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

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

thumbnail

viewImage

Vipassana during a revolution

Tired of working a desk job that left her physically and mentally drained, Dutch citizen Hana(pictured, below) planned a trekking trip to Nepal in 2021. As soon as she reached Pokhara, all her tiredness seemed to slip away, and she felt as though her life had changed.&nbsp; “I was drawn to Pokhara’s mountains, the nature, and the climate,” says Hana who was in Nepal to do the Annapurna trek. “But once here, I discovered the healing benefits of yoga and meditation.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-comes-alive-at-night">Pokhara comes alive at night</a> Hana is back in Pokhara for the third time in three years, and spends time in daily meditation and yoga. She says, “Pokhara is so peaceful and beautiful, it is the perfect yoga destination.”&nbsp; Like Hana, there are thousands of ‘meditation tourists’ visiting Pokhara during what used to be the monsoon off-season for visitors. Many yoga retreats have sprung up in and around this scenic city, and instructors advertise private meditation classes in hotels.&nbsp; One instructor is Maheswar Man Shrestha (pictured, below), who grew up as a sickly child in Kathmandu and was often hospitalised, missing school for months at a time. When modern medicine did not work, his father, himself a doctor, sought ayurvedic treatment and combined it with yoga and meditation. Shrestha soon got miraculously better. &nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/practicing-mindfulness-in-schools"> Practicing mindfulness in schools</a>, Basu Gautam Now in his fifties, Shrestha is a true believer in the power of yogic healing. “I went from medication to meditation, I am living proof that yoga ensures physical and mental wellbeing,” says Shrestha who teaches yoga to overseas tourists at his Purna Yoga Retreat.&nbsp; Being both<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-other-abc-trek"> the start and end point for treks</a> makes Pokhara perfect for tourists to combine physically taxing Himalayan hikes with a soothing recovery. But even outside the trekking season, its lush monsoon greenery, the lakes and cloudscape make Pokhara the ideal place to decompress from the material world. “Pokhara’s proximity to nature and relatively clean environment makes it great for tourists to come here to learn yoga,” Shrestha says. Indeed, Nepal’s travel industry has lately discovered that blending <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/getting-up-close-and-personal-with-the-mountains">mountains</a> and meditation is a popular combination. After all, the Buddha was born in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/lumbini-is-not-a-buddhist-disneyland">Lumbini</a>, a seven hour drive to the south of Pokhara, and for many a trek in Nepal is already also a pilgrimage. Rishi Raj Lamsal (pictured, below) worked for a travel agency outfitting and guiding trekking groups. Once, on a hike to Poon Hill, his clients gasped at the panorama of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna at sunrise, and they promptly took out yoga mats and started doing asana and pranayam.&nbsp; It was there and then that Lamsal (pictured) realised that tourism had a spiritual aspect that Nepal’s travel industry had largely ignored. As soon as he returned to Kathmandu, he started designing meditatiton tourism packages. Lamsal also learnt yoga and has been an instructor based in Pokhara for many years, teaching not just foreign visitors but also Nepalis from all over the country.&nbsp; “I have been to 42 districts, but there is no place like Pokhara, its geography is ideal to mixing tourism with spiritualism. It is natural beauty that draws people initially, but once here they also find inner peace,” Lamsal says.&nbsp; Deepa Basnet initially took up yoga to reduce weight, but is now pursuing a degree in yoga and is also an instructor on the side. “I wanted to increase my knowledge of yoga beyond the basic asana to ayurveda,” she explains.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/yoga-unites-the-world">Yoga unites the world</a>, Yugeshwor Koirala Pokhara’s fame as a yoga city has been boosted by the Indian Embassy holding the International Day of Yoga on 21 June every year in partnership with local organisations. The city’s strategic location between sacred Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites of Muktinath and Lumbini also help. Ekraj Rokaya was working in Australia, and while there he began to ruminate on impermanence, suffering and human existence. He returned to Nepal a changed person, and began to practice and teach yoga and meditation, changing his name to Raj Karmayogi (pictured, below).&nbsp; Seeing the benefits of meditation, he wanted to share its value with others and set up a yoga school in Pokhara six years ago. “Pokhara is a yoga city just like Rishikesh in India, it can be associated internationally with yoga,” he believes.&nbsp; Indeed, with better road connectivity yoga centres are no longer concentrated in Pokhara city, but have been established in the surrounding mountains which command a stunning panorama of the Annapurnas. &nbsp;&nbsp; Pokhara was the venue for the International Yoga Festival in March last year with 50 overseas participants, and a four-day repeat of the festival is planned for October in which renowned instructors will be taking part.&nbsp; While individuals and instructors are promoting Pokhara on their own, they lament the lack of interest on the part of the government and the Nepal Tourism Board in marketing the city as a yoga hub internationally.&nbsp; “There is zero interest from the government to promote yoga tourism,” states Manohar Shrestha, of Purna Yoga Retreat Centre which takes tourists on hikes in the nearby mountains with yoga and meditation sessions in the mornings and evenings.&nbsp; Since India has branded the International Day of Yoga, Shrestha and Lamsal suggest Pokhara could be promoted as an International Meditation City, and the Nepal government could set aside an annual commemorative day for it, which the provincial and municipal government can then peg events on. “Nepal and the Himalaya are where the Buddha and numerous Hindu sages meditated, these mountains are the spiritual home of both religions. There is no better place to honour them by rediscovering yoga,”says Lamsal.&nbsp; But like all other sectors in Nepal, there is a lack of regulation, and fly-by-night yoga retreat operators are giving the city a bad reputation. It is not only Nepalis involved, foreign trainers also bring clients and take private classes without paying taxes, local retreat owners say. Only certified instructors should be allowed to train and proper protocols should be in place for yoga tourism, they add.&nbsp; Krishna Prasad Bhandari of the Pokhara Tourism Council adds: “Yoga and meditation must be developed such that it becomes synonymous with Pokhara, but we should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs in the process.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tired of working a desk job that left her physically and mentally drained, Dutch citizen Hana planned a trekking trip to Nepal in 2021. As soon as she reached Pokhara, all her tiredness seemed to slip away, and she felt as though her life had changed.&nbsp; “I was drawn to Pokhara’s mountains, the nature, and the climate,” says Hana (pictured, below) who was in Nepal to do the Annapurna trek. “But once here, I discovered the healing benefits of yoga and meditation.” Hana is back in Pokhara for the third time in three years, and spends time in daily meditation and yoga. She says, “Pokhara is so peaceful and beautiful, it is the perfect yoga destination.”&nbsp; Like Hana, there are thousands of ‘meditation tourists’ visiting Pokhara during what used to be the monsoon off-season for visitors. Many yoga retreats have sprung up in and around this scenic city, and instructors advertise private meditation classes in hotels.&nbsp; One instructor is Maheswar Man Shrestha, who grew up as a sickly child in Kathmandu and was often hospitalised, missing school for months at a time. When modern medicine did not work, his father, himself a doctor, sought ayurvedic treatment and combined it with yoga and meditation. Shrestha soon got miraculously better. &nbsp; Now in his fifties, Shrestha is a true believer in the power of yogic healing. “I went from medication to meditation, I am living proof that yoga ensures physical and mental wellbeing,” says Shrestha (pictured, below) who teaches yoga to overseas tourists at his Purna Yoga Retreat.