One of the better known names in the Nepali music scene today, as the founder of Project Sarangi and part of Kutumba, is Kiran Nepali. He breathes new life into the traditional string instrument, inspiring younger Nepalis to find a sense of pride in their roots, inviting listeners not just to the sound but also to think about persistent caste discrimination.&nbsp; Nepali is steeped in the cultural heritage of the Gandharva community, who were traditionally minstrels travelling from village to village, singing the news of the land through their lyrics.&nbsp; Modern media replaced this communication system in Nepali society, and the cultural value of Gandharva storytelling disappeared. People stopped associating themselves with the music. Gandharvas experienced caste discrimination, and the sarangi itself became untouchable. Growing up in Kathmandu to a lineage of sarangi players, Nepali’s parents discouraged him from learning the instrument. So he learned the guitar. Later, he went back to the sarangi, and that changed everything.&nbsp; “Don’t chase what you don’t have. Take what you do have and make it great,” says Nepali, reflecting on discarded tradition.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240926110940_618e8218d6892a1343a2a7d9e9a7d1a33e7ad587cb7e4aef9ed8d23b5ef84c80.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240926110940_618e8218d6892a1343a2a7d9e9a7d1a33e7ad587cb7e4aef9ed8d23b5ef84c80" data-rendition-name="original" width="990" height="1314" loading="lazy" alt="Kiran playing the Tungna"> <figcaption>Kiran playing the Tungna, a traditional instrument from the mountains.</figcaption> </figure>  Since 2012, the Project has &nbsp;offered educational opportunities to those who want to play the sarangi. They also developed a locally-made redesign of the instrument so it can be incorporated with technology like loop pedals and amps.&nbsp; Nepali’s love for the sarangi is palpable, as he blends the new amplified sound with the traditional melodies he has perfected, with the instrument serving as a musical bridge between the past and present. As a result of the instrument’s newly acquired modern appeal, he has witnessed a dramatic increase in people wanting to learn sarangi, notably those outside the Gandharva community. Many Nepalis are attracted to learning it as a way of connecting to their roots.&nbsp; But is something lost in modernising the playing? Nepali thinks not, having the opinion that traditional instruments must evolve with the times to stay relevant. “Do we want to see this instrument being played or in a museum?” he asks. “Music must go on, because it has a life, it has a soul, and to preserve it means that it’s already dead." <h2>Sarangi for conservation</h2> Gandharva music is also being used by Greenhood Nepal for its anti-poaching anthem. Greenhood's Kumar Paudel interviewed over 100 people arrested for illegal wildlife trade. Faced with fines and prison sentences of up to 15 years, the interviewees expressed regret, many stating that they had not realised the scale of the penalty, and the toll it would take on their families. Paudel then wrote the lyrics for a collection of songs drawn from the interviews. Collaborating with singer and sarangi player Prakash Gandharva, the songs communicate the impact of illegal wildlife trade on ecosystems and communities, and were performed across Nepal in the traditional Gandharva storytelling style. “In communities with high rates of illiteracy and limited access to the internet, music is the most effective way of communicating these messages,” says Paudel.&nbsp; Amrit Gandhari is a music therapist and owner of Abira Music Shop in Thamel, which he opened after the pandemic. While modern technology may threaten Gandharva music, through social media it also provides a large platform to share the music, broadly.&nbsp; Most sarangi sales from Gandhari's shop are to tourists, who can learn how to play from his YouTube tutorials. He even wrote a song during lockdown to spread awareness about Covid in the traditional Gandharva style. Sarangi has traditionally been a male-dominated instrument but more women are now learning it too. Gandhari is especially proud that his college-age daughter, Anu, has learnt to play.&nbsp; Now, the father-daughter duo perform every evening at 6PM in the Kathmandu Guest House courtyard. Says Anu Gandhari: “I want to be the best sarangi player in the world.” &nbsp; Emma Kieran Schaefer is a Thomas J Watson fellow who was in Nepal for a month to research about Gandharva music. &nbsp;

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The musical bridge between past and present

It is rare to be bestowed with great talent, to have a calling. It is even rarer to have the courage, discipline, and willpower to fulfil your potential. Which is why it is a great tragedy when such a great lyricist, musician and singer is missing from Nepal’s music landscape. Bhakta Raj Acharya was a legendary singer, but who had not been able to perform vocals for 30 years after his tongue had to be surgically removed to stop a cancer from spreading.&nbsp; He died Monday 26 February at age 81 while being rushed to hospital after difficulty breathing. Acharya, also known as Bhajan Shiromani for his devotional singing in later life, as well as Sur Samrat (Emperor of Voice) was a celebrated musician who was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-sweet-smell-of-music">contemporaries with the likes of Narayan Gopal, Ambar Gurung and Prem Dhoj Pradhan</a>. He sang more than 450 songs during his prolific career cut short after the surgery in 1994. Born in Dhankuta and raised in Kalimpong, Acharya dropped out of school to pursue music against his mother’s wishes. He moved to Kathmandu, taking with him a harmonica and very little else, looking for a way to make it in Nepal’s music scene. This first foray was a failure because of discouragement from officialdom, and Acharya had to briefly move back to Kalimpong.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240303120340_a9ce8570f9fb27596aae2d00d9ad65b4b0e9387d5081ca674ccb20689cd38493.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240303120340_a9ce8570f9fb27596aae2d00d9ad65b4b0e9387d5081ca674ccb20689cd38493" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="853" loading="lazy" alt="Bhakta Raj Acharya"> <figcaption>Photo: KANAK MANI DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/notes-from-a-musician">Notes from a musician</a>, Pratibha Tuladhar He returned to Kathmandu confidently, resolving to not return until he made it big. He got his first break in 1973, after winning a gold medal in an all-Nepal singing competition judged by none other than Ambar Gurung. The tournament was held by Radio Nepal, where he started working immediately after. Known for an unwavering commitment to his craft, Acharya the musical perfectionist soon made a name for himself with songs such as Jati Chot Dinchhau, Hazar Sapana Haru and Jaha Chhan Buddha Kaa Aankha. In 1993, he developed an ulcer on his tongue and was diagnosed with cancer in India. &nbsp; Acharya went to Germany for a second opinion but there was no alternative but to amputate his tongue. Not able to talk anymore, and more so unable to sing which was his passion, the singer admitted to contemplating suicide.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024022811024_887fb73042c7a0f8c2a5d47c7ed7011dc7c979fa882a1ffde7cdba3c678e4021.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024022811024_887fb73042c7a0f8c2a5d47c7ed7011dc7c979fa882a1ffde7cdba3c678e4021" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="533" loading="lazy" alt="Bhaktaraj Acharya funeral"> <figcaption>Bhaktaraj Acharya was cremated in Pashupati on Tuesday. </figcaption> </figure>  Acharya raised two sons who are now successful singers in their own right and are continuing the legacy of their father. His life was also made into the biopic, Acharya, in 2011, directed by Prashant Rasaily and starring his elder son, Satya Raj, as himself. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/king-of-music-for-kindness">Kind of music for kindness</a>, Ashish Dhakal His sons are famously known as the musical duo “Satya-Swaroop" and have carried on their father’s musical legacy. Bhakta Raj Acharya was cremated on Tuesday at Pashupati Aryaghat amidst thousands of admirers who sang his song Jaha Chhan Buddha Kaa Aankha in a fitting tribute. Prime Minister Pushpa Kanal Dahal and UML leader K P Oli were among those paying their final respects to the Nepali musical great.

