Nobody completely understands the breadth and depth of our art which has developed over centuries. It takes more than a lifetime to achieve complete knowledge of an artistic heritage which is an amalgamation of religious philosophy, figurative symbols, metaphoric concepts and even subconscious outpourings. Paubha is not just simply painting of a deity that follows iconography and elemental requirements. Paubha can consume every molecule of an artist, especially for a great master like<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671"> Lok Chitrakar</a>. He dives deep into our ancient art practices of traditional paubha, dabbles in issue-based paubha with realism and impressionism, and is also experimenting with contemporising paubha with abstract forms. Our gods and goddesses are all figments of someone’s imagination. Ever wondered about the state of mind and emotional ecstasy of the first paubha painter? How did they render on canvas the compassion of a Green Tara, or the innate power of Lokeswor? We can assume it was a combination of philosophical understanding, fervent religious belief and also a strong subconscious outpouring. As he comprehends the challenges of having to express philosophy through figures Lok Chitrakar agrees that our traditional art too began as abstract. The subconscious plays a big a role when the artist has to imagine forms, expressions, colours, and movement of a deity who will evoke a powerful spiritual fervour. Moreover, it has to be visually stunning with intricate details. A dual talent of metaphorical and conventional skills and a sacred power of making the intangible, visible. Today Wassily Condensky’s or Picasso’s forms and figures are used as the basis of abstract drawings by artists all over the world. Similarly, our traditional art too had a foundation of abstract notions that was given continuity and thus became traditional. Through centuries, many contributed to its greater evolution in style, design, and methods. Lok Chitrakar is a 21st-century master of preserving tradition, letting artistic styles evolve and revolutionise.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070340_115233d0eb71e3e42062b32651d140b8196f654da32991135cabbf138d76169a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230324070340_115233d0eb71e3e42062b32651d140b8196f654da32991135cabbf138d76169a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="lok chitrakar"><figcaption>Lok Chitrakar. Photo: MoNA.</figcaption></figure>  During his early days, there was limited information on paubha protocol as documentation was poor and ancient texts were not researched and translated. He went into great lengths to study the early texts of iconography including Buddhist and Hindu theology and to understand the philosophy behind the concepts. Thus, Lok Chitrakar’s art is not just about continuation of age-old techniques, but a homage to the talent of unknown ancient artists -- to revive it, and leave an indelible mark by preserving it for ages to come. Understanding the depths of its philosophy so well, he breathes life into realistic, spiritual and abstract art forms. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">Paubha art</a> is the spiritual power of giving visibility to the deity one worships. An imaginative force of creative energy that brings the abstraction of god to life. A refined paubha artist like Lok Chitrakar has the ability to embody the presence and divine qualities of a deity. Says Chitrakar: “Let people look at my paintings and let them forget themselves for a moment. Let it be a divine calling for them.” Viewer may or may not get a calling, but they can see that divinity resides in those artists who have the power of making the unseen, seen. <h2>HEVAJRA MANDALA </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070344_717a96401d8a08f77c745db0e4418f01d0c1231c21b6164664671bb0287674e0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230324070344_717a96401d8a08f77c745db0e4418f01d0c1231c21b6164664671bb0287674e0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1186" loading="lazy" alt="hevraja mandala"><figcaption>'Hevajra Mandala', (Artist’s Collection), mineral colour on cotton canvas, 56.5 x 44.5in, work in progress</figcaption></figure>  The greatest example of Lok Chitrakar’s artistic magnanimity is the Hevajra Mandala which has taken him 25 years, and is not yet complete. What drives an individual to assiduously work on a canvas for 25 years? How do you define such passion and dedication? It took 15 years for Da Vinci to complete 'Mona Lisa' and three years for 'The Last Supper'. It took four years for Michelangelo to finish painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and two years for Botticelli’s 'Birth of Venus'. The world’s most famous and expensive art has been completed in less time, but Lok Chitrakar is still envisioning and studying the scriptures of Hevajra, a 500,000-verse tantric text of the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism that originated in the 8th century. The text converted to images in a mandala form is a lifetime of study. The philosophy of the Hevajra is about the impermanence of all phenomena which the artist has been studying since the 90s. He cannot complete it until he personally experiences all its teachings, he explains. Many of the lessons learned within the span of 25 years has been painstakingly imbibed, and he continues to work on it as he ages and understands the philosophy further. <h2>CHINTAMANI LOKESHWOR </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070348_a1158b100e1a9836221c25f1b761663a41edb6b4186d4cbec06f873ad3cc64ad.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230324070348_a1158b100e1a9836221c25f1b761663a41edb6b4186d4cbec06f873ad3cc64ad" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1603" loading="lazy" alt="chintamani lokeshwar"><figcaption>'Chintamani Lokeshwor', (Private Collection), Mineral on canvas (gold), 26 x 33in, 2005(Photo: Ashish Dhakal)</figcaption></figure>  Sometime in the 1980s, a 16th century art piece Chintamani Lokeshwor was stolen from Itum Bahal, and its whereabouts is unknown. Chitrakar would often go to study this paubha and he was terribly distressed by the loss of the national treasure. Based on the memory of what he saw, he was so inspired to paint this stolen masterpiece that he completed seven of them -- each one better than the previous. In doing so, he invented a new technique, which adds a transparent, almost reflective touch around the aura and shawl. Such was his determination to create the best version of the long lost paubha that his last one is beautiful beyond description. The painting intricately depicts Chintamani and his consort generously giving donations. It took Chitrakar 10 years to complete the piece and the final parts were done during the time he was taking care of his ailing mother. Chintamani Lokeshwor is the Bodhisattva of altruistic compassion and his life situation then was similar to the philosophy. He felt blessed to be serving his mother compassionately during her last days. <h2>TARA </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070348_37778c6a9e18f15f53eee60a23f0f3da3456de02761f95fb5b4008292b375634.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230324070348_37778c6a9e18f15f53eee60a23f0f3da3456de02761f95fb5b4008292b375634" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1221" loading="lazy" alt="tara"><figcaption>'Tara', (Private Collection), Mineral colours with lapis, malachite, gold, silver, 2016</figcaption></figure>  This Tara is inspired by the 12th century Nepali artist Arniko which is an inspiration to most paubha artists. Lok Chitrakar does not just admire him, he beautified the classic painting and gave it his unique creative touch by going a step further and applying lapis and malachite mixed paint. He wanted to show the rich skills of the Newa school of paubha and our unique paint mixtures. He learned the art of mixing lapis in Japan and bought 15 grams of high-quality lapis for $300 especially for this painting. This is the first time in the history of paubha painting that lapis, malachite, gold, and silver mixtures have been used. Chitrakar added gold and silver mixtures in the deity’s jewellery and the green background is the purest lapis and malachite mix; a paint technique only familiar to him -- no other paubha artists have dared. <h2>RAKTA GANESH </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070348_3beb1a30d44917ee666a912f0ac24ad839564ed90af11fe0597323539f8ffcd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230324070348_3beb1a30d44917ee666a912f0ac24ad839564ed90af11fe0597323539f8ffcd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="857" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="rakta ganesh"><figcaption>'Rakta Ganesh', (Artist’s Collection), mineral on canvas, lapis, indigo mix. 65 x 72.5in, 2020</figcaption></figure>  Lok Chitrakar has painted many forms of Ganesh but the most striking one is of Maha Rakta Ganesh, the red Ganesh which took him 16 years to complete. The inspiration is to bring to light the extraordinary talent of Jiva Ram, a less known Nepali artist of the 15th century who went to Tibet and mastered its artistic styles. In the 16 years it took to complete this piece, the canvas was eaten by termites, but Chitrakar continued to paint on it as a symbolic mark -- the holes can be still seen. As always, he added his own unique touches like the women holding the Asthamangal, a message of women empowerment within a strong representation of the male embodiment of Ganesh. The painting was completed during lockdown and he was so absorbed in it to emulate the artistic spirit of Jiva Ram that the turmoil of the Covid days didn’t affect him at all. <h2>CONTEMPORARY CHAKRASAMVARA </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070352_c5e21c3c2a6b93bd752a381a6a8088d390ba1a0a3629d215e8bc9c39ab7bcac6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230324070352_c5e21c3c2a6b93bd752a381a6a8088d390ba1a0a3629d215e8bc9c39ab7bcac6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="401" loading="lazy" alt="'Contemporary Chakrasamvara'"><figcaption>'Contemporary Chakrasamvara', (Artist’s Collection), mineral on canvas, 2017</figcaption></figure>  Though Chitrakar is not completely satisfied with his abstract version of Chakrasamvara, the piece signifies a revolution in Nepali art. It is a unique artistic attempt to merge the traditional and the modern. Chakrasamvara means an absolute state of an enlightened, or awakened mind. Chitrakar portrays this in a contemporary manner: blending hand gestures, symbols and deities, it’s a striking splurge of spontaneity and protocol on canvas. Those who do not understand this tantric philosophy may be lost, but for those who do, it is a delight to analyse the art from a mixed perspective. Lok Chitrakar: Solo Exhibition 26 March – 26 April 2023 Museum of Nepali Art, Thamel Shaguni Singh Sakya is Director, KGH Group and Museum of Nepali Art (MoNA).

