not be familiar to audiences. In the original comic, Strange travels to Tibet, but that was cancelled because of fears of Chinese censorship.Cumberbatch and Derrickson came to Nepal despite the 2015 earthquake so the film could potentially boost tourism here.On top of that, any Nepali watching the film would have felt a connection to see the title card ‘Kathmandu, Nepal’ about 21 minutes in, followed by a minute-long montage of Strange walking around the familiar historical and cultural sites in the Valley.Bollywood has also chosen Nepal as a location for its many films, starring major stars like Dev Anand in Haré Rama Haré Krishna in 1971 and Amitabh Bachchan in Uunchai last year. Finding one’s country represented in a Hollywood or Bollywood blockbuster, that too as an important piece in the story, is a moment of instant recognition and special delight.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe11e89c7e80680e0da4ffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="969"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Philippe de Broca’s 1965 adventure-comedy Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine (later retitled Up to His Ears) starring the French screen idol Jean-Paul Belmondo features 15 minutes of Kathmandu landmarks and the Himalayan backdrop.Several scenes of the 1986 fantasy martial arts film The Golden Child with Eddie Murphy were also filmed around Asan and Indra Chok with some Nepali extras.Éric Valli’s Oscar-nominated 1999 adventure film Himalaya (also titled Caravan), was shot in widescreen over nine months on location in remote Upper Dolpo.Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1974 fantasy adventure Arabian Nights includes a sequence with a character named Yunan whose story begins and ends in Nepal. In one scene, he plays hide and seek with his friends in and around the Jaisi Deval Temple in Kathmandu, and in another he runs to his father's palace on Kathmandu Darbar Square to tell him he wants to go to the sea. He finds his father in the sunken bath of Patan’s Sundari Chowk. After his return home from his adventures he says farewell to his royal life on Bhelukhel Square in Bhaktapur. Other places to feature in the film are the Kumari Baha, Ashok Binayak Temple in Kathmandu, the Golden Gate, the courtyard of Pujari Math in Bhaktapur, and Saraswati Hiti in Patan.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe11ec9c7e80680e0da500jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1605" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe11f09c7e80680e0da501png.png" alt="" width="1609" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe11f79c7e80680e0da502jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1870" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe11fc9c7e80680e0da503png.png" alt="" width="1611" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe12059c7e80680e0da504png.png" alt="" width="1610" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Hong Kong supernatural film Witch from Nepal and the British film To the North of Katmandu, were both shot on location in Nepal  in 1986.Then there is Bernardo Bertolucci’s ambitious drama Little Buddha, filmed in 1992 and released a year later, starring the pre-Matrix Keanu Reeves as Siddhartha Gautam. The film follows three children, one American and two Nepali, who might be the reincarnation of a Buddhist spiritual teacher Lama Dorje, and their story is told in parallel with the story of Gautam Buddha.Lisa Choegyal, who was a production liaison for Little Buddha in Nepal, remembers how the Bhaktapur Darbar Square had been transformed with fibre-glass sculptures and wood trellises to stand in for Siddhartha’s Kapilvastu palace.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe120c9c7e80680e0da505jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe12119c7e80680e0da506jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe12159c7e80680e0da507jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480">Set designs showing the transformation of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Sites for the 1992 production of Little Buddha that starred Keanu Reeves. Photos: LISA CHOEGYALChoegyal wrote in her Nepali Times column in 2017 that local residents were confused because the recreated sets could not be differentiated from the real thing.“It was the most elaborate, ambitious movie to be filmed in Nepal then,” recalls Choegyal. “This was after the 1990 People’s Movement and Girija Prasad Koirala was prime minister. The Tourism Ministry really got behind us because it was the same crew who had done The Last Emperor in Beijing.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe12199c7e80680e0da508jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="792" height="520"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Last Emperor went on to win 13 Oscars, and after its release visitors to China increased by 25%. And that is why the production of Little Buddha was backed by Koirala’s cousin Niranjan who was adviser to the Ministry of Tourism. The Prime Minister’s Office also assigned a special official to iron out any problems while filming.