It is not easy to take care of cancer patients. The task becomes harder still when these patients are little kids. Yet one non-profit, the Loving Heart Daycare Center, has taken up this Herculean task. The center located at Imadol, Lalitpur is the first and the only day nursery in Nepal specializing in taking care of children with cancer. Founder Samir Shrestha says the center is perpetually short of money. As such it has been able to open its doors only twice a week. Rents for two months are due. The search for a bigger, institutional donor has proven elusive. Still, at present, the center provides free service to 18 children aged 6-17.

There is still no complete cure of cancer, a group of diseases that are a leading cause of death around the world. Accurate data on cancer mor­tality, especially among children, are unavailable in Nepal. The WHO esti­mates that globally around 300,000 children, aged 19 years or below, are diagnosed with cancer each year.

“According to our estimates, the number of cancer patients in Nepal is increasing by 30,000-35,000 every year. Among them, 30 percent are children,” says Rudra Lal Kadari­ya, a member of the Cancer Council Nepal which is also associated with the Childhood Cancer Internation­al—an umbrella body of childhood cancer grassroots and national par­ents organizations.

Kadariya adds that cancer mor­tality rate is high in Nepal as most patients, especially children, are diagnosed only in the last stages.

Because of lack of awareness and high costs, regular screening is uncommon. In the case of children, leukemia is considered the most common non-preventable cancer, followed by brain and spinal cord tumors, neuroblastoma, retinoblas­toma and bone cancer. Although children are more likely to be cured, the trauma of having to go through rigorous medical procedures can cause the family great suffering.

The stigma associated with can­cer is also devastating, not only for the patients, but for their families and friends as well. Nepal lacks can­cer awareness on many levels and the healthcare system is not well-equipped to diagnose and treat most patients.

“In an underdeveloped coun­try like Nepal, cancer is not only a health problem, but also a socio-eco­nomic and psycho-social one,” says Shrestha.

Fighting spirits, loving hearts

 On the ground floor of a two-and-a-half-story house in Imadol, Lalitpur, 12-year-old Govinda Mahara from Siraha and 15-year-old Lokraj Rokahi from Jumla are lost in their art. They are busy drawing animals and different shapes on what appear to be greeting cards. “I love drawing, painting and making greeting cards. What I don’t like is, going to the hospital,” says Mahara, who has been visiting the center for the past three months. “But who likes going to the hospital, right?” But his buddy Rokahi says he does not mind going to the hospital, if only to ask the doctor “what I should and should not do.”

They have to visit the hospital regularly, as both of them suffer from leukemia, a kind of blood cancer. Yet what they really love is to come to the Imadol-based Loving Heart Daycare Center, the first and the only day nursery of its kind in the country specializing in taking care of children with cancer. Children like Mahara and Rokahi have adorned the light green walls of the two rooms allocated for children’s recreational activities with their arts and crafts, and littered the soft grey carpet with pretty dollhouses, toy cars, white unicorns, a ukulele, stuffed animals, and paints and pencils.

Most children registered at the daycare—and there are 18 of them, aged 6 to 17—do not know what ails them. Nor are they aware that their caretakers have been short on the Rs 18,000 monthly rent for two months and that their next meal is subject to donations from good Samaritans.

“We opened the daycare center almost eight months ago and we have been running it with whatever donations we get,” says Samir Shrestha, the founder of the center. “But the struggle to keep the daycare running without a big donor is enormous.”

Twice a week

The free daycare center for children with cancer provides them with psycho-social support, counselling, healthcare training,

 skill-building exercises, nutritional food as well as fun activities like birthday parties. Unfortunately, for lack of funds, Loving Heart is open only twice a week, says Shrestha. (The greeting cards Mahara and Rokahi were making will be sold to raise funds.)

“With this daycare, we’re not only helping the children but their parents as well. Life can be difficult for a family that has a child with cancer,” says Shrestha. “Ensuring the children’s physical and mental wellbeing can be a burden, especially for middle and low-income families,” adds Shrestha, who has been working voluntarily with children with cancer since 2005. For the families that are confused and distressed by the suffering of their children, the daycare provides a temporary shelter. Parents can leave their children for the day and rest assured that they are properly taken care of.

“We have to make sure that our surroundings are thoroughly clean because our kids are more vulnerable to infections,” Shrestha says. “There is also the need to protect them from pity or condescension from others. Our children don’t like strangers coming in and taking pity on them.”

In 2006, together with a group of like-minded friends, Shrestha had registered the Dirghajeevi Voluntary Group, under which the Loving Heart Day Care functions. They were actively involved in the care and support of children at the cancer ward of Kanti Hospital until 2015, when certain changes in policy and management forced them to stop volunteering there. Then came the idea of opening their own daycare center.

