When Tsherin Sherpa was growing up, his grandmother told him tales about spirits that were attached to mountains and rivers. That bond with the spiritual resides deep within Sherpa’s psyche still, and informs his art to a large degree. After living and working painting thangkas professionally in the United States for 10 years, he realised that he wanted to use the skills he had developed after years in that rigid art form to paint in his own voice, and comment on personal, political, and social issues. “I saw exhibitions adapting traditional art techniques, and thought I could do something similar with thangka,” Sherpa told us in an interview at Takpa Gallery in Lazimpat, which is showing Spirits in Transition, his latest work. “I realized that I needed a secular form of art to communicate to a non-Buddhist, non-Nepali audience.” Sherpa returned to Nepal in 2018, and a lot had changed in the 20 years he had been away, and so had he. The changes in Nepal were both good and bad, but the artist decided to focus on the positive. He was commissioned by the Visit Nepal 2020 Campaign to make 108 larger-than-life fiberglass sculptures of the yeti mascot to be displayed in public places. But because of the pandemic, the Visit Nepal campaign was shelved. The yetis vanished, but not before stirring some controversy because some of them had religious motifs deemed to be irreverent. This was an attempt to create a buzz around Nepal's tourism by having a mascot, just like Berlin’s Buddy Bear, or the New York Cow Parade. But many Nepalis were not exactly ready for it. These days, many of Sherpa’s paintings and sculptures have the figures blowing pink bubble gum. Intrigued, we ask him about it. “It’s a small, modest object that can signify a lot,” he explains. “In my art it tells about the modern time, and also lends a certain playfulness to a rather serious art piece.” He adds, “Having said that, I love it when viewers relate to it in their own way. People see what they see: nobody’s perception of the art is valid or invalid.” Although rooted in Nepali and Tibetan devotional art, Sherpa’s work transcends cultures. It is as if the spirits travelled with the artist to the US, and returned after assimilating the new world. “In our generation, the West had a grandeur about it. We had limited media and no internet, and thought West was best,” he says. “What I found in the US was that many of my heroes, like George Lucas, were inspired by the East. I realised that I had been ignoring my own identity.” Sherpa noticed that the new generation already regarded all cultures, heritage and identity as being valuable, and none of them were superior to any other. “Look at any of my spirits,” he says. “You can see their posture. There’s a confidence, a self-pride in who they are.”  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241212091252_3a6582865573e0ccf9935b76751a3bcbff99b3ce143da9551fb29801fdd7539b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241212091252_3a6582865573e0ccf9935b76751a3bcbff99b3ce143da9551fb29801fdd7539b" data-rendition-name="original" width="5163" height="4313" loading="lazy" alt="Tsherin Sherpa"><figcaption>Photo: RICCARDO TOSETTO(Photo: Riccardo Tosetto)© Riccardo Tosetto Photography</figcaption></figure>  For the artist, this exhibition also represents a transition as he explores what creative arena he wants to pursue next. He says, “In Buddhism, when a person dies, there is a 49 day period called ‘bardo’ before the consciousness takes rebirth. This work is also a transition, like a layover on a long flight.” All of the paintings at the Spirits in Transition exhibition have already been booked, by the same collector. Each painting takes Sherpa about a week. He starts with a small drawing of a figure, and undertakes a rigorous step-by-step process, influenced by his thangka background. “Once I find a posture I like, I keep playing around,” he says. “Painting the pattern on the spirit takes at least four layers. The first is almost translucent, and each layer adds vibrancy and makes the colours pop. This is the most time consuming part. I add the bubblegum last.” And what’s with the fiery red hair? Sherpa remembers while learning the discipline of thangka, there were very strict, rigid rules. Every line had to be exactly how it should be. But with the bubble gum and red hair, he says he wants to explore an abstract, fluid aspect. Sherpa is drawing from a technique he first did in Grade 3: dipping a thread in ink or watercolour, and dragging it across the page. “It’s what I paint last, because the red hair has to be done in one stroke. You can’t make mistakes. There is no room for a correction.” The artist uses 3D generated models to decide on the postures, starting with a skeleton, and adding features to the shape. “I am very bad at drawing straight from imagination,” he adds, laughing. Despite modern elements in Sherpa’s work, keen viewers can detect elements of thangka painting: rocks, water, curly clouds. And all figures wear snake jewelry. In the context of a thangka painting, that represents conquering your anger. Tiger skins represent overcoming fear. “After I came back to Nepal, I started combining my protector series with the spirit. The meaning is: whatever we are on the outside, we carry an appreciation for our identity on the inside,” he says. He just follows his instincts when painting and lets his imagination take over. He says, “My style has emerged out of a collision of thangka, comics, and Bollywood. I read a lot of Marvel and DC when I was young, and hand-painted billboards of Bollywood movies at the movie theatre fascinated me." Spirits in Transition by Tsherin Sherpa Takpa Gallery, Lazimpat Until 29 December 11am-7pm (Friday to Sunday) 11am-6pm (Tuesday to Thursday)

