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Kathmandu is soon going to witness its own version of the global ‘Come Together’ music festival, to be held for one whole week, from Nov 17-25. Six international acts will be joining a number of local Nepali bands at different venues to celebrate the festival.

In its first year, the goal is to bring musicians from around the world to Kathmandu and raise money for projects that The Active Community (the organizers) are involved in. They plan to make it an annual event.

JJ Empower has been the man on the ground in Nepal sourcing bands and venues for this international festival to come to Kathmandu and his band Kazukij will be launching their new album at the festival as well.

The Come Together festivals are already operating in Brixton, London and in Noosa, Australia and will soon be set up in Peru for the Amazon Come Together, which will also include breaking the world record for the longest performance: 65 hours non-stop.

The Active Community have broken the world record for the ‘highest concert’ on Mera Peak in Solukhumbu and raised money to build a shelter for girls in Dhulikhel with their partners Help Nepal.

They hope to use the event to lure more tourists to Nepal to help rebuild the economy. The ultimate goal is to establish it as one of the major music events in all of Asia.

 For more information go to the Facebook page- Kathmandu Come Together or visit:

http://www.theactivecommunity.org/festivals/kathmandu-music-festival/

The Republic Monument, being built on the eastern side of Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu, was supposed to be up and running by December 2016. Yet the project initiated in December 2012 by the then Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is still in limbo.

The Republic Monument is a circular metal structure supported by four stone pillars, each 4.7 meters in height. At the center of the circular structure atop the pillars is a map of Nepal. The four stone pillars are dedicated to those who sacrificed their lives, or sustained injuries, during the 2006 ‘people’s movement’ that ultimately removed monarchy and heralded a republic. Accompanying the monument is a mega hall to accommodate up to 300 people and which will be used during various commemorative functions.

Being built by the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction under the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, construction had first come to a halt in 2015 due to the shortage of building material during the earthquake and the subsequent blockade. After that, construction resumed and the department promised everything would be ready by the Republic Day on May 28, 2017. Yet it is still incomplete.

In 2015, the department had reported that “80 percent work” had been done. By 2017, “85 percent” had been completed. Now, says handra Shekhar Mahto, an engineer with the department, “95 percent” is complete. “We are in the final phase. Work on the main building and garden landscaping is finished. We are now giving final touches,” he says. 

Macha Kaji Maharjan, senior division engineer at the department, says, “Now we are in the process of handing over the monument to the government. As we have to work with different government bodies, we cannot say for certain when it will be open for the public.”

 Mahto reveals that the monument is spread over 191,660 square feet of land and till now Rs 420 million has already been spent on it. “We need another five million to complete the whole thing,” he says.

Maharjan says that after the monument is complete the government is thinking about revising the fee structure for entering the

 Narayanhiti Palace. The joint entry ticket would then allow visitors a tour of both the Narayanhiti Palace as well as the Republic Monument. Mahto informs that as the Republic Monument was conceived of as a quiet place, there will be no eateries or curio shops around.

What happens when the monument is handed over to the government? “We are still in the process of deciding who will look after it after the handover,” Maharjan informs.

Phosphene: A phenomenon characterized by the experi­ence of seeing light without light actually being presentSomehow I kept hearing sound bites of the Phosphenes at various venues around town. But I had never been able to catch their whole set until recently. Having seen some­thing about them I was not sur­prised, unlike my friend who joined me, when the audience sat down on the floor in front of the stage ready to enjoy the night. “Why are they sitting?” my friend asked. I feel she thought she was coming to see a rock cover band. Well the Phosphenes are far from that, which is why I want­ed to find out more about the four young people and their music.

It turns out it is not as easy as you might think to pin down their style! “We listen to different art­ists and get inspired—we are jazzy but not exactly jazz, more jazz/pop kind of. We are experimenting with different genres—electronic, indie, psychedelic,” explains Abhishek Pokhrel (vocals and guitar). “We used to define ourselves as an indie band, but if we have to describe ourselves today we would say we are more experimental singer/song­writer stuff,’ says Karna (guitar and electronics).

“Not exactly,” chimes in Pokhrel, “our inspiration comes from the Beatles because they went through many genres and that is what we are doing: exploring. That’s how we are learning. Aside from the Beatles our influences are Damien Rice and Nick Drake, among others. Possibly because we all come from different streams of music. Mine is classical, Prajwal (Aryal, vocal and guitar) is from a metal band…”

“And I don’t have any formal music education. I have just been playing for a long time through what I see and hear,” laughs Karna. And so the conversation continued, but two things they all did agree on: that music comes from the heart. And the fact that writing in English is easier than writing in Nepali.

So why is that? “We grew up listen­ing to English so we are more famil­iar with that language, even although we talk in Nepali to each other,” says Pokhrel. “We are picky about finding the right word in Nepali,” continues Supriya Moktan, vocals and key­board. “We are being asked to write in Nepali, because that is needed to market our music to the Nepali audience. I have been pushing them (Aryal and Pokhrel) to write Nepali songs so we can then travel round Nepal and maybe also attract the overseas diaspora. Within Nepal, it’s easier to market Nepali songs than English ones,” explains Karna. “But everyone can connect with our songs because of the fact they are in English,” comments Pokhrel. “Yes, we tried to write in Nepali but it didn’t work,” laughs Moktan. Again a gentle, light-hearted disagreement takes place.