&nbsp; Being both the start and end point for treks makes Pokhara perfect for tourists to combine physically taxing Himalayan hikes with a soothing recovery. But even outside the trekking season, its lush monsoon greenery, the lakes and cloudscape make Pokhara the ideal place to decompress from the material world. “Pokhara’s proximity to nature and relatively clean environment makes it great for tourists to come here to learn yoga,” Shrestha says. Indeed, Nepal’s travel industry has lately discovered that blending mountains and meditation is a popular combination. After all, the Buddha was born in Lumbini, a seven hour drive to the south of Pokhara, and for many a trek in Nepal is already also a pilgrimage. Rishi Raj Lamsal worked for a travel agency outfitting and guiding trekking groups. Once, on a hike to Poon Hill, his clients gasped at the panorama of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna at sunrise, and they promptly took out yoga mats and started doing asana and pranayam.&nbsp; It was there and then that Lamsal (pictured) realised that tourism had a spiritual aspect that Nepal’s travel industry had largely ignored. As soon as he returned to Kathmandu, he started designing meditatiton tourism packages. Lamsal also learnt yoga and has been an instructor based in Pokhara for many years, teaching not just foreign visitors but also Nepalis from all over the country.&nbsp; “I have been to 42 districts, but there is no place like Pokhara, its geography is ideal to mixing tourism with spiritualism. It is natural beauty that draws people initially, but once here they also find inner peace,” Lamsal says.&nbsp; Deepa Basnet initially took up yoga to reduce weight, but is now pursuing a degree in yoga and is also an instructor on the side. “I wanted to increase my knowledge of yoga beyond the basic asana to ayurveda,” she explains.&nbsp; Pokhara’s fame as a yoga city has been boosted by the Indian Embassy holding the International Day of Yoga on 21 June every year in partnership with local organisations. The city’s strategic location between sacred Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites of Muktinath and Lumbini also help. Ekraj Rokaya used to be a migrant worker in the Gulf, and while there he began to ruminate on impermanence, suffering and human existence. He returned to Nepal a changed person, and began to practice and teach yoga and meditation, changing his name to Raj Karmayogi.&nbsp; Seeing the benefits of meditation, he wanted to share its value with others and set up a yoga school in Pokhara six years ago. “Pokhara is a yoga city just like Rishikesh in India, it can be associated internationally with yoga,” he believes.&nbsp; Indeed, with better road connectivity yoga centres are no longer concentrated in Pokhara city, but have been established in the surrounding mountains which command a stunning panorama of the Annapurnas. &nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120824_c38be59a8ca83ce85c0d1277e248c25855a188474b1c3a4bb4e0642a0901413b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240817120824_c38be59a8ca83ce85c0d1277e248c25855a188474b1c3a4bb4e0642a0901413b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga and tourism in Pokhara NT 5"> </figure>  Pokhara was the venue for the International Yoga Festival in March last year with 50 overseas participants, and a four-day repeat of the festival is planned for October in which renowned instructors will be taking part.&nbsp; While individuals and instructors are promoting Pokhara on their own, they lament the lack of interest on the part of the government and the Nepal Tourism Board in marketing the city as a yoga hub internationally.&nbsp; “There is zero interest from the government to promote yoga tourism,” states Manohar Shrestha (pictured, below), of Purna Yoga Retreat Centre which takes tourists on hikes in the nearby mountains with yoga and meditation sessions in the mornings and evenings.&nbsp; Since India has branded the International Day of Yoga, Shrestha and Lamsal suggest Pokhara could be promoted as an International Meditation City, and the Nepal government could set aside an annual commemorative day for it, which the provincial and municipal government can then peg events on. “Nepal and the Himalaya are where the Buddha and numerous Hindu sages meditated, these mountains are the spiritual home of both religions. There is no better place to honour them by rediscovering yoga,”says Lamsal.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-season-in-the-nepal-himalaya">Peak season in the Nepal Himalaya</a>, Vishad Raj Onta But like all other sectors in Nepal, there is a lack of regulation, and fly-by-night yoga retreat operators are giving the city a bad reputation. It is not only Nepalis involved, foreign trainers also bring clients and take private classes without paying taxes, local retreat owners say. Only certified instructors should be allowed to train and proper protocols should be in place for yoga tourism, they add.&nbsp; Krishna Prasad Bhandari of the Pokhara Tourism Council adds: “Yoga and meditation must be developed such that it becomes synonymous with Pokhara, but we should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs in the process.”&nbsp; <h2>Spiritual scams</h2> Katherine is an American yoga teacher and practitioner who signed up for a 300-hour training course at a yoga centre in Pokhara. It was a two-month course specifically tailored for trainers and instructors, and Katherine paid $2,800 after arriving in Nepal.&nbsp; She was deeply disappointed. Nothing was what was promised on the website, and she filed a complaint with the Nepal Tourism Board.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120816_63135505a5c57153a6b647ee24bed17cf3e28f52b59b267f8a70f6b6a24316c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20240817120816_63135505a5c57153a6b647ee24bed17cf3e28f52b59b267f8a70f6b6a24316c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="5184" height="3888" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga NT 2"> </figure>  “The trainer was not qualified and the training lacked &nbsp;international standard. I feel cheated,” said Katherine (name changed). “I &nbsp;wasted the flight cost and course fee, it all went down the drain.” As Pokhara gains popularity as a destination for yoga tourism, there are also reports of others like Katherine being scammed.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-malaysia-nepal-migrant-scam-nexus">The Malaysia-Nepal migrant scam nexus</a>, Ramu Sapkota and S Vinothaa Spiritual ‘wellness’ centres have sprouted like mushroom along Pokhara’s Lakeside. Some promise 200-hour teacher training, others have 300 hours sessions and some are 21 days long. The lack of regulation and strict enforcement of guidelines for instructors and certification of ashrams is the main reason for the increase in fraud in the business.&nbsp; “Some individuals and organisations offer training and classes without understanding the depth and importance of yoga and meditation,” says instructor Maheswar Man Shrestha. “There are instructors in hotels who are responding to demand but lack &nbsp;knowledge and training to teach others.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120820_581167e11418f3f29220d98cee5fc4e2c975544a4c44377f6822cd06c4cc0b40.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240817120820_581167e11418f3f29220d98cee5fc4e2c975544a4c44377f6822cd06c4cc0b40" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="810" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga NT 3"> </figure>  It should be up to the Nepal Tourism Board and Gandaki Province Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment to prevent Pokhara from getting a bad name for cheating foreign yoga students. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/embossed-plate-company-involved-in-scam">Embossed plate company involved in scam</a>, Ramesh Kumar Pokhara Mayor Dhana Raj Acharya admits there are some unscrupulous establishments, and says his municipality is coordinating with the Gandaki Province government to crackdown. He adds, “The reason is that the spiritual wellness sector is relatively new and we have not been able to play catchup with regulatory mechanisms.”&nbsp; &nbsp;Nepal Tourism Board’s Nabin Pokharel says he understands the need to standardise yoga and meditation centres with some regulatory guidelines. He admits: “If we don’t do something about it, it can give a negative impression of Pokhara.” If Katherine’s experience is any indication, that is already happening.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120820_fa6a5c3ac5b22b18e17221e187c696a38ffab83fcf3cd11381bfd508a07a26d6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20240817120820_fa6a5c3ac5b22b18e17221e187c696a38ffab83fcf3cd11381bfd508a07a26d6" data-rendition-name="original" width="785" height="889" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga and tourism in Pokhara NT 4"> </figure>

