What began as a joint effort to research Nepal’s natural resources has now become a global representation of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-making-of-kathmandu-valley-style">indigenous craftsmanship</a>, and empowering women. Arati Subba and Samriddhi Gurung were raised in the UK, had years of experience in the fashion industry, and found themselves in Nepal during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I always wanted to explore what Nepal naturally offers,” says Gurung. “After a lot of research, we discovered that beeswax is a biowaste that lasts three times longer than soy or paraffin wax.” She researched the local market for lifestyle products, and found only paraffin candles for sale. So, they thought, why not create beeswax candles?  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025012011018_dbdf64ffc6c18c926717a2214e902c4e6600e95aa2f2670e614647fe70d6d984.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025012011018_dbdf64ffc6c18c926717a2214e902c4e6600e95aa2f2670e614647fe70d6d984" data-rendition-name="original" width="5472" height="3648" loading="lazy" alt="Reviving Nepal's craft NT"> <figcaption>Arati Subba and Samriddhi Gurung, founders of Riti Studio. Photo: RITI STUDIO</figcaption> </figure>  Together, they set up Riti Studio and have now diversified from candles to grow into a business in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/seams-sustainable">sustainable lifestyle</a> products.&nbsp; Based in Nepal and Hong Kong, Riti's all-women team now also handcrafts candles, incense sticks, and ceramics. It strives to preserve Nepal’s craft traditions. “Do you know how to hand-roll incense sticks by yourself?” Gurung asks. “My grandmother still does it, but neither my mother nor I know how to do that. So, this is an effort to preserve our generational craft, and take it further.” The entrepreneur duo define their approach as ‘slow luxury of artisanal quality’ and collaborate with local artisans. Each ceramic piece, for example, is hand-crafted, reflecting the skill and dedication of those involved.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025012011018_db44619728c2f031c8412a86206b6166cff7258796d170df73b8db3b85736ebd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025012011018_db44619728c2f031c8412a86206b6166cff7258796d170df73b8db3b85736ebd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Reviving Nepal's craft NT"> <figcaption>Photos: SANGYA LAMSAL</figcaption> </figure>  “Every piece is unique in itself,” says Subba. “The design is the same, but the actual printwork, texture, it is all different.” Sustainability remains a key priority, but financial viability is also important. In the early days, the two scoured nearly every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/honey-money?s=08">honey shop</a> they could find. Most honey sellers in Nepal also have their own farms where they source raw materials. Their search extended beyond honey, as they also sought local suppliers for ceramics and packaging. After finding the right materials, they sampled to ensure quality. Only then did they move to production and marketing, for which Nepali language was a must.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025012011018_55c551fd62ed7dd91c2d511ab1561b76ad3805f7772cfb005bc6eeb133c479ae.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025012011018_55c551fd62ed7dd91c2d511ab1561b76ad3805f7772cfb005bc6eeb133c479ae" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Reviving Nepal's craft NT"> </figure>  “It was really hard to communicate and try to sound smart in Nepali while meeting with the suppliers at first,” she recalls. The language barrier meant some suppliers did not take her seriously in a largely male-dominated society.&nbsp; Things changed when the men started noticing their professionalism. “Now, the men are much more appreciative of who we are, and we are taken more seriously,” adds Gurung. The name Riti comes from the idea of having one’s own little ritual, focusing on self-care and self-love and the Nepali term रीती रिवाज, meaning rituals. When asked if they had any advice for other entrepreneurs just starting out, Gurung says, “You have to put your head down and get to work. Stop listening to the noise outside and stay focused.” Subba pipes in: “Find what interests you, and make something beautiful out of it.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/return-to-nature">Return to nature</a>