I asked if, at the moment, they had any regular gigs. I was told that their music is considered a bit too ‘different’ by venue owners. They feel venues place less value on orig­inal music than on covers. Having been together in the current format since 2016, the Phosphenes, along with a small group of upcoming bands, such as Kta Haru and Pahenlo Batti Muni, are now taking matters into their own hands, and are start­ing a movement towards original music. Something is in the air—per­haps some unique gigs with these bands to counter what they feel is an unhealthy market, against bands who play originals. Until then, what they wish for is that venue owners realise how much work goes into song writing and up their appreci­ation. Much like that of their audi­ence, the core of whom are long term fans who have been very supportive of the band since the beginning. In short, this is definitely a band worth watching. Preferably live.

The Phosphenes’ music can also be found on iTunes, Spotify and YouTube.

The expulsion of a Nepali stu­dent from an American college for allegedly possessing fire­arms and threatening to open fire at a poetry event has sparked heated exchanges, both for and against him, in the social media. Supragya Rijal, 21, who hails from the eastern city of Biratnagar, was the subject of legal and institution­al action, following an incident at Colby Sawyer College in New Hampshire. Legal charges have been pressed against Rijal.

The incident revolves around a dinner conversation between Rijal and another student at the college, identified by news reports as Hunter Fitzsimmons. Rijal claims that the conversation was about possession of a firearm by Rijal’s grandfather during his hunting days, back in Nepal. Reports have suggested that Rijal may have told Fitzsimmons, “My grandfather used to hunt, back in Nepal, and he taught me how to shoot guns. I am very good at it.”

The other student regarded that as a legitimate security threat, asserting that Rijal was “planning to shoot people at an upcoming poet­ry event”. Reports have suggested that Rijal said he “had a gun and a permit” and “no one at the school could do anything about it”. Fitzsim­mons then reported the incident to campus security, which forwarded the claims to the local law enforce­ment authority, the New London Police Department (NLPD). Rijal was arrested on October 3.

“He misinterpreted the entire con­versation and understood some­thing completely different,” Rijal told APEX. Rijal accepts that he did plan to attend the poetry event but has denied allegations of planning to incite violence. He declined to comment on other specifics.

Rijal was held in the local county jail for two days, after he, as well as his dorm room, was subjected to a thorough search by local law enforcement authorities. It is not clear if they found any incrimi­nating evidence. Rijal says he was released after that due to “personal recognizance”, asserting that he had received “character references” from other peers and faculty at the institution.

In light of the legal action against Rijal, Colby Sawyer College decided to expel him based on “security con­cerns”, and due to his previous his­tory of “drinking and assault”. Rijal has denied these allegations, stating, “The campus safety report about my prior violation at Colby-Saw­yer as assault is completely false. I have never been a part of any kind of assault”. The campus security department did not respond to our request for comment.

Rijal says his arrest was followed by an email sent to the entire stu­dent body, informing them about the dinner conversation.

When questioned about his own­ership of a firearm, Rijal said, “I have never had a gun or a gun license for a firearm in the United States.” Rijal would not be able to possess a firearm legally in the United States. He has stated that the dinner con­versation was entirely centered on his grandfather’s possession of a firearm back in Nepal.

Colby Sawyer College has also declined to comment on specifics, owing to its student privacy poli­cies. Kate Seamans, senior director of communications, responded to an email request for comment by APEX, stating: “Because of student confidentiality laws and policies, Colby-Sawyer cannot disclose any details regarding the circumstances surrounding any student’s standing with the college… It also seeks to balance the needs and the rights of the individual with the welfare of the community.”

Rijal has vociferously claimed his innocence and has repeatedly stated that charges against him will very soon be dropped. He has also said that he will appeal against the col­lege decision, hoping to be reinstat­ed to the student body.

Colby Sawyer College has provid­ed assurance that all claims will be handled in a professional manner, citing the possibility of appealing the investigation’s decision. The department of communications for Colby Sawyer College has offered this statement on Rijal’s possible appeal: “Students who are found to be responsible for violating the college’s Code of Conduct receive penalties which are based on the nature of the violation.” And, “All appeals are heard by an Appellate Board that is comprised of at least three board members who were not involved in the investigation or prior parts of the hearing process.”

Rijal can appeal only if he is acquitted of all charges, or charges against him are dropped by the pros­ecutors at the Merrimack Superior Court in Concord. Regarding the possibility of acquittal or dropping of charges, Rijal has said, “There is a high chance that they will be dropped soon”. But if Rijal is con­victed, he faces the possibility of deportation. He could be also be deported even if his expulsion isn’t revoked, as he needs to be part of an institution to continue to be eligible for his F1 student visa.

A complete detailed report of the incident is likely to emerge only after due process, both legal and institutional, is completed.