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Five Decades of Lok Chitrakar

<figure><img width="2419" height="1613" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c8b9c7e80680e0b7877jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Krishna Bhakta Dangol, "What makes us fight", Acrylic on terracotta. All Photos: MONIKA DEUPALA.</figcaption></figure>There is a widely circulated image of King Gyanendra taken at his <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-would-still-be-a-monarchy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">post-royal massacre</a> coronation in 2001. The golden throne is visibly aged, chipping at the base. Gyanendra is sombre as he looks ahead under the crown, his hands clasped, his left leg resting upon the red velvet hassock.Perhaps it is to do with the camera or the weather,  but the image looks cooler, taken during a pre-monsoon rain.A rendition of the same image looms large in the gallery at Yala Maya Kendra in Patan, where an exhibition of traditional and contemporary art titled Kholo 25 is underway.  <figure><img width="6720" height="4480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c8e9c7e80680e0b7878jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But this one is a starkly different image. To begin with, it is not a photograph. Artist Kailash K Shrestha’s enormous acrylic on canvas shows a king sitting on the coronation throne, but sans face, sans hands.The famous crown of the Shah kings of Nepal hangs in the air, heavy, unsure. Who will grab it next?The painting is also aptly titled Occurrence before Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal – words that once were so full of promise, now reduced to being the punchline of a disillusioned joke, a mere vanishing act.The painting invites a more abstract reading. A viewer’s eyes shift from one point to another as there is no face and no immediately recognisable human trait.Faces and names have been pared off to reveal <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepal-from-royal-to-republic,3736" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an institution of glittering crowns and thrones</a> – a statement on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-rudderless-political-leadership/">the nature of power</a> and the meaning of monarchy itself. <img width="6720" height="4480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c929c7e80680e0b7879jpeg.jpg" alt="">Curated by Ujen Norbu Gurung, Kholo 25 brings 22 artists working in Nepal to address the shifting tides, perception and faith in Nepali society and politics.The exhibition is named after the Mani-kholo, prayer wheels in Buddhist shrines, to symbolise cycles of time, thought, experience and growth, and to expand the dictionary of creativity and expression.A collateral event with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/redefining-art-at-kathmandu-triennale-2077/">the ongoing Kathmandu Triennale 2077</a>, the exhibition showcases 14 young and rising Nepali artists alongside eight established and senior ones, also highlighting the significance of helping launch younger artists in the current climate of Nepali art.  <figure><img width="2822" height="1882" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c969c7e80680e0b787ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kishor Jyoti’s Clash of the class is a semi-mythical painting that looks like a panel from the Mahabharat, if not for the leopard-headed naked torso attached to another robotic body.It is a fitting companion to Kailash Shrestha’s work, showing the battle between the elite and the working-class, as the middle-class tries to referee, or even join in. An andromorphic jackal (wolf?) snarls from a golden chariot, brandishing a whip over its head. There is a dog in the middle, also barking at the leopard. It is a ferocious work, loud and violent. One can almost hear the growling tension and the thundering sky behind. Moreover, on the opposite wall is the true horror: a real clash of arms and ideologies, suffered by the Nepali people whose loss and grief continues to be unaccounted for. Photographs from the 2007 book <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13243#.YiTX8ftBzOQ">A People War</a> curated by Kunda Dixit taken during the Maoist insurgency show people hugging the bodies of their dead husbands, children hurt, a woman washing blood off the front of her shop, several men carrying moving the dead remains. <figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c999c7e80680e0b787bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Most discourse on the war is only in terms of the numbers,” says curator Gurung, who compares the different political establishments in Nepal to shifting cages (a subject of Kishor Jyoti’s another painting in the exhibition).“But the meaning behind those numbers is being forgotten, erased. What was the price the people were really made to pay?”All this reminds us of the violent reality of the world outside — <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/ukraines-lessons-for-sandwiched-nations-like-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ukraine</a>, Yemen, Syria and the never-ending brutality in world history. <figure><img width="6720" height="4480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720c9e9c7e80680e0b787cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The politics of being is central here here. From the meditations of memory – Teesha Shrestha’s mixed-media works depicting the deities and Newa heritage (in gold) being swallowed by the dark clouds of ash and thoughtless urbanisation – to masked shapes, faces, ideals and cages, the art is linked by the questions of body, of freedom, history, and individual and collective responsibilities. Above on the first floor, however, the atmosphere is the exact opposite. Following the traditional paubha paintings above of deities on various kholo around the room call for introspection and compassion.  <img width="6720" height="4480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720ca29c7e80680e0b787djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="6720" height="4480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720ca79c7e80680e0b787ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The two floors are not so separate as may seem at first glance. Both the harsher reality downstairs and the calmer, philosophic upstairs encourage the viewer to ask: what is धर्म (Dharma)? “Despair is so commonplace now,” says Gurung, “that we don’t even think about it anymore. There is a disconnection with our Dharma, and we are not even compassionate to our own family members.”As one stands before Saru Prajapati’s Padmapani Lokeshvara or Rabi Shrestha’s Avalokitesvara, under the warm, lulling lighting, there indeed arrives a deep sense of love and awe. <figure><img width="6720" height="4480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720caa9c7e80680e0b787fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="6720" height="4480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720caf9c7e80680e0b7880jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Reality is often overwhelming and disturbing, and we look for a recourse to help us heal and deal with it. Religion, gods, philosophy is one way: perhaps, art is another.Gurung recalls an artist friend of his jokingly asking him once: “When shall we pick rocks and take to the streets?”He believes that we are all contributing one way or another, whether subtly from our homes or on the road tackling expired tear-gas shells.“As artists,” he says, “our craft, their voice and expression are just as loud and forceful as sticks and stones.”Kholo 2532 Cycles of LifeDhokaima Café, Yala Maya Kendra, PatanContemporary section: Till 15 March 2022Traditional section: Till 29 March 2022Closed on Mondays