 Most children registered at the daycare—and there are 18 of them, aged 6 to 17—do not know what ails them

Students and survivors

“It was not easy to begin with,” Shrestha says. “No one wanted to rent out a place to us initially, fearing that cancer is a communicable disease.” The other problem was finding funds to operate the daycare, Shrestha informs. Although they have received donations from foreign individuals and agencies, funding has not been substantial or consistent. They expect support from the local communities to make the non-profit organization sustainable.

The volunteers at Loving Heart have been students and survivors of cancer who want to contribute to improving the children’s lives. Sandhya Ghorsaini, a 16-year-old student from Bhaktapur, is one such survivor and volunteer. Ghorsaini was also diagnosed with leukemia at a tender age of three. She was undergoing treatment at Kanti Hospital when Shrestha met her. They instantly bonded. “I like spending time with the children and feel privileged that I can bring small changes in their lives,” says Ghorsaini, who took her SEE exams this year. “I want to continue studying and become a doctor.”

With part-time volunteers and silent partners, it is up to Shrestha to commit all his time for the organization. While he gets help from his wife Sharmila, an aspiring painter, Shrestha runs the Loving Heart Daycare pretty much on his own. With no other income than what the organization manages to pay him, Shrestha’s livelihood depends on donations and charity—so much so that he does not want to admit his two-and-half-year-old son Samarth to a play school. “I will enroll him straight into a regular school,” he says, “The play school fees are exorbitant. I cannot afford them. I will homeschool him instead.”  

 Chitwan, cycle and cancer

 With a life dedicated to help­ing children and families in need, Samir Shrestha, 34, has a tragic story of his own. Here he chronicles his story in his own words: I was 12 when I lost my father in a motorbike accident. We were a well-to-do family in Chitwan but the sudden demise of my father changed that. I managed to com­plete my SLC from Chitwan and then came to Kathmandu to live with my uncle. My basic needs were met, but it was never like having my own father around. My uncle got me a job at his friend’s. Back then, on my way to work and back, I used to notice a number of street children and orphans, some picking garbage and others working as helpers in Safa Tempos.

I compared their lives to mine and realized that even though I came from a fairly wealthy family with people there to take care of me, my life was not as easy as when I had my father around. These street children—some orphans, some runaways and some discard­ed by their families—led more dif­ficult lives than I did. So I wanted to do something for them.

But I was really young and didn’t know how I could help them. Hav­ing grown up in the Tarai, I did know how to cycle though. So I decided to tour the SAARC coun­tries on my bicycle to raise aware­ness and funds for Kathmandu’s street children. I was inspired by Nepali cyclist Puskar Shah, who was on a world tour at the time. I got a chance to meet him. With his encouragement and my determi­nation, I started cycling in 2004, at the height of the Maoist insur­gency. I first toured Nepal and then India and Bangladesh. But I was forced to stop owing to political and security issues.

Then, in 2005, I saw an adver­tisement asking for volunteers at the cancer ward of Kanti Children’s Hospital. I joined the team and that became a life-changing moment for me. I realized that while there were hundreds of organizations working for street children, there wasn’t any support system for chil­dren with cancer. Since then, my whole life has been dedicated to helping them.

 In this digital age, the success of a music artist is measured in terms of YouTube views and social media following. But there are still some old-school rockers who rule people’s hearts without having to resort to much virtual publicity. Mukti and Revival’s YouTube page might not have millions of views or hundreds of thousands of subscribers but ask any Nepali music listener if they have heard about the band and they will probably sing you at least a tune or two. Mukti and Revival’s music precedes YouTube, Facebook, iTunes digital MP3 players and all those technological gimmicks of today. The band’s early fans listened to their first couple of albums on cassettes—song after song, side after side, without skipping a beat. Their music videos are also simple, elegant and DIY most of the times.

Their debut album “Kalanki Ko Jam” released in 2000, followed by “Bujhai Deu” (2002), “Dekhdai Chu Ma” (2007) and “Sadhai Bhari” (2012) have all given us unforgettable hits. From the bluesy rendition of late Arun Thapa’s “Sanjhako Jun Sangai” to the balladic “Chaubandi Cholo”, the folkish “Dalli Resham”, the ethnic “Wochu Galli” and the politically charged “Kalanki ko Jaam”, Mukti and Revival’s jukebox has it all. And to watch them play live is a treat to one’s consciousness, as they churn out their best numbers one by one and evoke every kind of emotion in you.