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Reviving Nepal’s craft

Eight years ago, Buddhimaya Ghale opened a handicraft shop in Chitwan with Rs300,000. The venture is now worth Rs30 million.
Ghale had less than a modest start, her family could not afford schooling and she had to drop out after Grade 7. But then she joined a group in her village organised by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17635">Maiti Nepal </a>to spread awareness about women trafficking.
Before long, Ghale was even travelling to India to rescue young Nepali women sold to brothels there. She became deeply involved in not just rescue, but also to bring justice to victims of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/human-trafficking-patterns-changing-in-south-asia">trafficking</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/lockdown-and-the-surge-in-domestic-violence">domestic violence and abuse.</a>
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trafficked-nepali-woman-s-testimony">Trafficked Nepali woman’s testimony</a>
“I would spend all my time hounding the police and going to the courts,” recalls Ghale, now 37. “Seeing and listening to the women every day, both older and younger than me, used to cause me great pain. I even wished I was in a different line of work.”
Back in 2000, the National Trust for Nature Conservation was training people to use spinning wheels for woollen thread. Ghale enrolled and learnt handicraft.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/ex-guerrilla-s-revolution-in-rural-nepal">Ex-guerrilla’s revolution in rural Nepal</a>, Bhadra Sharma
Starting in 2005, she began selling her products but soon realised that access to the market was limited and that local women needed training in refining their products and in sales. So in 2016, Ghale set up a centre to train women in handicrafts.&nbsp;
She registered the centre at Kalika Municipality as a cottage industry and named it BM Hastakala Prashichyan Udhyog (BM Handicraft Training Industry).
After training over 600 women (and five men), most have found work as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/from-heads-to-toes">Dhaka fabric </a>weavers or in the carpet industry. Others are involved in the eco-friendly business of turning waste material like chicken feathers and plastic bottles into gifts and handicrafts.
“We started from 10 people, now we have 600, many of them from underprivileged families,” says Ghale.&nbsp;
Previously, the women used to gather firewood from the forest and sell it in the nearby market. If they were lucky, they could sell it in the market to buy food for the day. Now the women make as much as Rs30,000 a month after being trained at the centre.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/how-art-empowers-nepal-s-women">How art empowers Nepal’s women</a>, Anita Bhetwal
Initially, women faced resistance from their families for leaving to work outside the home, and the women themselves were skeptical. Now, Ghale has women as old as 70 at the centre, supplementing their families’ income.
“Even women from well-off households are treated as subordinates and are entirely dependent on their husbands or in-laws,” adds Ghale. “They are beaten if they assert themselves. When women have no money of their own, they get no respect. Income makes all the difference, and gives women power.”
BM Hastakala provides women with raw materials and machines to make woollen goods, Dhaka clothing, shopping bags and more. The products are then exported to more than 10 countries including Japan, India and China.
Having left school at such a young age, Ghale had thought she would not get to complete her education. But following financial and social success, she has enrolled in school again.
After a ten-year hiatus, Ghale joined eighth grade and just passed high school. “I was never more satisfied than when I completed school,” she says.
Ghale was honoured with the Women Entrepreneur Award from Bagmati Provincial Government in 2019, and in 2021 the best cottage industry entrepreneur in the Bagmati Province by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.
Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/kesha-kumari-damini-awarded-by-norwegian-business-for-peace-foundation,1356">Empowerment through entrepreneurship</a>, Marit Bakke
Headquartered in Chitwan, BM Hastakala has a branch in Kathmandu. And now, this self-made entrepreneur wants to train more women so that they have economic independence to become their own person. She says: “The target is to increase the number of skilled women to 2,000 every year so the income empowers them.” &nbsp;