“So, in the 10 months of preparation and three months of filming, we didn’t lose a single day,” recalls Choegyal.Little Buddha was very successful in France, and made around $48 million globally. It also featured in several Year-end lists, including The Washington Post and The New York Times. This kind of exposure, Choegyal says, is valuable to Nepal because it boosts tourism and the economy.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe121c9c7e80680e0da509jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2010" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Little Buddha’s production contributed one-tenth of 1992’s tourism revenue in Nepal. Doctor Strange employed around 70 Nepalis in the production side of things and 500 extras.But lavish productions like Little Buddha are no longer possible on the same scale. The cost of filming on location has gone up, as has the development of CGI and visual effects. For instance, BBC’s Black Narcissus, a 2022 three-episode series based on Rumer Godden's novel of the same name partly filmed in Jomsom, was made almost entirely in studios with only a handful of scenes filmed in Mustang.Unlike the 1998 IMAX documentary Everest, the 2015 movie Everest starring <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Clarke">Jason Clarke</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Gyllenhaal">Jake Gyllenhaal</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Brolin">Josh Brolin</a> and about the 1996 deaths on the mountain, was shot only till Base Camp. The rest of the climb was recreated in the Italian Alps and Pinewood Studios in the UK with real-life pilot Vijay Lama playing the character of the helicopter rescue pilot, Madan KC.Producers are also avoiding location shooting because of more expensive and stricter insurance and liability laws in the US and UK. Kathmandu’s notorious pollution could also be another reason.Bertolucci had clear blue skies and stretches of green hills, but Syangbo recalls filming for the upcoming film Tiger’s Nest in Chitwan and Surkhet: “The footage was just thick and murky. We were down there filming, and we couldn’t breathe and sometimes we couldn’t even see well.”She says it is not cheap to film in Nepal, and poor infrastructure adds to the risk.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe12219c7e80680e0da50ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1919" height="792"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe12249c7e80680e0da50bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1919" height="958"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe12289c7e80680e0da50cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1919" height="762"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe122b9c7e80680e0da50djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1919" height="951"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Ram Krishna Pokhrel of Icefall Productions helps with location scouting for NatGeo, BBC, HBO and others. Among the projects he has worked on are the 2015 Japanese film Everest: The Summit of the Gods and the 2017 adventure comedy L'Ascension.“Our government doesn’t fully understand filmmaking and there has been no change in its attitude towards films,” Pokhrel laments. “They celebrate when a film comes out but are not supportive during production. Policies are not clear and there are too many restrictions.”Pokhrel believes that Nepal needs to keep up with international developments in filmmaking techniques to boost the country’s tourism. Nepal could also give tax incentives, like New Zealand, UK and Iceland, for international producers who were to shoot on location here.“It is not surprising why not many feature films which require large crews are shot in Nepal these days,” says Pokhrel. Documentaries and short films, by contrast, are smaller productions.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150236/63fe122f9c7e80680e0da50ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="316" height="785">When foreign filmmakers come to Nepal to shoot, it is also an opportunity for the local crew to learn and be familiar with what is happening in the industry outside Nepal.Kiran Bhakta Joshi of Incessant Rain, wants to promote Nepal as a location destination to create jobs and generate foreign exchange income. Right now, mountains remain the most popular subject, but Joshi believes we also need to explore our arts and culture in our films, whether narrative or documentary.“A step to take in that direction would be to create content ourselves and export abroad,” he adds. “In addition, the system right now does not allow for open competition and works almost like a syndicate. We see the same names making films in Nepal, and even though there are young, talented artists, they haven’t been able to enter the mainstream. This needs to change.”Joshi previously worked for Disney and co-developed the herding system for the wildebeest stampede sequence in The Lion King. He left the company in 2017 to establish Incessant Rain in Kathmandu, and has worked on visual effects and set extension for Stranger Things, House of the Dragon and A Series of Unfortunate Events.“We can even create a studio hub here, with a proper sound stage, green screen room,” adds Joshi. “Filmmakers from the US, Italy, even India will want to come here and make films in Nepal. We should think about promoting Nepal not just as a shooting location, but a filmmaking destination.”

