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Singer Bikki Pariyar has released his new music video ‘Ekai Najarma’ where model duo Bikash Lamichhane and Bina Raut are seen in a romantic aura. The song written by Bishnubabu Devkota has music by Tika Dahal.

The music video is directed by Keshav Raj Bhatta and has been edited by Dinson Shah.

Erik Solheim, a well-known global leader on environment and development, has joined Annapurna Media Network’s Unity for Sustainability Campaign as a green Ambassador.

“Nepal is a beautiful country, with fantastic people. It is also vulnerable to climate—shifting rains in the Terai or Himalayan glacier melting. I am happy to join Annapurna Unity for Sustainability as green Ambassador,” he said through a tweet.

He served as Norwegian Minister of Environment and International Development from 2005-12. During that period, he initiated the global program for the conservation of rainforests and brought through game-changing National legislation- among them the Biodiversity Act and legislation to protect Oslo city forests. He brought Norwegian development assistance to 1 percent, the highest in the world.

Solheim has been chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (the main body of world donors) as well as Executive Director of UN Environment. He led the peace efforts in Sri Lanka as the main negotiator of the peace process and played a vital role in peace efforts in Nepal, Myanmar, and Sudan.

Currently, he is a senior adviser at World Resources Institute and President of the Belt and Road Green Development Institute in Beijing.

Solheim is Chief Mentor of Global Alliance for Sustainable Planet and Chairman of the Board of Afroz Shah Foundation in Mumbai. He is an adviser to April/RGE world’s largest paper and pulp company in Indonesia, to Aker Horizons, Norway’s leading green industry player, and to Norwegian electric battery company Morrows.  He serves as chairman of the development roundtable in Green Hydrogen Organization as well as co-chair of Treelion a green blockchain company in Hong Kong.

AMN’s campaign aims to highlight climate change issues. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the campaign amid a special function organized on January 7 in Kathmandu. To fight climate change individual steps are not enough and all stakeholders need to jointly work and raise their voices. Right now, these stakeholders are not working in unison and there is a lack of coordination, and hence no concrete output. AMN hopes to change this state of affairs by bringing together climate stakeholders and fostering meaningful interactions between them.

Band Champion Nepal, a national musician band competition showcasing the best of the best bands in Nepal, is being aired on AP1 HD TV from 9 pm to 10 pm every Saturday, starting from 15 January 2022. 

From a total of 200 bands that auditioned, top 26 bands were selected for the competition. The first phase of the competition will be the ‘Judge Audition Round’, with Dev Rana, Jyoti Ghimire, and Robin Tamang acting as judges. Megha Shrestha will host the show. The winning band will get a cash prize of Rs 2 million. 

The Consulate General of Nepal, and the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, jointly announced the return of two art objects from Rubin's permanent collection to Nepal.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Acting Consul General  Bishnu Prasad Gautam, and Executive Director Jorrit Britschgi, on their respective behalf of the Government of Nepal, and the Rubin Museum of Art, at a ceremony organized at the Museum for this purpose.

The artworks scheduled to return include an upper section of a Frieze/Torana (17th century) and a Garland Bearing flying Apsara/Gandharva (14th century). The Torana was lost from the main door of Yampi Mahavihara/I-Bahi, Patan, Lalitpur. According to the Museum officials, the artwork arrived at the Museum in 2010. The work of flying Apsara is originally from Keshchandra Mahavihara, Itum Bahal, Kathmandu which was lost in 1999 and added to the Museum's collection in 2003.

Receiving the art objects, the Acting Consul General remarked, "The proactive and warm response and thoughtful collaboration from the Rubin have positively contributed to Nepal’s national efforts to recover and reinstate the lost artifacts".  He expressed deep gratitude to the Rubin Museum, it's Executive Director, Board of Trustees, the Museum’s scholars, and officials for their initiative and cooperation in returning these artifacts back to Nepal. He also appreciated the support received from the media, civil society, and others in this endeavor 

The Consulate General and the Museum collaborated to verify the origin of these arts, possibilities to return to the original sites, and repatriation. During this process, the Museum engaged two scholars of Nepali art to further examine and research the known provenance of the artworks. Inputs to determine the ownership and origin of the artworks were received from the Department of Archaeology of the Government of Nepal.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jorrit Britschgi, Executive Director of the Rubin Museum commented, “As custodians of the art in our collection, the Rubin recognizes that we have an ongoing duty to carefully research the art and objects we collect and exhibit. The theft of archaeological objects continues to be a major concern in the art world. Rubin’s collecting activities adhere to the highest standards of ethical and professional practice related to provenance. We believe it is our responsibility to address and resolve issues of cultural property, including helping to facilitate the return of the two objects in question".

The Consulate General and the Rubin Museum expressed their willingness to work closely in the promotion of art and culture, including Himalayan art, as these collaborative efforts contribute to the preservation of the cultural heritage, and further strengthen the long-standing people-to-people ties between Nepal and the United States of America.