Ashish Dhakal

The wheel of time and thought

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101124/636b71fc9c7e80680e0600ffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"/>This week Siddhartha Art Gallery brings to us the rare opportunity to view the works of two celebrated Tibetan thangka artists, Tenzing Dhargay and Lobsang Tseten (pictured). Viewers will be able to observe the beauty and intricacy of the painters’ works of devotional art, as well as the unique specialties of the paintings of their school when compared with the thangkas with which we are more familiar.The thangka tradition dates to antiquity and paintings were originally commissioned for temples and religious shrines. Artists used colours found in nature, grinding stones by hand. Four schools of thangka art developed in Tibet over time, and some of them share many similarities with Kathmandu Valley paubha art.There are, however, many ways to distinguish artistic works of various Himalayan traditions. Chief guest Rinpoche Tsepri Lopan Tulku pointed out during the exhibition’s inauguration that while Indian-influenced paintings of Buddha have his shawl going over his left shoulder and leave his right shoulder bare, Tibetan paintings have the shawl coming over the right shoulder. In his talk, Rinpoche also praised the two artists for using original stone colours and real gold in the paintings’ backgrounds. “I am not saying this just to flatter them, but because they are really good and represent the ancient art well,” he said.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Devoted-to-painting,1705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Devoted to painting</a>, Stéphane HuëtTenzing Dhargay is a tenth-generation artist of the Khari Khangsar family who, like most thangka painters, learnt the art by assisting his father. Belonging to the Menri school, he has painted both peaceful and wrathful deities. “Many people have asked why we paint such scary figures. In Tibet we believe that the soul wanders in limbo for 49 days after death, where there are many demons. If children grow up looking at these figures, then they will not be scared when they see them after death,” he said. Dhargay also spoke of how thangka is changing. The Menri school that he comes from is known for artists’ profuse use of green colour, and detailed backgrounds including waterfalls, trees and other natural features. Dhargay has kept the dominance of green, but experimented with the background, leaving that of many of his paintings bare.Lobsang Tseten’s works are large, intricate pieces depicting Buddha at the center surrounded by many other deities. Depending on the level of detail, the paintings may take him 5-6 months to create. The fourth-generation artist is also of the Menri school and started learning with his father at the age of 12, but then went on to study contemporary art in Canada. “I have come back to this form because of a concern for it. It is disappearing in its true form, and my work is an attempt to preserve that,” he said.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/guru-rimpoche-in-a-new-light/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guru Rimpoche in a new light</a>, Sewa BhattaraiTibetan Thangka paintings by celebrated Tibetan artistsSiddhartha Art Gallery, Babarmahal28 Jan-11 Feb

Golden deities

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101136/636a23349c7e80680e0417d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1067"/><figcaption>Sewa Bhattarai</figcaption></figure>Bodhisattva gallery has been active in documenting and preserving Kathmandu Valley’s traditional art, and is now back with its first exhibition after the 2015 earthquake. Jewels of Newar Art contains stunning paintings in the Paubha style, and sculptures made from the lost wax method.The exhibition features detailed portraits of Hindu and Buddhist deities including the Green Tara, White Tara, Manjushree, and Avalokiteswar. While most of them follow techniques for devotional paubha paintings, including using natural colours and painting deities according to classical specifications, we can also see many improvisations.One such work depicts deities in a wall apparently damaged by the earthquake. Others break away from traditional formats of the principal deity in the centre, and show gods in new, contemporary compositions. The exhibition shows us not just how rich Newar art is, but also how it is evolving in the hands of contemporary painters whose motif is art and not religion.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The art of the gods</a>, Tsering Dolker GurungFor centuries Kathmandu has been famous for such ritual artwork, prized for aesthetic beauty and attention to detail. Everything about the deities, from their complexion to their poses, is replete with many layers of meanings: for example the Green Tara’s green complexion symbolises compassion. While these paintings and statues are valued by Kathmandu’s Newar community for worships, a layperson also finds lot to admire in these works.Coveted by art lovers all over the world, stolen and pillaged, many of Nepal’s antiques now reside in museums around the world. However, it comes as a surprise to many to learn that the art forms are well and alive in Kathmandu. The exhibition at Bodhisattva attempts to bring such contemporary artworks to viewers’ notice.“Many believe the art is dead and can now be seen only in museums, but in fact Kathmandu continues to produce world-class artwork of great value,” says Anjana Shakya of the Bodhisattva Art Gallery. “The art was dying at one time because the artists did not make money, and the only way to ensure its continuity is to make sure that the artists can access the right market. We aim to promote the artists by connecting them to national and international buyers who are interested.”Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/mycity/2015/12/23/from-wax-to-copper/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From wax to copper</a>, Gopen RaiIndeed the gallery calls its exhibits ‘museum quality’, and they sell for anything up to Rs 3.5 million.  Three of the pieces will be showcased in Vienna in April in an exhibition of Nepal’s finest contemporary art. The exhibition at the Bodhisattva is an opportunity to appreciate home-grown art that may soon end up in famous museums around the world.Jewels of Newar ArtBodhisattva Art Gallery, KopundoleUntil 2 February