Ashish Dhakal

Lights, Camera, Action in Nepal

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29ac9c7e80680e0458dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/>Given his multinational background, it was perhaps inevitable that it would be Pema Dhondup would make the first truly global Nepali feature film. Dhondup’s family moved down from Tibet to Jomsom after the Chinese annexation, and from there to Himachal Pradesh and cities across India. He has been living in the United States for the past 15 years.His movie <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5364878/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Man from Kathmandu</a> is shot in Kathmandu and Los Angeles, features a stellar cast of Nepali actors like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4542007/?ref_=tt_cl_t8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karma</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0787463/?ref_=tt_cl_t11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neer Shah</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1200073/?ref_=tt_cl_t6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mithila Sharma</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7273293/?ref_=tt_cl_t5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anna Sharma</a> and international stars including <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004109/?ref_=tt_cl_t1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gulshan Grover</a> from India, and other actors from Puerto Rico and Spain."Many people from across the world travel to be a part of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/page/87/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terrorist group ISIS</a>, even educated men from Western countries. But so far not a single one of them has been a Nepali," says Dhondup, “I wanted to explore the story of that one man among thousands. I wanted to find out what is it about Kathmandu that brings about this phenomenon."Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/animated-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Animated in Nepal</a>, Sikuma RaiTheme of his film is interaction between man and city, how Kathmandu changes the outlook of a radical half-Hindu-half-Muslim protagonist. Terrorism is just the backdrop to the plot, the real story is of a man's journey.To be sure, making Kathmandu the setting for this movie seems unusual, since Dhondhup is not Nepali and does not speak the language. And the film itself seems to be an effort on the part of the director to come to terms with his own identity and the definition of ‘home’."You can say the quest has ended in a way for me, in the form of my American passport. But does that really define who I am?" he asks.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29af9c7e80680e0458dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1376"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>We interview Dhondup in the Labim Mall office of the film’s producer Nakim Uddin of QFX. Despite his globe-trotting, the director says Kathmandu was the only city he could have filmed his story in. He has fond memories of Kathmandu from his childhood when he came here to visit family members, and in those days it was as exotic as visiting a foreign country."This is a place where identities and cultures are always in flux. In any other city, you immediately know who is who, what a particular person's origins are. But in Kathmandu, walk down a street and you cannot figure out people. Temples, monasteries, churches and mosques flourish side by side. The city has accepted and absorbed all kinds of identities," he adds.The theme of The Man from Kathmandu actually follows on from Dhondup's earlier movies where he explored the question of identity. His 2004 movie <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452541/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We're No Monks</a> was about a group of Tibetan boys coming out of their secluded existence to face the world. His documentaries have profiled members of the Tibetan diaspora scattered all over the world."It is very hard to make it in American filmdom, and not because of the reason you may be thinking," Dhondhup explains. "Being brown, or of any race, doesn't matter as much as you might expect. But it matters how well you fit into the capitalistic, money machine of Hollywood studios. If you fit, you can make progress. If you don't fit, and you want to experiment you will have a hard time."Still, years of working in Hollywood has given a certain rigour to his work which he feels is necessary for <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Lights-camera-copy-paste,1146" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali cinema</a> to make it on the global stage. Many Nepali films are still formulaic stories, but Dhondhup says that is not the real problem."No matter what kind of film you make, it has to be up to international technical standards, of sound, visual, editing, otherwise we have everything in Nepal to make world class cinema, from good actors to good equipment. Using these, we can tap into huge market in India and China just next door," he says.Whether or not The Man from Kathmandu will be ‘world cinema from Nepal’ and is of international standard remains to be seen. But Dhondup says it is already global in a sense that it meets technical specifications, and is set to be released in 50 countries after its Nepal premier this week. Dhondup hopes to continue working in Nepali cinema with Nakim Uddin, grooming and helping a new generation of Nepali filmmakers.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMvpmY7zfoYThe movie will be in cinemas in Nepal from 15 March.

