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Before Mandip Bakhunchhe co-founded Chhalaang, a broadcasting and media production company, his audience knew him as YouTuber SuperMandip.

One of the few content creators in the country when YouTube was relatively new, SuperMandip became a household name among teenagers, winning hearts through the screen with his quick-witted charm and short comedy sketches.

It had all started when he began creating content for a short-form video hosting service, Vine. When the app shut in 2016, he started uploading compilation videos of vines along with a few comedy skits of his own. “I was 16 when I uploaded my first video on the SuperMandip channel,” he tells ApEx. And since then, it’s been a strange journey.

Throughout the years, he has collaborated with popular Nepali content creators such as Sabin Karki and Fun Revolution TV. Since he started his channel in 2016, he has garnered almost 50,000 subscribers and more than 4.3 million views on the video-sharing platform.

While his uploads have dwindled in the last year, SuperMandip is still known for his comedy sketches to satirical skits, and long video series. His Vine compilation videos alone have hundreds of thousands of views.

Mandip has now found his true passion in making short movies. “I have always been in love with filmmaking,” he shares. “I remember watching Spiderman movies as a child and wondering how they were able to create such an iconic masterpiece.”

His love for the movie industry only grew as the years went by and he started making videos on his father’s phone and old cameras. It was this hobby that had led him to create content on Vine and eventually on YouTube.

“Most people know me as a YouTuber. But I want to be known for my movies,” he says.

And that’s exactly what he’s going after right now.

He has penned countless scripts for skits, movies and TV show— while some of it has been converted into videos others haven’t seen the light of day.

These days, Mandip is busy working as the head of production at Chhalaang. But he hasn’t given up his dream of making movies of his own.

He believes that his experience in the company is only fueling his passion. He is constantly surrounded by artists and creators of all kind. And when he’s not working, he’s writing.

He has even found an outlet in poetry. And some of his verses have been transformed into songs. “I’ve been playing guitar for almost a decade now,” he says, talking about how his songs came to be. He was just humming a few songs when he started singing a few of his own lyrics.

“It wasn’t really supposed to be anything, but I played it for a few of my friends and they encouraged me to turn it into a song.” In the last nine months, SuperMandip’s channel has released Afno ta aafu matrai. The song has received half a million views,.

Even though he plans on releasing more of his music work in the future, and has already recorded more than two songs, he doesn’t consider himself a musician. “It’s a hobby more than anything,” he says. “And I truly enjoy the process. But my passion is filmmaking.”

Despite his love for creating content, one could easily see the lack of consistency in his YouTube uploads. When asked about this, he told ApEx that he believes his time as a content creator has come to an end.

“I’m not giving up on YouTube,” he says. “I will be uploading videos every once in a while. But I want to focus more on my career in the movie industry rather than on the YouTube space.”

Even though the online platform has given him much-needed experience and growth, he’s found it difficult to build a career on it, one of his biggest issues being financial compensation. “It’s hard to get sponsors when you are small creator,” he confesses. “And even when you do get paid, it’s irregular.” The last few years have been a wake-up call for him, forcing him to do a reality check on his priorities.

“I believe that everything has a right place and a right time,” he says. “I am grateful for everything that YouTube has given me, but I’m also happy to be known as a former content creator because it’s time to explore newer, larger things.”

According to him, the right delivery to the right audience is what makes a story great. His audience has evolved since the creation of SuperMandip. And since he has a fair share of his stories to tell, he’s now only waiting for the right time to deliver them.

When Sristi KC, signed up for a class during her Masters in Anthropology, she was denied a place. The reason: She was blind and the professor thought it would be difficult to teach her.

This was not the first time that KC, who grew up in the hubbub of Kathmandu’s Baneshwor, faced discrimination because of her blindness.

After completing her School Leaving Certificate Exam, KC applied to a high school to complete her 11th and 12th. But the whole process left her shocked. “Most of the schools were reluctant to admit a blind person,” KC recalls her first encounter in discrimination in academia.