Weaving dreams for women

For Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal the past week has been eventful in more ways than one. His Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane’s troubles is shaking the coalition, and there are rumours of the NC and the UML in talks. By-elections in Ilam and Bajhang are set to become a referendum on legacy parties.&nbsp;
In the midst of all this, there was the overnight state visit of the emir of Qatar which was so epic the government declared a national holiday. Qatar and Nepal signed a commerce agreement, and to sweeten the deal the emir was gifted two elephants.&nbsp;
The Qatari visit set the stage for the third Nepal Investment Summit on 28-29 April that will showcase 150 projects for potential investors, including schemes for hydropower, transport, tourism, and agriculture.
Previous investment summits in 2017 and 2019 pledged $13.5 billion and $17 billion respectively, of which not much ever materialised. This time, the investment climate is worse because of political instability, too few laws, and too much red tape. &nbsp;
“The state of Nepal’s economy, combined with bureaucratic hurdles and the challenges faced by foreign investors in land and resource acquisition, has made attracting FDI difficult,” says Pushkar Bajracharya, formerly of &nbsp;the National Planning Commission.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepal-looks-at-alternative-investments">Nepal looks at alternative investments</a>, Siddhant Raj Pandey
The same woes from the last two investment summits persist. Nepal has had three coalition governments in the last two years, banks are flush with cash because no one is borrowing, &nbsp;and there is a mass exodus of skilled Nepalis.&nbsp;
“Lack of political stability results in policy instability,” explains economist Posh Raj Pandey. “This is why Nepal’s FDI has not lived up to commitments. Potential investors have decided that internal risk factors outweigh any business opportunities.”&nbsp;
Everyone went to sleep after the last investment summit, and there was little preparation for this hurriedly planned one. Nepal’s private sector has long urged the government to amend laws to improve the investment climate. The government did amend nine out of dozens of laws, but through ordinance on Tuesday. &nbsp;
“What kind of message are we sending to internationals when we amend laws through ordinance rather than Parliament?" asks Pandey. “Amendment will not inspire confidence unless they are put into practice, which we historically have not done.”
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/invest-in-investment">Invest in investment</a>, Nepali Times
While some experts think ordinances speed things up, they admit most legal changes brought to address Nepal's investment environment have been ad hoc and limited to paper.
Forget foreign investors, even domestic businesses face obstacles and corruption. Nepal’s internet service providers (ISPs) and the Nepal Telecommunication Authority are on the warpath.&nbsp;
ISPs have been unable to pay Indian firms that provide &nbsp;bandwidth after the government refused to provide them with INR, citing unpaid royalties and taxes.
Such stonewalling is present in just about every sector, dissuading investors in IT, banking and the service industry. Most investors are in natural resource extraction, which has little value added.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/invest-in-investment">Invest in investment</a>, Nepali Times
This time the government is &nbsp;giving investors a shopping list that includes 18 hydropower projects and 19 transport schemes.&nbsp;
“While hydropower may create short-term jobs, efficiency-seeking investment in the manufacturing, agricultural, and other sectors will create more long-term opportunities for Nepalis, and will be in our best interest,” says Pandey. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Although the summit will have attendees from over 50 countries, most potential investors are from India and China.
“Current investment summits seem to be guided by India and China’s vested interest in Nepal rather than the market and economic possibilities here,” notes Bajracharya. However, Nepal can leverage its proximity to hitch its wagons to these two giant locomotives.&nbsp;
Adds Bajracharya “Our long-term prospects look good, because India and China are set to overtake the US as the world's biggest economies over the next few years, which will attract investors from elsewhere. Our immediate goal must be to first create a conducive investment climate. After that, investments will come.” &nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/killing-investment-in-nepal-in-10-easy-steps">Killing investment in Nepal in 10 easy steps</a>, Dibesh Karmacharya

Shristi Karki

Why invest in Nepal?