Medication to Meditation in the Mountains

While <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media">digital gadgets</a> like smartphones have saved people a lot of time, provided people with new opportunities to learn, and improved access to information, it has also stretched their attention in multiple directions. The ever-growing digital dependency is disconnecting them from real-world human connection.
The constant influx of emails, notifications, social media updates can be overwhelming and cause stress and mental fatigue. Mindfulness practices such as meditation have become <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/life-times/In-the-Mountain,181">necessary coping mechanisms</a> to navigate the fast-paced, information-saturated world.
With the increasing availability of digital devices children are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-is-becoming-a-nation-of-net-addicts">spending more time online</a> which may interfere with their learning and concentration in the classroom, as well as decrease focus and attention span. Excessive screen time has also been proven to be harmful to children's cognitive development, including attention, memory, and academic achievement. It can also cause behavioral difficulties, including impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention.
In this day and age of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube">digital distraction</a>, it is important to introduce meditation in classrooms, as it can help students develop skills in mindfulness, focus, and emotional regulation, which are critical for learning and overall well-being.&nbsp;
Meditation can also promote empathy and compassion among students, which can help to build a more positive and supportive <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/teaching-nepali-teachers-to-teach-better">classroom culture</a>. By learning to be more present and aware of their thoughts and feelings, students can develop a greater understanding of the perspectives of others and be more empathetic toward their peers. Meditation can also help them develop better concentration, focus, and problem-solving skills, which can lead to better academic performance.
Those who practice meditation on a daily basis can enhance their attention and emotional regulation abilities, allowing them to handle stress more effectively and improve their general well-being.
Digital overuse also has potentially negative effects on children's creativity and imagination. Excessive screen time and over-reliance on digital devices can lead to a lack of imaginative play and limit opportunities for children to focus and engage in deep, creative thinking. This can lead to a reduction in the quality and originality of their ideas and a decreased ability to generate new, innovative solutions to problems.&nbsp;
To avoid these possible adverse effects it is important to encourage them to participate in activities such as dhyaan <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/the-real-essence-of-yoga-may-erode-as-it-globalises,2471">yoga</a> or meditation yoga that stimulate creativity and imagination. Dhyaan Yoga can help children learn to connect more deeply with themselves and others, and could also serve as a tool for helping build empathy and compassion.&nbsp;
It is necessary to separate meditation from religion. Meditation is a practice that can be approached from a secular perspective and adapted to suit a variety of cultural, philosophical, and spiritual traditions. In a secular context like classrooms, meditation can be approached as a tool for enhancing well-being, reducing stress and anxiety, and improving mental health.&nbsp;
Many schools and educational institutions are introducing meditation programs as a way to promote the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/post-pandemic-mental-health-epidemic">mental health and well-being</a> of students, without any religious or spiritual content. These programs focus on teaching students how to develop mindfulness and self-regulation skills, which can help them manage stress, anxiety, and other emotional challenges.
Modeling the meditation practice in the classroom is an effective technique to introduce students to mindfulness practices and instruct them on how to apply them to their everyday lives. Teachers can meditate in front of students to demonstrate how it is done. This can be done at specific meditation times or as part of a regular routine, such as before or after class. This helps students understand the advantages of mindfulness techniques and learn how to apply them in their daily lives.&nbsp;
Finding peace through meditation can be challenging. However, if teachers and students work together, they can create an environment conducive to meditation, promote peace in the school community, and incorporate mindfulness into their lessons. Simple exercises like mindfulness breathing, mindful walking, or mindful listening can help students stay focused and present.
Providing professional development, modeling the practice, building a supportive community, providing resources, working with outside groups, and fostering self-care may help train teachers to integrate meditation into their classes and create a conducive school culture.&nbsp;
Regular meditation practice in schools allows students to gain vital skills that will serve them both in and out of the classroom, as well as discover the missing peace in a digitally overwhelming environment.

Basu Gautam

Practicing mindfulness in schools

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d17f49c7e80680e0ac796jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="967"/><figcaption>Meditation, Poster Color, 74 x 58 cm, MoNA Collection</figcaption></figure>In a society where we spiritualise the tangible through our imagination and creativity, we also turn into tangible art forms our spiritual experiences.Traditional devotional art uses various imaginative forms to represent a thought or emotion: compassion, impermanence, detachment. To this day we echo the artists who thousands of years ago translated mudra, objects, and nature into iconography.The very form of everyday devotion and ritual in our culture and religion is an abstraction of our imagination for practical, tangible, and visual purposes – most vividly in stones and rocks.For example, an oval rock, when powdered with red tika, turns into a Ganesh. An oblong stone becomes a Shiva linga just by having milk sprinkled on it. Any roadside rock when smeared with vermillion and covered in flowers is revered as a deity. We dare not pass these totems without bowing our heads as a manifesstation of unshakeable faith.This is because in those objects we see what is not there, and interpret it according to what we want, imagine, and believe.Abstract art, on the other hand, is a purposeful collision of an artist’s conscious and subconsious minds to give instinctual expression. The subconscious mind is best understood as a recollection of actions and experiences, which the contemporary abstract artist piques when crafting and contemplating a masterpiece.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/jeevan-rajopadhyays-untitled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jeevan Rajopadhyay’s Untitled</a>, Rajan ShakyaSuch is the case of Uttam Nepali’s I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. which brings out untainted, unbiased, and unsolicited inquisitiveness in all of us. Staring in-depth into this painting screams out the purity of childlike innocence. The conscious and the subconscious instincts are unleashed, evoking a time when right and wrong were not determined by rigid rules, but through love and affection.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d17f79c7e80680e0ac797jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="1200"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Uttam Nepali merged art and poetry into a kind of original expressionism not seen before in Nepal. The artist died on 21 July 2021 in a Kathmandu hospital aged 84, and as a tribute the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-first-private-art-museum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Museum of Nepali Art (MoNA)</a> in Thamel organised an individual and group viewing of his painting  I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N.This is what we saw and what we felt, how this work by Uttam Nepali moved, and moved us. We were very lucky to have met and interviewed the artist about this particular work before he passed away.The acquisition of I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. came out of a necessity. I did not even look at the painting and I did not ask for its price. I had been looking to acquire one of Uttam Nepali’s pieces for a long time.The only thing I knew was that I wanted his work in MoNA because a museum dedicated to Nepali artists would not be complete without Uttam Nepali in it.The painting hung in my office wall for at least six months, and it was amazing to observe how a painting of this calibre speaks differently from different perspectives and temperaments. After all, moods and emotions dictate the emergence of different shapes and colours as a form of artistic expression.Some days the red seemed prominent, other days it was the blue that provoked, and strokes of white suddenly made sense. When I am alone, I see something but when looking at the painting in a group, something else emerges. It feels like a different painting every time you look at it. What an investment!Eventually, the painting becomes a part of the viewer's personality, and adds to it. How you explain this artwork to others hints at your own depth of understanding and place in the world.I met Uttam Nepali only a month before he passed away, and at that time I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. communicated with me in an entirely new way. Here was a man who had devoted his entire life to art and Nepal's art community. His studio stacks over 300 of his paintings. Some of the artwork is as personal as his representation of his grandchildren in the womb.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/n-a-r-i-by-mukti-singh-thapa/">N A R Ì by Mukti Singh Thapa</a>, Rajan SakyaUttam Nepali rarely sold his art. Instead, he presented them to people he met and who showed interest in his work. I was trying to persuade his family to allow us to hold a solo exhibition at MoNA of his incomparable contribution to the contemporary art of Nepal.We had only given a day’s notice before visiting Uttam Nepali at his home. As we sat down, his son Udhyam told us how his father had become rather forgetful after a surgery five years ago. He was on oxygen support most of the time, and his memory was deteriorating day by day.But when we showed him his painting that we were acquiring, there was a sudden sparkle in his eyes. He sat up and spoke nonstop for 20 minutes about when he made it, why he made it, and what feeling he had at the time. This is what he said:“When everyone comes to a state of quietness and calm, every person shares a similar kind of impression and expression. However, they have different façades. The temptations on their faces are different. Their attitudes differ as well. Nevertheless, the emotions that they portray may be the same ... in the sense that everyone looking at the same painting will be observing the same feelings. The closeness of the visitor’s expression and emotions with what is depicted in the painting will be unavoidable after a certain time.”He added, “Abstract art depicts something that is expressed without saying a word. It shows what is hidden. It is simultaneously easy and hard to understand. Hence, the power of impression and expression is like walking upon a dark alley without the light and discovering its rare and unique idiosyncrasy. It will have the verity of essence.”MoNA manager Jenisha Maharjan is also moved by what the painting depicts, and the emotions it evokes in her. “At first glance, one can see half a face with its eyes closed,” she says. “They express serenity and tranquillity as the subject is in a deep state of meditation. Then upon deeper reflection, the face looks like the meditating Buddha.”“The other half of the face has a darker coat. We also see brush strokes in the middle of the canvas with a red rectangular shape towards the edges, resembling a thumb with the nail painted red, maybe a woman’s hand. Could this be a modern depiction of Buddha Maar?”<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/lain-singh-bangdels-sigh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lain Singh Bangdel’s ‘Sigh’</a>, Rajan SakyaMaharjan says the grip looks very powerful, yet, surprisingly, the face remains calm, peaceful, and unbothered. “A little too dramatic and explosive use of colours,” she says, “yet amazing how even closed eyes can be so expressive.”Ursula Manandhar is head of research at MoNA and says I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. may actually represent what concentration, or trying to concentrate, may look like. It feels as if a person is struggling, or fighting their inner demons with brighter and more positive thoughts.“The power of our mind and its capacity for imagination is so vast that it could be a joyous journey across, or overwhelming. Sometimes darkness overshadows the mind and at other times a bright light dispels the darkness,” Ursula Manandhar says. “The curiosity for abstract art starts in us before we even know how to speak or write. As toddlers we looked into the sky and interpreted the formation of clouds as we wanted and felt.”But as we grow older our unique creativity is eclipsed by other people’s perceptions, and what is brought in front of us. Individual creativity has been blighted by the transient mass-market visualisations and the decadence of modern-day superficiality.Rajan Sakya is the founder of the <a href="https://www.mona.com.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Museum of Nepali Art</a> at Kathmandu Guest House, Thamel and contributes this monthly column For Art's Sake in Nepali Times.  Turkish Airlines has partnered with Museum of Arts Nepal (MoNA) to bring 33 Nepali artists together for a day-long live art congregation at Kathmandu Guest House, Thamel from 7-9 October. Visitors also have the chance to win a trip to Europe via lucky draw.