“I remember that a friend had also applied to the same school,” KC says. “We had studied under the same teachers in the same classroom. We even received similar marks in our SLC,” she added. While her friend received a 30 percent discount on her college fees—based on her grades, KC’s application wasn’t even considered.

The situation she found herself in would have been unthinkable for her friends and teachers who, until two years back, knew her school as an outstanding conversationalist and orator—qualities that could help her pursue a career in law.

But her life took an unexpected turn when she lost her eyesight while she was in the 8th grade. She was prescribed a medicine for an eye allergy, however, the use of it went unmonitored and her vision only got worse. As hopes of getting her sight back dwindled with time, KC knew she had no option but to live with it. Determined not to let her life stagnate, she continued with her studies.

Although she couldn’t pursue a career in law, the skills she honed during her school days would come in handy later. KC, who holds a Masters in Anthropology from an international university, founded Blind Rocks!--a non-profit that focuses on improving the lives of blind people in Nepal.

But that’s not the only hat she wears. KC, who infuses energy into young people with her motivational speeches, is already planning to start her own talk show on TV after winning the hearts of millions of viewers through her performance in the reality TV show ‘Dancing With the Stars’.

According to KC, she decided to participate in the show as disability of any kind is hardly ever portrayed in a good light in Nepal. “I wanted to portray my life as something positive,” she tells the ApEX.

Before KC hit the stage with her dance, stage performances by blind people were rare in the country. People were being denied the opportunity just because they were blind, she argues. “When you generalize an entire group with a narrow-minded stereotype, you’re closing the door of opportunities for them. And when you present them in a bad light, the legacy carries on and it’s hard to dismantle it,” she says.

While her accomplishments have required great courage and strength, KC also had her fair share of struggles, the foremost being people’s view towards differently-abled individuals that they always need to prove themselves. “When blind people try to do something for themselves, society thinks ‘they’re trying to prove that they’re capable’,” she adds. “But we must be allowed to exist without having to carry the burden of having to ‘prove something’.”

Many would say the lack of disabled-friendly infrastructure in the country is the main reason why people living with disabilities can’t realize their full potential. But KC doesn’t believe that. She rather points her finger towards people’s mindset. “Yes, the infrastructure in our country isn’t friendly to us,” she says. “But it’s when society views a disabled person as helpless that creates an even bigger obstacle. We are often looked down as beings who are incapable. But the truth is that we’re just as capable as any other human. Our way of contributing to society might differ from the rest, but it is a contribution nonetheless.”

The social activist also brings up the issue of the lack of job opportunities. “Oftentimes, our careers are forced to be based on our disability. It’s instilled in us from a young age,” she confesses.

“When I lost my eyesight, I still wanted to continue dancing. But people told me to quit and opt for music instead. Our options are taken away from us before we even get a chance to try them out.”

KC’s life has taken many turns, but she has navigated through them all with the help of her perseverance. She resolved not to allow anyone else to decide for her. That’s the one piece of advice she has for every young person, “Be in charge, be responsible for your life because no one else will.”

That’s what she had done back at her university. She fought for her place in the class, and when she was denied, she studied the subject anyway, completing it with an A+.

“When I first came to Nepal, I hated it here,” recalls Sunmi Paik, a musician and educator who is now working to enhance music education in Nepal. “I was in transit from Bhutan and got a big cultural shock on arrival.” 

Sunmi, a virtuoso pianist and PhD scholar in education at the Korea National University of Education in South Korea, first came to Nepal on 21 February 2020. She had spent some time in Bhutan as part of her PhD research. Nepal was supposed to be a short transit. Unfortunately, her flight home was delayed for months when South Korea got engulfed in a massive Covid-19 pandemic. 

“I was then forced to stay here for 40 days, and the initial days were really difficult,” Sunmi says. Having traveled to around 30 countries around the world, Sunmi initially found Nepal the least hospitable of them all. Kathmandu was dusty and crowded and people stared at her uncomfortably. Adding to her misery, she also did not have many friends or acquaintances in the country. Coming from the naturally pristine Bhutan, it was a jarring experience. 

