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During the selection of students for various undergraduate programs at Thames International College, a student on a wheelchair applied. Although she was on the wheelchair temporarily to recover from an accident, it was my first experience, as an administrator, with an applicant with disability. It made me reflect on various ways of accommodating her in our college. This encounter with a potential student jolted me into exploring the issue of inclusion within educational spaces in Nepal.

We live and work in a society that comprises of people with disabilities. So, knowing the ways to live and work with them in harmony is good for everyone involved and the only way towards a just society. In an educational context, being inclusive of persons with disabilities could involve accepting them as an integral part of the classroom as a student, a colleague, as facilitators and as administrators and supporting them when and where needed.

Building inclusive classrooms can be an important step towards educational integration of persons with disabilities, yet there are several other challenges which need to be addressed for them to access such inclusive classrooms. One prominent challenge, among many, is commuting to these classrooms. Reflecting merely on this aspect gives us an idea of the myriad challenges persons with disabilities face in everyday lives.

Persons with disability and with means might be brought to educational spaces and taken back home by others, yet they have limited mobility and are dependent on the others for their commute. Those who can afford disability-friendly vehicles also struggle with many public spaces. I recall an incident in the recent past where wheelchair users demolished a new pavement in Jorpati, close to the office of the Nepal Disability Association, for not being disability-friendly.

Those relying on public transport might be the most marginalized group in terms of mobility. Several surveys note that persons with disability experienced feeling unwelcome and even harassed in public transport. Such difficult experiences intensify the struggles of people with disabilities to even reach educational spaces. Although Nepal has several policies and legislations on ensuring that persons with disabilities have access to transport, these intended policies have not been able to significantly help people in everyday lives. Like many other well-intended policies, they suffer from inadequate implementation, enforcement and failure of the state-machinery to follow up with plans.

Providing access to and including persons with disabilities in classrooms are representative of the numerous steps that need to be taken to support them in their everyday lives. The larger question is: how can we integrate people with disability in everyday lives in Nepal?

The first and an important response that we can as individuals and a society offer is to not overlook their abilities because of their disability, or generalize their abilities based on their disability, or discriminate them for their disability in all spheres of life. The next step could involve being inclusive of persons with disabilities in public and private spaces. For example, helping them in public transport, asking if you can help them—but not unilaterally deciding that they need help and jumping in to help, which could be disempowering for them—would facilitate their integration in public spaces.

At a macro level, ensuring the implementation of inclusive policies and affirmative action for people with disabilities would be necessary. Many countries have worked towards such inclusive societies and Norway has exemplified inclusive classrooms where students with different abilities are integrated in regular classrooms and not in isolated ‘special’ ones. They have proven such inclusion adds value to learning in general by promoting sensitivity towards others and building everyone’s capacity to work amid diversity in classroom as well as at work—a skill highly desired in spheres of education and employment.

It is necessary and it is high time for educational policies to explicitly prioritize, discuss and guide inclusion of persons with disability. In November 2019, a new National Education Policy was approved by the Council of Ministers. This policy envisions educated, civilized, healthy and capable human resource, social justice, transformation and prosperity and promises each citizen’s access to compulsory and free basic education. Inclusive policies are a good start towards an inclusive education and only time will show how the nation traverses this long journey of uptake of the policy into making inclusive classrooms a shared reality. 

The author worked as a faculty and administrator at Thames International College, Kathmandu from 2010-18. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Work at Boston College, USA

The song “Asar Saunko” from the early 2000s, which was played on repeat on television and radio stations at the time, defines the music of the Seasons band. Their music, according to band members, is ever-changing and ever-evolving, as the genres they blend never stay the same. Formed in 1995 by a group of young boys in Hetauda, the band was one of the most popular in the noughties, with songs that catered to all age and social groups.

The band started with playing in social events in the small town of Hetaunda in the early 90s. But as they matured as a band, they decided to make a definite contribution to the Nepali music industry. Seasons released their debut album “Khyal Khyalaima” in 2000 and followed it quickly with “Seasons” in 2001. With both the albums seeing commercial success and the band touring all over the country with their music, they released “7*3=21” in 2004. By that time, Seasons had become one of the most popular bands in the country with hits like “Suneko Kura” and “Raato Maato”.

Now, after a hiatus of almost 16 years, Seasons plans a comeback with the original line-up of Sujil Karmacharya on lead guitars and vocals, Shailendra Pradhan on keys and vocals, Chandra Lama on drums and vocals, Sanjay Shrestha on bass, and Gyanendra Pradhan on guitars and vocals—all under the management of Stereo Records.

So what is Seasons bringing to the table after such a long break, a time during which the Nepali music industry evolved extensively? Besides, many young listeners know nothing of the band’s laurels. “Our music will now focus on the society and spirituality,” says Sujil, the 40-years-old frontman. “I think we need musicians who can promote spirituality. It’s much needed.”