New Newa art

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/6369222f9c7e80680e03a114jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1051"/>In Sheelasha Rajbhandari’s painting, a boar holds a big round object in its tusks as it emerges from the water. The image suggests Lord Vishnu’s Varaha Avatar rescuing the earth, but look again and it is a woman rescuing a gas cylinder from an inundated city. The painting features in the 7th edition of Amalgam at the Siddhartha Art Gallery-- an example of how contemporary artists in Nepal are exploring its socio-political reality on canvas.Mekh Limbu’s vertical painting features houses stacked on each other leaving no space to breathe between them. Hitman Shrestha features portraits of people of all backgrounds set against documents they are unable to read.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/old-art-meets-new/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Old art meets new</a>, Sikuma Rai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-art-of-healing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The art of healing</a>, Sewa BhattaraiThe exhibition also shows how different artistic styles are evolving and melding as artists of different genres interact with one another. Two paintings by senior Mithila artist SC Suman veer away from traditional styles, and instead of depicting deities, show Kathmandu’s congested life.“Mithila art is changing and incorporating new influences, like every other art form,” Suman explains. “I have painted my daily life as I saw it around Swayambhu: the crowded streets, the hustle and bustle, traffic, shops.”There is experimentation not just in content but also in form. There are staged photographs, mixed media, installations, and sculptures incorporating non-traditional mediums. A two-day workshop on ceramic art was held by the senior ceramic artist Gopal Kalapremi. The exhibition brings together many senior artists established in their genre, like the ceramic artist Kalapremi, printmakers Birendra Pratap Singh and Seema and Umashankar Shah, painter Shashi Bikram Shah, etc. It is also a rare opportunity to view artwork by the recently deceased Manuj Babu Mishra.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/636922329c7e80680e03a115jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="737">Amalgam began in 2007 and has been bringing together artists of different genres and generations ever since. Despite the presence of established artists, its aim is to promote young artists from Kathmandu University, Sirjana and Lalitkala Academy and visiting international artists, says the coordinator and artist Prithvi Shrestha. A special feature this year is learning raku ceramic techniques with master artist Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha.Amalgam<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://www.siddharthaartgallery.com/cms/index.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Siddhartha Art Gallery</a>, Baber Mahal RevisitedTill 28 September<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/636922369c7e80680e03a116jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4128" height="3096">Artists featured: Aditya Aryal, Aman Maharjan, Anamika Gautam, Ang Tsherin Sherpa, Anisha Maharjan, Bidyaman Tamang, Bikash Shrestha, Dipak Lama, Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha, Hari Adhikari, Hariom Mehta, Hit Man Gurung, Ishan Pariyar, Jhankar Sapkota, Kabi Raj Lama, Kailash K. Shrestha, Lavakant Chaudhary, Laxman Bazra Lama, Man Bahadur Bal, Mekh Limbu, Nabin Nalbo, Nabina Sunuwar, Niroj Bade, Prabin Shrestha, Pratima Thakali, Prina Bajracharya, Prithvi Shrestha, Rajan Pant, Rishta K.C, Sagar Manandhar, Samir Meher, Sandhya Silwal, Sangee Shrestha, Saurganga Darshandhari, Sheelasha Rajbhandari, Shushank Kalapremi Shrestha, Sony Rai, Subash Tamang, Sujan Dangol, Suresh Basnet, Sushila Singh, Sushma Shakya.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-karnali-on-canvas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Karnali on Canvas</a>, Sewa Bhattarai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/under-kathmandus-spell-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Under Kathmandu's Spell</a>, Duksangh Sherpa

Melding expressions

<h2>The cultural legacy of Nepal’s famous son can still be seen across East Asia</h2> <figure><img width="1000" height="614" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6609c7e80680e03147ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>An artist's rendering of the White Dagoba (stupa) built by Arniko, that still stands at the Miao Ying temple in Beijing. </figcaption></figure>Stamps have been issued, a highway has been named after him, he has been declared one of Nepal’s national icons. But 900 years later Arniko still remains very much an enigma in the country of his birth. In China, however, where Arniko went as a master architect to the court of Kublai Khan in 1260, he is still respected. He was given the title of Duke of Liang, and a memorial stele marks the spot where he was cremated in Hsiang Sheng near Beijing. A biography was written about him, and the Yuan genealogy contains a chapter on him.It is because of these reliable sources from Chinese sources that today we are able to trace the story of this remarkable historical figure from Kathmandu, even though details about him in Nepal itself are patchy.In 1260, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan asked his spiritual guru Phags-Pa to build a golden stupa in Tibet. When the patriarch of Tibetan Buddhism’s Shakya sect asked the king of Nepal, Jaybhimdev Malla, for a hundred artists the king could muster only 80. Sixteen-year-old Arniko, already known as a child prodigy, volunteered to lead them. “The fact that they needed Nepali artists proves just how developed Nepal’s art and architecture were at that time,” explains art historian Manuj Babu Mishra. “In fact, the sixth-century Changu Narayan Temple pre-dated Arniko and indicates the richness of Nepal’s artistic past.”Due to the decline of Buddhism in the subcontinent Tibet looked upon Nepal as the source of Buddhist wisdom and philosophy. Phags-pa was so impressed with Arniko’s stupas that he trained him into  monkhood and sent him to Beijing to meet the Great Khan himself. Arniko impressed Kublai Khan (Genghis Khan’s grandson) by repairing a bronze statue, and went on to build the White Dagoba, which is a Beijing landmark to this day.  <figure><img width="1750" height="2091" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6629c7e80680e03147fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“China’s art and architecture were already highly developed, so China was not looking for just any architect from Nepal. What Arniko took to China was Buddhist architecture with its philosophy and symbolism,” says historian Satya Mohan Joshi, whose treatise on Arniko was published in 1988.  “for example the Chaitya in Swoyambhu and Baudha symbolised Chaitanya, or consciousness.”It is supposed to be Arniko who took Kathmandu Valley’s famous tiered temple style to China, from where it travelled to Korea and Kyoto. But while that is difficult to prove, Satya Mohan Joshi says Arniko took many other Nepali  elements north: the wooden gate, stone steps and carved windows (tikijhya) at the White Dagoba, its bronze spire (gajur), Nepali-style statues of Dipankar, Shakyamuni and Maitreya Buddha, Paubha paintings of deities like Mahakala, White Tara, Green Tara, Avalokiteswar.Amidst the ruins of the Cloud Terrace near the base of the Great Wall is a huge stone arch containing  images like the Garud, Nagkanya, crocodiles, elephants, and Panchabuddha. The white stupa in Nanking and other sites actually have inscriptions in Ranjana script – all vestiges of Arniko’s influence in China.Read Also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7263#.WvqndKSFPIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Resurrecting Arniko</a> After Arniko constructed three stupas, nine great Buddhist temples, two Confucian shrines, one Daoist temple, he was made the ‘master of all classes of artisans’. Prof Jing Anning at Michigan State University writes that Arniko made ‘new symbols of the emperor’s sovereignty, based on designs from Indic culture such as the dharmacakra (Wheel of the Law) which was used to lead imperial processions, and the image of Garuda, the celestial bird that was displayed over the imperial throne’.In another research paper, late historian Dina Bangdel states that Arniko’s works were instrumental in the conversion of Kublai Khan to Tantric Buddhism. ‘Phags-pa directed Arniko to create an image of Mahakala that was used in a protection ritual to aid Khan in his battles (which he won). Arniko’s Mahakala image became a powerful symbol of a leader’s authority to rule,’ Bangdel has written.Arniko also crafted scientific instruments like armillary spheres and water clocks. However, art works  that can be definitely attributed to him are rare. The Cleveland Museum says its image of Green Tara is by Arniko, while portraits of Kublai Khan and his wife Chabi at the National Palace Museum of Taiwan are believed to be by Arniko. <figure><img width="1250" height="1613" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6669c7e80680e031480jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Although these claims cannot be proven, Prof Anning says a bronze statue of Manjushri (dated 1305) now in the Palace Museum in Beijing and a brocade image of a three-faced, six-armed Guhyasamaja now in the Potala Palace in Lhasa are by Arniko. Arniko established a school of Nepali art in China which trained at least two of his own sons and thousands of Chinese artists. ‘By drawing inspiration from the artistic traditions of Pala, Nepal and China, Anige (Arniko) single-handedly created a new form of court art and promoted it through the huge artisan agencies under his leadership,’ Prof Anning writes.   The Italian traveller Marco Polo, who journeyed to China from 1271-1295, was a contemporary of Arniko. If they ever met, history has no record of it. Marco Polo is not even named in Chinese history. Ironically, while Marco Polo gained lasting fame after he returned home and wrote of his travels, Arniko despite the respect he commanded in the Chinese court, disappeared from world history after his death in 1306 at age 62.Satya Mohan Joshi thinks Arniko’s legacy is the enduring bond between Nepal and China, and cites the White Dagoba which was left alone even during the Cultural Revolution, and is still cared for and renovated with high priority by the Chinese state.He adds: “Nepal needs to live by the policy of panchasheel, and we have historic proof that Arniko espoused it. That is why he deserves to be our national icon.” <h2>Arniko meets Kublai Khan in Beijing</h2> After he arrived, the Emperor looked at him at some length before asking, “Are you afraid to come the big country?”He answered, “The sage (Kublai Khan) regards people in all directions as his sons. When a son comes to his father, what is there to fear?”“Why do you come?”He replied, “My family has been living in the west (Nepal) for generations. I took the imperial edict to build the stupa in Tibet for two years. I saw constant wars there, and wish Your Majesty could pacify them. I come for sentient beings.”“What do you practice?”He said, “I take my mind as my teacher and know roughly painting, casting and carving.”The Emperor was greatly pleased.(Extract from Arniko’s biography) <figure><img width="360" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6689c7e80680e031481jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>