Mukti Shakya—the renegade bluesman of Nepal who has been active in the scene since the 80s—leads the talented troupe of musicians that form MNR with his unique vocals and virtuosic guitar skills. The senior-most member of the band whose age is a matter of mystery (and he likes to keep it like that) plays every gig with the energy of a teenager performing at his school prom. Mukti is backed by an equally spirited team of Sunit Kansakar on guitars, Roshan Kansakar on bass and Nikhil Tuladhar on drums. All the musicians also sing backing vocals to give the band a harmonic edge.

MNR is all set to release their new album “Swotantra” on May 25 at the Patan Museum

MNR is all set to release their new album “Swotantra” on May 25 at the Patan Museum. The self-produced, self-financed album took them more than two years to complete in the studio itself, the band members inform. “The experience has been so long I don’t even remember half of it,” says guitarist Sunit, who also does the recording work and mixing/mastering for the band at his studio Rec Records. “It is always tough dealing with Mukti dai. He is a perfectionist.”

“We have been releasing a new album every 5 or 6 years but this time it took us longer than expected,” Mukti says. “It is because we took up many concerts and tours in the past couple of years,” Roshan adds.

For the new album, the band is trying new sounds and sub-genres, but as always staying true to their blues roots, the band members inform. Their music video of the song “Dal Bhat” from the album was released in January and with the experimentation on ska and some reggae, the peppy number is already a hit among MNR fans. “Dal Bhat” is a song about the favorite meal of the Nepalis, rice and lentils, which paints a picture of the Nepali lifestyle in general.

The 8-track album “Swotantra” is about the lives of the Nepalis and what influences them. “We try to keep our music simple and straight from the heart, with the happenings around us the stimuli for our songs,” Mukti says. About their politically influenced lyrics in the past as well as in this album, Sunit adds that political taunts come to them unconsciously as everyone’s life is affected by politics one way or the other.

“Swotantra means free and we’re told we’re free in Nepal but that’s not what we feel,” Mukti says about the name of the album. “The common people are not swotantra. Swotantrata is a luxury reserved only for the people with power and money.”

Always searching for new sounds and artistic collaborations, MNR’s “Swotantra” will also feature other young musicians and lyricists. The band’s album launch on May 25 will see the band collaborate with other talented musicians like Basanta Sunam (trumpet) and Inap Raj Shrestha (saxophone)—who have also played on the track “Dal Bhat”—as well as Manice Gandharva (sarangi), Milan Ghimire (flute), and a dhime group from Kirtipur.

 The Nepali adhunik (modern) genre of music has a long legacy. Evolving with the establishment of Radio Nepal in 1951, the genre got its name when Nepali composers and singers started recording their songs with the addition of Western instruments to the existing Eastern classical compositions. The harmonium, tabala and madal were accompanied by violins, pianos and guitars to create this unique genre which has become so popular over time that the use of any or all Western instruments and orchestration have been naturalized.

 Big names like Narayan Gopal, Gopal Yonzon, Arun Thapa, Tara Devi and Bhakta Raj Acharya started this musical legacy, which was then carried forward by singers of the newer generation like Ram Krishna Dhakal and now Pramod Kharel. The vocals, always rooted to Eastern classical, and the complex arrangements created with careful juxtaposition of melodies and harmonies, make the adhunik genre easy to listen to but difficult to create.

 Although still called ‘modern’ Nepali music, adhunik is a not a popular genre among our youngsters. The complexities and the level of musicianship required is such that very few musicians enter this realm of Nepali music. But among the larger population, adhunik songs are still high in demand. While most young musicians are making pop, rock and rap music, there are a handful of musical prodigies who have taken the adhunik inheritance into their hands.

 The 33-year-old Ajar Jangam is one such prodigy. Like most youngsters, he also started with pop and rock music. “But I found my true calling in singing adhunik songs and gazals,” Ajar says. “Those are the kinds of music I grew up listening to and my voice also matched the texture required for these genres.”

 Ajar grew up in a family that is the very emblem of modern Nepali music.

 Ajar grew up in a family that is the very emblem of modern Nepali music. His father, Prof Deepak Jangam, is a legendary music composer and educator who has worked with the likes of Narayan Gopal, Ananda Karki, Deepak Kharel, Pakistani gazal maestro Ghulam Ali and even composed music on Late Queen Chadani Shah’s lyrics. Among his evergreen hits are “Gajalu Ti”, “Kina Kina Timro Tasbir”, “Euta Manche Ko”, “Yi Halla Haru Hun” and “Yati Dherai Maya” to name a few. His list of memorable Nepali songs is so large that if you listen to a FM radio station for a whole day, you are bound to hear one of his songs.