Vishad Raj Onta

Bhakta Raj Acharya, 81

Besides Dasain-Tihar-Chhath Nepal is known for a fourth annual autumn festival: Jazzmandu. The event has grown since its inception in 2002 with new and prolific artists from across the globe flying into Kathmandu to showcase their talent and experience the unique atmosphere of the Valley. The melange of chosen venues reflect the ethnic and cultural diversity of Nepal as well as the performers from around the world. Surya Nepal Jazzmandu this year encapsulated and perpetuated the power of music and its ability to bring people together. From the pulsating groove of Plurism’s African rhythm and the mellow emotive voice of Lucile Chriqui to the bright tones of Samundra band’s rendition of Nepali folk music, this year’s jazz reflected the diversity of this music genre. A free concert for the students of St Xavier's School gave students exposure to the unique delights of jazz. There were concerts at Jazz Upstairs and the Dutch group Under The Surface performing at Electric Pagoda with experimental electronic sound. Multinational Forro performed at Jazz Upstairs while Swiss South African group Faku took on an intimate set at EDN in Sanepa.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231111031148_0218034eabe8f4742526ba8f477548fc840c797cc3db8c0f603f1f20f0937a97.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231111031148_0218034eabe8f4742526ba8f477548fc840c797cc3db8c0f603f1f20f0937a97" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Jazzmandu"> </figure>  The Jazz Bazaar at Gokarna Forest Resort gave guests a captivating musical showcase with the full Jazzmandu line-up. The historic Baber Mahal heard the rich tradition of Brazilian music. The penultimate evening in Patan was a culmination of the week with both foreign and Nepali artists performing a magical fusion of Nepali classical music and jazz. The festival attracted a diverse audience from Kathmandu residents, tourists and expats. Said deputy EU ambassador Joëlle Hivonnet: “Jazzmandu is getting better every year. Although it does not attract world-renowned artists like Motreux or Marcia, it manages to bring upcoming artists and covers a variety of styles. I particularly enjoy bands that mix Nepali and western Instruments.” The Lucile Chriqui quartet, a formidable new force in French Jazz, ascribed their experience of Jazzmandu and Nepali culture as an experience like no other: “It feels like being on tour in one city.” The band held a charity concert to raise funds for the burn victims at the Sushma Koirala Memorial Hospital. “It was amazing to perform for such an important cause. We realised the power of music as a tool for connection,” said Chriqui.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231109101144_9f276596e90a0c96204f75c1b18f2ecb05cf28c531cbdc22c8c0a3a73109deba.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231109101144_9f276596e90a0c96204f75c1b18f2ecb05cf28c531cbdc22c8c0a3a73109deba" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1334" loading="lazy" alt="Jazzmandu"> <figcaption>Lucile Chriqui</figcaption> </figure>  The band wants to take back to Paris the special energy and friendliness they experienced from the Nepali volunteers which inspired them to try and connect more with tourists visiting their own country, and the unique pace of life in Kathmandu especially compared to Paris where “one hour feels like a minute”. Chriqui also hopes to continue to experiment sonically, inspired by the timbre of Nepali traditional instruments. “Maybe I’ll also take home a singing bowl too,” she quips. Next year Nepal’s pioneering music event will turn 20. Co-founder Navin Chettri says, “Initially, we were met with some reluctance and confusion regarding jazz but now there is no need to explain, Jazzmandu has put both jazz and Kathmandu on the map.” When asked what’s in store for the special 20th anniversary, Chettri replied gleefully: “No spoilers.” &nbsp; <h2>Jazz at the Gate</h2> In contrast to other Jazzmandu evenings, where the setlist was structured to showcase each act separately, ‘Jazz at Patan’ on 7 November celebrated the cultural exchange between jazz and Nepali classical sounds with musicians from around the world.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231111031148_b06d5c6058914a65a5f1e1a35b7d37eeebafdf149a026b330adbc2774caf8e93.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20231111031148_b06d5c6058914a65a5f1e1a35b7d37eeebafdf149a026b330adbc2774caf8e93" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Jazzmandu"> </figure>  The meticulous fusion of repertoires and celebration of cultures abandoned the formulaic composition of ‘mainstream’ music structure, and transgressed genre to create a spiritual and meditative sound described by attendees as “grounding”, “unique” and “irreplicable”. The lantern-lit, well-catered evening at Yala Maya Kendra facilitated an intimate experience for attendees who put stress and hunger aside allowing the technical prowess, professionalism, and self-expression of the bands to remain the focal point of the evening. Artist Sisonke Xonti highlighted the privilege of performing in front of a live crowd again, a crowd that another artist Nick Aggs described as “the best at Jazzmandu”. “In order to celebrate the unique sound of each artist, there needs to be a reciprocated level of intimacy and respect between artist and audience,” added Aggs. Singer Lucile Chriqui was left feeling that the crowd was “truly listening and connected”. She added: “So much energy, so much love represented the very essence of Jazzmandu, which is to connect with people and demonstrate that music is a divine, universal language”. Guests felt transcendental: one concertgoer was in disbelief at the ability of the artists to champion all instruments and voices and extolled the “inexplicable” connection she felt between everyone within the 100-year-old Rana-era courtyard. The evening ended with a standing ovation, and the crowd ambled out of the venue still processing the magic of what they had witnessed. Jazz at Patan had a multicultural audience, and celebrated the oneness of humanity and was an event to be experienced at least once in a lifetime. Uma Dhital