The life and times of Arniko

Exhibition showcases contemporary Nepali Thangka and Paubha painters <figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101152/6368d62d9c7e80680e03146bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="930"/><figcaption>Muna Photos: Michael Gordon</figcaption></figure>Walk into most <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paubha</a> or Thangka shops in Thamel or Durbar Marg, and you will probably hear a story about Tibetan monks grinding stone pigments high in the Himalaya. ‘Exotic’ spirituality has become as much of a brand as Iphones used to Instagram it, but in reality most of these paintings are produced by Tamangs, Gurungs, and Newars using inexpensive poster colors in warehouses around Boudha and Bhaktapur.The painting factories may not seem ‘authentic’, but for the artist it puts food on the table. The demands of economic survival and the need for cultural preservation create new terms of authenticity for paubha and thangka.Thangka and paubha were originally ritual objects for Vajrayana Buddhists. Many would like to separate what is sacred and what is sold, but this is a false distinction. The paintings always involved financial transactions.However, as secular art collectors and tourists buy more of them, profit drives commodification.Tularam Lama has been painting for over 25 years, yet he is still at the mercy of gallery dealers who do not share their profits with artists.“We are compelled to sell cheap,” says Lama, who founded the Nepal Association of Thangka Artists. He still strives to maintain artistic integrity, teaching Tamang students to paint with inexpensive pigments as well as to understand the tradition's cultural heritage.Some painters use the market to build connections. Bhim Thapa, manager of Tara Thangka Center in Thamel, donates 25% of his sales to his community in Sindhupalchok. Prior to the earthquake, Thapa’s sales supported orphan children and women’s education. Today he focuses on basic necessities like blankets and food. "Thangka is not about perfect iconography, says Thapa, “to help is my dharma.”At the other end of the spectrum, internationally renowned <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2014/10/05/devoted-to-painting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lok Chitrakar</a> paints with traditional mineral colors and works with scholastic rigour. He will be the first to gently remind you that paubha and thangka are not the same thing.Paubha was developed by the Newars of Kathmandu Valley in the 7th century. Nepali Princess Bhrikuti is said to have taken some of the images with her when she introduced Buddhism to Tibet 1,300 years ago. Over centuries, Tibetans developed their own stylistic code known as thangka. After the exile of the Dalai Lama in 1959, Tibet and its people gained increasing global popularity. Today, many tourists flock to Nepal as a surrogate for Tibet, hoping to find the monasteries (and thangkas) they saw in TinTin in Tibet and National Geographic documentaries.But what they find may defy expectations: Lok Chitrakar’s use of Hindu gods like Ganesh as icons of Newari Buddhism is not just an artistic choice, but a testimony to Nepal’s unique religious coexistence.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6309c7e80680e03146cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="889">For many, however, maintaining these traditions is oppressive. Historically, thangka and paubha were made by men, but today the field is changing thanks to women artists like Muna Moktan. For her thangka means not just employment but also empowerment. She supports her family and a school of aspiring Tamang artists (mostly girls) with her paintings.“Women need to find a way to live on their own means, and I found it through thangka,” says Moktan.Read Also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The art of gods</a>, Tsering Dolker GurungSonam Dolma guides (rather than ‘teaches’) students in ritual pursuit of perfection.Many painting production centers now use transparent plastic overlays to rapidly reproduce outlines. Sonam’s students at the Tsering Art school use black wooden boards thinly coated with ghee and dusted with white chalk- to repeatedly draw until outlies are memorised, “by hand, mind, and heart.” The painters begin and end each day with prayer, to remember the true purpose of their craft.One of Sonam’s top students, Karma Rinchhen Gurung, paints to strengthen his practice as a Buddhist monk. At 15, he entered Samten Ling Monastery, and like his monastic vows, his painting brings him freedom through discipline. He considers his practice meditation, focusing his mind and brush on a single point. People often ask if he paints to make money. He himself wonders: “Am I doing this for dharma or for economic reasons?” Many students at Tsering Art School, including monks, paint for private dealers to afford living in Kathmandu.Read Also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Illustrated-history-of-chitrakars-nepal,3655" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An illustrated history of the Chitrakars</a>,  Sahina Shrestha<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101156/6368d6329c7e80680e03146djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="986"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The foreign interest in thangka and paubha has also encouraged artistic individuality. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3915#.WvP2AH_BXIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tenzin Norbu</a> comes from a 400 year old lineage of thangka painters.Each new generation <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/The-world-beyond-thangkas,3139" target="_blank" rel="noopener">broke away from the stylistic trends</a> of their predecessors. Norbu now illustrates modern Dolpo life and has shown around the world from the Rubin Museum in New York to Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. His ancestors never signed their paintings, believing in the collective accumulation of merit. Norbu now champions his distinct style as an emblem of personal entrepreneurship.For some, the craft is a way of maintaining cultural and spiritual lineage. For others, redefining not only what is painted, but who gets to paint affirms the rapid democratisation of the art from. To all artists, the paintings are a means of sacred survival, providing both sanctuary and subsistence.Sacred Survival, an exhibition of seven contemporary thangka and paubha artists 11 to 21 May, Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Curated by Michael Gordon.