 Ajar’s mother, Prof Dr Beny Jangam Rawal, is a researcher and scholar of ethnic Nepali music. She has written numerous research articles and publications on Nepali music and is considered an authority in the history of Nepali music.

 Coming from this ‘musical’ family, it is natural to assume Ajar’s road to success was easy. Not so, avers Ajar. “I wanted to independently start my career but the pressure of the family name was immense,” he says. “I then started taking part in music competitions and also winning some awards. I wanted to prove myself, I guess.” Ajar also recounts instances when he had to miss opportunities or refrain from trying something new to protect his family name.

 But that did not stop him from creating a name for himself. Ajar kept studying and practicing music to become one of the most successful, young adhunik singers in the country, also winning many accolades on the way.

 A big moment in his life was when he won the “Record of the Year” and “Best Vocal Male” titles at the Hits FM Music Awards in 2015 for his song “Jindagi Le Hisaab Magcha”. The nominations included the ‘Who’s who’ of the Nepali music industry but the youngster nonetheless managed to woo the jury with his mature vocals.

 Ajar is one of those musicians who believe the art should always be greater than the artist. In today’s heavily commercialized music industry, he relies more on his skills than in creating showy facades. The genre he is dedicated to might be deemed old but he has kept himself updated with the latest advents in music technologies. He is well equipped in the art of recording, arranging and mixing as well. Not only does he excel as a musician, Ajar is also a national level gold medalist in gymnastics and represented Nepal at the 16th Asian Games held in Guangzhou in 2010. He had to retire for health reasons soon after the event and has since kept his focus strictly on music.

 For Ajar, music is not just a business but a devotion he has dedicated his life to. With a Master’s in Music from the Tribhuvan University, he is also pursuing a PhD in Music as well as teaching collegelevel students.

For those of us who have been to concerts and live music shows, the thrill of watching our favorite artists perform on stage is unmatched. And if those artists are any good, they’ll sound just like you’re listening to them on the radio, creating a scintillating effect at the venue. But how many of us know the singers and musicians we love to watch live are not the only people behind the good music?

 Besides singing and playing their instruments, these singers and musicians have little control over how they actually sound at the venue. Especially when the venue is large and the instruments are heavily amplified. Be it our own Nepathya or the internationally famous Aerosmith on stage, they all need someone to control their inputs and outputs while they are on stage.

Sound engineering involves a lot of technology but it’s not all about technology as well. It is an art that requires you to learn multiple things

Binaya Man Amatya

 That’s where these conjurers called sound engineers come in. Don’t be fooled by the name though. They’re not engineers who are churned out by engineering colleges with 4-year degrees. “Sound engineers are people with good ears, an understanding of music and the ability to maneuver technology at their will,” says Binaya Man Amatya. At just 28, Binaya is one of the most sought after sound engineers in the country and a teacher of over five dozen aspiring sound engineers who have learnt the art of mixing from him and are now making a living out of it.

 In a layman’s terms, a ‘mix’ is the final output of the sound produced by the musicians on stage or during recording. A sound engineer behind the mixing console is responsible for how the band sounds. From the amount of reverb and delay required on the vocals, to the volume levels of guitars, low ends produced by the bass to the clarity of each of the cymbals of the drums, a sound engineer mixes all these inputs from the musicians to create the wholesome sound that the audience hears.

 “I was intrigued by the art from when I was a teenager and played bass in a church worship band,” says Binaya. “As there was no one to control the mixing console back then, I had to step up and thus my career started.” Binaya, who started his professional career as a sound engineer in 2012, is mostly self-taught and any formal classes he has taken have come in the form of short training sessions and workshops from international sound engineers. “I started by playing with the knobs of old analog mixers and learning the tricks of the trade. I’ve also read many books related to sound engineering and have done my fair share of research to acquire the skills I now have,” says Binaya.

 Owing to his passion for learning, Binaya quickly rose to fame as one of the most successful sound engineers in the country, a relatively new profession in Nepal. In his short career, he has worked with the most recognized names in the industry like Bipul Chhetri and the Travelling Band, Adrian and Friends, and Underside, among others. With Binaya manning the mixing consoles, he also became one of the first sound engineers in the country to be an integral part of bands and travel with them for their shows. Binaya has toured with various artists to Hong Kong, Australia, Japan, the US, and the UK, among other countries.

 So what does it take to be a sound engineer? “A lot of patience, perseverance, and being in constant touch with the latest technological advancements,” replies Binaya who is also popular for his “Live Sound Recording and Mixing Course” that he runs in association with Liveworks Pvt Ltd—one of the biggest vendors of stage, sound and lights services in the country. “Sound engineering involves a lot of technology but it’s not all about technology. It is an art that requires you to learn multiple things. There’s geometry, physics, and algorithms—altogether a steep learning curve. But once you understand the concept, everything gets easy.”