Rajan Sakya

I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N by Uttam Nepali

<figure><img width="1500" height="1152" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52c49c7e80680e052314jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: Renuka Khatiwada</figcaption></figure>A recent performance and book/CD launch helped to demystify the singing bowls that are today probably best known as objects for sale in tourist areas.Several metal bowls lined up on the stage were reminiscent of jal tarang, which produces music from ceramic bowls filled with water. However, the music that performer Aman Shahi created from the bowls was distinctly different. A tinkling sound reverberated when he hit the bowls, while a deep vibration ran through the crowd when he stroked them in a circular motion.Shahi performed at the launch of his CD, Meditation vibes, and a book by Salil Subedi, Singing Bowl Sound Healing: The Swoyambhu Method of Aman Shahi, in Kathmandu on Friday. The event also included a discussion that demystified a very new musical instrument.Although singing bowls seem to be popular with tourists as musical instruments, there are few historical records of them being used to make music. Many sellers claim that the bowl is a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-a-high-note/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tibetan</a> healing instrument that also aids meditation, but its actual origins are shrouded in history.Today the bowls are used across Nepal for cooking, eating, and making offerings at monasteries. During the hippie influx of the ’70s, they were sold as souvenirs, and many claimed a Tibetan provenance for them to enhance their mystique. It is widely believed that one of these sellers, Jit Bahadu Shahi, coined the name singing bowl.Though the bowls may be associated with Kathmandu’s Tantric mystique and Tibetan origins, Tibetan communities dissociate themselves from singing bowls. However, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/echoes-of-drum-jatra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali musicians have been quietly experimenting with them</a>, formulating ways to use singing bowls in music as well as meditation. That is where the book comes in, exploring the bowl's history and practices in Nepal.“It is time we claimed this instrument as ours, and named the various methods and practices in Nepal, or it will be too late. That way we will establish this instrument, as well as musicians who have mastered it,” says the book’s author Salil Subedi.Many methods of playing the bowls have developed in Nepal. The book focuses on the Swoyambhu method, which uses three bells and shamanic beating of the bowl. It was named after Shreekrishna Shahi, who lives in Swoyambhu, and is now popularised by his nephew Aman Shahi in Thailand.“I use this method for many kinds of sound healing,” says Shahi. “Immersion in this sound has been known to cure ailments like insomnia, migraine, etc.”While much research has been done on the singing bowl’s healing properties and its use in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/to-make-up-for-monsoon-slack-nepal-opts-for-spiritual-tourism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meditation</a>, it is rarer to find the bowls used only as a musical instrument. Shahi’s CD includes many kinds of music played on the bowl, including eastern classical ragas and the bowls combined with classical instruments like flutes, and also as a soothing accompaniment to meditation.The event ended with a performance by the Trikaal band, with the singing bowl enhancing the melodious and soothing music, proof that its unique sound and wide range have plenty of potential in modern music.Book: Singing Bowl Sound Healing: The Swoyambhu method of Aman Shahi by Salil Subedi Pages: 108, Price: Rs3,500 Published by: Singing Bowl Centre, ChiangmaiCD: Meditation vibes by Aman Shahi Price: Rs300