Jazzing up the ‘Mandu for 20 years

The Sherpa people who live below Mt Everest are so famous globally as intrepid mountain guides that their surname has been expropriated by SUV, lounge chair, pet accessory, momo restaurant brands. But their cultural history of being the custodians of the world's highest mountains and intimate relationship with the mountains is reflected in their folk songs. The lyrics point to the Sherpa reverence for nature, and their innate ecological consciousness.&nbsp; Today, the climate emergency is impacting on the Himalaya through no fault of the inhabitants. Rising temperatures are accelerating the melting of glaciers in the Khumbu region, with the threat of glacial lakes bursting. Flora and fauna in the region have been disturbed by weather extremes.&nbsp; But awareness about protecting nature has been Sherpa folklore for generations, long before climate scientists coined the terms greenhouse effect and climate change. Syar Thinche Nima, a song by Rinjin Lhamo Sherpa, a teacher and member of Himalayan Sherpa Cultural Centre in Khumbu, goes like this: The sun rises in the east If the sun doesn’t rise, the mountains will not glow bright The mountains will not remain If there is no snow on the mountains, there will be no rivers There will be no green water If water does not flow, the fish cannot live If there are no fish, there can be no forests Plants cannot grow If plants cannot grow, there will be no birds There can be no life, creation cannot exist. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/margins/songlines-of-the-rivers-and-forests">Songlines of the rivers and forests</a>, Sewa Bhattarai Explains Rinjin: “This song is proof that our community was conscious of the ecology since they have been living here under the mountains.” The song not just portrays the importance of the mountains, but also vocalises the need for their conservation, on which the fates of the very existence of human civilisation depends. This song is also an example of the role of traditional cultures in combating the climate emergency which threatens to destroy the Himalayan ecosystem, and is caused by the overexploiting of nature. In contrast, indigenous cultures like Sherpa culture, reveres and respects the earth and considers it holy. Many Sherpa songs passed down from generations carry this ethos. Another song shared by Pasang Chhiring Sherpa of the Himalayan Sherpa Cultural Centre, Khangdi Thombi, views the mountains as awe-inspiring and sacred: Look at the mountains to the North How tall they are The heart is glad to see them There is a tall, golden wall here Inside the wall are our priceless treasures Our sages reside there Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bridging-the-andes-and-himalaya-with-music">Bridging the Andes and Himalaya with music</a>, Sewa Bhattarai  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023090904090_2e7c9aaa46a15aa3b42283fe255a3fd9dd6a13b51df7b78f8819e5882e652c21.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2023090904090_2e7c9aaa46a15aa3b42283fe255a3fd9dd6a13b51df7b78f8819e5882e652c21" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="2667" loading="lazy" alt="Page 5"> </figure>  “The song talks about the mountains protecting our most precious possessions, priceless things which we cannot buy with money,” explains Pasang. Sherpas, who know their mountains better than most outsiders, regard them as symbols of purity, greatness, and mystery. These metaphors can be found in much of South Asian literature and religious scriptures like the Rig Veda which regard the icy summits as the abode of the gods. Another song of the Sherpa links the mountains with spirituality and spiritual practices. Another song created by the revered religious leader Thuchi Nyima Rinpoche goes: There is a peak called Kelung Domirila in Tibet It is powerful and sacred We must make many prayer wheels there “Prayer wheels are very important in our religious practice. However, the song does not talk about prayer wheels literally, it implies that we must do good deeds and practice our religion,” explains Pasang. “This song is sung on auspicious occasions and gives a good message.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-last-of-the-kusunda">The last of the Kusunda</a>, Sewa Bhattarai With modernisation, global travel, tourism and monetary upliftment of the Sherpa people, many songs and traditional practices are also in danger of being lost. “Our children are more familiar with English songs and discos, so we made an effort to teach these sacred songs to them,” says Rinjin, who helps with Sherpa culture classes once a week.&nbsp; Activists have also set up the Himalayan Sherpa Cultural Centre to teach the new generation about different types of Sherpa songs, among other activities. There are many songs in Sherpa culture, sung on different occasions and in various settings. ‘Lu’ means song, and there are songs of sorrow (Kyo-lu), songs for weddings (Janti-lu), courtship songs (Ja-lu). Shyabru-lu are sung while dancing around in a circle.&nbsp; Pasang adds: “Until now, we have educated more than a thousand children about these songs, and taught them to sing and dance the old way.” &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/still-dancing-and-singing-for-nepal-revolution">Still dancing and singing for Nepal revolution</a>, Sewa Bhattarai Sewa Bhattarai is a freelance journalist. Her series, On The Margins, &nbsp;focuses on folk music, folklore, and mythology of Nepal's diverse communities.