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f899c7e80680e04fd11jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"/>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byB2UFWlCs4&amp;feature=youtu.beWhen actress, fashion designer and, more recently, the director of her debut film #Horror, Tara Subkoff, popularised the term ‘upcycling’, she may not have known that she was launching a new fashion trend. Even in faraway Nepal.Young, idealistic Nepali social entrepreneurs may have borrowed the word, but they have gone beyond the world of fashion to craft items for everyday household use repurposed from products that would otherwise be discarded at landfill sites. The idea is not just to be trendy and smart, but also to address growing environmental concerns among customers about garbage, pollution and consumerism.In this centrefold, Nepali Times profiles some companies that have upscaled upcycling to a whole new level.<h2>Shailee Crafts</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f8c9c7e80680e04fd12jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="1350">PHOTOS: SHAILEE CRAFTSAfter water buffaloes are converted into momos, their innards are often discarded by the banks of Kathmandu’s rivers, where kites, crows and dogs pick at them, while their bones are ground into powdered <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/getting-our-shit-together/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fertiliser</a>.But lately, some of the horns and bones are collected from butcher shops and taken to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG-de1eofhM&amp;t=9s&amp;fbclid=IwAR01xSi7CBBWUnHIHBQ_4KNnc1xArLG-P0BHnDz0ZOhmVzw1OH6Re_kojZ0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shailee Crafts</a>, where they are turned into carved figures, pendants and buttons.Shailee was set up by the father of Success Dhamala and his brother Shailesh to make handicraft items that had a strangely Polynesian look. In 2013, years after their father’s shop went out of business, Success and Shailesh revived the business to sell modern items with ethnic designs, made from natural and sustainable materials.Their raw material of choice: buffalo horns and bones. The raw materials are gathered, cleaned, cut, shaped and carved by the steady hands of local artisans, who use traditional Nepali tools to fashion intricate Maori designs like the Pikorua (twist), Toki or Hei-Matau (fish hook). Buttons and statues are made with keen attention given to minute details, each ridge and curve carved with precision.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f8e9c7e80680e04fd13jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="800"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f919c7e80680e04fd14jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="1620"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f949c7e80680e04fd15jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="800">Shailee Crafts also makes pendants based on Game of Thrones themes, with the sigils of House Stark, Targaryen and Greyjoy. And beyond the traditional Pacific or pop culture designs, the brothers also turn buffalo bones into quirky buttons with geometric cutouts and unorthodox patterns.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f969c7e80680e04fd16jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="1350"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f999c7e80680e04fd17jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="1080"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f9c9c7e80680e04fd18jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="900">Although upcycling bones and horns is new to Nepal, pendants made from carved bones have been an integral part of Polynesian and Maori culture for centuries. Leftover bones from animals have been used to create traditional jewellery, like fish hook pendants, or hunting tools, like spears.“When we first started using buffalo bones for pendants, we were just following what they do elsewhere, but we realised we were also reducing <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15234#.XTBlpfIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kathmandu’s waste </a>by upcycling,” says Success Dhamala.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f9f9c7e80680e04fd19jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="1080">Prayer beadsShailee Crafts uses natural products like hemp and recycled fabric for the buffalo bone necklaces, adding a modern feel to traditional Tibetan prayer beads and ensuring that horns and bones do not come from buffaloes that have been sacrificed.The store also conducts weekly carving workshops on Sundays, where visitors can hone their skills carving horns with traditional tools.<h2>Lahana Paper Crafts</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fa19c7e80680e04fd1ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="193" height="257"> PHOTOS: LAHANA PAPERPaper makes up 9% of Kathmandu’s household waste and 23% of commercial waste. Although discarded in landfills, much of this is actually recyclable.Co-Founder Ramita Maharjan first got the idea for Lahana Paper Crafts while an undergrad at Kathmandu University. She learnt to turn discarded paper into baskets and jewellery, and today, the company employs women and reduces paper waste in the city.At Lahana, newspapers, magazines, school books, invitation cards, calendars, brochures and comic books are transformed into colourful earrings, necklaces, bracelets, pens, even laundry baskets. Discarded paper is gathered and shredded into strips, and rolls of paper are turned into ‘beads’ and attached to metal pieces, or woven into baskets.The work is done by local women, who sit in a circle chatting away as their nimble fingers skilfully weave rolls of paper around waste baskets or cut up old magazines and newspapers faster than a machine. Maharjan makes sure that the women are paid well and given meals and transportation fees.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fa49c7e80680e04fd1bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1242" height="1191"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fa79c7e80680e04fd1cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1242" height="1164">Like any other upcycling business, Lahana Paper Crafts also faces difficulties in convincing customers to buy its products. Many in Kathmandu still doubt the durability of the products, even though they are sturdy. Besides, it is the thought of being less wasteful that counts.Today, Lahana has buyers from all over Nepal and even abroad. Maharjan also holds workshops to train people interested in making paper accessories.She adds, “Our products are becoming more popular because they are handicrafts and they help manage paper waste.”<h2>Taalo</h2>When clothing items like saris, t-shirts, kurtas and shawls are made, unused fabric is just thrown away. Sujhan Ghimire set up Taalo to repurpose these scraps into wearable fashion items. He designs all the products himself and has curated a line of brightly coloured ties and bow-ties, scrunchies, headbands and scarves, all within the Rs120-200 price range.From silks to chiffons and Lycra to cotton, Taalo’s products are made from a variety of available and usable fabric.To reduce fabric waste, the business has also partnered with textile factories, clothes manufacturers and even tailors to upcycle and recycle their scrap.