Reclaiming singing bowls

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ee49c7e80680e04fcddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>Photos: Himalayan Hermitage</figcaption></figure>Whenever tourism in Nepal suffers a slump, it is young westerners seeking enlightenment that compensate for fewer visitor numbers.After every political upheaval, like the <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/three-kings-in-four-days-nepal-massacre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2001 royal massacre</a> or the decade-long conflict, or disasters like the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2015/05/27/a-month-that-felt-like-a-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2015 earthquake</a>, meditation students kept Nepal’s tourism economy afloat.Tourists seeking spiritual upliftment and detox from the stress of modern life and materialism, have flocked to Nepal ever since the <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/feeling-groovy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hippie days</a>. But lately, there are monasteries and temples that cater specifically to customers who come to Nepal to learn meditation techniques like <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Vipassana-meditation-technique-for-post-disaster-psychological-recovery%20,2472" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vipassana,</a> take intensive yoga classes, or to seek solitude and communion with nature.Indeed, the word gompa is derived from the Tibetan word for meditation, and it is where devotees go to pray, train their mind to concentrate on a positive mental attitude,  and attain a blissful state. Meditation allows people to gain mindfulness, consciousness, and detoxify their desires and negative thoughts like jealousy, anger and greed.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ee89c7e80680e04fcdejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050">As global headlines about the coming climate apocalypse, wars and political unraveling bombard people every minute of every day through the social web and the mass media, people need to take time off to be with their inner selves.“This is the path to regain mental equilibrium and restore one's healthy mental state as meditation pushes out feelings of jealousy, anger and greed,” explains Geshe Lobsang Sherap at <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19805#.XScX_uszbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kopan Monastery</a> near Kathmandu, one of the pioneers of meditation tourism in Nepal. (See box.)There are now customised meditation tours and packages, spiritual and spa trekking that combine yoga for the purification of both the body and mind. After all, the Himalaya is where Hindu and Buddhist sages have gone for millennia to meditate, cleanse their souls and even attain nirvana.Himalayan Hermitage is one agency working with local partners to facilitate meditation tours and pilgrims inside Kathmandu and around various sacred places in the Himalaya.Alex d’Artois and Sisse Budolfsen started Himalayan Hermitage after spending many years in Nepal studying Buddhism, philosophy and meditation, and found many blessings during their stay here.“Meditation is all about mind practice, cultivating sanity, becoming better human beings, attaining innate compassion and wisdom,” explains d’Artois. "It is not about trying to be something or someone. It is cleaning up our mess, and connecting with reality. Nepal is the perfect place for meditation because life here is less hurried and people are simple, relaxed and at peace.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4eeb9c7e80680e04fcdfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1098"><a href="https://himalayanhermitage.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Himalayan Hermitage</a> works with local partners to facilitate meditation pilgrimages in Nepal, India, Bhutan with spiritual journeys into sacred valleys like Tsum, Solu Khumbu, Dolpo, Mustang and Manang where they practice mediation amidst sublime scenery.“These sacred valleys of the beyul have a sanctity that is hard to explain, they have healing properties,” adds d’Artois, a Canadian who has studied Buddhist philosophy.Himalayan Hermitage combines western and eastern perspectives, and prefers to call its Nepal package ‘pilgrimage’ and the tourists ‘pilgrims’, explaining that the idea of a pilgrimage is non-religious and an inclination of self-introspection that allows pilgrims from around the world to immerse into the culture of Himalaya.“If I do not meditate, I feel like something is missing, I do not feel fully cleansed and taken care of. A feeling that I didn’t take time for myself,” explains Sisse Budolfsen, who is from Denmark and has been travelling to Nepal and Tibet ever since she first came to Kopan at the age of 20.According to airport arrival figures, 17% of tourists visiting Nepal last year (some 65,850) said they were here for meditation and spiritual tourism.“We have specifically prioritised meditation tourism since this is a new concept and a trend,” shares Kabitra Bhatt at Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).<h2>Kopan’s Russian-Hollywood connection</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ef09c7e80680e04fce0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="1119">One of the first centres to popularise meditation tourism in Kathmandu Valley is Kopan Monastery which now gets more than 1,500 students every year for its 10-15 day classes.The history of Kopan is closely tied to the legendary daughter of Russian émigré Zina Rachevsky, whose family fled Russia during the communist revolution, became a Hollywood actress, and arrived in Nepal with the hippies in the 1960s to seek enlightenment.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ef39c7e80680e04fce1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="973">In 1968, the Russian-French- American socialite became Anila Thubten Chub Palmo (above, left) and was ordained in Dharmashala by Trijang Rimpoche. She bought the land on which Kopan Monastery now stands in Kathmandu Valley for the Nepal Mahayana Gompa Retreat that she set up with Lama Yeshe, (above, right) whom Rachevsky met in Darjeeling.“Kopan became a refuge for those fleeing materialism and artificial modern lifestyles,” explains Geshe Lobsang Sherap. “Among them was Zina. She  met our gurus, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and became their first disciple in 1968.”The first of 15 American tourists came to Kopan in 1968 to attend a medication course taught by Jamyang Wangmo. Zina Rachevsky died of cholera while on a meditation retreat in Thame in Khumbu in 1973 at the age of 42.

To make up for monsoon slack, Nepal opts for spiritual tourism

Robert Redford was an A-list megastar who had dominated Hollywood throughout the 1970s, generally considered the high water mark of American cinema.&nbsp; In those days Nepal was a fashionably remote destination, so it was not unusual for us to be looking after celebrity visitors. But Robert Redford was huge by any standards.&nbsp; “Call me Bob,” was the first thing he said to me, with that wonderful embracing smile that had lit up screens and quickened heartbeats around the world throughout the previous decade.&nbsp; We met over a cosy Mountain Travel dinner in Al Read’s brick and stucco house in Dhobighat. The floors were traditional terracotta tiles, the low beams darkly varnished and a cheerful fire warmed the October chill.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921110940_32dd66ba4b578a843bbbf6a74bca7d47f9ac7083c3bf50f8213ac3e5322974fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250921110940_32dd66ba4b578a843bbbf6a74bca7d47f9ac7083c3bf50f8213ac3e5322974fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1396" height="920" loading="lazy" alt="Robert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford in 1982 at Meghauli airfield in Chitwan with young Kirsten Annapurna Read, the daughter of Al Read, managing director of Mountain Travel Nepal.</figcaption> </figure>  Our heroes often seem diminished in real life and Redford was shorter than expected, though taller than his friends and co-stars Paul Newman and Dustin Hoffman. But most striking was his pock-marked skin which must have challenged makeup artists over the years.&nbsp; I was disappointed he was not wearing his trademark cowboy boots, but Bob’s fame infused the room with his gentle politeness and low-key glamour. Next morning I picked him up from the Malla Hotel for some light sightseeing around the Valley. Under strict instruction from ‘his people’ that any fuss from fans was to be minimised, I was surprised to see him wearing a Sundance tee-shirt – just in case no one recognised him.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921040916_1674398340a9501127e9f8b6b775f41b35703253f772ee05c6ab064819cd0abb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250921040916_1674398340a9501127e9f8b6b775f41b35703253f772ee05c6ab064819cd0abb" data-rendition-name="original" width="840" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="Robert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford exploring the Kathmandu Valley in 1982. Photo: GALEN ROWELL </figcaption> </figure>  Unmolested, we walked the ancient streets of Bhaktapur, and Bob was duly entranced by the visual impact of Malla Newar’s enduring culture. Robert Redford’s main purpose in Nepal was to trek in the Khumbu with his friend Galen Rowell, an adventure photographer, conservationist and mountaineer who met a premature death in 2002 in a small plane crash in Bishop, California.&nbsp; There may have been some talk of a film about Everest, but nothing came of it. After the trek, Bob and Galen explored the grasslands and forests of Chitwan, staying with us at Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge to view wildlife from the back of a well-trained elephant.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921110948_7c2339d73cedfcc9e659169d1d1bc2239d3d9973f6c4b1a945bfeb74b9b74d19.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250921110948_7c2339d73cedfcc9e659169d1d1bc2239d3d9973f6c4b1a945bfeb74b9b74d19" data-rendition-name="original" width="723" height="958" loading="lazy" alt="Robert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford in Chitwan, with Tiger Tops Manager KK Gurung on 9 December 1982. Photo: GALEN ROWELL</figcaption> </figure>  Confiding that he was not much of a traveller, Bob told us Nepal was one of his first trips outside the USA. Bob preferred his homes in Malibu on the Pacific coast and the wide open spaces of Utah, which he named Sundance after his favourite role.&nbsp; SOARING GRANDEUR With his strong affinity for the outdoors, Redford’s horizons must have been significantly expanded by the soaring grandeur of Nepal's sublime mountains, untamed rivers, and tiger and rhino infested lowlands. Galen’s knowledge and enthusiasm for all things Himalayan made him the perfect person to introduce this prominent novice tourist to Nepal’s wild places. Framed photographs of Bob taken by Galen’s skilled camera still grace tourist lodges on the Everest trail, and I confess to having one hanging in our downstairs loo.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921070932_7bff2986293742e6e97c91c879f2549f2a99095f1f4a98c50e3b74c7f91f7b84.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250921070932_7bff2986293742e6e97c91c879f2549f2a99095f1f4a98c50e3b74c7f91f7b84" data-rendition-name="original" width="1076" height="1624" loading="lazy" alt="Rovert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford in snowbound Namche Bazar in 1982.</figcaption> </figure>  His movie classics that defined our youth included the iconic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, All The President’s Men and The Way We Were. With many Oscar nominations, his personal best was Ordinary People, his directing debut which swept the award board in 1980, shortly before his Nepal trip. But Robert Redford was more than just an all American action man actor and successful film director. He chose roles that highlighted his political and social outlook. He was admired as an active environmental campaigner, using his fame to fight for clean air and pure water, serving as a trustee of the Natural Resources Defence Council.&nbsp; Redford once said: “The danger of success is that it forces you into a mould. I prefer independence.” Choosing the wilds of Utah over the jungles of Hollywood, in 1981 he started the Sundance Institute to cultivate controversial and independent movie talent.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921040916_081aa6b2c1f9f82f3ea6a550c6887d9a991f2983a0a976456d627d711ae8a2e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250921040916_081aa6b2c1f9f82f3ea6a550c6887d9a991f2983a0a976456d627d711ae8a2e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2448" height="3264" loading="lazy" alt="Robert Redford in Nepal"> <figcaption>Robert Redford being shown around Bhaktapur by Lisa Choegyal on 21 Nov 1982. Photo: GALEN ROWELL</figcaption> </figure>  Festival screenings and workshops gave thousands of film people a chance of artistic freedom, nurturing a galaxy of filmmaker greats. At the end of his long life, Redford’s Sundance is widely recognised as having profoundly influenced American cinema.&nbsp; I like to think that Robert Redford’s rare overseas holiday amidst the stunning natural beauty of Nepal’s high mountains, Sherpa villages, living heritage and endangered animals might have opened his eyes and perhaps even sparked his lifelong concern for social and environmental issues.&nbsp;