Sujit, a highly spiritual person himself, wants to use his experience in spiritualism to make music. “Spirituality has changed my way of life and even made me more productive,” says Sujil, who is now an ardent follower of ISCKON. Even while the band was in hibernation, Sujil had continued to do background scores for Nepali movies. In fact, Sujil is still one of the most sought after score composers in the industry. “I had a hectic life. There was so much work and it took me more than a month, working 18 hours a day, to complete a project. But now I spend much time with my kid and work just for 4 to 5 hours daily, and still complete similar projects in under a month. That’s how efficient spiritualism has made me.”

The big challenge, Sushil says, will be to get all band members to the same level of musicianship. When the band started back in the 90s there was no internet and only limited resources, the learning curve in music was high and despite their great zeal, they could only do so much. In 2020, the level of musicianship has increased several-fold. The bands that have tried to make a comeback after a long break have struggled. “Our band members are practicing more and taking music classes,” Sujil says. “But I still feel there’s a long way to go.”

That’s why the band has named their upcoming album “Seasons: The New beginning.” “It’s really a new beginning for the band and the music they want to produce,” says Ashish Parajuli, the managing director of Stereo Records. “The band members are not concerned about publicity and getting famous. But as I see much potential in their music I asked them to regroup and start making music again.”

Seasons have already released their songs “Bhanchan Narayana” and “Ko Nepali Ho” in the lead-up to their album launch, the date for which is yet to be finalized. The new songs are already creating a buzz and if things go well, the band will also start performing live in the near future.+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-----

Guitars—electric, acoustic, or semi-acoustic—look simple enough. What in them would call for regular repairs and maintenance, right? For the uninitiated, it’s really just wood with some steel and strings tied at two ends. But anyone who has ever taken up the instrument seriously can tell you about the enormous effort needed to keep them functioning well. In fact, all guitars come with this constant need for repair and servicing, which, if not done on time, could permanently damage the instrument.

This is where 32-year-old Sumit Suwal steps in. Sumit restores guitars that have been worn with time and use and he’s most likely the only full-time guitar luthier specializing in repairs in the country. No wonder his skills have gotten him a clientele ranging from amateurs to professionals from all over the country.

“This is the house I was born and brought up in,” Sumit introduces his old house in Dallu where a room has been set aside for his “SuMeet Guitar Restoration” workshop. The room’s filled with guitars, new and old, some for easy re-stringing, others for not-so-easy repairs. “I wanted the name to sound like Su-Meet, meaning a good friend,” he says, explaining the name of his workplace. “I have been helped by many friends and well-wishers in life and I want to be a good friend to everyone.”

As Sumit continues with his life story, he recalls the sad bit when, aged four, a case of meningitis caused the doctors to amputate both his legs. Although he doesn’t remember much from the time, he does recall having to stay home for a long time. Even as he grew up, his mobility was limited. “I didn’t think about it much then but now I think all that happened so that I could be at this place, doing what I am doing right now,” Sumit says.

Lack of mobility confined Sumit to his home most days and he was forced to find indoor hobbies to keep himself occupied. That’s when he cut out a guitar-like shape on plywood and strung it with rubber bands to craft a guitar for himself. His father, on seeing his 8-year-old son so interested in the instrument, got him a real guitar. Sumit then started exploring music and in time learned to sing and play guitar and keyboards, even competing in interschool music competitions and winning awards later in life.

With a guitar in hand and a circle of musicians around him, Sumit did small repairs on his friends’ guitars for pocket money. A friend got him a battered Telecaster guitar from Japan and restoring it gave much repair experience. Also, around 2008, when he had bought a Chinese copy of a guitar and took it to Deep Music at New Road to get it repaired, Deepak Tandukar, the owner and one of the pioneers of guitar repairs in the country, encouraged Sumit to try to repair it by himself. “Deepak dai inspired me a lot,” he says. “He even lent me tools and offered to help whenever he could. He even sent me repair jobs that came to him. I am very thankful to him.”

Sumit started his restoration workshop at his home in 2014 and quickly became one of the most sought after luthiers. Now some of the most famous names of the Nepali music industry visit his workshop, which is so busy at times that he has also hired an assistant to help him.

But is guitar repairs enough to earn a living? “Well, I’ve been managing to meet my wife’s demands with this,” Sumit says with a laugh. “On a serious note, I am thinking of expanding and am also giving lessons to those who want to join the profession. There’s room for more”.

This photo feature is the outcome of the five-day intensive startup workshop organized by acclaimed photographers and educators Philip Blenkinsop and Christopher Morris on February 17-21.

A total of 18 photography students from Norway, China, Bangladesh and Nepal had gathered in Kathmandu for the International Storytelling Workshop 2020. As part of the curriculum, all 18 students roamed the streets of Kathmandu, taking pictures for the special workshop.

This is a 40-day advanced visual storytelling workshop for advanced level photography and photojournalism students and professionals.

This exchange program is divided into three parts: a five-day start-up photography workshop, fieldwork, and the editing workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Organized with the collaboration of the Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway), Pathshala South Asian Media Academy (Bangladesh), VII Academy (the US), and photo.circle (Nepal), the program opens up a unique space for young photographers to learn and practice under close mentorship.