A director from Kathmandu

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171148/636937609c7e80680e03fe30jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: OM ASTHA RAI</figcaption></figure>What is it about <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-lottery-of-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labour migration</a> that keeps drawing hundreds of thousands of people every year away from their homes and families despite the evident risks?<a href="http://panosa.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Panos South Asia</a>’s new collection of reportage from the region, Uncertain Journeys: Labour Migration from South Asia seeks to answer this question through the eyes of 15 senior journalists who researched their stories in destination countries. Based on their interviews, they analyse various aspects of labour migration.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/changing-the-headlines-on-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Changing the headlines on migration</a>, Upasana Khadka<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/labour-pain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Labour pain</a>, Om Astha RaiThe first chapter on Nepal is by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/caught-in-the-middle/migration-agency-exploitation,4003" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upasana Khadka</a>, who has reported widely on the issue of Nepali migrants in the Gulf and Malaysia <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/changing-the-headlines-on-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for this newspaper</a>. Khadka likens labour migration to a lottery, a culturally fatalistic view borne out of desperation to escape poverty back home. She narrates the stories of four individuals: Sharmila, Ramesh, Shama and Ram who are unlucky and are either caught, cheated, trafficked, or deported. Yet, even though they know the risks,  thousands of others take same route to seek their fortunes. <img width="200" height="174" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171148/636937639c7e80680e03fe31jpeg.jpg" alt="">‘Individuals are often aware of the common risks of migration … however, many continue to make risky decisions, not always because of lack of information, but despite it … it is possibility of being lucky that encourages so many to take risks,” she writes.Khadka also talks about the lack of bilateral agreements that have encouraged  avenues for illegal migration. Case in point is the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/homes-away-from-home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blanket ban on female domestic workers leaving Nepal</a>, despite which migrants continue to risk unauthorised channels to make it to their destination, setting in motion the chain of trafficking.Janak Raj Sapkota, author of the much-acclaimed book Kahar: Baideshi Rojgarile Bitholindo Samaj’ delves into human trafficking in Nepal under the guise of legal foreign employment, and the lack of laws that makes the connection between the two that has helped traffickers work behind the scenes.He argues that the political protection enjoyed by the remittance industry has aided this form of modern-day slavery to flourish, and until the ambiguities in legal structures are cleared and stronger policies are in place, Nepalis abroad will continue to be duped, or worse, abused and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/paying-an-arm-and-a-leg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">maimed</a>. Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/paying-an-arm-and-a-leg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paying an arm and a leg</a>, Om Astha Rai<a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/nepalis-killed-in-the-line-of-duty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Killed in the line of Duty</a>, Om Astha Rai and Sonia AwaleUncertain Journeys: Labour Migration from South AsiaEdited by A.S. PanneerselvanSpeaking Tiger Publishing, New Delhi Price: INR 499<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171148/636937649c7e80680e03fe32jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="278">Filmmaker Kesang Tseten whose acclaimed 2008 documentary <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1519643/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In Search of the Riyal</a> about four young Nepalis on journeys to the Gulf first bought the stark realities behind the remittances, also has a chapter about filming in Qatar and how he had to sneak behind aircraft crew to capture conversations with migrants inside the planes.Eleven years later he revisits characters from the first film for a sequel. He found that Danvir Jogi is still in Qatar and making good money, Navin Rai returned to a broken marriage and left again for Dubai, Prem Bareilly is in Dharan working as a silversmith amidst stigma of being a Dalit and Bhojraj Darzi is now a successful pig farmer in Nepal. But none of these are representative tales, Tsenten stresses, pointing out that it is vital to understand and sympathise with Nepalis opting to go abroad.The chapters on other South Asian show that there are a lot of similarities between the tragic tales of Nepali workers and those from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India. The case of Zulfiqar Ali of Pakistan who was charged with drug trafficking and consequently spent 13 years in death row in Indonesia reminds one of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepalis-from-chitwan-to-chidoya,4110" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conviction and incarceration of Govinda Mainali</a>, who was falsely accused of the murder and robbery of a Japanese woman in Tokyo in 1997.