Sacred survival

<img width="1250" height="833" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101152/6368d5b69c7e80680e031440jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>In the land of magnificent traditional artforms like Paubha and Thanka, some connoisseurs may not even know about Nepal’s burgeoning contemporary art scene. Similarly, the young crowd that finds creative outlets in the digital arts, manipulated photos or iconoclastic graphics, may be ignorant of Nepal’s rich legacy of highly developed traditional arts. In an attempt to bridge this gap, the group Tilicho Kala, with the support of Old Durbar, has organised a four-day art exhibition, ‘Synthesis’.“The two styles of art seem to exist in separate bubbles, and each is stubbornly ignorant of the other. Through this exhibition we want to provide a platform which encourages dialogue and interaction necessary for the growth of our art culture,” says Ujen Norbu Gurung event organiser of Synthesis and founder of Tilicho Kala.The exhibition at Siddhartha Art Gallery displays traditional Paubha paintings and sculptures on the ground floor and contemporary oil paintings and digital manipulation on the first floor. Delicately rendered deities by renowned Paubha painters Lok Chitrakar, Prem M Chitrakar, Samundra M S Shrestha, and Kichaa M Chitrakar are on display along with sculptures by Pratham R Bajracharya, Punya R Bajracharya, Sapta R Bajracharya, Amir Shakya and Pradip Shakya. Also featured are works that experiment with different styles by contemporary artists Rashana Bajracharya, Erina Tamrakar and Michelle LL, and photographers Yanik Shrestha, Samir Maharjan and Aakash Pradhan. <img width="482" height="724" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101152/6368d5b99c7e80680e031441jpeg.jpg" alt="">Over 300 art enthusiasts keenly discussed and reviewed the works on display at the opening ceremony at Chez Caroline on Wednesday, 2 May. Among the attendees were Chief Justice Deepak Raj Joshi and Justice Meera Khadka. Performances by the poetry group Word Warriors, and musical bands Unplugged Aawaj, and ‘The Night Band’ will close the exhibition on May 5. <figure><img width="1086" height="724" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101152/6368d5bb9c7e80680e031442jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Synthesis Art Exhibition 2018 is the second edition of Tilicho Kala’s yearly effort to support the arts and provide more exposure to Nepali artists. The company was founded four years ago, aiming to curate and promote Nepali Art and provide a platform for young talent, and this year got support of Yeti Distillery, the producer of Old Durbar blended whisky.  “The process of crafting a bottle of Old Durbar is an art of its own. Old Durbar is a Nepali product that has created a history here, so we want to do something that connects to Nepal’s identity. And the art of any nation identifies it, so it made sense for us to support Nepal’s art,” explained Vinaya Rajkarnikar, Brand Manager at Yeti Distillery. <img width="1086" height="724" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107101152/6368d5be9c7e80680e031443jpeg.jpg" alt="">Synthesis Art ExhibitionSiddhartha Art GalleryBabar Mahal RevisitedTill 5 May

Old art meets new

On Tuesday, leader of the monarchist RPP once again gathered on Kathmandu’s streets to deliver fiery speeches, but this time there was no arson and looting and no need for riot police to fire live rounds or tear gas.
RPP leaders demanded the release of their members including vice-president Rabindra Mishra and MP Dhawal Shamsher Rana were arrested during the violent <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/republicans-and-royalists-on-nepal-s-streets">28 March protests at Tinkune </a>which left two dead. 
They denounced the current leadership of the main parties, demanding the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/nepal-party-reincarnating-hindu-monarchy">restitution of Nepal as a Hindu kingdom</a>. They also said the government was responsible for the fatalities on 28 March because it provoked its rally with a tear gas attack even before it started.
It has now been revealed that the police fired at least 100 live rounds from high powered assault rifles at the crowd. Twenty-one of the 120 injured received bullet wounds, and most of them were bystanders and people trying to reach home. 
Tuesday protest on the Ring Road in Balkhu was much more subdued, and comparatively fewer RPP supporters showed up. The arson and vandalism in the previous protest appears to have cost some support for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-ghost-of-monarchy-returns-to-haunt-nepal">former king Gyanendra </a>especially for the anointment of medical tycoon and bank defaulter <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/street-politics">Durga Prasai </a>as ‘commander’ of the Tinkune rally.
Some monarchists acknowledge Gyanendra’s mistakes when was king 2001-2008, but say he has had a lot of time to reflect on his shortcomings and seems more disciplined and committed. His supporters have tried to build on nostalgia among some Nepalis for<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/why-invest-in-nepal"> domestic stability </a>and international respect that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">the monarchy</a> commanded. 
“Nepalis were promised better service delivery, opportunities for the underserved, as well as better, more honest use of state resources, but the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16992">people in leadership </a>have not been able to deliver on their commitments,” says RPP leader Prakash Chandra Lohani. “The gap between their rhetoric and reality has widened, the people feel betrayed, and the respect Nepali people had previously had for them has changed to revulsion.” 
Indeed, many commentators have warned the three main parties and their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/politics-as-usual">serial prime ministers</a> who have ruled Nepal for much of the past 30 years should address rising public anger with them, and see the writing on the wall.
‘<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-government-changes-again">The UML, NC and Maoists</a> must introspect about their conduct,” warns Gunaraj Luitel, editor of Nagarik, in an op-ed this week. ‘These leaders for life may save themselves from simmering public anger, but they will not be able to save the system. The monarchist wave can only be dispelled when citizens are assured of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-local-election-gives-power-back-to-people">better governance</a> through <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/real-world-training-for-youth-leaders">younger leaders</a>, and reforms.’ 
Rifts between radical royals who are gunning for a return to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mob-movement-and-mayhem">Panchayat-style absolutism </a>and moderate monarchists who favour a constitutional king have also weakened the movement somewhat. The split between the RPP and RPP-Nepal cost the royalists numbers in Parliament in 2022, and both parties denounced the violence last month, albeit shifting the blame on the government.
The irony is that the same royalists who want to scrap the republican Constitution had formed electoral alliances with the UML during the 2022 elections. RPP-Nepal chair Kamal Thapa contested the 2022 election with the UML. Thapa has not taken part in the last two rallies, saying he will only be a part of a movement under a national flag, and not a RPP party banner.
For his part, the RPP’s Rajendra Lingden is said to be hesitant to censure some of his party’s more radical royalists for fear of fissure within his ranks, despite his aversion to Durga Prasai’s role. 
Analysts have questioned why <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/old-is-still-gold-in-nepali-politics">supporters of the monarchy </a>have decided to reestablish an institution that would not ultimately have executive decision-making power. There are doubts about whether authoritarian-minded Gyanendra will be satisfied being a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13957">ceremonial king</a>. 
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-deja-vu-on-black-friday">Nepal’s déjà vu on Black Friday</a>, Sonia Awale
"The Nepali people will not accept <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/forgotten-woman-who-sheltered-communist-activists">an absolute monarchy </a>at this point of time, and both the public as well as <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8371">king Gyanendra</a> are fully aware that there is no other possibility beyond a constitutional monarchy," asserts the RPP’s Lohani. “The traditional monarchy’s institutional capacity might have been enough to meet the needs of feudal Nepal, but an absolute monarchy is impossible both in concept and practice in the context of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Economic-Class/waiting-for-an-industrial-revolution,784">modern day Nepal</a>.”