Vishad Raj Onta

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Tsherin Sherpa in body and spirit

Gregor Samsa wakes up from his bed one day and realises he has changed into an insect. This is the opening act of Franz Kafka’s novella ‘The Metamorphosis’. Gregor now has to navigate his life as an insect and he sees a change in how the world including his family views him and alternatively, him the world and himself. One of the opening paintings of Hannah Grace’s solo exhibition has amoeba-like patterns in vibrant colours. Upon closer look, viewers find a grasshopper in the right corner. The grasshopper is a misfit and yet seems to belong there. Grace tells us she sees herself as the grasshopper navigating a symmetric world. Kafka’s Gregor metamorphosing into a bug symbolises his alienation from society resulting from the exploitation he faced all his life. Grace’s paintings, on the other hand explore <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-struggles-to-balance-nature-and-industry">human exploitation of the natural </a>world, to a point where both are in irreversible decline.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/a-nation-built-on-sand">A nation built on sand</a>, Ramesh Kumar In her ‘Where My Home and Allegiance Lie’ exhibition at Takpa Gallery, Grace brings California’s Napa Valley to Kathmandu through depictions of living organisms in vivid detail. The artworks are precise, albeit repetitive, and create a “sense of buzz” like she experienced as a dyslexic child.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024081412088_70087676d9e0d3a2c938653662aaeb5a1f8c874b46a6bb33a01d37408893fbc1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2024081412088_70087676d9e0d3a2c938653662aaeb5a1f8c874b46a6bb33a01d37408893fbc1" data-rendition-name="original" width="3106" height="2337" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT "> </figure>  Growing up in the Grace Family Vineyards founded by her grandparent Dick Grace, she learned early on about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/families-that-farm-together-stay-together">sustainable agriculture</a> and practiced “compassionate animal husbandry” from her parents. This upbringing later turned into passion as she pursued environmental science in college. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason Even then, something was missing, and Grace decided to take on studio art. “Science helps me understand where I fit in the world and art helps me explore and showcase the interaction I have with nature,” the 25-year-old artist told us. Interestingly, in a painting titled ‘A Place Called Home’, Grace puts together a diagram of an ecosystem which has an uncanny resemblance to a mandala, like the ones in<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/remembering-nepals-lost-and-the-found"> Buddhist artworks</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240814110824_044b06bc590dcd8b2abf406ea2711b8a267a29c3bd9683f48fe34d6577e1cdd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240814110824_044b06bc590dcd8b2abf406ea2711b8a267a29c3bd9683f48fe34d6577e1cdd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2872" height="2831" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT 3"> </figure>  “Buddhist paintings were part of my childhood. It felt natural to do that,” says Grace as she talks about how her grandparents who frequent Nepal to support <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/changing-disability-to-this-ability">disabled children</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-women-flee-abuse-for-overseas-work">abuse survivours</a>, and children with cancer had Mandala paintings on their walls.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-mandal-in-manhattan">Nepal Mandal in Manhattan</a>, Kanak Mani Dixit “For me, the circular expression of the mandala represents the cyclic life of the ecosystem,” she adds. In 2016, Grace came to Nepal herself and volunteered in a monastery, teaching English, mathematics and art to the young monks. Eight years later, Nepal is also where she chose to exhibit her art for the first time as a professional.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240814120816_5f3ac03dd3dbf33b0aecc2837ea24fe7eb02a0585d9519d8b8d2343aeb6f3196.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240814120816_5f3ac03dd3dbf33b0aecc2837ea24fe7eb02a0585d9519d8b8d2343aeb6f3196" data-rendition-name="original" width="5689" height="4271" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT 4"> </figure>  Most of the paintings here are acrylic, but Grace has experimented with different techniques for unique texture and feel. In ‘Fantom Flowers’, she used her fingers to paint the background, while for ‘Rainbow Trout and the Rainbow’ and ‘Salmonberry Thorn’, she used beads. “I have always liked mixing and matching colours, and trying out different tools which give me different sensory inputs. It is exciting and calming at the same time,” says Grace of her methods.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240814120816_babb538f7136ded1ccf44b09e99910ca6743d2aa07513c5422f66f5720cfd94b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20240814120816_babb538f7136ded1ccf44b09e99910ca6743d2aa07513c5422f66f5720cfd94b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2627" height="3318" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT 5"> </figure>  All 15 artworks at the exhibit are bright, colourful and vibrant even as the artist is trying to portray a grim future brought on by anthropogenic ‘development’ and ‘progress’. Grace says it is a strategic move. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/vibrant-mithila-art-thrives-in-nepal">Vibrant Mithila art thrives in Nepal</a>, Anita Bhetwal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240814120828_4f1d75cc31b5117a397bfee3cc975345a08a1ceef398f335caa68a2de8a40c95.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20240814120828_4f1d75cc31b5117a397bfee3cc975345a08a1ceef398f335caa68a2de8a40c95" data-rendition-name="original" width="451" height="638" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT 6"> </figure>  She adds, “This is a prayer for the future. I want to remind people of all the beautiful things that exist simultaneously with us in nature and do our part in preserving them.” Where My Home and Allegiance Lies 11AM-7PM (Fridays to Sundays) 11AM-6PM &nbsp;(Tuesdays to Thursdays) Till 25 August&nbsp; Takpa Gallery&nbsp;