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepalis-from-chitwan-to-chidoya,4110" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From Chitwan to Chiyoda</a>, Kunda DixitIn a chapter appropriately titled ‘A Return to Nothingness’, narration of an everyday scene at Indian airports, of the body bags being unloaded is not unlike <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/nepalis-killed-in-the-line-of-duty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali migrants returning home in coffins at Kathmandu airport</a>. The migration of Sri Lankan farmers to the Gulf because of droughts caused by climate change is similar to that of <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/recharging-the-mountains-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outmigration of people from the mid-hills of Nepal</a>. Bangladeshis overcharged and cheated of jobs in Singapore echo the plight of most <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kleptocrats-of-kathmandu-and-kualalampur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali migrants in Malaysia</a>. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kleptocrats-of-kathmandu-and-kualalampur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kleptocrats of Kathmandu and Kuala Lumpur</a>, Ramu Sapkota and Alyaa Alhadjri<a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/home-they-bring-the-workers-dead" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Home they bring workers dead</a>, Upasana Khadka Amidst the poignant stories of loss, there are tiny rays of hope. Following the three decades of war in Sri Lanka, women were forced to leave as domestic workers and toil hard in the Gulf, but discovered themselves in the process as individuals with rights and freedom.  What ties all of these stories together are the shared stories of aspiration and shattered dreams. Meanwhile all South Asian nations rely on the same destinations resulting in completion with each other, allowing employers to get away with little pay and exploitation in turn.Each chapter is a raw portrayal of a migrant life, and the book gives significant understanding of the poverty and social injustice in South Asia.The book is being launched at the Nepal Literature Festival in Pokhara during the weekend. <h2>Riyal revisited </h2> <figure><img width="1400" height="1024" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171148/636937659c7e80680e03fe33jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“The tidal wave of migration that began 20 years ago continues…” That is how Kesang Tseten begins his documentary sequel to the 2008 film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1519643/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In Search of the Riyal</a>. He tries to locate migrant workers he had filmed a decade ago, to find out what has become of them.Were their dreams realised? Did the Nepali workers in Qatar and UAE find what they were looking for? Were the intervening years kind to them? In The Riyalists, acclaimed film-maker Tseten (pictured, above) spends the first five minutes setting the stage for the journey ahead. We get to revisit young Nepalis on scaffolds whom we first met in the previous award-winning documentary.Ten years ago Dhanvir Jogi, a lanky lad from Terathum left behind his three-month-old son and started training at an institute in Kathmandu. He was diligent and hopeful, but worried about falling sick in the hot desert. In In Search of the Riyal Prem Bareily who often faced the stigma of being a Dalit back home in Dharan, did not shy away from his fears: “They might be talking about killing me but I wouldn’t know… I won’t understand their language.” Bhoj Darzi was fully aware of the risk he was putting himself into. He had heard of Nepalis returning home in coffins. Yet he took a loan in the hope of trading his job as a tailor in Jhapa for a more financially secure position in the Gulf. Shy and awkard, Nabin Rai, has a sad story with a happy ending. Tseten narrates: “It was the image of Nabin in his crisp white shirt and his newly married wife sporting a blue umbrella that remained etched in my mind from the earlier film.” But after two years in Qatar, Nabin came back to find that his wife took off with another man and abandoned his twin daughters. Nabin remarried and left for Dubai. Today, he is a foreman at an offshore gas rig and earns a good salary. He gets to visit home every three months where he is building a new home for his family.Dhanvir, who is with the same construction company in Qatar, has managed to acquire some land, get his sisters married, send his son to school, but missed out on his upbringing. “I was thin and young when I came,” he says on camera, “I’ll go back old.”Prem left Doha because he was not paid on time and mistreated by employers, and now works as a silversmith but faces stiff competition. He proudly shows the best worker certificate he received in Qatar and often regrets his decision to return. “I make good enough living here but there is no saving for future,” he rues.In Bhoj, there is no trace of a young man who once explained with wonder how the food tray inside planes worked. He was deported from Dubai for going on strike, framed by fellow workers. He left for Qatar next but returned shortly afterwards when his wife fell sick. His mother and wife run a local garment factory and he recently overtook his dead brother’s profitable piggery. He believes Nepalis can make it at home if they work hard. The four men are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of Nepalis toiling abroad. Their lives are mostly fascinating, not tragic. But what draws audience to these individuals is Tseten’s simple but compelling storytelling, his poignant narration, flawless direction interwoven with clips from ten years ago. Viewers will be struck by his compassion for less fortunate compatriots.There are moments of laughter, of camaraderie, of loss and farewells. Through it all, Tsenten is with us, uncovering men’s lives, sharing their grief and intact hopes, bringing us an intimate portrayal of Nepali migrants away and at home. The day this documentary will be launched, another 1,500 young Nepali men and women will fly off, forsaking their fields and families for the hopes of a better future. This film will help us understand why they leave despite real risks, and the need to create opportunities at home. The Riyalists Directed by Kesang Tseten Sunyata Film Productions, 2018 61 minutesSonia Awale