 Not quite supported by his family in the beginning, Binaya says he earns decently by Nepali standards. With the Nepali music industry getting bigger and better, there is great scope for professional sound engineers. About learning formally in an academy, Binaya recalls his encounter with veteran Swiss sound engineer Daniel (Danlo) Laurent at one Jazzmandu  

 “I asked him if I should get a degree in sound engineering from a college in the US,” Binaya says. “He said, Don’t!” What Laurent then told him has always stayed with him. “You already have the skills and talent,” Lorent said. “All you need is practice.” So Binaya quit the idea of getting a formal degree and started honing his skills in the art of sound mixing, which he says is a life-long learning process.  

I met them on a lazy Satur­day afternoon—hot, humid and just lethargic. Now Saturday afternoon is not a good time to meet musicians. With complaints of how their (and mine) Friday-night she­nanigans had them still sleep deprived, we slugged a few cups of coffee at Basantapur before finally mustering the energy to get to the office of Skathi Records—a literally underground studio at Lagan where the band ‘Shree 3’ rehearses. Totally worth the time and energy spent though. I was awestruck by their raw energy and how tight they sounded even in rehearsals. I also man­aged to get a raw video foot­age of “The Monk”, a song with an infectious guitar riff, from their upcoming album. (Follow the QR code for the video.)

The band came to life in 2016 as a side project of three proficient musicians already playing for different other bands. Sarad Shrestha (Tumbleweed) on guitars and vocals, Rozet Gurung ( Jugaa, Nude Terror) on bass and Robin Neupane (Tum­bleweed, H.O.S.) on drums complete the lineup of Shree 3, a power trio. Nothing to do with the dynastic rule of the Ranas; the name Shree 3 just signifies the number of band members.

As for their music, although band members do not pre­fer tagging themselves with any single genre, at its heart Shree 3 is an alternative rock band that also explores stoner rock, desert rock and a lot of grunge. With Sarad’s heavily overdriven guitars and unique finger-style playing, his raw vocals reminiscent of the alternative greats of the 90s, Rozet’s groovy basslines, and Robin’s steady drum beats, the band is a complete pack­age of skilled musicianship and scintillating energy.

“We make most of our music while jamming at rehearsals,” says Sarad, who also writes lyrics for the band. “We discuss topics and then conceptualize the songs we’re going to work on. A song may originate in one of Rozet’s bass grooves or Robin’s drum beats.” For inspiration, the band looks up to heavy music from the 60s to the late 90s— heavy metal, punk, rock n’ roll, grunge and all.

Shree 3’s previous singles “Eutai Antya” and “Sanity Wreck” are already popular among Nepali listeners and their latest, “Maze”, is also getting a lot of attention on social media. The band, even in its short history, has already been able to tour eastern Nepal—a region where Nepali artists long to play. Love and support from the easterners is a measure of success for any Nepali artist. The band already has a small but supportive fan base across the country, per­haps owing to the reputation of band members from their past exploits. “We have been taking it slow at Shree 3 due to our commitments with other bands,” Sarad says. “But now that we are releasing our first album, we will be doing more shows around the country.”

“This is an experimental album,” Rozet talks about “Drabya Dharma”, the band’s upcoming album. “There are 10 songs, each one sounding very different to the others. We have tried a lot of sub genres. Our influences come to play here and we’re still trying to find our sound.” Robin, one of the most pop­ular drummers in the current music scene, adds that the inspiration for Shree 3’s music comes from the grunge era of the 90s as well as progressive rock. “I like to keep it groovy and not complicate the music with technicalities,” Robin says.

Drabya Dharma (roughly: ‘the religion of money’) is an independent album the band is set to release on its own. “As the name suggests, our themes are mostly distraught individuals and how they relate to the world,” Sarad says. “But there are messages of awareness in our music too,” Rozet adds.

Without a record label, the band is releasing the album with the help of its friends, namely Skathi Records and US-based Tarang Entertain­ment. “We got great response to our previous singles which motivated us to cut the new album,” Sarad says. “With a few English numbers, we’re also trying to enter the inter­national arena.”

Shree 3’s “Drabya Dharma” is set to release amid a con­cert at Purple Haze, Thamel, on May 18. Local acts ASM, Kaagaz and Hermeneutics of Suspicion (H.O.S) will be sup­porting Shree 3 with open­ing performances. After the release, the album will also be available on online platforms like Spotify, Bandcamp and iTunes.