Pinki Sris Rana

Artistic prayer for our common future

Photographer Tashi R Ghale is known for his work in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/studying-snow-leopards-in-Nepal/1000">protecting snow leopards</a> through which he won the Disney Conservation Hero Award in 2018. During his research he saw the impact of climate breakdown in the Himalaya with receding glaciers and melting ice that was affecting the traditional habitat of the snow leopard. &nbsp; “I notice that global warming is bringing other species to snow leopard territory. Common leopards move up, and Himalayan grey wolves come down,” says Ghale, known for his exquisite <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/snow-leopard-redux">photographic documentation of the rare snow leopards</a> in Manang. Lowland leopards are now overlapping with snow leopards and competing for prey. But for his new photo exhibition ‘Shifting Perspectives’, Ghale has shifted gears — changing his focus from snow leopards to the impact of climate change.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240515060528_dc4b5af0dc39e6d104175f691035201a3863cfefe2b8193ac44c88511023b3e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240515060528_dc4b5af0dc39e6d104175f691035201a3863cfefe2b8193ac44c88511023b3e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1538" loading="lazy" alt="Ice to water NT"> <figcaption>Tashi R Ghale (right) with artist Tsherin Sherpa of Takpa gallery at the inauguration of the exhibition on 11 May. Photo: @tsedorje </figcaption> </figure>  But he uses his photographic skills, this time with more of an artistic eye than just for documentation purposes. He has captured some striking images of Gangapurna Lake in Manang to convey the impact of the rising temperatures on the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/nepal-pallas-cat,1934">Himalayan ecology</a>. The images in Shifting Perspectives which are on exhibit at Takpa Gallery are close-ups of ice on the shores of Gangapurna Lake, which itself is expanding as the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya">glacier recedes rapidly</a> up the mountain.&nbsp; Ghale has captured ephemeral bubbles, ripples, currents, shapes and textures of ice on the lake, and are separated into three categories: Illusion, Composition, and Frozen.&nbsp; Ghale used powerful telephoto lenses to zoom in on snow leopards, but here he uses macro lenses for extreme closeups.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240515060540_be31d82614bfadd01f573ff4daa3a40ed24afcc2fe3003a6f1b1d1622c517615.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240515060540_be31d82614bfadd01f573ff4daa3a40ed24afcc2fe3003a6f1b1d1622c517615" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Ice to water NT"> </figure>  One of his pictures, ‘Illusion VI,’ shows clusters of bubbles of various sizes entombed in ice just below the surface, casting small shadows on the lake floor.&nbsp; ‘Illusion III,’ has the dark blue, green and purple lake as the background while frozen ripples have formed in the ice that look like contour lines on a map.&nbsp; Some of the most striking images in the exhibition feature a contrast between warm and cool colours. ‘Frozen I’ shows ice-bound waves that catch the golden rays of the sunrise sending streaks of light in the direction the water was moving before it froze. ‘Composition I’ shows sunrise on the north face of Gangapurna reflected in the icy surface of the lake, the roughness of the ice giving the photograph an impressionist touch.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240515060528_5a24c2a63fa09d5e2beee9e20cb5d93398e93636f41ca3028ddf18de7ab33bfa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240515060528_5a24c2a63fa09d5e2beee9e20cb5d93398e93636f41ca3028ddf18de7ab33bfa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Ice to water NT"> </figure>  Other photos show mountains reflected partly on the water and the frozen surface of the lake. The contrast between the hard ice and the flowing water underneath is visual poetry — making us notice the turbulence of the water flowing beneath the smooth and unmoving ice.&nbsp; One element present in most of the photographs is that of ice next to mud on the shore with jagged textures. “During the night, the ice freezes hard into the ground, and in the morning it melts away but the patterns formed in the mud stay,” explains Ghale. ‘Composition IV,’ looks like a drone photograph of a big river flowing through jagged hills, but a leaf in the bottom right corner gives away the scale. The exhibition truly presents shifting perspectives using closeups of the ice and water as a metaphor for the larger scale impact of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">global warming</a>.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240516060556_446298e12391d3c45cdce8e4f1e4d1182afd5e653d000ff30a86e815b0f89ca2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20240516060556_446298e12391d3c45cdce8e4f1e4d1182afd5e653d000ff30a86e815b0f89ca2" data-rendition-name="original" width="3600" height="2400" loading="lazy" alt="Composition VII"> <figcaption>Composition VII</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240516080520_3a69d2644dd6f0105ec367e9445eb6acedf94ce84225d5e5aa75c066d5ae06e8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20240516080520_3a69d2644dd6f0105ec367e9445eb6acedf94ce84225d5e5aa75c066d5ae06e8" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="2400" loading="lazy" alt="Ice to Water"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240516080520_5ae61de1167da77d411c2bed91ba24c09d39017dd13972aa4be530b7a48598f7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240516080520_5ae61de1167da77d411c2bed91ba24c09d39017dd13972aa4be530b7a48598f7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2400" height="2400" loading="lazy" alt="Ice to water"> </figure>  &nbsp;Shifting Perspectives 11AM-6PM Tuesday-Thursday 11AM-7PM Friday-Sunday Until 26 May Takpa Gallery, Lazimpat <a href="https://takpagallery.com/">https://takpagallery.com</a>