Sonia Awale

Shared stories, shattered dreams of South Asian migrant workers

The monsoon has got bad press because Nepal’s tourism operators actively told visitors to avoid <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/managing-the-monsoon?%2F">the rainy season</a>. It is time to change that. The reason can be found right here in the vast alpine meadows of Central Nepal where this time of year you can walk on velvet grass of pastures abloom with delicate pink, red and yellow flowers as the mist rolls up the valley. There is no sound except the hum of bumble bees. &nbsp;&nbsp; There are dozens of places across high Nepal called Chaurikharka, which means yak pasture. But this particular Chaurikharka in Rukum East located at an altitude of 4,000m stands out for its serene beauty, rustic charm and bucolic setting. There is just the occasional chime of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">yak bells</a> in the distance, and the sharp whistle of herders corralling sheep. &nbsp;&nbsp; The grass shoots are so fragile that one hesitates to step on them, the rounded ridges appear and quickly vanish in waves of mist. With the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon"> arrival of monsoon</a>, these meadows are a soothing shade of green dotted with millions of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-anatomy-of-a-flower?%2F=">multi-coloured flowers</a>. Until very recently, it took a week or so to hike up to places like Chaurikharka, but with the expansion of the road network even to these far-flung mountains in the lap of Dhaulagiri, they are much more accessible. It is just a three-hour uphill from the Mid-Hill Highway on the border between Baglung and Rukum East.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Purists would say that such easy access devalues the sanctity of these remote high meadows, but it also means more people will be moved to treasure the experience, appreciate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">the value of nature </a>so they can take steps to protect it.&nbsp; To be sure, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/deadly-monsoon-in-nepal-turns-deadlier">monsoon season can be challenging for road travel</a>. The roads are rough even at the best of times, and in the monsoon they become muddy and treacherous, often blocked by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/monsoon-deluge-in-nepal"> landslides</a>. But that could be precisely the kind of adventure that the more intrepid visitors crave. Improved road connectivity has already made Chaurikharka and places like Badimallika &nbsp;and other sacred lakes in the mountains of western Nepal popular with domestic tourists. What is driving this traffic is the urge to go to exotic new places and share videos and selfies on social media. Several of Nepal’s travel vloggers have visited Chaurikharka and popularised the place, enticing followers on TikTok or YouTube to retrace their footsteps. But even as they become more popular, these fragile and once-remote places should be protected from over-tourism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446" data-rendition-name="original" width="1083" height="699" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon NT"> </figure>  <h2>INCREASING FOOTFALL</h2> Chaurikharka is located in Bhume Rural Municipality of East Rukum, near the scenic valley of Dhorpatan in Baglung district. Even in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/monsoon-culture">middle of the monsoon</a>, there is a steady stream of Nepali hikers trooping to these high pastures – especially during festival days like Saune Sankranti which this year was on 17 July and actually marks the auspicious beginning of the monsoon here. “This year the rains have not been as heavy and there have been some clear mornings when we could see everything from Dhaulagiri to Machapuchre,” says Khageswar Bhandari, who trekked up here from the road. “The flowers, the greenery and the snowy mountain views make this an incredibly unique place.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1152" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Chaurikharka is worthwhile to get to in any season, but it has a different charm during the monsoon. Word has spread and because it is now easy to get to from Baglung or even Pokhara, people have been flocking here.&nbsp; “Holidays and Saturdays see the largest crowds, with up to 500 visitors every day,” says ward chair Mankaji Pun of Bhume.&nbsp; There was a time not too long ago when local herders brought sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes, horses, and mules to graze here during the monsoon. Although there are still livestock around, animals have been replaced by visitors taking selfies. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-monsoon-and-nature-s-arithmetic">The monsoon, and nature’s arithmetic</a>, Tom Robertson Ward Chair Pun says infrastructure development is his main priority. A foot trail to Chaurikharka was built last year by the Tourism Division Office in Kohalpur, but access via the Raniwas-Koipa road section still remains challenging.&nbsp; “If we get more budget, we can improve the road and facilities to make Chaurikharka the main tourist attraction of this region,” says Bhume Municipality Chair Hom Prakash Shrestha. “After that, we hope to promote Chaurikharka as a top tourist spot.”&nbsp; Economic activity is also picking up with the arrival of visitors, but there seems to be a need to manage the makeshift sheds made of corrugated sheets that spoil the beauty of the place. Tea shops and lodges are also available but facilities are basic. Kuldeep Neupane took a three-day trip from Ghorahi in Dang to visit Chaurikharka recently, and says: “This is an ideal trip to make a quick getaway and let nature recharge your mind and body. And it is much more fun with a tent, to watch the sunrise over the Himalaya or the mist blowing in.”