The Sundance Kid in Nepal

This text has been updated. Ten days after being nominated caretaker, Prime Minister Sushila Karki has added four more members to her Council of Ministers: Magsaysay winner Mahabir Pun, tv anchor Jagadish Kharel, former Justice Anil Kumar Sinha and Samata Foundation chair Madan Pariyar. Karki was under pressure to complete her compact Cabinet quickly. But it appears that her attempt to find professionals with non-political background, integrity, a record of professionalism while making the selection inclusive has not been easy.&nbsp; Several candidates that Prime Minister Karki had approached is said to have refused to join the interim government. Some have political ambitions and were worried that they would not be able to campaign ahead of early elections called for 5 March 2026.&nbsp; Among those who opted out for various reasons include famed ophthalmologist Sanduk Ruit who said his main responsibility was running his Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology. Also considered for the role of the Health Minister was cardiologist Bhagwan Koirala who is thought to have declined because of his association with Min Bahadur Gurung, owner of Bhat-Bhateni supermarket chain who had pledged Rs410 million to his Kathmandu Institute of Child Health. Twelve Bhat-Bhateni stores across the country were looted and set on fire during the GenZ protests on 9 September.&nbsp; The Prime Minister had finalised public health expert Sangita Kaushal Mishra for Health Minister, sending her name to the President's office along with the other Cabinet picks on Sunday evening. But the PM withdrew Mishra's name from the list on Monday after it emerged she was under a corruption investigation.&nbsp; Mahabir Pun of the National Innovation Center is the new Minister of Education, Science and Technology. Tv talk show host Jagadish Kharel who runs a popular current affairs program will lead the Ministry of Communication, while Anil Kumar Sinha seems set to be named Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Sinha and Mishra are from the Madhes. The new ministers will be sworn in on Monday. The names of the new ministers were finalised in consultation with the representatives of the GenZ protesters. Appointments of new ministers last week, especially of advocate Om Prakash Aryal as Home Minister, was rejected by Sudan Gurung of Hami Nepal, one of the GenZ campaigners, who even demanded resignation of the newly appointed Prime Minister Sushila Karki because his group was not consulted. Last week, advocate Om Prakash Aryal was appointed Home Minister as well as Minister of Law, while former CEO of NEA Kulman Ghising as Energy Minister Urban Development Minister and Minister of Physical Infrastructure, and former finance Secretary Rameshwore Khanal as Finance Minister last week and were sworn in on 15 September. The new ministers have their work cut out as Prime Minister Sushila Karki has set elections for the House of Representatives for 5 March 2026. Electoral reform such that Nepalis outside the country could vote remains a challenge due to time limitation and because of the dissolution of Parliament. The interim government could ask for two more months beyond the initial six to prepare for voting.&nbsp; KNOW THE MINISTERS Names of possible ministers and their portfolios: Mahabir Pun, Minister of Education, Science and Technology  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921150956_5e04418c4d79e283ac66932fbe9cffa8bfdccb8973c7ba867b3a241d0a5c19a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250921150956_5e04418c4d79e283ac66932fbe9cffa8bfdccb8973c7ba867b3a241d0a5c19a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="2365" height="3143" loading="lazy" alt="Mahabir Pun"> </figure>  He is the founding chair of the National Innovation Center which was set up in 2012 and most recently restored 484 medical devices including ventilators, dialysis machines, X-rays and autoclaves worth Rs243 million in government hospitals.&nbsp; Pun, 70, is the recipient of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for community leadership in 2007 for his effort in connecting rural Nepal with wireless internet. Jagadish Kharel, Minister of Communications and Information Technology  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921150956_25b90f5febc65782a3e74a288212175d075b4078802cdd1c0fe16767cf9dd95c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250921150956_25b90f5febc65782a3e74a288212175d075b4078802cdd1c0fe16767cf9dd95c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="Jagadish Kharel"> </figure>  He is a tv journalist with nearly 20 years of experience. He is currently the news head of Image Channel as well as the host of the show Hot Seat, and is known for in-depth political and government policy analysis and commentary. Kharel was previously thought to have been invited to join Rabi Lamichhane’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) after it emerged as the fourth biggest party in Parliament after the last elections. Anil Kumar Sinha, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supply; Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; Minister of Land Reforms, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921150956_ba224a8c2d4c4434ed6e08e858d798b382a06c8606583841c935f927acb5d2f4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250921150956_ba224a8c2d4c4434ed6e08e858d798b382a06c8606583841c935f927acb5d2f4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="710" loading="lazy" alt="Anil Kumar Sinha"> </figure>  Anil Kumar Sinha was appointed as a Supreme Court Justice in 2016, and retired in 2023, after reaching the age limit of 65. Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal was formerly also given the responsibility of leading the Ministry of Law. Sinha specialises in tax and corporate law. Most recently, Sinha was a member of the Supreme Court bench that issued a verdict allowing an investigation into misappropriation of government land at Lalita Niwas in Baluwatar. Sinha played a significant role in the eventual impeachment of the then chief of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) Lokman Singh Karki ion 2016 over legality of his appointment. He also resolved the dispute concerning the first dissolution of the House of Representatives by then-Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on 20 December 2020. Madan Pariyar, Minister of Agriculture&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250921180928_83a9a885704826f04b439cf5096063a0596544a750f78b5ff02ee82df43ca0cf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250921180928_83a9a885704826f04b439cf5096063a0596544a750f78b5ff02ee82df43ca0cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="640" loading="lazy" alt="Madan Pariyar"> </figure>  Madan Pariyar is a scholar with notable research contribution in several fields including poverty alleviation, inclusion, good governance, agriculture, industry resource management. He obtained his doctorate and master'sin enginerring from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok and Bachelors of Science in Agricultural Engineering from the Allahabad Agricultural Institute in India. Bcck in 2011, the government appointed Pariyar the chair of the State Restructuring Commission (SRC) which was tasked with advising the Constitutional Assembly on the best possible model of federalism to be adopted for Nepal. Pariyar is also the chair of Samata Foundation that advocates for the rights of the Dalit people and their capacity building.&nbsp; OTHER NAMES Ajaya Bhadra Khanal, research director of the thinktank Center for Social Innovation and Foreign Policy (CESIF Nepal) is likely to be appointed the chief adviser to the Prime Minister. GenZ campaigners have also suggested the name of veteran Nepal Airlines aptain Vijay Lama for the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. Rights activist Mohna Ansari, heritage conservationist Ganapati Lal Shrestha and Mansi Bhattarai, daughter of former Maoist prime minister Babauram Bhattarai have also been floated for various ministries. PM Karki has said she will limit her cabinet to 11 members for 22 ministries. Karki is likely to handle two or more ministries herself. At present, Kulman Ghising is leading three ministries while Om Prakash Aryal has two.&nbsp;

