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 From its humble beginnings at Uttardhoka, Lazimpat 10 years ago, the Attic Bar has now shifted to its new lavish premises at Gyaneshwor (next to the German Embassy) and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week. Started by a group of four friends looking for a place to chill, Attic swiftly rose to popularity among Kathmanduites for its delicious food, specialized service and all the good times it offers. Occasional guests became regular faces at the restaurant with its owners participating in every event and on every weekend to make the guests feel at home.

The new venue is a sprawling building that has plenty of options on seating arrangements, the same consistently good food, the service staff waiting to treat the guests like royalties, and the promise of more good times.

 THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Attic Chicken Chop,

- Grilled Herb Chicken,

- Royal Aaloo

Opening hours: 11 am to 10:30 pm

Location: Gyaneshwor

Cards: Accepted

Meal for 2: Rs 2,500

Reservations: 014417843

 Last week I had a front-of-house and back-of-house view of the new Kathmandu Marriott Hotel at Naxal. I can see the hotel from my bedroom window and it’s a somewhat sad looking, Soviet style grey block of a place. But it’s quite different when you get up close!

 If you are driving, you need to negotiate the small roads round Nag Pokhari. Unless you are familiar with the area, the first time might be a bit of a challenge. Once there, they have an underground car park. Entering through large glass doors the lobby is spacious with a very high ceiling. So high a bell the size of which would do any monastery proud hangs out of reach. The seating area in the lobby overlooks an inner courtyard that is open to the air, appropriately called Naxal Square. A couple of small water features and some greenery grace the courtyard. There is access from here to the infinity pool above.

 Still on the ground floor, we can find the Kathmandu Baking Company, or KBC. Offering cakes, donuts, cookies, pastries, coffee and juices to take-away or eat-in, this is a welcome addition for anyone who lives locally (aka me). Later when going behind the scenes I learned that the pastry chef at KBC spent many years in the Hyatt in both Kathmandu and Chennai. Next door are several nooks and crannies belonging to the Thamel Kitchen. This promisingly named restaurant offers, as they describe it, authentic multi-cuisine from the interactive kitchen.

 For those who love modern pan- Asian food, Edamane Restaurant upstairs offers live Yakitori ( Japanese skewered meats cooked over charcoal), other Japanese delicacies, and dishes from around Asia. The décor here is particularly intimate and attractive, overlooking the open courtyard. Also with a cosy yet sophisticated feel is the Roxi Music Bar, which has live jazz on the weekends. With an outdoor seating area complete with gentle waterfall, this could be the ultimate chill-out spot. Meantime, for those who prefer a little more action, the gym and pool are at hand. The pool is the standard hotel-size, with a smaller, shallower pool for children. This one contains another water feature: stone lions, the likes seen in the Durbar Squares, stand guardian over the water. The gym is set up, with the spa area coming online soon. Along with hotel guests, the gym, pool and spa will be open to those who wish to become Marriott fitness members.

 Membership is limited so get along soon! I was told they have not decided yet whether the pool will be open to non-members, but it seems likely they will have a Saturday lunch and swim deal. Also for non-Nepali guests a casino will be open around August 2019.

In case you have visiting friends or clients, the almost 200 deluxe and king guestrooms are larger than the norm and fitted with the usual quality furniture and fittings you would expect from the Marriott. Bathrooms are spacious, with separate bathtubs and showers. I found the suite rooms a bit disappointing as with the room divided they take on the appearance of being smaller than they actually are. But for those who like their sitting and sleeping areas separated (by a reversible large flat screen TV) then it’s good. *Plus point: they have two accessible rooms for guests who require a wheelchair or have similar needs.

The huge banquet space, with amazing contemporary chandeliers, and smaller meeting rooms, all with state of the art AV equipment, are available for conferences, meetings and events. If you are thinking of getting married, Shaadi by Marriott is a specialised wedding planning facility, taking care of every detail for your big day.