Sewa Bhattarai

Songs from Chomolungma

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5b39c7e80680e0736dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="714"/><figcaption>Anna Marie Stirr has completely immersed herself into the world of Nepali dohori folk duets, not just doing a PhD on the subject and publishing a book, but also performing the song routines.</figcaption></figure>Anna Marie Stirr was intrigued and thoroughly captivated the first time that she listened to a dohori traditional duet in Nepal twenty years ago. Was it a song or a long playful banter between musicians?She was a student of ethnomusicology at New York’s Columbia University at the time, and the dohori genre stood out not only for its unique vocal tone and style, but because it blurred the lines between music and drama, delivering a performance that was unlike anything she had ever witnessed before.Stirr began to delve into the world of Nepali folk music, learnt the language and spent two decades traveling within Nepal, studying and analysing minutely the spontaneous lyrics, the rules governing the musical back-and-forth, and what made dohori such an essence of Nepali culture.On one of her many trips in 2005, cheered on by members of a local mothers’ group in Lamjung Stirr was urged to join in the singing. She came up with her own dohori compilation: “Aye ma ta yo gaun ma khuruka, sab bhujna sukha ra dukha, mirmireko gham…” (I have come to this village to understand both happiness and pain, the twinkling sun…)The mothers were delighted by her fluent and mellifluous Nepali, and the way she had grasped the soul of the songs. Ever since, Stirr has been obsessed with dohori. She is now Associate Professor at the University of Hawaii and her 2017 book based on her PhD research, <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/singing-across-divides-9780190631987?lang=en&amp;cc=us">Singing across Divides: Music and Intimate Politics in Nepal</a>, was awarded the <a href="https://www.asianstudies.org/grants-awards/book-prizes/cohn-prize/">Bernard S Cohn Book Prize</a> last year.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UauGVtwbC9s&amp;feature=emb_logo“Dohori is a truly challenging and complex musical practice,” explains Stirr, who has studied the variations of dohori by singers like Sharmila Gurung and Devi Gharti Magar, whose voices feature impeccable skill and precision when carrying out the complicated kharki voice modulation in their songs. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/songs-of-rebellion,3249">Komal Oli’s</a> steady and controlled voice has now become characteristic of her personal style and flair.“Dohori singers must be poets at heart,” says Stirr, who defines the singing in her book as ‘dialogic, conversational sung poetry’ that uses improvisation, wit, playfulness, and ingenuity all at the same time. Dohori is not just entertainment, it tackles societal issues like gender, class and caste discrimination, and the songs challenge rulers.During the Panchayat, dohori was a medium for democratic activism, and today with the failure of governance that is driving hundreds of thousands of young Nepali women and women abroad in search of work, it is an outlet for the popular dissatisfaction as well as expressions of longing and separation.During the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/parodying-patriarchy-at-tij/">Tij festival</a> dohori has now moved beyond playful teasing between men and women headlong into <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-folk-songs-move-beyond-love-and-loss/">tackling Nepal’s patriarchal mores.</a> During the conflict as people migrated to the cities for safety, the Rodhi Ghar became a place of refuge and urban-rural interaction where the songs served to cement Nepal’s ethnicities.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-folk-songs-move-beyond-love-and-loss/">Nepali folk songs move beyond love and loss</a>, Reeti K.C.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vYfyFbeC8Q&amp;feature=emb_logoStirr also researched Nepal’s progressive and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/still-singing-and-dancing/">revolutionary folk music</a>, producing a documentary in collaboration with Bhakla Syangtan of Radio Namobudhha that profiles folk musician-turned-MP Khusi Ram Pakhrin.“Hajarau ko balidan le kalo yuga dhaleko cha,” (The dark age has ended through the sacrifice of thousands of people) goes one of Pakhrin’s song. And there is hope for a better future in this one:  “Srijana ra sambriddhi ko bato khulna thaleko cha” (The path of creativity and prosperity is beginning to open up).Stirr writes in her book: ‘Mediating technologies, narratives of national feeling, and new feelings engendered in changing surroundings continue to shape modern ideas of “village voices” (folk music), at the intersection of development, nostalgia, exploration and evolving ideas of belonging.’Stirr has spent nearly ten years studying and enjoying Nepali folk music in Nepal, she taught at the music department of Kathmandu University in 2004, fostering connections with folk musicians like Tulsi Parajuli and Satyakala Rai, and frequenting live performances of dohori songs in the Nirmaya Rodhi Club alongside folk singer Sheila Ale.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5b59c7e80680e0736ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="980"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5b89c7e80680e0736dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="980">Preforming in traditional attire with near-perfect Nepali inflection, Anna Stirr is as much Nepali as she is American. She considers Nepal as her second home, and even though she is 13,000km away in Hawaii she keeps her connections alive through dohori and preparing Nepali food of which her favourites are local kukhura ko masu and alu ko achar.Stirr says she would still like to visit many more places in Nepal, exploring and studying different regions and their <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18795#.XzNmBYoza71">folk music</a>, and she would have been in Nepal now if it had not been for the COVID-19 crisis.She told <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15058#.XzNU64oza70">Nepali Times in an interview</a> in 2008: "I can make people laugh when I sing a dohori, but I haven't yet been able to make them cry."Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18795#.XzK0DSgzbb0">Songs of our past</a>, Amar Gurung<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/norway-nepal-lockdown-concert-on-the-internet/">Norway-Nepal lockdown concert on the internet</a>, Nepali Times <img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5bb9c7e80680e0736dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Singing Across Divides: Music and Intimate Politics in NepalBy Anna Marie Stirr <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/singing-across-divides-9780190631970?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;">Oxford University Press, 2017</a>312 Pages $105 ISBN: 9780190631970<a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/singing-across-divides-9780190631987?lang=en&amp;cc=us">Paperback</a> <a href="http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780190631970.001.0001/oso-9780190631970">Oxford Scholarship Online</a>Ebook<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914114/636ba5bf9c7e80680e0736e0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="166" height="250">