Nepal PM expands her Cabinet

Last week’s GenZ protest in Nepal was one of the shortest violent movements to topple a government in modern times. Social media played a crucial and unprecedented role in it. It was the digital space that documented, fuelled, rallied and magnified the protests on 8-9 September, as well as the negotiations to form an interim government afterwards. Even a week after, netizens are posting memes, real and AI-generated videos and jokes. This has been a powerful display of the power of ridicule and free speech that also reflects the resilience of the Nepali people and their ability to bounce back. Last week, as the Nepal Army held negotiations with wannabe leaders, the joke going around was about people being worried to venture out into the streets because they might be caught and made interim prime minister of the country.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025092004094_5cdfca4511a64facbf6a95c62a5abfb367a60e658d68ad502213516c7943f7dc.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025092004094_5cdfca4511a64facbf6a95c62a5abfb367a60e658d68ad502213516c7943f7dc" data-rendition-name="original" width="617" height="487" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's meme revolution NT"> </figure>  Another video showed protesters making pretend calls on landline phones outside the burning Parliament. A British tourist’s clip about why his country could not defeat Nepal in 1814 went viral.&nbsp; Public disillusionment with the corrupt political parties was at an all time high, and the ban on 26 social media platforms on 5 September was the last straw. This did not just infringe on freedom of expression, but was important for business and trade, and it cut off the Genz’s vital communication channels.&nbsp; Everybody perceived the ban which apparently was not popular within K P Oli’s CPN-UML as the prime minister’s authoritarian ways. The government failed to understand that social media was also distracting the public with entertainment, and it was an effective way to let off steam.&nbsp; When apps like Instagram, Messenger, YouTube, X, and Reddit were blocked, youth banded together calling for an anti-corruption rally via TikTok which was functioning. &nbsp;&nbsp; TikTok exploded with users sharing #NepoBaby clips of the children and relatives of politicians showing off their extravagant lifestyles funded by corruption. It was there for ordinary Nepalis to see: the vacations, fancy restaurants, designer bags, and opulent villas.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250920030952_f8d7a287c3c472c67ac45089e5588a4ba6e615e19119222a130710f7ef660a65.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250920030952_f8d7a287c3c472c67ac45089e5588a4ba6e615e19119222a130710f7ef660a65" data-rendition-name="original" width="1570" height="1446" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's meme revolution NT"> </figure>  Put to Nepali music, these clips were edited to be juxtaposed with the lives of impoverished Nepalis leaving as migrant workers. Some tried to defend the children of politicians, but most were enraged. In response, one Instagram handle called genz.nepal was set up. Its bio says: ’Fu*k this system!! Let’s slay and stay woke!!’ and made its first post on 6 September. It was an AI generated poster featuring a raised fist calling for a national protest two days later under the banner ‘Youth Against Corruption.’ Despite the ban on social media, they were still semi-functional with workarounds such as VPNs. News of the time and venue of the protest spread rapidly through cybersphere. ‘Let it be clear, our fight is not against one party or another, it is against the system itself,’ said one of the posts. ‘We mean the government, the opposition, the bureaucracy, the judiciary, and every structure that has betrayed the people.’ Other posts called on all to keep the protests peaceful, with no party flags or symbols, no leader, and no damage to property.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025092004094_f22baab05910305ea435045824b25b796d5630715e2e17c3f3c0991e8371843c.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025092004094_f22baab05910305ea435045824b25b796d5630715e2e17c3f3c0991e8371843c" data-rendition-name="original" width="974" height="1156" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's meme revolution NT"> </figure>  While noble, the decentralised nature of the protest also made infiltration possible, and violence inevitable. Loot and arson followed. With no clear leader, no one person could be held accountable. But perhaps if the protests had not escalated after the massacre on 8 September outside Parliament, the government would not have fallen at all. Past peaceful protests at Mandala never materialised into anything. Even the 8 September protests had started peacefully, with organisers urging participants not to indulge in violence. Outside Parliament, the commando unit of the APF were seen in wide-shared videos kneeling down to take aim at protesters with automatic weapons. With the social media ban lifted, online posts showing the dead with live round bullet wounds on heads and chests, some in college uniform, were shared widely especially through Instagram stories. Anger was boiling over at police brutality and many posts showed PM Oli with blood on his hands. All of this exemplified the brutality of the state against innocent students, and added fuel to the anger against the state. It was only a question when anger turned to revenge, and that came the next day with the targetted arson and looting.&nbsp; Social media took away any possibility of the government denying or censoring the truth as might have happened in the past at Tiananmen Square and other pre-Internet protests. Nepalis saw it all live on their phones, and the reaction was immediate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025092004098_609488466dd350924f972b3c6bc7004bebe229d21281db2f8ca7468df5cce353.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025092004098_609488466dd350924f972b3c6bc7004bebe229d21281db2f8ca7468df5cce353" data-rendition-name="original" width="1268" height="772" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's meme revolution NT"> </figure>  On 9 September, the shocking visuals kept playing on loop. By mid-morning all three branches of the government were burning. Politicians chased and beaten, their houses set ablaze — and all this was also streamed in real-time.&nbsp; Social media was also where relatives and friends mourned the dead, came to terms with the reality, and shared their opinions about the days ahead. Nepal now has an interim government with Sushila Karki as the Prime Minister but in the days up to the announcement and even now, social media is rife with conspiracies from India’s involvement to military-royalist collusion, as well as a potential coup. DISCORD&nbsp; To the surprise of everyone, including the GenZ, the next prime minister of Nepal was being decided on Discord, a social media platform popular among gamers during Covid for its ability to host large groups with stable voice communication.&nbsp; Amidst much chaos, people memed, reacted, and spoke in the server which quickly grew to almost 150,000. Social media, for better or worse, is now a way of life with far reaching implications. Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah, RSP chair Rabi Lamichanne and others appealed to their voter base using social media in the last election, but the same platform was shown to also build and destroy political careers.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025092005090_a1961c27e714ddb18b916c718724f235eb7ec3380487c7dc555c4395882d0c15.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025092005090_a1961c27e714ddb18b916c718724f235eb7ec3380487c7dc555c4395882d0c15" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's meme revolution NT"> </figure>  False narratives that are intelligently crafted using deep fake go viral in no time, and can be more damaging than other forms of communication. With high-stake early elections announced for March next year, the campaigning will be more on the digital platforms than door-to-door. There is a strong possibility for it to be used to disinformation and hate speech to incite voters, but equally it can be an interactive medium where citizens can raise their voices. &nbsp; Some candidates with digital-savvy backrooms designing memes and AI-generated visual content will be trying to set false narratives to fan populism. Because of global connectivity, the diaspora will have an unprecedented influence on how folks back home vote.&nbsp; So far, populist candidates have managed to ride on widespread public anger against the main parties and gather protest votes. This time, they may find that you cannot fool all the people all the time.&nbsp; Candidates can no longer hoodwink an unaware, docile populace anymore. People may not be able to read, but they have smartphones. And that gives them a say, an opinion and there must be space for them all as we build back stronger.