 A bunch of metalheads, all prolific in their respective instruments, got together in 2006 to form a Nepali ‘folk-metal’ band. They wanted to mix their favorite genre, metal, with ethnic musical instruments. But finding musicians to play those instruments to the rhythm and tempo of metal music was almost impossible. Thus they learned to play the instruments themselves.

 As their skills in the folk instruments grew, the band decided they would continue composing music with only ethnic instruments. Thus started the evolution of Night—a new-age Nepali folk band. Today, Night is a oneof- a-kind musical ensemble of young, determined and talented musicians who have set out to redefine Nepal’s folk genre and recover lost and endangered tunes of its farflung corners. An example of mature artistry and profound understanding of music, Night’s compositions are manifestation of the unexplored or understated contemplations of the unheard communities in the country, all captured as they are, and served organically to the aural satisfaction of its listeners.

 Night’s debut album “Ani Ukali Sangai Orali” (2014) gave us absolute tearjerkers like “Kathor” and “Sunko Jutta” while “Jhalka Raya Buka” (2017) introduced the audience to the authentic sounds of deuda from far-western Nepal. The band’s subaltern folk music challenges the very roots of heavily-synthesized commercial Nepali folk, with the madal and sarangi dominating the plasticized music (read : lok-dohoris).

‘We have been in this for over a decade because of the immense satisfaction we get and the freedom we have in creating our music’

Jason Kunwar, Night

 The success of Night and their global acceptance show there is more to Nepali folk music than lamentations of one’s failed life, mistimed political jibes, and running away with other people’s children. Night’s music come not just from superficial absorption of a single regional or communal music, but from deep research and extensive travel to some of the remotest parts of the country, in search of local dialects and melodies that are being lost.

 “If you evaluate our success in terms of album sales, we’re not doing so well. Night is definitely not a profitable band,” says Jason Kunwar, a founding member who writes most of its lyrics, composes music, sings, and is also a multi-instrumentalist playing ethnic instruments like the sarangi, piwachha, Nepali banjo, tungna, nyakhin and bamboo flute. “But we have been doing this project for more than a decade because of the immense satisfaction we get from it and because of the freedom we have in creating our music.” Like any other band in the country, Night has seen its share of differences among its members resulting in some line-up changes. But Jason along with another founding member Niraj Shakya (backing vocals and tungna) have been the anchors of the ensemble which has seen up to 14 members sharing the stage together.

 The current line-up has, besides Jason and Niraj, Sudhir Acharya in the rhythm section playing the nagara, dhime, nyakhin, madal and doing backing vocals; Sugama Gautam on vocals; and Shiva Kumar Khatri playing paluwa ( just leaves) and vocals. The Schima leaves Khatri plays, called chilaune in Nepali, have traditionally been used as musical instruments. This art is on the verge of extinction, band members inform.

 The musicians from Night are all involved in various other projects for their livelihood. Night is just an outlet for them to create music that differs from commercial norms. “We’re together because we play for pleasure,” says Niraj. “We love the feedback our audience gives us and we have been blessed with positive responses so far.” Night has performed at prestigious world music festivals like Shambala Music Festival in the UK, Sommarscen Malmö festival in Sweden, and Womex festival in Germany.

 The band has also traveled to other European and Asian countries including the exotic Uzbekistan with their music and are all set to tour Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Macau with their new album “Ramite-The Music, Volume 1”. The album, launched on April 13 this year, is inspired by Jason’s upcoming novel ‘Ramite-Daam’ translated as “The Spectator: Scar”, and finds Night at its peak of artistic confluence with the rhyme and rhythm of the Nepali folk music. “Our songs have in the past been about communities, places and natural disasters. But this album is based on a fictional alternate world and the struggles its people have to go through,” says Jason. Night has released some new songs from the album on Youtube. The physical copies are on sale at Ekta Books, while the digital copies can be found on the band’s iTunes and Spotify pages.

5 Government stand

 APEX Series

MARIJUANA 

1 Public demand

2 History of ban

3 Economic benefits

4 Downsides

5 Government stand

During my call on King [on] August 19, I reviewed with him various aspects of our bilater­al relations against the background of several of the President’s priority concerns, including developmental assistance, human rights and nar­cotics. This message deals with our discussion on narcotics question. (A September 1977 telegram titled Audience with King Birendra-Narcot­ics sent by the then US Deputy Secre­tary of State Margaret P. Garfeld )

The highly confidential telegram addressed to the then US President Jimmy Carter and archived in the Public Library of US Diplomacy states the American interests in pushing for the criminalization of cannabis in Nepal and also shows the subtle diplomatic pressure applied by the US. Though a little ungrammatical, it is worth quoting at length.

