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It is not strange to see a popular Nepali singer take the stage with a backing track, and without a band. Then there are other young singers who, accompanied by a single acoustic guitar and a loop station, perform for the audience, eliminating the need for musicians to back them up. As lucrative as this may be for individual singers, the audience may then miss out on power-packed perfor­mance of a real band onstage. Musicians will suffer. But who cares so long as the singers are making money? A singer who does is Kengal Meher Shrestha, popularly known as “Kenny” among her friends and followers. A top contestant of the first Nepal Idol, Kengal became a house­hold name through the reality show, thanks to her energetic stage performance and pow­erful vocals. Her claim to fame came from her ability to rec­reate unforgettable versions of famous Nepali songs in her live performances, and she sure was able to cash in on the popularity by travelling the world on concert tours with her fellow contestants.

But Kengal wants the world to know that doing covers on music tracks is not her thing. She now wants to continue something she had been doing before reality TV made her popular—be part of a band again. Thus the formation of Type III with former band members and close friends Carey Maharjan on drums, Sunny Raj Shrestha on guitars and Laxu Prajapati on bass.

“I was more into perform­ing with a band ever since I started singing, and much before Nepal Idol happened. I used to perform with Carey, Sunny and other members,” Kengal says. “I know how hard we worked together to make good music in the initial days and there is always a senti­mental attachment between the members. We are like a family.” Kengal, Sunny and Carey, all in their mid-20s, go back to 2011 when they were trying to enter the music scene and looking for like-minded musicians to collaborate.

The road to band-formation has not been easy for Ken­gal though. “My image as a solo singer definitely doesn’t help. It has been difficult to promote the band only by its name,” says Kengal, who doesn’t want to prefix the band with her name unlike many other popular singers. Being a part of a new act with­out using her already popular name is obviously a challenge.

Type III is working on its original music and is ready to hit the studios with a few singles

But despite the challenges of putting together musicians from different backgrounds, petty arguments, and man­aging time for compositions and rehearsals, Type III members believe sheer love of music and team spirit will pull them through. Type III is just a name, the members say, and they chose it because it had a nice ring to it. They define their music as alterna­tive rock, highly influenced by the American female-fronted band Evanescence. Type III is working on its original music and is ready to hit the studios with a few singles and even­tually an album. It is also per­forming live at every oppor­tunity it gets and definitely wowing the audience.

Type III also featured in The Annapurna Express Music Fest on Feb 9 at Tangalwood, Kathmandu where the band impressed one and all with its heavy sounds and tight per­formance. There are still only a handful of female-fronted rock bands in the country. Therein lies great potential for Type III.

 The El Mediterraneo restaurant and tapas bar at Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur has been in operation since 2012 and claims to be the first Spanish restaurant in Kathmandu, and probably the only one thus far. The quaint little premise of the El Mediterraneo is right on the main road from Pulchowk to Sanepa and is a hub for Spanish food lovers, or anyone who wants to try new cuisines. The normal tapas menu at El Mediterraneo fea­tures Gazpacho, Patata Brava, Bomba Patata, Solomillo a la plancha and other Spanish delicacies while the main course has a wide range of pastas and rice dishes. (Don’t get intimidated by the names though, the menu at El Mediterraneo does have English translations and details of all the food items it serves.)

 THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Risotto

- Jamon Serrano Y Pan Con Tomate

- Grilled Prawns

Opening hours: 12:30 - 9 pm

Location: Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur

Cards: Accepted

Meal for 2: Rs 2,500

Reservations: 01-5527059

The Weeping Banyan is an exhibition of 10 artworks by American Visual Artist Maureen Drdak, a Fulbright scholar pursuing her fellow­ship in Nepal. Seven of her artworks employ lapis lazuli (a gem) and palladium and blend them with graphite draw­ings. The other three employ a more complicated combi­nation of copper repousse metal integrated with paint­ing, ‘a material synthesis’ pioneered through her study with Master Rabindra Shakya of Patan.

At first, one could be bewil­dered trying to decipher the meaning behind the art­works. But on introspection, what appears to be a random stroke of brushes gradually make sense.

The exhibition is a “visual meditation on environmental degradation” inspired by a banyan tree Maureen saw in the nearby Kalikasthan. Con­strained from growing into its natural form, the tree’s roots became hanging appendage of tree mass. Maureen drew a parallel with Kathmandu’s development and its spite for nature. The result: the Weep­ing Banyan.

The exhibit at the Contem­porary Art Gallery, Taragaon Museum, runs through Feb 24.

1. Icy roads and deep snow made the two-day walk to Humde tough, but it added to the alpine spirit of the adventure.

2. Even when the participants got snowed out on their last day of climbing, organizers found other ways to keep the stoke high with other activities. Bishnu Tamang hangs from ice tools in a pull-up contest.

3. Saman Shrestha demonstrates a good stance as he cruises up his second ice climb.

4. Pasang Rinzee Sherpa checks out a route that Prem Gurung and his team, Anup Gurung and Vinayak Jaya Malla, established four years ago.

5. Rewat Tuladhar takes a swing at fresh ice.

6. IFMGA guide Prem Gurung coaches new ice climbers while advanced climbers explored the other lines Gurung and his team established nearby. Nima Samdup Gurung (left) learns to swing an ice tool.