Visit Nepal in the monsoon

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced jubilantly on social media that Nepal had achieved a historic annual growth of 81.8% in exports. He was right. Nepal’s trade did take a great leap forward compared to last year. But the dramatic rise was mainly due to processed soya bean oil.&nbsp; However, Nepal does not produce the edible oil it exports. In fact, the soya and palm oil that make up 44% of total exports are imported from Southeast Asia and South America, and simply re-exported, mostly to India.&nbsp; Under the SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) Agreement, Nepal can export products to India duty-free if it has at least 30% value-added. Nepal’s traders have taken advantage of SAFTA even though the edible oils they export do not reach that value addition threshold. “The 30% value addition requirement is often only on paper,” says former commerce secretary Purushottam Ojha. “It is clear that simply packaging edible oils in Nepal does not fulfil the terms of the trade agreement.” Prime Minister Oli is aware of this, and even called Nepal’s export figures “fake” at an earlier event. The government is relying on other iffy figures to suggest that Nepal’s economy is strong and getting stronger. For example, the value of imports rose by 13.25% in 2024-25 compared to the previous fiscal year.&nbsp; Some of it was due to a jump in electric vehicle imports worth Rs 31.76 billion, but mostly it was because more wholesale soya oil was imported to be re-packaged and sold in India. The very fact that the government boasts about increased imports is an indication of how much it relies on taxing them for revenue. Touting such trade figures cannot be the basis to claim an economic rebound.&nbsp; “A jump in the value of imports can be interpreted as an increase in purchasing power, but it is not evidence of a stronger economy,” says economist Keshav Acharya. “Even though imports have increased, Nepal's domestic production and productive capacity have not improved.” Nepal Rastra Bank's semi-annual economic activity study report shows that industrial production was down in the first six months of the last fiscal year. This despite an increase in the number of new industries registered and investment commitments. Out of the Rs70.2 billion proposed foreign investment, Nepal received only Rs17.9 billion last year.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the rate of capital formation was limited to 24% last year, which is lower than the year before, suggesting that new investment, job creation and economic expansion all declined. If domestic production does not improve in relation to this year’s inflated trade figures, the outflow will put pressure on foreign exchange reserves like it did three years ago. At that time, Nepal borrowed from the IMF under its Extended Credit Facility Program to kickstart the economy.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025080710084_2cdaaa5795828c4a7de93a0604ba884ef0a8b8f24cccd939f6c24e279ab6058f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025080710084_2cdaaa5795828c4a7de93a0604ba884ef0a8b8f24cccd939f6c24e279ab6058f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1633" height="723" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's bubble economy NT"> <figcaption>Source: NEPAL RASTRA BANK</figcaption> </figure>  The macroeconomy is on firm footing with foreign exchange reserves at a comfortable Rs2,520 billion in May, up 23% from last year. This was largely due to remittances, and partly due to a falling NPR exchange rate. Real estate transactions and the stock market index have also been climbing as a result of government policies to revive the sector.&nbsp; However, former executive director of Nepal Rastra Bank Nar Bahadur Thapa cautions: “This is not organic growth, it is the result of deliberate policy decisions to relax rules on real estate and stock markets transactions.” In reality, the sharp rise in land prices have increased the cost of production, and excessive monetisation of the real estate has become the main source of Nepal’s economic woes. The central bank has announced a slew of new policies, shifting the terms of loan repayment for industrialists and entrepreneurs, reducing interest rates, and injecting more working capital — all designed to inject adrenaline into the real estate and stock market sectors.&nbsp; When he was governor, Mahaprasad Adhikari made several financial reforms during the latter half of his tenure to stimulate the economy, including tightening credit flow.&nbsp; By the last fiscal year, additional financial reforms had resulted in a credit expansion rate of around 8%. As the pace of credit expansion slows, real estate prices have started to fall. This is actually beneficial to the economy, because it lays the foundation for improvements in land-related entrepreneurship, production, and the construction sector. Just because real estate and the stock market transactions increase, it does not indicate an economic turnaround — especially when manufacturing and productive sector continues to languish.&nbsp; “It is foolish to believe that real estate and the stock market have magically revived our economy. Agriculture employs more than half of the population, but it is in decline. Investment in the productive sector has not increased, and job creation has not increased.” Two years ago, Nepal’s industrialists, business leaders, and political leadership predicted a recession amidst a sluggish business, declining market demand, large-scale job loss, and a shrinking real estate and share market.&nbsp; Still, the economy grew by 3.36% in fiscal year 2023/24. In fact, Nepal’s economy has grown nominally over the last two decades even when all sectors of the economy are in decline.&nbsp; Says Keshav Acharya: “The growth in trade, real estate, and the stock market are bubbles. The real economy remains stagnant.”