New year revolutions

Besides multiple <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/republicans-and-royalists-on-nepal-s-streets">street demonstrations </a>that gridlocked Kathmandu’s traffic for the past weeks, public discourse in Nepal has also been dominated by dangerously <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-pollution-is-more-dangerous-than-smoking">high air pollution levels</a>. Caused mostly by hundreds of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/wildfire-season-starts-early-in-nepal">forest fires </a>raging across the country, the smoke contains suspended soot particles that harms <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/playing-with-poison">human health</a>. Thursday’s rain have cleared the air somewhat, and many people will soon forget how bad the air quality was. But the time to address the roots of next summer’s fire season is now.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250411060440_d1a119716a9031aadfdd611d299348d436842d376a03e664b8d773957a237524.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250411060440_d1a119716a9031aadfdd611d299348d436842d376a03e664b8d773957a237524" data-rendition-name="original" width="502" height="540" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfires"> <figcaption>EXTINGUISHED: Forest fires raging all over Nepal in the week after 3 March (above) reduced air quality, creating a public health hazard in Kathmandu and across the country. Each red dot is a fire detected by infrared sensors on the NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) satellite. But the rain on Thursday doused most of the fires (below) with more rain forecast over the weekend.</figcaption> </figure>  The reason everyone was talking about air pollution was because the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke"> smoke from wildfires</a> was visible. But much more toxic are the invisible and odourless <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-doubles-its-carbon-footprint">gases from vehicular and industrial emissions </a>which have always been there. The theme of World Health Day on 7 April this week was ‘Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures’ dedicated to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/saving-more-mothers-and-babies">preventing maternal and newborn deaths</a>. It is estimated that in Nepal, 30% of neonatal mortality can be blamed on air pollution. But that is only part of the story. Harmful as fine particulate matter is to human health, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone and other gases in vehicular emissions are more hazardous to health. While the concentration of suspended particulate matter tinier than 1.5 microns (PM2.5) is closely monitored, these toxic gases are invisible, not measured much, and the public is not aware about the dangers they pose. Surface ozone is produced by the interaction of various gases found when <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/fossil-fuels-poison-air">burning fossil fuels</a>. Besides being poisonous, ground level ozone contributes up to 0.23°C to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">global warming</a> because it is also a greenhouse gas. A new policy brief by the Clean Air Fund titled The Case for Action on Tropospheric Ozone blames surface ozone for a half a million premature deaths every year, 54.8% of which are in South Asia. Ozone also stunts plant growth and reduces crop yields by 26% globally, and 11% loss in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/economic-benefits-of-saving-the-ecology">forest productivity</a>, the report adds.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250411060456_aa02a923f8b27544ae54d0220162678f5bbb5eeb8fc3c466173c22c49b3e9a85.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250411060456_aa02a923f8b27544ae54d0220162678f5bbb5eeb8fc3c466173c22c49b3e9a85" data-rendition-name="original" width="998" height="724" loading="lazy" alt="Gas Chambers"> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bad-air-and-polluted-politics">Bad air and polluted politics</a>, Sonia Awale Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air like other gases, but is formed when oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from automobile tailpipes or industry smokestacks react chemically with each other in the presence of sunlight. The main source of carbon monoxide in Kathmandu Valley are its 1.2 million two-wheelers. “Usually the concentration of carbon monoxide is 200-500 parts per billion (ppb), this has increased up to 3,000 in Kathmandu. Meanwhile, ground-level ozone has gone from 70-80 ppb to 150 ppb,” says Ravi Sahu, regional air quality specialist with the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).&nbsp; Sahu says <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/no-smoke-without-fire-p7vb9dcj">rampant forest fires of the past weeks</a> have also added to carbon monoxide and ozone in the air, not just the fine particles that make up the visible smoke. He adds, “There isn’t much awareness about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe">ground-level ozone and carbon monoxide</a>, we need to urgently look into it.” A distinction must be made between good and bad ozone. Stratospheric ozone protects living beings from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.&nbsp; Tropospheric ozone can again be separated into two types: ozone in the free atmosphere which is a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide, and ground-level ozone which has adverse impacts on health and agriculture. ‘Cutting tropospheric ozone presents a unique challenge as it requires smart and fast action across multiple greenhouse gases and air pollutants, as well as multiple economic sectors,’ notes the Clean Air Fund's policy briefing. ‘It is a growing and neglected problem that needs an integrated approach on both a local and global level to tackle climate change and air pollution together.’ Dying young There was a time when Nepal made it to international news bulletins only if there were fatalities on Mt Everest. Now, Kathmandu’s bad air frequently makes headlines all over the world. This past week, the concentration of PM2.5 that harms human health was up to 40 times the WHO recommended guideline — adding to the poisonous gases already present from vehicle emissions. The Department of Environment says 40% of the pollution in the past weeks was from wildfires sparked by nearly 6 months without substantial rain over central Nepal. Most of the rest is from vehicular and industrial emissions from Kathmandu itself and across the southern border. NASA’s Fire Information and Resource Management System (FIRMS) which issues daily maps of fires, showed hundreds of blazes raging across Nepal on Wednesday, mainly in Chitwan, Parsa and along the East-West Highway.&nbsp; “If we look at the figures for the last few years, it is clear that wildfires have become the biggest source of air pollution, they are seasonal but have overtaken vehicular emissions,” says urban planner and environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar. “Forest fires, stubble burning, and open burning of garbage are the bigger problems now. Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are at risk every year, we shouldn’t further delay in finding solutions,” warned air quality expert Bhupendra Das during an event on air pollution organised on 7 March by the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ).&nbsp; Indeed, studies have shown that in winter 60% of the air pollution over Kathmandu is transboundary from the south, and in November it is compounded by smoke from crop residue burning by farmers in India and Pakistan blown in by prevailing winds. Forest fires are a regular pre-monsoon occurrence in Nepal, often intentionally set by farmers and herders to stimulate new grass growth for livestock. Winter rains have failed for eight of the past ten years, and this means the fires often spread out of control. The other reason for the increase in wildfires is the doubling of forest fires to 46% of the country’s area in the past 25 years. But this has happened simultaneously with outmigration, with some mountain districts losing 30% of their population between 2011-2021. With less pressure on forests for fodder and firewood, the undergrowth of community forests is loaded with dry fuel just waiting for a spark. The bowl-shaped topography of Kathmandu, Pokhara and other valleys further concentrates pollutants as they are trapped by surrounding mountains. But a year with a high number of wildfires is usually followed by a year or two with fewer incidents. For example: there were 6,537 fires in 2021 but the following year the number was down to 1,528. There were 5,216 fires last year, this year the number has already reached 1,800, and the trend is likely to be broken. Heavy rains forecast for the coming days are expected to douse some of the fires and clean up the air. But the damage has been done: Kathmandu residents of all age groups this week crowded clinics and hospitals with burning eyes, itchy throats, difficulty breathing, headaches, and dizziness. But in the longer term, soot particles that are tiny enough to jump the blood-air divide in lung capillaries do not just cause Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma, but also cancers, heart attacks, strokes, birth defects and other chronic diseases. The latest Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report by the University of Chicago shows that the annual concentration of PM2.5 in Kathmandu’s air rose from 17.87µg/m3 in 1998 to 31.33µg/m3 in 2022. Air pollution has got worse by 75% in Kathmandu in 25 years. During this time, air pollution has reduced the average life expectancy of Kathmandu’s residents by 3.5 years. According to the Health Effects Institute in Boston, dirty air is among the biggest public health concerns in Nepal killing over 42,100 a year. The adverse impact of high levels of air pollution is not limited to public health, it is seriously affecting tourism. Operators in Pokhara this week said that there were many negative online posts by visitors unable to see the famous panorama of Machapuchre and the Annapurnas even from Sarangkot. Aviation is also affected, as planes have to circle sometimes for hours burning a lot of fuel because of runway visibility being below minima at Kathmandu airport. The higher fuel cost is just passed down to customers, making air tickets in and out of Kathmandu some of the highest in the world. Kathmandu, with a population of four million, has not implemented a concrete policy to curb toxic air despite having formulated various action plans and repeated commitments by the government to protect the environment and control air pollution. The Department of Environment’s 2017 Air Quality Management Action Plan for Kathmandu put forward a policy to reduce air pollution caused by vehicles which was approved by the Cabinet, but has yet to be put to practice. The action included the immediate implementation of the Euro 5 emission standard to reduce pollution emitted by vehicles. However, Nepal has not even been able to implement Euro 4 standards so far. India, meanwhile, has already moved forward with the implementation of the Euro 6 standards. Says Ravi Sahu: “Air pollution in Nepal is not just about air pollution, it has ties to tourism, aviation, the economy so we must be prepared for annual conditions like forest fires, and this requires urgent interdisciplinary collaboration.” &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250411050452_821d09e283d8a590f1369bfb71b9b7fc6d950726e0651ea86c6488d04deb1742.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250411050452_821d09e283d8a590f1369bfb71b9b7fc6d950726e0651ea86c6488d04deb1742" data-rendition-name="original" width="839" height="784" loading="lazy" alt="Silent Killers"> </figure>  &nbsp;