An American-Nepali duet

<figure></figure>										<img width="960" height="639" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181148/636a96c09c7e80680e05dc86jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: MANOSE NEWA/FACEBOOK</figcaption>												Flautist Manose Newa, known mononymously as Manose, is the first Nepali to be nominated for a Grammy Award. He was nominated for his contributions to musician Deva Premal’s album, Deva, for the Best New Age Album category. In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157865816469432&amp;set=a.10153750059194432&amp;type=3&amp;eid=ARDLQ4jiZL3HiLSVpMZyLhwrrd2LuJIzolEvyMXMFTJL5OwL0l6ioqRMdK-qoPQyVlzN62N_lPkER6jM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook post published on 21 November</a> Manose wrote: ‘And the Grammy goes too… This morning beloved Deva and Miten called me and gave me some surpris news… We have been nominated for a Grammy!” The winners will be announced at the 62nd Grammy Awards on 27 January 2020. Manose fell in love with the bansuri when he first heard its haunting sound one night at the age of eight. Although he didn’t know what that sound was then, he later discovered that it was that of a bansuri, he said in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/manose-nepali-flutist,1950?fbclid=IwAR1a0BMsuws2uY2AhIHYI1Ju3S79Za2mo0jLlrwuCfCtckVq3XCGXr1UqH0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an interview with Nepali Times</a> in 2015. Since hearing the soul-touching sound as a young boy, he has established himself as a flute virtuoso.Manose left Nepal in 1998 at the age of 20 to tour the west with Nepali tabla player, Homnath Upadhyaya. Since then, he has travelled to more than 25 countries, searching for inspiring musicians to collaborate with. He has played with musicians from a wide range of genres like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/cadenzas-new-collection/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cadenza Collective</a>, 1974 AD, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2017/11/05/anis-song/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ani Choying</a> and his own band, Sukarma. During his many travels, Manose met Premal, a female musician who is known for her devotional songs, mantras and spiritual elements in her music, and her life and duet partner, Miten.The album Deva, which consists of 7 tracks that incorporate the enchanting Gayatri Mantra, is described to be “a deeply relaxing mantra sound-bath for body, mind &amp; spirit, ideal for meditation and slow yoga flows.” Manose’s soaring flights of the bansuri in the album is hauntingly beautiful and woven melodiously in the mantras of each track.

First Nepali to be nominated for a Grammy Award

<figure><img width="864" height="648" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141156/636a60799c7e80680e056e81jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>PHOTO: JAYADEV KRISHNA SHRESTHA </figcaption></figure>Rajkumar Shrestha flicked his baton, musicians raised their instruments, and the audience at the Academy Hall in Kathmandu stood up for Nepal’s national anthem gloriously rendered with violins, violas, cello, sitar and flute by a 60-member orchestra.The lyrics of Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka Hami, Eutai Mala Nepali (“We are different flowers of the same garland”) evokes Nepal’s ethnic diversity, but last Wednesday it also defined the diversity of the musicians from Norway and Nepalis of various ages and ethnicities.And because this was a project of the Nepali-Norwegian Orchestra, the soothing tones of the Norwegian national anthem came next. In the center of the orchestra, surrounded by violinists was Eivind Rossbach Heier from the string quartet KvartalKvartetten on the cello alongside his father who played the viola.Raised in a musical family with his mother a cellist and sister a violinist, Heier first came to Nepal in 2015 as an instructor with three other tutors and fifteen young people through a youth orchestra in Norway. Their goal was to teach Nepali musicians classical music to establish orchestras in the country. <figure><img width="1600" height="1200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141156/636a607c9c7e80680e056e82jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>PHOTO: JAYADEV KRISHNA SHRESTHA </figcaption></figure>The Annapurna Chamber Orchestra met the Norwegian musicians from KvartalKvartetten through the World Federation of Amateur Orchestra. The project trains Nepali students for a week and  organises performances in different venues of Kathmandu.Ten Nepali musicians also go to Norway for the week-long annual Orchestra Summer Course to interact and exchange music with their Norwegian counterparts. During the course, Nepali and Norwegian musicians play music from both countries even though they sound completely different.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFe9XQLtJWs&amp;feature=youtu.be Says Heier: “Despite their differences, the appreciation of music is universal. Nepali music has more melodies but not many harmonies which is the biggest difference from Western music. But it is the language of music that brings us together.”  Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/jazzmandu-2019-kicks-off/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Jazzmandu 2019 kicks off</a>, Nepali TimesThe exchange has also helped the musicians learn about Nepal through music and share a commonality. "It was interesting that after we heard the translated titles of the Nepali songs, we were reminded of patriotic songs from Norway as well,” said music instructor Ole Rasmus Bjerke.In the last five years of the project, the instructors as well as the young musicians know that their music has improved. Says 18-year-old Bikalp Singh Dura: "I used to play in the junior orchestra, and now I play with the seniors. I can feel the difference and my confidence building up.”   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGP6hz85ngc&amp;feature=youtu.beThe number of Nepali musicians has also doubled since 2015 from 30 to 60 aged between 10-60 years, and is projected to expand in the coming years. Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/jazz-returns-to-the-mandu/">Jazz returns to the ‘Mandu</a>, Sanghamitra Subba <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/norway-nepal-a-love-story/">Norway-Nepal, a love story</a>, Kunda Dixit  “The future of the Nepali orchestra is bright. It is growing through these programs,” says Rajkumar Shrestha, conductor and chairman of The Annapurna Chamber Orchestra. “The only challenge is that most students leave the country after Grade 12 for higher studies and we lose good musicians.”