Ice to water

The art scene in Nepal is witnessing a renaissance, and at the centre of this resurgence is <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/The-world-beyond-thangkas,3139">Tsherin Sherpa</a>, the internationally renowned artist known for his distinctive, and sometimes provocative, fusion of traditional and contemporary. Sherpa has now embarked on a new chapter in his career by returning to Nepal to open <a href="http://www.takpagallery.com/">Takpa</a>, Kathmandu’s newest art gallery strategically located in Lazimpat. ‘Takpa’ is a playful spin on the Buddhist expression of ‘Mitakpa’ which means impermanence. So, Takpa is permanence and for Sherpa this name encapsulates his exploration of the dynamic interplay between the sacred and the secular and reflecting his journey from traditional thangka painting to the unique, hybrid approach he eventually mastered. “Growing up, I never thought I would be an artist. My father was an established thangka painter, and he always wanted to hand over his knowledge to one of the children. For better or worse, it happened to be me,” quips Sherpa who started <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">painting thangkas</a> at 12.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023083104084_36f4866caba6ddf21f17b1c3ef85a936ef4797b11b3a844db1c95db0ef9fc2ac.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2023083104084_36f4866caba6ddf21f17b1c3ef85a936ef4797b11b3a844db1c95db0ef9fc2ac" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Takpa Gallery"> </figure>  But in the late 1990s venerated thangka art was becoming commodified as in tourist souvenir shops. “I was discouraged seeing this, and did not want to follow my father’s footsteps,” recalls Sherpa who enrolled in a computer science course in Taipei and later went to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/us-nepali-art">United States</a> in 1998 to live there for the next 20 years. Away from home, Sherpa needed an emotional outlet which he found in art. He visited museums and exhibitions, and rediscovered the real sacred significance of thangka paintings.&nbsp; Two exhibitions of South Asian and Chinese art pushed him to experiment with traditional techniques like Chinese brush in contemporary art. &nbsp; But Sherpa does not regret his Computer Science degree, in fact it allowed him to integrate technology into his art. He explains, “Computer science actually helped me visualise my work, allowing me to spend less time drawing sketch after sketch. I do one sketch, scan it, work on the computer and finalise it.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023083104084_b7cd3d76c665505d343a523cbb911185159514dde895797dfc984e1f5a95fa37.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2023083104084_b7cd3d76c665505d343a523cbb911185159514dde895797dfc984e1f5a95fa37" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Takpa Gallery"> </figure>  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-craft-of-art">Sherpa’s shift</a> from traditional thangka painting has been shaped by encounters with diverse art forms during his time in the United States.&nbsp; For instance, his first experience of painting something non-traditional was a marketing poster for Jamba Juice. This made him realise that he could go beyond the traditional confines to express himself and bridge the gap between older and modern art forms. Sherpa now divides his time between California and Kathmandu and draws inspiration from diverse cross-cultural lifestyles to imbue vitality in his artistic expression.&nbsp; “Your work becomes stagnant if you are just in one place. Travelling allows me to go to new places and learn, so I keep moving,” he says. And yet, each of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/god-and-superman">Sherpa’s works</a> is a visual representation of his heritage. The modernised thangka themes represent his heritage and identity.