Now on her second Nepal trip, Sunmi is a changed person. “Namaste, ma Sunmi Limbu,” she introduces herself as any other Nepali would. Limbu is a surname she’s unofficially adopted as she has been time and again mistaken for a Limbu woman. As for her Nepali skills, she is surprisingly fluent for the relatively short period of time she has spent here, and her conversations are a mix of English and Nepali. 

“I find it easier to speak in Nepal than in English,” Sunmi says. “Learning Nepali was essential to understanding the people and culture here, and I am glad with the progress I have made.” Sunmi has also been learning the local Newa dialect and is confident she will gain some proficiency in the language soon. 

So what changed her mind and made her adopt Nepal as a second home? It was a gradual process, and she realized it when she went back home. During her stay in Nepal, Sunmi had befriended many local musicians, professionals and amateurs alike. The pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns freed many gigging musicians who Sunmi got in touch with, and shared experiences and even collaborated with. She also traveled to Pokhara during her first visit to learn the state of music education there. 

“I kept in touch with Nepali musicians when I returned to Korea. It was then that I realized I was in love with Nepal,” Sunmi says. When Nepal opened its borders post-lockdown, Sunmi went straight to the Nepali Embassy in Seoul and became the first Korean to get a visa to Nepal. She arrived here in January and has since been working to develop music education in the country.

“When in Bhutan, I had a chance to see its systematic and well-developed education system up close. In Nepal, music education is still primitive. As a musician and music educator, how could I ignore this?” she asks. On her second trip, Sunmi started organizing workshops for music teachers as she believes teachers can help bring big changes. “As a single person, I cannot do much. But if I train teachers here, we can together make a big difference.” The free workshops started small but have grown in size.

Music is a secondary or an optional subject in Nepali schools. There are music institutions and schools, but the teachers are not properly trained. Mostly, musicians with skills become teachers. Sunmi wants to instill internationally practiced and proven teaching methodologies in Nepali music teachers to make classes more effective for students. “Many times, the teachers are surprised by my simple yet effective teaching methods,” Sunmi says. “The master-courses I conduct will change teaching and learning processes and definitely produce more music scholars in the future.” 

Nepal’s traditional cultural and caste divides meant only certain communities were allowed to be musicians. But Sunmi believes gradual changes will make music education progressively more palatable in the society. “At least by the time we get old and become grandparents, we’ll see children freely choose to study music as a major subject,” she says. 

In Nepal till June, Sunmi plans to continue giving workshops to music teachers every two weeks. She is also developing music education books and curriculums. Sunmi has been appointed an instructor for Western Classical Music History at Kathmandu University Department of Music. “The university has been very accommodating and has offered me online classes when I go back to Korea,” Sunmi says. “I will also be visiting Nepal every year and make sure I see the changes I am trying to instill.”

There’s something inexplicably addictive about the aroma and taste of biryani. Especially adapted for Nepali palates, biryani today is served in every other restaurant in Kathmandu. For the same, reason picking the right biryani place is easier said than done. Here are five eateries in the valley that won’t let you down.

Tasneem’s Kings Kitchen

With a team of Indian chefs preparing your favorite cuisine, head chef Tasneem Shahani brings to you over 12 varieties of Bombay’s authentic biryanis. Located in Pulchowk, the restaurant offers you unaltered taste of biryani from India.

The cooking of dum biryani is slow, and thus the entire process takes three to four hours. Raw ghosht is tediously cooked in dum in order to bring out all its flavors. Special spices make the dish both aromatic and tasteful. Tasneem’s Kings Kitchen has plenty of options for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food lovers. The menu ranges from regular biryani like chicken, mutton and veg, to chicken tikka biryani, prawn biryani, fish biryani, boneless fish biryani, and egg biryani.