Nepal-Norway orchestra find harmonies

Nepal’s newest music festival is guaranteed to start with a bang. Surya Nepal Drum Jatra next week will feature the heavy beats of metal, wood and leather drums alongside delicate sounds of bells and singing bowls. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/making-the-sound-of-music-in-patan,3976" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The damphu, madal and dholak will inject a Nepali flavour</a> to this international event.“We want to showcase the variety of styles we have in drums because Nepal is so rich in them, but we hardly ever celebrate drums,” says festival organiser Navin Chhetri. “Every major city in the world has drum festivals, except Kathmandu — we wanted to start something new.”Kathmandu will reverberate 24-29 June with Drum Jatra concerts that will feature Nepali sounds like Naykhibaja, the drumming of the butcher community in Bhaktapur, which was almost lost due to caste stigma, and Tamang Selo, which embodies the history of that hill community.Foreign rhythms will sound out courtesy of the Australian didgeridoo and in the person of Esad Halilovich, an acclaimed drummer from Vienna who will add a Balkan flavour.Along with performances, a series of workshops by experts will allow aspiring drummers to tap into Nepali percussion styles and Afro-Brazilian beats. Events will take place all over the city, culminating with the finale at Summit Hotel on 29 June.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-and-all-that-jazz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kathmandu, and all that jazz …</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46709c7e80680e04d3dajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/>Esad HalilovicJazz drummer, composer and teacher based in Vienna the trio-playing Halilovice has presented his compositions at renowned international jazz festivals. He will also be giving workshops on hand techniques for drummers and improvisation of drum sets.Performs: Traditional folk music from the Balkans in the language of contemporary jazz.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46739c7e80680e04d3dbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050">Kathmandu Baja PucaA young group performing in the Naykhibaja tradition. Nay refers to Newar butchers, with whom the tradition originated, khi means drum, and baja denotes an instrument or musical ensemble. The butchers were considered untouchable, and their musical legacy was forgotten as youngsters rejected it because of the caste stigma.Performs: The recovered Naykhibaja repertoire with pride, with determination to preserve it for future.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46779c7e80680e04d3dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="932">Abhaya Krishna ShresthaMusician, composer and ethnomusicologist with expertise in processional drumming in Kathmandu Valley, Shrestha documents different Nepali drumming traditions, exploring ways to bring them into the academic realm and international contemporary music. His initiative to learn the Naykhibaja of Bhaktapur's Newar butcher community has raised its profile.Performs: Dhimaybaja, Navabaja of Bhaktapur, Naykhibaja of butchers of Bhaktapur, and Dapha music.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a467a9c7e80680e04d3ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption>All Photos: MUSIC ROOM/DRUM JATRA</figcaption></figure>Salil SubediA pioneer didgeridoo player who has explored the ancient wind instrument’s potential beyond music, employing it in theatre, performance art, sound art, and social and public art for educational, social and cultural causes. His central theme is nature and spirituality.Performs: unique styles of didgeridoo as a percussive and rhythmic instrument, revealing the versatile nature of the instrument and the performer.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a467d9c7e80680e04d3dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933">Kiran SahiA drummer and percussionist with a long record of performance and teaching, Sahiis best known for playing with the Nepali progressive rock band Jindabaad and the jazz ensembles Le-piro Quintet and Mad Jazz Quintet.Performs: Drums and other percussion instruments with a flavour of progressive rock and jazz.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a467f9c7e80680e04d3dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1042">Rabin Lal ShresthaA leading figure of classical music in Nepal, and one of the country’s most respected and renowned musical performers, recording artists and educators, Shrestha taught music in the royal palace for over two decades. He has lectured and headed a department at the Fine Arts Campus of Tribhuvan University.Performs: Percussion instruments in classical style.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46839c7e80680e04d3e0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933">Naresh PrajapatiA percussionist specialising in Madal Tarang, Prajapati studied traditional Nepali percussion under the maestros Nuchhe Bhadur Dangol and Rabin Lal Shrestha, and his work appears on albums such as Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia Live! in Nepal.Performs: A wide range of traditional drums like madal, tabla, dholak, shimmy and khi.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46869c7e80680e04d3e1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933">Navin ChettriA percussionist, vocalist, composer and music educator, and founder and artistic director of the Kathmandu Jazz Festival (popularly called Jazzmandu). Chhetri is a pioneer of jazz in Nepal, and a driving force behind its growth.Performs: Jazz, Nepali folk, Indian classical, West African, Afro -Cuban and Brazilian rhythms<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a46899c7e80680e04d3e2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933">Mangal Man MaharjanAn accomplished singing- bowl artist, as well as theatre practitioner and Charya dancer, Maharjan is a keen collector and historian of singing bowls, and strives to unearth the ancient roots of the bowls in Newari culture.Performs: Singing bowl, in order to preserve and revive its traditions in the Kathmandu Valley.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a468c9c7e80680e04d3e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1217" height="824">Tamba GroupA group performing in the Tamang Selo style, a musical tradition central to Tamang culture. Tamba songs are one of the oldest and most prized parts of Tamang musical tradition and integral to rituals and habits that mark the course of every Tamang’s life, from birth to death. This ensemble presents a glimpse of Tamang culture and history.Performs: Tamang rituals, folktales and beliefs to the rhythmic accompaniment of the Damphu drum.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813114/636a468f9c7e80680e04d3e4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934"><a href="http://cadenzacollective.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cadenza Collective</a>A unique and eclectic band in Kathmandu. From humble beginnings in the early 1990s as a rock, funk and reggae outfit, Cadenza went on to become among the first bands to experiment with jazz in Nepal, pumping vitality into the country's improvised music scene.Performs: Jazz, afro-funk and Nepali folk music, creating a genre-bending sound that’s irresistible to the ears.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/jazzmandu-finale/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jazzmandu Finale</a>, Sewa BhattaraiWORKSHOP SCHEDULE24 June10:00 am- 11:00 am / Hand technique for Drummers - Esad Loliovich11:00 am - 12:00pm / Nepali Folk Percussion Presentation - Abhay Shrestha1:00pm - 2:00 pm / Essential Grooves for Jazz Drummers - Navin Chettri2:00pm- 3:00pm /Afro - Cuban / Brazilian Rhythm Section - Navin Chettri25 June10:00 am- 11:00 am / J Dilla on Drumset - Kiran Shahi11:00 am - 12:00pm / Madal Tarang - Naresh Prajapati1:00pm - 2:00 pm / Essential Grooves for Jazz Drummers - Navin Chettri2:00pm- 3:00pm /Afro - Cuban / Brazilian Rhythm Section - Navin Chettri26 June10:00 am- 11:00 am / Drum-set Improvisation - Esad Loliovich11:00 am - 12:00pm / Healing with Singing Bowls - Mangal Man Maharajan1:00pm - 2:00 pm / Essential Grooves for Jazz Drummers - Navin Chettri2:00pm- 3:00pm /Afro - Cuban / Brazilian Rhythm Section - Navin ChettriCONCERT SCHEDULE26 JUNEDRUM JATRA AT UPSTAIRS‘Cadenza &amp; Multi Drummers’Show Time: 8:00pm to 10:00pmVenue: Jazz Upstairs, LazimpatTicket: Rs 500/-Multiple drummers come together with Cadenza Collective to create a night of infectious grooves at Jazz Upstairs.(Gates open at 7:30pm. Seats are based on a first-come, first-served basis, and are not guaranteed with a ticket).JUNE 27DRUM JATRA AT MOKSH‘Cadenza &amp; Multi Drummers’Show Time: 8:00pm to 10:00pmVenue: Moksh, JhamsikhelTicket: Rs 500/-Bringing Cadenza &amp; Multi Drummers across the bridge to Moksh, a special showcase of multiple drummers with Cadenza Collective.(Gates open at 7:30pm. Seats are based on a first-come, first-served basis, and are not guaranteed with a ticket).JUNE 28EKTAAL'Subtle Sounds of Percussions'Show Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pmVenue: Kantipur Temple House, ThamelTicket: Rs 1000/-Featuring the subtle, delicate and charismatic colours of drums at Kantipur Temple House with visiting drummers and some of Nepal's top traditional percussionists.(Gates open at 6:30pm and closes at 7:30pm. Seats are based on a first-come, first-served basis, and are not guaranteed with a ticket).JUNE 29DRUM JATRA FINALEShow Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pmVenue: Summit Hotel, Sanepa HeightTicket: Rs 800/-The Finale will showcase some of the top festival performers, with high-energy drumming traditions spanning from western percussion ensembles, African drumming styles and Brazilian rhythms to traditional Nepali drums, such as Madal tarang and Women’s Tamang Selo ensemble.(Gates open at 6:30pm. Seats are based on a first-come, first-served basis, and are not guaranteed with a ticket).