Garfeld further writes: “I recalled that subject of narcotics was one which had been under discussion with HMG for some time. As canna­bis grew wild in Nepal and its cul­tivation was difficult to control we were naturally concerned over its leakage into international market. We had accordingly welcomed GoN initiative last year to adopt legisla­tion establishing controls and penal­ties and we had expressed hope that adequate enforcement machinery would follow. King interjected to say that this was his objective also…”

Even as the US had expressed its concern over illicit trafficking in hashish “as a matter of principle”, she writes, this problem did not impinge directly on US interests because very little of this narcotic reached the US from Nepal, as far as the embassy was aware. “However, there was a far more serious prob­lem possibly looming ahead because we had received reports earlier this year of poppy cultivation in western Nepal together with other reports that the GoN was considering going into opium production, ostensibly to meet legitimate medical needs and for export.”

Garfeld then talks of how this sub­ject had come up in her initial call on the prime minister at the time, who acknowledged that “one or two countries” had expressed interest in purchasing opium from Nepal and had confirmed the GoN was considering the matter. “The King nodded and said this was case, men­tioning that the Soviet Union was one of the countries to which prime minister had referred.” Garfeld con­cluded by reminding the King of her president’s concern about the international narcotics control prob­lem. “While I did not want to use a phrase which sounded threatening, especially in our first meeting, in all candor I had to tell him that if the GoN decided to go down this road this could have a very serious effect on our bilateral relations.”

The telegram, now available via WikiLeaks, indicates the kind of coercive American approach that was employed for the criminal­ization of cannabis in Nepal. The country subsequently enacted the Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act in 1976, banning the sale, cultivation and use of cannabis, after signing a related UN convention titled Single Conven­tion on Narcotic Drugs, 1961. But at the time the government of Nepal was still reluctant to completely ban the production and use of cannabis.

Humoring the Americans

Dr Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, who was Minister of Finance at the time of the ban, says the US government threatened, if in not so many words, not to recognize Birendra Shah’s ‘authoritarian rule’ in order to force him to ban cannabis. “The Nepali government did not want to com­pletely ban cannabis. But under American pressure, we started by destroying the crops in a few places and making nominal arrests—just to please the US,” he says.

In a confidential letter addressed to President Carter, which is clearly a follow-up to the meeting between the US Deputy Secretary of State Garfeld and King Birendra, the latter cautiously indicates his disapproval of the US-imposed cannabis ban and the American government’s interfer­ence in Nepali politics.

Dated 20 April 1978, the Letter from King of Nepal to President Carter reads, and again I quote at length: “The more I travel, the more the people I meet and talk to, the more I feel convinced that the demands of the vast majority of our people are for basic economic devel­opment. Only some weeks ago, I was travelling through those areas where people have specially been hit hard by the prohibition on the traditional cultivation of narcotic plants. It is not fair that hundreds of thousands of people should suffer by a stroke of a decision where their livelihood has been affected most deeply. I wonder if it was really what we wanted. This is where I believe our obligation comes in strongly…”

On the subtle American pres­sure over the ‘authoritarian nature’ of his regime, King Birendra responds: “Excellency, as a friend of the American people and as a Nepali who enjoyed the privilege of spending a year at Harvard, I wish you to be assured that the party­less Panchayat democratic system, which we profess, is developing in accordance with the wishes of the Nepalese people. An attempt to sub­vert it from outside will lead, I am sure, toward instability…”

Moving on to the present

Over four decades after the US championed a worldwide ban on cannabis and other narcotic sub­stances, 33 of its states have legal­ized marijuana and others are fol­lowing suit.

“Fortunately, when Nepal joined other nations in the good spirit of controlling and regulating psycho­active drugs, it did so with a reser­vation enabling it to produce and trade in marijuana,” says Jim Gier­ach, former Chicago prosecutor and former Acting Chair and Vice Chair of internationally recognized ‘Law Enforcement Against Prohibition’ or LEAP. “This farsighted ‘reser­vation’ enables Nepal to produce and export marijuana, benefiting Nepali GDP and its citizens, without breaching its international commit­ment regarding drugs.” Other activ­ists for legal marijuana in Nepal also call upon the government to revoke the treaty and legalize marijuana.

But the said reservation is no more applicable, informs the Ministry of Home Affairs. “The reservation became obsolete in the 1990s and we cannot on moral grounds back down from the treaty without a for­mal process,” says Narayan Prasad Sharma Duwadi, a joint secretary at the ministry who oversees drug control. Duwadi informs that the government is aware of the lobby to legalize marijuana and adds that although the Narcotic Drugs (Con­trol) Act, 2033 is in the process of being amended, the government is not making any special provisions for cannabis.