“I have been in this business for over 15 years,” shares Shahani, who’s also the restaurant owner. With her expertise and a strong team of Indian chefs, Tasneem’s King’s Kitchen is here to give you the experience of an authentic Indian biryani.

Service Hours: 11am-9:30pm
Contact: 9801121212
Location: Pulchowk

Bollywood Biryani

Established in 2017, Bollywood Biryani is an Indian restaurant serving biryani recipes from Lucknow. The restaurant’s head chef grew up on halal cuisines, one of which was a biryani, and he wanted to start something similar in Kathmandu. With its menu offering over 10 varieties of biryani—chicken dum, chicken tikka, egg biryani, veg biryani, veg keema biryani, among others—Bollywood Biryani is a popular eatery among Sinamangal locals.

“Our biryani is adapted from Lucknow’s most popular recipes,” shares Prakash Lwagul, the restaurant manager. “We wanted to bring genuine taste and aroma of halal into Nepal.” And with a true Lucknowi cast of characters, the joint has a maintained a regular flow of customers.

One of its most popular biryanis is Special biryani, which is which is topped with tandoori specifically prepared for the dish. The special raita enhances the taste of spices and bring out all the flavors.

Service Hours: 7am-10pm
Contact: 9865992634
Location: Singamangal

Biryani Ghar

Biryani Ghar might have flown under your radar but make no mistake, it’s a place to be reckoned with. The restaurant brings to you secret family recipes based on Awadhi culinary techniques. Most recipes have been prepared by Sasik Iraqi, owner and occasional chef born to an Indian mother and a Nepali father.

Established in December of 2018, Biryani Ghar specializes in Dum Pukht Biryani, also known as slow-cooked biryani. The process of cooking and serving this cuisine ranges from 90 minutes to two hours as raw rice is boiled in chicken broth, whole spices and ground onion. Subtle in spice-combo and sweet and salty in taste, the biryanis come in three different varieties: veg, chicken and mutton. If want more spice, you can easily request red or green chutney to go with the kebab.

So if you’re looking for a new taste in biryani—a blend of Lucknow, Awadhi and Nepalgunj—Biryani Ghar should be your next stop.

Service Hours: 11am-8:30pm
Contact: 9801915895
Location: Gairidhara

Biryani Moments

Bringing you one of the largest menus in the city is Biryani Moments with its 20 varieties of biryani, ranging from regular chicken and mutton versions to Chicken Sufiyani, Mutton Zafrani Shahi Biryani, Chicken Sufiyani Shahi, Premium Veg, and many more. Biryani Moments only does deliveries and takeaways and the amount of food you order depends on your order, which may be one of three kinds: one serving, two servings and family pack (four servings).

One serving is usually packed in aluminum foil while more than one comes in clay pots. Each serving comes with raita, chutney and green salad slices. The restaurant is one of the few that offer substantial biryani options for both vegetarians and non-vegetarian food lovers.

Service Hours: Open 24 hours
Contact: 01-5906111

Biryani Adda

Established right before the 2020 lockdown, the future of Biryani Adda seemed uncertain for a while. But owners Nabaraj Karki, Rajan Khanal and Rabin Pandey pushed through, offering home deliveries and takeaways from their restaurant. And today, Biryani Adda is already one of the established names.

True to its name, the restaurant offers six varieties of biryanis—veg, chicken, mutton, prawn, fish and its Special biryani. The Special is flavored with akbare and served with a unique mango chutney. All varieties come in a clay matka, with a bowl of raita and papads on the side. The restaurant’s rice is imported and it specializes in the Hyderabadi herbs. Most customers order chicken and mutton biryani but the Special one is the beloved of regular visitors.

“Our rice isn’t over-spiced or thoroughly dipped in oil; we believe in serving authentic food,” co-owner Nabaraj Karki tells ApEx. “We’ve also tweaked the original recipes to tailor the cuisine to Nepali taste.” The restaurant has branches in both Baneswor and Chandol.

Service Hours: 9am-8:45pm
Contact: 01-4425261
Location: Baneswor, Chandol