DRUM ROLL

https://youtu.be/dftVLbsLptIA long time ago in the beginningThere was no vast cosmos,And there was no beautiful earthLater the omnipotent Ningwaphuma arrivedAnd she created the earthIt is rare to hear folk songs in the Limbu language in Kathmandu, but this was Manu Nembang, Jhuma Limbu and Deepa Suhang (pictured) singing a traditional song from their community at Shilpee Theatre this week. The event was organised by Raithane Music to promote true folk melodies that people live by, and which are endangered by assimilation.This was Raithane Music’s first performance and started off with Hakpare, a melody popular among the Limbus from eastern Nepal. It is a kind of Mundhum, songs passed down orally from one generation of Limbus to another, with information about the community’s traditions, beliefs and worldview. Sung by priests, healers and shamans, the Mundhum is also called the ‘Veda’ of the Limbus, since they contain instructions for life. Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18795#.XDco3lUzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Songs of our past</a>, Amar Gurung<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/fasting-feasting-and-festivities-of-gaura/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fasting, feasting and festivities of Gaura</a>, Sewa BhattaraiMundhums contain age-old lyrics that trace the history of the Limbu community. Hakpare is believed to be the oldest melody or style of Limbu music tradition sung during important occasions like weddings, births, and even deaths. “When one person starts singing a Hakpare, another person may contradict him, and yet another may add information to clarify it. And so Hakpare progresses as a form of dialogue,” says sociologist Chaitanya Subba who thinks that since Hakpare contained references to people living in caves, the songs could be from the period the Limbus first settled in what is now eastern Nepal 10,000 years ago.Hakpares can be sung during weddings and about what life was like before people started getting married, and how a young couple’s courtship proceeds. The ones sung during pregnancy wish for the baby’s safe birth, and the songs of death wish for the departed soul’s safe passage. And then there are the dense songs that sing of the history of the earth, and how human civilisation came about. “There is a saying we find in these Hakpares. When the wind blows too chilly, or the weather grows gloomy, a human heart becomes full of feelings. That is when we sing these songs, to console the heart,” said Lokman Wanem from Taplejung. Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7665#.XDcn5FUzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Translating Bairagi Kainla</a>, Manjushree Thapa<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-a-high-note/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tibetan music in Nepal's sacred valley</a>, Sewa Bhattarai 		
										<img width="1400" height="1050" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101132/636a22539c7e80680e041782jpeg.jpg" alt=""/> Senior poet and Mundhum expert Bairagi Kainla added: “Youngsters are holding hands and singing to each other. One would imagine their songs would be joyful. But no, Hakpares are sorrowful. That is because they are aware that we are mortal. No matter what we achieve, it is gone. This awareness of the core nature of human existence is what makes the songs melancholy. We need these sorrowful melodies,” says Kainla who has collected and documented Mundhums.These songs were orally passed down from one generation to the next, and were barely documented until modern times, but today, their usage is fading as people do not need these songs for entertainment or for social guidelines. “Our ancestors thought that if they sung and memorised the lessons from their lives, it would be easier for the following generations to live their lives. It is not just music but an entire community’s history and tradition,” said Kainla. The melody is popular in eastern Nepal and other communities sing their own lyrics, including in Nepali. There are even modern and pop songs based on the melody, but the thousands of years of knowledge and wisdom that Limbus collected can only be found in the original Limbu Hakpare. We the siblings of human genesis We the wisest animals on earth Let this Mundhum remain forever And let this continue even after lifeRead also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/making-the-sound-of-music-in-patan,3976" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saving the sound of music</a>, Sebastian Wellingbat<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nation-have-nepalis,601" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Have Nepalis forgotten Dharmaraj Thapa?</a> Sunir Paney

