Life on Sale; Death is Free

How do you feel when your beloved is taken from you? How do you feel when your roof is taken from you? How do you feel when what belongs to you is taken from you? How do you feel when everything in this world is standing against you? And how do you feel when even your tears leave you; the sorrow and frustrations resides in you? Suicide, it is the easy way out for all the problems that’s killing you alive. When life seems hard to live, death seems easy to face. Today, suicide is very popular among the lower economic citizens who are facing threaten of sustaining life day by day. Every other day there is news of suicide or death due to poor economic condition.

 A 25 year old Ramita Chaudhary of Bara killed her two innocent children and committed suicide in 18^th March 2012. She was having hard time managing money for different household purposes and she even had a debt to be paid with her neighbors. She couldn’t even sum up Rs.130 for the children’s fund that was established by the women of village for the education of children. Therefore, she was suffering mentally due to such financial problems and the condition of family. At such moment, killing the children and committing suicide was much easier for her than to face all these problems. She strangled her 3 year old son Kundan and eight month old daughter Sugandha to death, and then hung herself. The heart of mother had to lose in front of cruelty of time and money. It was poverty that led her towards such wickedness.

Poverty has compelled many other families to suicide. In February 2011, Dal Bahadur Oli’s entire family committed suicide because of very obvious reason that is abject poverty. 27 year old daughter of Oli was suffering from epilepsy and the family didn’t have money for her treatment. Hence life became expensive for them and the death was the only thing that they can afford. On the same year, in month of July, Shibhati Chaudhary of Rautahat convinced her three children aged- 11, 9 and 5 to commit suicide with her by jumping into the Bagmati River. The mother survived but fortunately or unfortunately, all of the three children died. It was not mother who asked her children to commit suicide but it was poverty.

Not only suicides, there are also other various cases of death due to poverty. A 9 year old boy Samundra Pariyar is suffering from hydrocephalous (an increase of cerebrospinal fluid around the brain) which is can be cure only by operation otherwise the child can hardly live a year. Lot of money has been spent over his treatment and again two lakh is required for his operation.  His family is already under a huge debt and again his life asks for another 2 lakh for his survival. If only they can sum up Rs.2 lakh, the life of this child will be saved but who will help this family? Will the so-called lawmakers who was about to give 2 crore for son of Prachanda in order to climb Mt. Everest; provide 2 lakh for the survival of Samundra? The answers to these questions are silent. The conditions of people are not acknowledged by these lawmakers. Children are getting kidnapped then killed for the money; people are getting robbed that is again for the money. These crimes are the means of getting out of poverty that’s why the rates of crime are increasing alarmingly. Either by killing others or killing oneself, people tends to get rid of poverty. They obviously have no other way out when leaders turn their deaf ear and blind eye towards such scenario.

A mother has become a murderer of her own dear children, today. A child is dying because he cannot pay for his treatment. A mother lets her children jump into the river and let them die. People are killing each other for the survival. Why? A sole reason: Money. Rich people are murdered because they have lots of money while poor people are committing suicide or murdering others because they don’t have enough money for their survival. In every corner of this world people are dying if not physically then mentally, just because of this destitution. Hence, we can draw a conclusion that in today’s materialistic world, life is always on a sale but death is free.

Pictorial Photokipa- 2012

While a line leads to the Fun park on the other side, a huge crowd is on this side to experience the first ever photography expo in Nepal. Huge pictures of various historical places, by the entrance welcome the visitors. People are taking pictures with those pictures as the backdrop and the crowd constitutes inestimable number of people. 

This is the scenario of Photokipa 2012 that took place in Bhrikuti Mandap for three consecutive days starting from the Nepali New Year 2069. The main motto of this expo was to show the development of photography from the yester years to till date and also to feature new forms of technology related to photography. The event was exclusively based on the photography. Huge crowd with aspiring photographers and valley locals filled the hall. It seemed as if whole valley had come to observe this mega event.