With a French manager, international management team, Nepali chefs and front-of-house staff, all of whom have served in some of the best hotels around the world, the standard of service is high. Backof- house they have their own staff training facilities as well as motivational murals and posters along the corridors to inspire and educate. Something a lot of hotels in Nepal really should have. With the final touches due to be in place by end of July I certainly intend to be back very soon.

The ‘underground’ music scene of Nepal is dominated by metal and punk bands playing extreme music to small audiences at obscure venues. Seldom do we associate ‘underground’ with electronic music—which is, at best, considered dance music confined to clubs and discos.

 Spektrum, a musical venture initiated by a small group of young music enthusiasts, is working to change that perception. “Electronic music is not necessarily dance music,” says Rishavh Shrestha, one of the founders of Spektrum. “People can just sit down and enjoy the variations electronic music brings to them and chill or lounge about.”

 “The idea came to us after attending electronic music festivals in India,” adds Saroj Joshi, another co-founder of Spektrum. “Back in 2012, we were really impressed by a music producer at an Indian music festival. We invited him to come perform in Nepal and he agreed. It took us a few years to get him here though. But the first ever show we did was a success and from 2018, we started Spektrum to organize more electronic music events.”

 Spektrum celebrated its first anniversary this April. Even in this short time, it has already hosted electronic acts from India such as Tarqeeb, Zokhuma, Su Real, SickFlip, Spryk, Smokey, Madstarbase, EZ riser, Kone Kone and Rafiki. Notably, Spektrum’s events give equal space for local acts to share the stage and create a niche for themselves in the Nepali electronic music scene.

 The music that Spektrum features, however, is noncommercial. It is not the music that is played at clubs and discotheques of Kathmandu and other Nepali cities. The music producers associated with Spektrum create new sounds in the sub-genres of trance, house, techno, drum and bass, and other forms of electronic music. The community they have formed in Nepal is small, but strong.

We’re not doing it for money. If we were, we would’ve shutdown by now

Rishavh Shrestha

 “We’re not doing it for money,” says Rishavh. “If we were, we would’ve shut down by now.” The events that Spektrum organizes are focused on bringing together performers and listeners of electronic music under a single roof. Creating a strong community of people who appreciate non-commercial electronic music and to provide a platform for Nepali creators to share their music is the goal. The funding for their events is arranged through the same, tight-knit community.

 About criticism of their inability to bring in “international” acts instead of just Indian music producers, Saroj replies, “The Indian music scene has developed and is so advanced right now. Why should we look farther when we have a market next door?” It is also about the cost of getting an artist from abroad, Rishavh adds. The Indian electronic music community is supportive of the scene in Nepal. Indian music producers are willing to come to Nepal even for small events and the organizers in India are already creating a space for Nepali artists to perform at their events.

 “Now that we have crossed the one-year mark, we are looking to expand to bigger events and venues,” says Rishavh. “We will include a whole new spectrum of sounds and music, all non-commercial of course.” Spektrum has signed Ranzen and YNZN.P, both prolific music producers of Nepal, for official representation both at home and abroad.  

 In this series, Gurung scrutinizes the changes that he witnessed in Khorla village, perched high in the mountains of Gorkha district, where he was born. Gurung’s paintings display the dilemma of the people stuck between their ethnic tradition and modernity, and still unable to embrace one fully.

 In this series there are 21 sepia-toned and monochromatic oil paintings that give a sense of history, capturing everything from people to musical instruments to kitchen utensils. In spite of the use of a single color, Gurung has managed to give minute details in each of his paintings. They are mostly of women as Gurung feels men have already been completely engulfed by modernization. It is rather the women who are in a dilemma whether to stick to their tradition or embrace westernization.

 In the paintings, women wear fariya and traditional ghalek, but the cholos are replaced by modern t-shirts, padukas are replaced by crocs, madals by box speakers, and the traditional theki by plastic bottles. “I could not capture these moments ten years ago and I regret not being able to do so. But now I don’t want to miss anything because if we can’t capture them now, it will be very difficult for upcoming generations to trace our tradition. It will vanish without a trace,” Gurung says.

 The exhibition at the Siddhartha Art Gallery runs till 9 June 2019, from 11 am to 5 pm.