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4faa9c7e80680e04fd1djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="758" height="1132">PHOTO: ABHILASHA SHRESTHAAt first, Ghimire found it hard to convince consumers to buy his products. Many were sceptical about upcycling and believed the products were made from used clothes. After an awareness campaign to explain that the fabrics were never worn, sales boomed.Now in its second year of operations, Taalo has a consumer base that runs from teenagers to environmentally-conscious adults. The company’s popularity is also a result of growing consumer consciousness among Kathmandu citizens, who see a lot of trash lying about. People are becoming more aware of sustainable alternatives to products that they want to buy.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fac9c7e80680e04fd1ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1334">PHOTO: TAALOGhimire’s venture is not only environmentally conscious, but also socially aware. The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12487#.XTBm__IzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kamlari </a>women from Nepalganj who manufacture Taalo’s products are paid an extra Rs2 for every product that they make, in addition to their daily wages.“People are becoming more aware about what they are spending money on and where the products come from,” Ghimire explains. “At Taalo, they can buy things they want knowing that they are helping both women from underprivileged backgrounds and the environment.”Ghimire says he now wants to expand Taalo’s upscaled product line to include bracelets and even backpacks.<h2>Tatwa</h2>In the last fiscal year, Nepal imported 10 million bottles of alcohol. While some of them are recycled, many cannot be rebottled in Nepal and end up as shards of glass on the banks of rivers and around <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/recycle-reuse-reduce-garbage-kathmandu,1279" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landfill sites</a>.Doko Recyclers has been collecting garbage house-to-house in Kathmandu to covert organic waste into fertiliser and recycle other material. Now, it has launched a new brand for upcycled products called Tatwa, which takes unrecyclable imported beer, wine and liquor bottles and converts them into candle holders, drinking glasses, tumblers, glass containers and even toothpick holders. Tatwa has so far repurposed over 6,000 imported bottles collected from households, restaurants and hotels around the country.Discarded bottles are first thoroughly cleaned and sterilised before being cut down by industrial machines. Then comes the time-consuming, labour-intensive sanding and finishing phase to give the products a smooth texture. With Tatwa’s minimalistic and logoless designs, the finished products barely resemble the alcohol bottles they once were.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4faf9c7e80680e04fd1fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4142" height="3100"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fb29c7e80680e04fd20jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1444" height="960"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fb59c7e80680e04fd21jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1500">Says Tatwa’s Shivani Saria, “We rethink each item considered to be waste, where it comes from, what its source element is and how a thoughtful recovery of those items would mean valuing the environment and understanding waste from a new perspective.”Tatwa means ‘element’ in Nepali, and Saria says the venture is all about focusing on the importance of understanding waste as a resource that has lost utility in its present form. Beyond blue and green-hued glass products, Tatwa is also working on items like metal straws, bamboo toothbrushes and reusable cloth bags. It hopes to create an entire range of sustainable upcycled products to replace objects of daily use.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fb89c7e80680e04fd22jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="750">PHOTOS: TATWASaria says, “Recycling in Nepal is a new industry and there are not many recycling facilities, which is why we have to explore options in upcycling, turning non-recyclable and difficult to recycle <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/reusing-waste,1280" target="_blank" rel="noopener">waste </a>items into products that can re-enter the market. With upcycling, we reduce waste that would otherwise end up in the landfill with creative business ventures that also generate jobs.”<h2>Dhaasoo</h2>When Dhaasoo was established in 2015, no one in Kathmandu really knew what upcycling was. Four years later, Dhaasoo has changed the game for reusable utilities and home decor.Dhaasoo is Bollywood movie slang that roughly translates to ‘daami’ in Nepali or ‘awesome’ in English. Founder Nitesh Sharma wanted an attention-grabbing name to draw customers to a new concept. It worked.From glass bottles to cans, car parts and even cars, Dhaasoo has upcycled and sold them all. It has upcycled hookahs, lamps, planters, book shelves and even a desk made from an Eco Sport car.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fba9c7e80680e04fd23jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="562" height="562"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fbc9c7e80680e04fd24jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="1080">Dhaasoo works on one project a day, taking requests for customised products or selling in-house designs. Customers either arrive with a product concept in mind and guide the designers, or they simply ask the company to create something new. Many of the products are therefore literally ‘priceless’.“Our products don’t have price tags because everything is made to order,” Sharma explains. “We never know what the customer will request and what it will cost.”But while Dhaasoo is becoming popular, it is not what you would call mass market. Sharma still struggles to make people understand that just because a product is upcycled it is not always cheaper, as a lot of work goes into repurposing those materials.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fbf9c7e80680e04fd25jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="758" height="611">PHOTOS: DHAASOO<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4fc29c7e80680e04fd26jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2554" height="1937">Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Kathmandu-waste-management-problem-solution,1416" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Waste should not be wasted</a>, Bhrikuti Rai<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/return-to-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Return to nature</a>, Nepali Times<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/plastic-money/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Plastic money</a>, Samuel Johns<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/making-money-from-garbage-in-kathmandu,2055" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rupees from rubbish</a>, Sahina Shrestha