There were altogether 60 stalls with varied information regarding photography. Every stall had their unique style of presentation and their unique lot of information. There were beautiful pictures clicked by professional photographers as well as amateurs. A huge mock camera back from Elizabethan period greeted the visitors as they entered the hall with their tickets. Before the age of digitalization of camera and development of Photoshop, the size of the picture depended upon the size of a camera. In order to click huge pictures, they needed huge cameras. Such huge cameras (also placed in expo) were made in England during the Elizabethan period as per the wish of Queen Elizabeth to click the picture of a train. As for photography one requires various equipments apart from camera like: flashlight, exposure meter, and so on, advertisements and information about these things were also presented in some of the stalls.

The most interesting stall was that of Madan Babu Museum, also the first stall that visitors visited. It was from the museum of vintage cameras which were collected by Madan Babu. This stall displayed the cameras from history to till date.  The collector’s presentation of first historical camera and of development of those cameras was really remarkable. Similarly, the stall named ‘I am also a Photographer’ comprised the photographs clicked by different celebrities of Nepal like: Rajesh Hamal, Nima Rumba, Gopal Kashyapati and many more. The pictures were really good and eye-catching. Most of the pictures were of different beautiful scenes from our country. There were also stalls that consisted of photographs clicked by professional photographers. Most of them were at the far side of the hall. Those pictures were really easy on the eye. They were different or let’s say rather vibrant, and beautifully clicked. The reflected picture of the Krishna Mandir and shadowed picture of a temple were one of the best pictures hung over there. These pictures were presented in the event by the School of Creative Communication. Every picture has its own story and this was well-portrayed by Photo circle through different pictures from different times. The story of people in the picture was narrated under the picture. This stall was named as History begins at home. It was very fascinating and some stories were funny as well. There was another stall known as Old is Gold. This stall showcased pictures of beautiful temples and places of the valley before a century. Those classic pictures were really capable of touching the hearts of visitors. The collection was just so excellent. As the event was wholesomely about photography, the organizing team didn’t forget to remember the Legends of Photography. Creative D, itself presented the photos of legendary photographers of the country:  Gopal Chitrakar, Tri Ratna Manandhar and many more through their stall. There was also a digital art showcased in one of the cubicle. It was just so magnificent. One of those digital arts was even published in Naari Magazine during Dashain. It was picture of Goddess Durga attired in Nepali national dress. The artist behind this art was Jaya Sharma.

Social organizations also participated in this event. Traffic police demonstrated the photos of rule violators for example triple load in a bike is in itself a very risky ride but there were pictures of riders with five people in a single bike. Traffic police used mocking captions in those pictures to aware people about such dangers. There were pictures of many such nuisance makers which were quite funny but yet informative. There was information regarding nature photography as well and it was given by Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN). The stall imitated the wild scenario that gave the look of nature and wild. People were clicking pictures in that scenario. There were also the pictures of wild animals, insects and plants. Nature-lovers must have loved it.

There were also some profit making stalls that advertised their goods to lure the visitors towards their shop through the stall. The flashlight and other light equipments was presented by Elenchrom, the Indian company. Digital flex printing machine was also advertised right beside the Madan Babu museum. Samsung Galaxy tab showed their latest gadgets and must have been able to do the good marketing among that huge crowd and there was also the video cameras of Sony that got the attention. Apart from this, there were Grand Bank and Everest Insurance with their respective schemes of marketing. Grand Bank put forth a scheme that confirmed if you need to buy an camera and you need a loan then they would provide you with it but you need recommendation from few renowned photographers. Similarly, Everest Insurance provides insurance to the camera as you see, the cost of camera and its repairmen cost is reaching its height. There was also a cubicle of Eclipse animation. It was about the animating cartoons and the courses related to learn the animation. There were also stalls of Nikon, Canon, Foto Hollywood, and Oliz Store.