Nepal’s meme revolution

Among the songs GenZ protesters were chanting at the Mandala on 8 September was Amrit Gurung’s folk-rock rendition of the Panchayat-era patriotic song, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iXnL31W93c">रातो र चन्द्र-सुर्जे जङ्गी निशान हाम्रो</a>. But amidst waving double pennants that day in Kathmandu were strands of Gopal Yonjan singing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7D8P-g3Uw4" target="_blank">बनेको छ पहराले</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57SlGf4m7R4" target="_blank">देशले रगत मागे</a>. The irony is that the message of Nepali nationalism the musician was trying to convey 50 years ago with his lyrics carries a new resolute relevance in today's context: I am a son of Nepal who will never kowtow to anyone.&nbsp; You can behead me, but I will never bend the knee. &nbsp; I can withstand fire, but will not stand injustice.&nbsp; If the nation demands blood, I will sacrifice myself. My mother will not weep, for she is the daughter of a Nepali. This was pure patriotic poetry that only someone like Gopal Yonjan could write. They are inter-generational and immortal — speaking as much for the GenZ today, as it was for the early days of nation-building when they were recorded in vinyl and broadcast over Radio Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025092210094_4d5f65bf3ba2d2823e3da8aff6a77f2b9aa4eff4b1e1b6a8eeed8c0bcb58e47b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025092210094_4d5f65bf3ba2d2823e3da8aff6a77f2b9aa4eff4b1e1b6a8eeed8c0bcb58e47b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Gopal Yonjan NT 1"> <figcaption>Gopal Yonjan was an adept flautist from a young age in Darjeeling.</figcaption> </figure>  Those two songs together have over 20 million views on the Music Nepal YouTube channel, and many of the comments have been posted after the 9 September massacre and the raging conflagration at the epicentre of the Nepali state&nbsp; They attest to the emotional depth of Nepali nationhood and love of motherland in every citizen of every generation no matter how dreadful the circumstances — and especially when the future looks fragile and uncertain.&nbsp; The release of Gopal Yonjan: The Man &amp; His Music by his wife Renchin could not have come at a more momentous time in Nepal’s history to celebrate this iconic legend of modern Nepali music. Yonjan would have been 82 today, and as a poet, lyricist, singer innovated and improvised using Nepal’s folk traditions to infuse modern arrangements, meld melody with harmony, and lend them words that made the songs eternal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025092308098_76c4e4df756de0c1bea9858e1da0bcb6acb8145f27963e1679f5509a6ac2f078.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025092308098_76c4e4df756de0c1bea9858e1da0bcb6acb8145f27963e1679f5509a6ac2f078" data-rendition-name="original" width="2712" height="3900" loading="lazy" alt="Gopal Yonjan Narayan Gopal"> <figcaption>Narayan Gopal with Gopal Yonjan, the ‘Gopal Duet’ at Swayambhu circa 1963.</figcaption> </figure>  HOMECOMING Renchin Yonjan brings us an intimate family album of historic photographs of Gopal growing up in school in Darjeeling, his arrival in Kathmandu and the decision to make Nepal his home. She quotes Gopal: ‘I was deeply moved by the very glimpse of Nepal. I was enchanted by the greenery of Kathmandu, the gentle nature of the people, their pure thoughts, and their hospitality … how wonderful it would be to spend my live in such a beautiful and serene place.’ It was a kind of homecoming for Gopal Yonjan, the land his ancestors left to migrate to British India. In Kathmandu he found kindred spirits and musicians as passionate about their craft as himself: Narayan Gopal, Nagendra Thapa, Ratna Shumsher Thapa, Shiva Shanker, Pushpa Nepali  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250922100920_99a97f6cd76c130d5df91a38ac236906bcb21ba6fc2d2d693ba51e0a97c045d4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250922100920_99a97f6cd76c130d5df91a38ac236906bcb21ba6fc2d2d693ba51e0a97c045d4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1071" loading="lazy" alt="Gopal Yonjan"> <figcaption>Gopal Yonjan arriving at Kathmandu airport in 1963 and greeted by Nepali singers Pushpa Nepali, Dilmaya Khati, Shiv Shanker Shrestha, among others. </figcaption> </figure>  Gopal Yonjan and Narayan Gopal hit it off right away, complementing and inspiring each other with their shared love for meaningful music. They came to be known as the ‘Gopal Duet’, and Yonjan wrote in Nepali in his diary on 21 April 1963 about their first meeting: ‘I was immediately struck by his talent and presence. There was something in both his artistry and demeanour that drew me in. It didn’t take long for us to draw close.’ Towards the end of his life, Gopal Yonjan drifted away from themes of patriotism and unity to celebrate music in its purest form in his Gopalaya Studio in Kathmandu. It became art for art’s sake.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250922100912_f9aeec8d96049c580a4b63789664e1ae80971d3be3c7809acfe51b84e3e31cd1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250922100912_f9aeec8d96049c580a4b63789664e1ae80971d3be3c7809acfe51b84e3e31cd1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1304" loading="lazy" alt="Gopal Yonjan"> <figcaption>Gopal Yonjan at his Gopalaya Studio in Kathmandu in 1992.</figcaption> </figure>  The words of his song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8ZHg3wkvzw" target="_blank">मेरो गीत मेरै प्रतिविम्ब होइन</a> immortalised by Narayan Gopal has lines that give goosebumps to anyone who listens to them: मेरो गित भन्ने अधिकार छैन, गित को पो म हूँ मेरो गित होइन (I have no right to call this my song. This song does not belong to me. I belong to this song.) &nbsp; In Nepal, Gopal Yonjan also found a more complicated story. There were grand historical narratives of nationalism, bravery and glory, but there was an undercurrent of fear and control. Renchin writes in the chapter, Tell Me Where My Country Lies: ‘[Gopal saw] national pride slowly erode in the face of social exclusion, political silence, and economic disenfranchisement.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250922100912_57578ebebc7e405cf6ad3080611366893bee30cfc071567e6509038da866b2f2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250922100912_57578ebebc7e405cf6ad3080611366893bee30cfc071567e6509038da866b2f2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1043" loading="lazy" alt="Gopal Yonjan"> <figcaption>Renchin and Gopal Yonjan in their garden in Kathmandu in the late 1980s.</figcaption> </figure>  Gopal Yonjan’s song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zru8yWSuRCI" target="_blank">भनिदे नेपाली दाइ मेरो देश कहाँ पर्यो</a> is ‘as much an elegy as a manifesto’ with searing lines like ‘Where is the river that ran red with Nepali blood? Where is the battlefield where our defenders wiped their khukri?’ Gopal Yonjan sings this song himself, reminding Nepalis of the sacrifices made to forge this nation, and for us not to squander them.&nbsp; In his song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pVKpsK6Wy8" target="_blank">लाहुरे</a>, Yonjan celebrates Nepal’s illustrious history written in blood both to keep the nation free and then spilling it to defend other countries. Today, the same song takes on added meaning of Nepali lahure shedding not blood but sweat and tears as they toil abroad to send money to families back home. It evokes the pain of separation, and an anger at an uncaring state that drives them to leave. Gopal Yonjan died aged 53 in 1997 in a New Delhi hospital, leaving a legacy that still defines the Nepali nation in ageless musical compositions. The US-based <a href="https://www.gopalaya.org/" target="_blank">Gopayala</a> and the Gopal Yonjan Foundation have worked to remaster some of the tapes and recordings that are in safekeeping at Cornell University’s Carl A Koch Library.&nbsp; Renchin Yonjan has collected some of that valuable documentation in her book, Gopal Yonjan: The Man &amp; His Music. Her concluding paragraph sounds prescient because of what Nepal has just been through: ‘Gopal’s patriotic compositions remain timeless not because they repeat old slogans, but because they ask new questions, and demand that we answer not with our voices, but with our lives.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025092210090_3d0b5ecad2313b09e83e0de91bf510004f1ff836d7e66f0543ccd49432bb6386.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2025092210090_3d0b5ecad2313b09e83e0de91bf510004f1ff836d7e66f0543ccd49432bb6386" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="518" loading="lazy" alt="Gopal Yonjan"> </figure>

meditation