Upscaling Upcycling

“I don’t know if I picked jewellery, but jewellery might have picked me.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710110/6368c97b9c7e80680e02f2b6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="788"/><figcaption>Ayesha Shakya</figcaption></figure>‘Jill of all trades, master of some’ is how Arpana Rayamajhi might describe herself -- there seems to be nothing the jewellery designer, model and self-made entrepreneur cannot do. The Nepali in New York has been seamlessly juggling hats, while making a name for herself and her jewellery on the world stage.Barely four years since she launched <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/%20East-meets-West%20,3152">her jewellery line</a>, Rayamajhi has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, included in The New York Times 30-under-30 list and her jewellery adorned by the likes of supermodel Adriana Lima and Gigi Hadid on the runways of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.“I don’t know if I picked <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Be-jewelled-by-Ayusha-Shresthas-AAMO,3042">jewellery</a>, but jewellery might have picked me,” Rayamajhi tell us in a recent interview. Always creative, Rayamajhi took up painting and sculpting at The Cooper Union School of Art, and the passion to create her own jewellery grew out of necessity after graduation.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVFWlEuy65MShe explains: “I started working with <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/assimilating-generations-of-Newari-muslims,2937">beads</a> because I was broke and I couldn’t afford anything else. I was waiting tables and babysitting to earn money, but I realised if I didn’t do jewellery now, I would never do it.”Rayamajhi started off selling her designs to friends and their friends, but it wasn’t until she began modelling her jewellery herself and posting photos on Instagram that things really took off. Soon, she scored a feature on Vogue and began amassing tens of thousands of loyal followers on Instagram.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710110/6368c97e9c7e80680e02f2b7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="836"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“If you don’t believe in your work, no one will. Sincerity and producing my own work was important to me,” says Rayamajhi. Indeed, it is her identity as an artist that makes her jewellery so unique and transcendent.“I am really invested in making work that shows the artists' persona and how their mind works,” explains Rayamajhi. Colourful, playful, eclectic, and incorporating quirky elements like synthetic hair, tassels and miniature idols, Rayamajhi’s jewellery defines her.It also defines how she has grown as an artist. Starting with beads, Rayamajhi made a big jump into diamond jewellery for the ‘Diamonds with a Story’ series by Australian Diamonds in January.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110710110/6368c9819c7e80680e02f2b8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="697"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This was the first time Rayamajhi became an art director herself, and only designed the jewellery, instead of making them herself. Always socially and environmentally conscious, she only took up the offer because the diamonds were conflict free.Rayamajhi also chooses to remain close to her Nepali roots, but incorporates elements that make her jewellery truly global. Her popularity has not gone unnoticed in Nepal, and that does come to her as a pleasant surprise.“The kind of reaction I got from the Nepali audience on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show was amazing. Craze dekhera danga thiyei,” says Rayamajhi, breaking into Nepali to explain how she was encouraged by the reaction.Rayamajhi went back to Nepal twice last year after a gap of five years, and remembers re-seeing Kathmandu in all its beauty and chaos. She wants to have a flagship store in Nepal to encourage more artisanal talent and support a comeback for <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/rebuilding-temples-a-chance-to-creat-jobs-and-to-revive-woodcarving-industry%20,2347">Nepali handicraft</a>.She adds: “I will consider myself really successful if I am able to move a generation. In the end, I want people to see me and see themselves in me. I want them to feel that if she can do it, so can I.”Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/%20East-meets-West%20,3152  ,  http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/%20East-meets-West%20,3152">East meets West</a>,  Ayesha Shakya<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Be-jewelled-by-Ayusha-Shresthas-AAMO,3042">Be jewelled</a>,  Smriti Basnet

Arpana's world of quirky jewellery

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

Turkish Basketball

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

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

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

The Everest Industry

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

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