Eastern melodies in Kathmandu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-sFnHEoH5U&amp;t=63sAsk a person in China about Nepal, and the answer is mostly that it is a happy Himalayan country of Buddhism and mountains. Justin Zhao and Liang Ye have decided that is not enough for the 400,000 Chinese tourists that are expected during <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/bringing-in-two-miilion-tourists,3551" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Nepal Year 2020</a>. When they first arrived in Nepal as tourists themselves, the duo decided that the country had a lot more to offer. Many more Chinese would visit if they knew about the culture, history, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/prithvis-earthy-art/">art</a>  and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-life-and-times-of-arniko/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">architecture of Nepal</a> . Zhao and Ye have set up <a href="https://www.facebook.com/himalayanlight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Himalaya Light Culture House</a> in Jhonche to exhibit and propagate Nepali art, modern paintings, historical books and local handicrafts. By deliberately locating in the former <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7121#.XCSzoVUzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freak Street</a>, not Thamel, the two wanted to reboot Nepal’s tourism brand among mainlanders.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/chinese-ink-wash-paintings-in-Nepal,2622, Justin Zhao" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal in ink and brush</a> <figure><img width="1400" height="788" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171152/636937c59c7e80680e03fe5bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>NORTHERN LIGHT: Justin Zhao and Liang Ye (below) with their art gallery in Jhochhen and Boudha. They call themselves “volunteer envoys” working to improve people-to-people ties between China and Nepal. Photos: Ruixue Zhang </figcaption></figure>It is easy to miss the signboard for Himalaya Light Culture House amidst the thangka and scarf shops, the momo eateries and bars in this street off Darbar Square that used to be the haunt of <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/feeling-groovy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hippies</a>. Through a narrow passageway, after turning right on a sundeck, is the Culture House.“No wonder so few people visit our Culture House, even I sometimes get lost,” jokes Ye, who was at Darbar Square when the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Monumental-loss,2215" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2015 earthquake destroyed the monuments</a> here, and remembers weeping when he saw the devastation.For his part, Zhao has been to Nepal 18 times since 2013, and cannot seem to stop coming back. He was drawn by Kathmandu’s rich heritage, sculpture and handicraft, and decided to establish a new museum, guest house and restaurant here. Zhao says that after the earthquake, many Chinese gave up their businesses and went back, so he had to start from square one. But now he is one of the most influential persons for trans-Himalayan cultural exchanges.  <img width="1400" height="788" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171152/636937c89c7e80680e03fe5cjpeg.jpg" alt="">Ye, 36, used to be a doctor, first came to Kathmandu in 2014, became a travel writer. “At first, I chose Nepal because of its tourism potential, but now Nepal is like my lover,” he admits, smiling. After seeing the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2015/05/27/a-month-that-felt-like-a-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">devastation in 2015</a>, Ye started posting scenes of the damage on Chinese social media to explain that Nepalis revered Lord Shiva the creator and destroyer, and saw the earthquake as part of another divine cycle. The posts helped spread a huge response in China for relief aid. Zhao has always been fascinated by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-craft-of-art/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali modern art</a> and wants to bring it to the attention of Chinese collectors. “Nepali artists are deeply rooted in their society, and their work carry socio-cultural meanings,” explains Zhao, “but the average Chinese tourist only knows about <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thangkas </a>and wood c<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/a-craving-for-carving,3637" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arvings.</a>”Ye has been in Nepal long enough to understand geopolitical sensitivities. “Nowadays, the relationship between China and Nepal is like friends while Nepal and India are like brothers,” he says diplomatically, “brothers can fight but will always be brothers. China will always be a close friend.”Ye and Zhao say they want to go beyond government-to-government links to be China’s “volunteer envoys” to connect the peoples of China and Nepal. In the past three years, Zhao has taken young Nepali artists to China, held exhibitions and discussions about paintings and music. Zhao’s father Zhao <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/chinese-ink-wash-paintings-in-Nepal,2622" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jianqiu</a> is a famous Chinese artist whose exquisitely detailed ink and brush paintings of Nepal’s mountains and Kathmandu’s temples have been exhibited in Beijing and Kathmandu.Tourism in Nepal has gone through many phases: the world jet-set ‘discovered’ Nepal in the early 1960s, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-gangster-of-love/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hippies </a>came in the 1970s, trekkers and budget travelers after that. Ye and Zhang perhaps represent a new breed of Asian tourists who are drawn by Nepal’s unique natural and cultural heritage, as well as its modern creativity.

The Chinese are coming

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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