Nepal’s bubble economy

The final investigation report on the crash of a Saurya Airlines jet on 24 July 2024 at Kathmandu airport has revealed flaws in the carrier’s technical operation procedures, poor monitoring by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and gaps in the airport’s emergency response. Eighteen people including a child were killed, and only the captain survived as the plane plunged seconds after takeoff, crashing within the airport perimeter. This was the latest in a series of aircraft accidents in previous years, and further tarnished Nepal’s already poor aviation safety record and contributed to the country being retained in the EU’s air safety list. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The circumstances in the Saurya crash were different from the Yeti Airlines crash in Pokhara in January 2022 that killed all 72 on board, and two Tara Air crashes in February 2016 and May 2022 on approach to Jomsom that together claimed 45 lives. However, all four tragedies were a result of negligence of carriers and crew, failure to follow procedures, regulatory slackness, and overconfidence. The Saurya crash, especially, was a glaring example of how an ailing airline broke its own rules to allow passengers, including non-employees, a joy ride to Pokhara on a maintenance ferry flight. CRASH REPORT The Final Investigation Report prepared by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission and released on the first anniversary of the crash last week carried a long list of rules that were ignored or broken, and of regulatory failure. The first mistake was to cram spares, tools and inflammable chemicals needed for the aircraft’s C-Check in Pokhara into the cargo hold flouting its own ground handling procedures.&nbsp; There was no check-in of passengers, some of whom were not even employees – even though regulations say only flight and maintenance crew should be on board a maintenance positioning flight. Many brought their own luggage into the plane and stored it unsecured in the cabin. There was no flight attendant to give a safety briefing to passengers. The load and trim charts given to the flight crew were rough estimates, and the total takeoff weight of the plane was 18,300kg plus or minus 200 kg. That would still have been all right, but there was a glaring mistake in the speedchart Saurya pilots were using to calculate the minimum takeoff speed (known as VR), and it had been wrong ever since the 21-year-old aircraft entered service with the airline in 2017. FAULTY DATA&nbsp; The Commission probed Flight Data Recorder inputs from previous takeoffs of the Canadian-built CRJ200-LR in 2023-2024 and found that the undetected error in the speedchart had caused the plane to pitch up at an abnormal rotation rate at least 18 times on previous takeoffs.&nbsp; Any rotation rate more than 3°/sec is regarded as unusual. But on at least two occasions, this aircraft with tail number 9N-AME had rotation rates of 5.8°/sec and 5.5°/sec, the second one was when the pilot who survived was flying in March 2024.&nbsp; On this particular day, the plane’s rotation rate was 6.5°/sec, causing it to go into a deep stall soon after takeoff, the Commission report said. Essentially, the plane was not flying fast enough down the runway to take off safely.&nbsp; It is not yet clear whether excess weight, unsecured luggage, wrong centre of gravity were also factors, but relying on a faulty speedchart for the given takeoff weight, the captain flying pulled back on the yoke before the plane had reached takeoff speed and at a pitch angle that was too steep. The investigation report says the plane then went into a deep stall and started banking right with the stick shaking. At this point, the flight officer on the right hand seat is heard on the cockpit voice recorder saying: “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sir, Sir, Sir…” It then banked left before the pilot flying turned the plane sharply to the right again in an evasive action to avoid the parking aprons of the international and domestic terminals. Had he not done so, there would have been a disaster of a much greater magnitude at Kathmandu airport that day. The plane scraped the runway with its right wingtip, collided with a container having helicopter spare parts, and plunged into a gully east of the runway, exploding in a fireball. The investigation also noted that the impact forces seemed to be survivable for some occupants. The fire trucks took unnecessarily long to reach the site even though it was inside the airport perimeter. The absence of an ICAO-standard runway strip, inadequate rescue drills, lack of training, and a blocked emergency service gate leading to the crash site were cited as other factors. &nbsp;&nbsp; <h2>Timestamp of a Disaster</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725" data-rendition-name="original" width="778" height="826" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:10:34 - The Saurya Airlines CRJ200 on the takeoff roll from runway 02. It had a takeoff weight of about 18,300kg, but the pilot’s speedcard had a previously undetected mistake about the minimum takeoff speed. 11:10:55 -The plane with tail number 9N-AME goes into deep stall soon after takeoff because it does not have enough speed to lift its weight. The plane also has an abnormally steep nose-up attitude.&nbsp; 11:11:03 - Without enough speed to generate lift, the plane banks right, then left and right again in CCTV photos taken from the domestic apron (below). If it had not banked right, it could have hit the aprons and terminal buildings. Seen parked is Saurya’s other CRJ200 with tail number 9N-ANM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd" data-rendition-name="original" width="770" height="555" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:11:08 - The plane scrapes the runway with its right wingtip, and falls into the gully. The captain is thrown off the left side of the cockpit and survives. 11:11:15: Plane explodes in a fireball inside the airport perimeter. Firefighters take time to reach the site because of lack of access road and a blocked gate. Read the full investigation report <a href="https://www.tourism.gov.np/files/9N-AME%20AIC%20Final%20Report.pdf">here</a>.

Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy

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

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