What is invisible is more dangerous

82 in २०८२

Here in the mountains of far-western Nepal, the biggest threat to life and limb is gravity. Women collecting fodder fall from trees, boys grazing goats fall off cliffs, heavily loaded tractors plunge from dirt roads carved out of steep slopes. There is nothing to be done about those who die on the spot. But for the severely wounded there is only one hospital: Bayalpata. And it is there that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJzWlnYd0ZM&amp;t=8s" target="_blank">orthopaedic surgeon Mandeep Pathak</a> is the last hope for many wounded people. Pathak, 42, is too modest to tell us how many lives he has saved over the past 10 years he has worked at Bayalpata. But hospital records show he has performed more than 4,000 operations in the past decade, many of them so patients did not suffer permanent physical disabilities. Pathak also did 800 major life-saving surgeries in that time. “I treat patients with injuries, but I wish I could also treat poverty,” Pathak says, emerging from Bayalpata’s surgical theatre one recent afternoon. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="700" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CJzWlnYd0ZM?si=s_rkbU4YDaw87gqH" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> Sudurpaschim Province in Nepal’s far-west is far away from everything: from Kathmandu, from adequate medical care, from food security, and far from the reach of government services. It has suffered state neglect for centuries, its men mainly migrating to India for seasonal work to families who depend on subsistence agriculture. Pathak remembers the searing sadness he felt when a patient once told him, “Doctor, I sold the last of my rice to pay to come here, please give me a medicine that I can take on an empty stomach.” Pathak was born in Kathmandu, and after getting his MBBS from Kathmandu University, he got an MD from The Philippines. At a time when many Nepali doctors and staff nurses were emigrating, Pathak did not just return to Kathmandu but decided to go to one of the remotest districts in Nepal to serve those most in need. The hospital was established in 2009 in the village of Bayalpata, and has been managed by the non-profit <a href="https://www.nyayahealthnepal.org/" target="_blank">Nyaya Health Nepal (NHN)</a> as a public-private partnership treating 100,000 patients a year for no fees at all. NHN is now preparing to hand over the running of the hospital to the Sudurpaschim provincial government so its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-how-to-upgrade-nepals-rural-health" target="_blank">model of hospital management</a> can be replicated.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250414130456_b59dabd4604a24426a55fe91c0e5866b5029858bdb4c4028c331557aeb5408ae.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250414130456_b59dabd4604a24426a55fe91c0e5866b5029858bdb4c4028c331557aeb5408ae" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Bayalpata hospital"> <figcaption>Bayalpata hospital in Achham.</figcaption> </figure>  People from not just Achham but surrounding districts, and from as far away as Humla, bring patients to Bayalpata, sometimes walking for days. Some with complicated pregnancies are brought in stretchers, young children with broken arms walk into the emergency, and sometimes there are mass casualties when a tractor or bus falls off a road. And Pathak is always there with his team performing triage, and doing orthopaedic surgeries that would be difficult even in Kathmandu. Recently, his team did a hip replacement at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/state-of-the-art-rural-hospital" target="_blank">Bayalpata Hospital</a>. Mild mannered, modest, soft-spoken, hard-working, professional are the words families of patients who have been treated at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-rural-lifeline" target="_blank">Bayalpata Hospital </a>use to describe Mandeep Pathak. But the surgeon is too busy to let all this get to this head.&nbsp; Asked why he does not emigrate like his peers or get a lucrative position at a private hospital in Kathmandu, Pathak answers simply, without a trace of self-importance, “I do not think I could get the satisfaction or sense of fulfilment anywhere else.” When travelling to attend medical congresses overseas or visit family in Kathmandu, Bayalpata has other doctors to take care of patients, but many wait patiently till Pathak returns for their consultation or surgery.&nbsp; When he returns from seminars abroad after learning the latest skills, Pathak’s suitcases are not full of clothes or presents, but titanium bone implants, external fixation rods, or intramedullary nails to be used in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/altruistic-healthcare-models-in-nepal" target="_blank">surgeries at Bayalpata</a>.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041414040_5356278472c1eb2b9e4af1d593d6234cc8dc5e5161a8c614197c01abefadbd80.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2025041414040_5356278472c1eb2b9e4af1d593d6234cc8dc5e5161a8c614197c01abefadbd80" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1368" loading="lazy" alt="surgery"> </figure>  Before Bayalpata Hospital was established, most people suffering broken bones had to travel down to Dhangadi or Nepalganj for treatment. No more. Although Pathak’s specialisation is orthopaedic oncology, he is mostly treating fractures and rejoining broken bones.&nbsp; Now as Bayalpata’s Hospital Director, Pathak also has administrative and fundraising duties. He has to take the 10-hour ride down to Dhangadi often to meet various Sudurpaschim ministries to release the hospital’s budget — that is sometimes more difficult than the most complicated surgery. Recently, he had to cancel an appointment with the Chief Minister to rush back to Bayalpata because there was a patient who needed emergency surgery. “I told myself, let me save this patient first, then I will try to save the hospital,” he recalls.&nbsp; Once, when he had to be away for a month on emergency surgery training in the US, the family of a 90-year-old woman who had dislocated her hip after falling from a staircase was waiting for him to return. Her son told Pathak: “Doctor, either put her out of her suffering, or cure her.” Pathak told him it was too dangerous to operate at her age, but the son said his mother was in so much pain it was worth the risk. The operation was touch-and-go, but it was successful. The woman who had been brought in on a stretcher, walked out of the hospital three days after the operation.&nbsp; A few months later, a 27-year-old woman was brought into the ER bleeding profusely from an arm mangled by a thresher machine. Even in that state, she was breastfeeding her baby. Pathak welled up seeing this display of selfless motherhood, as he wheeled her into surgery. She needed three operations, but now has full use of her hand. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="700" height="415" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xJdxLD0hBqo?si=mOpM2R_DsYL88Lfg" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> It is the sense of achievement from such recovery that keeps Mandeep Pathak here in this isolated village in the middle of nowhere. Bayalpata Hospital has not just saved lives, it also saves families from poverty because they do not have to take sick relatives to expensive city hospitals.&nbsp; In January, a woman was brought to Bayalpata with both hands broken. She said she had taken a fall, but Pathak did not believe her. When alone in the surgery, she finally admitted that her husband had beaten her.&nbsp; It was her husband who had brought her to hospital for treatment, but she refused to file a police report. Pathak quietly put both her arms in casts, thinking about the poverty, patriarchy and injustice in society that he is unable to treat.

paubha