On The Road With Sarwanam
Rupendehi. Taulihawa. Kawasoti. Tansen (beautiful Tansen!). Until recently, a string of pretty names on a sheet of paper: stops on a grand tour across Nepal by Sarwanam, the country’s best-known theatre group. They’ve been travelling and performing on the streets. This time, the focus is on women in the peace process. Guess who’s been getting...
Belated Post-Tihar Post II
We called him Tihar. He showed up as we left New Orleans Cafe on Kathmandu’s glittering-iest weekend and decided to walk us home. Too well-behaved for a stray, we thought he must belong to one of the many expat families living nearby. No one we asked seemed to know where he came from though. And...
A Very Belated Post-Tihar Post
The final day of Tihar is a time for sisters to bless their brothers. Men without the requisite sibling can easily find a temporary one. This is a day for extra large tikas. Seven-coloured works of art, to be precise. Rice paste, dye, and a few expert strokes… … and viola, a new brother, blessed....
And There Was Light
Our neighbours have been singing all weekend. Singing and dancing and drumming and singing some more. At night, the entire neighbourhood glows. Lit by a wuzillion candles and fairy lights. There are fireworks and sparklers. The ground, strewn with flowers. Crows are offered plates of food. Dogs run around with garlands on their necks. The...
So Here’s The Good News
1. The awful pain in the neck is nearly gone now. Down to a teeny lump. The doctor here made suitably sympathetic noises, said the folks in Kathmandu did a great job treating the infection and dispensed yet more pills. 2. NHK is buying Aki Ra’s Boys – one of just three films picked from...
Pain In The Neck
So we’ve been missing for a while. Blame it on a royal pain in the neck, that developed into an infection of the lymph nodes, that spread to the surrounding muscles, that then triggered a fainting fit at Tribhuvan Airport, right before our flight home. Stumbling around Kathmandu looking for an ENT specialist wasn’t all...
Two Days After
The truth is, no one really knows what’s going on. There are rumours aplenty. Conspiracy theories abound. Police say they’re on a massive manhunt. Arrests. Detentions. Howls of angry protests. Some never-before-heard-of groups have stepped up to say, “Look at meeeee! I did it!” But why?
We Interrupt Your Weekend…
Three bombs went off in Kathmandu today. We were barely, barely aware anything was wrong. A traffic jam in the downtown area. Tonnes of police on the streets. You’d think it was just another protest. Another political party making its point. But no. Two people are dead. 21 injured. No one’s panicking, at least not...