&nbsp; Collaboration has become a hallmark of Sherpa's artistic approach, and he works with local artisans to develop skills and offer them platforms to exhibit. His tie-up with traditional copper repoussé artists after the 2015 earthquake resulted in exhibitions spanning continents and landing collaborative work at the Rubin Museum in New York. Back in 2018 when he relocated back to Nepal, Sherpa noticed that there were not enough platforms for emerging artists to showcase talent. In 2022, Nepal participated in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-pavilion-afloat-in-venice">Venice Biennale</a> for the first time, where Sherpa collaborated with many local artists, sculptors and installations, providing them with the exposure they deserved.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023083104084_961a0d2fecc3aecf134463af308fbddefbb83b781d025d46de32c2532b455128.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2023083104084_961a0d2fecc3aecf134463af308fbddefbb83b781d025d46de32c2532b455128" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Takpa Gallery"> </figure>  Takpa is an extension of this collaboration with Nepali artists, which comes after <a href="https://windhorseartgallery.com/">Windhorse Gallery in Jhamsikhel</a> which he also had a hand in opening three years ago. Takpa is currently showing artist Pooja Duwal’s first solo art exhibition Stranger Is a Friend.&nbsp; Takpa also showcases Tsherin Sherpa’s work from time to time, but the artist says his main intention is to help Nepali artists.&nbsp; “I am more visible internationally and I want to use that opportunity to create a platform for other emerging artists so they get more visibility,” he says.&nbsp; Sherpa also has a non-profit, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HimalyanARTinitiative/">Himalayan Art Initiative</a> that provides training to young artists in Nepal teaching both traditional thangka painting as well as contemporary art styles.&nbsp; He says, “If there is potential, we showcase the work at our gallery and then internationally. It all comes back to not letting art die.” Strangers no more With an array of both large and small oil on canvas and charcoal created in six months, Pooja Duwal’s exhibition Stranger Is a Friend invites viewers to contemplate the transformation of Bhaktapur.&nbsp; The charcoals are strikingly monochromatic and melancholic, and are a commentary on what Nepal risks losing in its frenzied march to modernity. The portraits depict Duwal’s family members, with her sister as a recurring muse. These alla prima creations exude an immediacy and authenticity.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023083104088_306323233dbbe6603137a258741e36e1d29d19d98c5722573a779ade93b0471a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2023083104088_306323233dbbe6603137a258741e36e1d29d19d98c5722573a779ade93b0471a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1927" height="1207" loading="lazy" alt="Takpa Gallery"> </figure>  &nbsp;Duwal paints Bhaktapur’s labyrinthine alleys and hidden corners meticulously capturing the mundane yet profoundly meaningful everyday activities: laundry drying a terrace, people sipping tea, reading a newspaper or strolling down by a pond.&nbsp; Stranger is a Friend is a visual documentary of the tangible and intangible threads, and an enduring spirit in life’s fleeting moments. In two pieces, Duwal employs diptychs and triptychs, weaving together narratives that transcend individual frames, drawing viewers to complex connections between specific instances, individuals, and the city itself. Duwal's art serves as a reminder to slow down and savour memories and moments of life as time races by. The paintings offer a haven for contemplation.

Tsherin Sherpa returns home to Takpa

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

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

Turkish Basketball

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

takpa-gallery