“We cannot blindly follow pol­icy changes in the US and Cana­da and legalize marijuana here,” Duwadi says. The government might consider its medical benefits, like those being promoted by scientists in countries where marijuana is legal, the joint secretary adds, if such benefits are established by international organizations like the UN and the WHO. “The government priorities at present are prevention and intervention of drug abuse as the estimated number of identified drug users has reached 156,000.” Legalization without a proper framework could leave around five million Nepali youth vulnerable to addiction, Duwadi warns.

Dr Thapa believes it is already too late for Nepal to legalize marijuana. As the more developed countries have gotten far ahead on cannabis cultivation and created huge mar­kets to exploit its benefits, Nepal will face tough competition. “West­erners initially came to Nepal for marijuana because it was banned in their home countries,” he says. “Now that they have easy access to it in their own countries, I don’t think they would come here for it. There thus seems to be little incentive in legalizing marijuana.”

In for the long haul

The ruling NCP federal lawmaker Birodh Khatiwada, a strong propo­nent of legal marijuana in Nepal, agrees that the process is going to be a long one. Yet he is hopeful. After he spoke of the need to legalize marijuana in the House of Represen­tatives in February, the response has been pretty neutral, he says.

“Other lawmakers have not sup­ported me yet, but the good thing is, I haven’t face much opposition either,” Khatiwada says. “What we have done is get the attention of the common people, intellectuals and some government bodies. This is a good start. Yet we must at the same time acknowledge that it will be some time before the House serious­ly debates this issue and considers a policy change”.

 Around 60 years ago, Bishombher Lal Sharma, popularly known as BL Sharma, was asked to cater food for the first-ever Nepali Congress jamboree. It was then that Prime Minister of the time BP Koirala suggested Sharma should get into catering. Thus the first profes­sional catering service in Nepal was born. Sharma’s catering service back then served political parties and Royal families and even fed the production team of the popular Bollywood film Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971) which was shot extensively in Kathmandu.

The catering service was later named Amrapali Catering Ser­vice and over the decades, the name became synonymous qual­ity. Sharma also opened Anmol Catering Service, a sister concern, at Kalikastan, which surged in popularity within a short time, thus adding to his profile as a leader in the hospitality business.

Aditya Sharma, the managing director of Amrapali Banquet and Anmol Catering Service, who took over the business after his grandfather BL Sharma’s demise in 2015, talks to Sunny Mahat about Amrapali’s history and future plans.

 As someone taking over a reputed family business, what are the challenges that you face?

The biggest challenge is to live up to my grandfather’s reputa­tion. As the first person to start catering business in Nepal, he was well known and had great public relations. Also, the competition has increased 10-fold now. To ensure that we remain on the top of our game, we make sure our food and service if of the highest quality. We only use premium prod­ucts and we cater to the precise needs of our customers to guaran­tee their satisfaction. We thus have many repeat customers.

Over the years, how have cus­tomer needs changed on what they expect of catering services?

Earlier, catering used to be done mostly at one’s own house or at nearby vacant property. Opening banquets has made it convenient for end users as they do not have to worry about finding a space and then having to clean up the venue after parties. Banquets also provide extra facilities like parking, cus­tomized decorations and multiple choices in food and services that the customers can choose from as per their needs. Private events have become fancier these days in terms of food the customers want to serve their invited guests. The ban­quets these days are no more lim­ited to the traditional Nepali thali; Chinese, Italian, Indian food are more popular today.

What are the skills that you need to run a premium banquet in Kathmandu?

The most important skill is public relations. It is important that we connect with a lot of people. When they use our services, we have to make sure we retain them by cater­ing to their needs and keeping them satisfied. I cannot stress enough the taste of the food we provide, as in this business the two things we sell is our food and our service. At Amrapali, we have an excellent young staff dedicated to customer satisfaction. We hold regular team meetings to minimize our mistakes and increase our productivity.

Do you think the market for banquets in Kathmandu is sat­urated?

Even with the large number of banquets and party halls opening all over the city, I believe the market is not yet saturated. It is still difficult to find a proper venue for events, especially weddings. We are booked for months in advance. Some cus­tomers even book us a year ahead. Yes, there are many options these days, but not many cannot guaran­tee the quality of services we offer.

What are your expansion plans?

Currently, we operate Amra­pali Banquet and Anmol Catering Service. Anmol is soon relocating from the previous venue to a bet­ter location at Sankhamool, New Baneshwor. We will be open for business in a couple of months, with a much bigger property. We are also looking to open banquets outside Kathmandu as the need for the same has increased in other cities in Nepal. Narayanghat, Butwal and Biratnagar are the markets we are interested but ultimately we will try to expand into as many locations as we can.