Apart from stalls and advertisements, there were also various programs on the main stage. At the very first day of the event, the organizing team was acknowledged and appreciated for their work and there was a live performance from Saptak. There was a fashion show conducted by the Namuna School of fashion and technology. The ramp show was named as Light, Camera and Fashion. The beautiful attire was designed by the Namuna for the models. The stunning models dressed in designer wear along with the camera was superb. Different themes were presented in the ramp show. Overall, it was fantastic. There was also a workshop conducted by the photo circle at the far end corner of the hall. The workshop was for the amateurs, semi-professional and professional photographers about the photography, storage of their treasures i.e. photos and many more. Event was surely a package of information about the photography. There was also a wedding photographs competition done by the Kathmandu Photographers Associate. The photographers were supposed to give the wedding pictures that they have clicked. Among those pictures, five pictures were selected as top five pictures. The 1^st prize winner got a video camera from Sony. There also was the chance of winning door-prize for the visitors who filled the form beside the ticket and dropped in the drop-box. Four door prize winners were selected.

The crowd, itself showed that the event had charmed the valley. People had come with cameras in their hand and clicking the pictures of the event. The organizer team encouraged visitors to bring camera by giving Rs.50 off for those visitors with camera. Surely, the event was remarkable. The comments on facebook pages showed that people really enjoyed the event and not only that people also expressed their regret for not being able to visit the expo. One of the visitors, Anutara Shakya, expressed that the event was really fascinating especially the history of cameras and stated that music along with the information was really cool. Another visitor put forth his comment in facebook as, “All the pics and classic cameras steal the show.” Similarly, another visitor, Mr. Naresh Manandhar put forth that the exhibition was really encouraging especially for the beginners of photography and the experience was really exciting. Therefore the expo was worth visiting.

The mastermind behind this mega event Mr. Raj Bhai Suwal stated that the photo fair in India and Photo Kina in Germany inspired him to bring this expo into the country. He had been thinking of doing this event since he saw the photo fair in India, 10 or 12 years ago. Hence the hard work paid off. This three day long program from Baisakh 1-3 was huge success. It really was extraordinary, outstanding and very much informative. If you missed this event of the year, you sure did miss something grand. The expo was just so WOW!!!

Musical Journey of Saptak

          Music is an art. It is a bond that connects every emotion on the earth without any language. Just an arrangement of sounds and it speaks a lot more than millions of words. At the time when western music was rocking the K-town and an overwhelming number of music lovers, they came up with a different style by fusing traditional music with modern instruments. The music they embrace is so beautiful that they never fail in touching a listener’s heart. With the slogan ‘East meets west’ this instrumental band has pulled the strings of many hearts. They are the band of 7 and are named as Saptak, the 7 souls.

Nagendra Bikram Rai, Paras Mani Subedi, Hemanta Maharjan, Sanjay Maharjan, Naresh Prajapati, Sabin Munikar and Nhuchhe Raja Munikar are the charmers of this band with Lujaw Singh as their band manager. They play different forms of music: fusion, folk, and modern. Hence, they are very versatile and perform relevant music forms according to the type of event. This is one of their best characteristic; fast track on events and parties, peppy and catchy songs in concert, Newari rhythms during Newar festival and so on. They often play instrumental on different popular music; however, they do have their own compositions as well. Some of their highly appreciated own compositions are St. Thomas and Saptak mix melody Stockholm composition. These are really melodious and good for ears. They are in the course of releasing their album.

Saptak, as said before is a fusion of western and eastern music including particularly Newari musical instrument. Nagendra Bikram Rai plays Flute, Naresh Prajapati plays Dholak and Madal, Nhuchhe Raja Munikar plays Madal and Kheen(newari instrument which is like madal but larger in size), Paras Mani Subedi plays Tabala and Djembe( African instrument), Sanjay Maharjan adds effect with wind chime, jhyali, symbols, rain stick, and ocean drum and Sabin Munikar and Hemanta Maharjan play violin. The co-ordination of these instruments mesmerizes every heart they reach. They justify their slogan: ‘East Meet West’ indeed.

This five year old band actually started with its first four members: Sanjay Maharjan, Naresh Prajapati, Sabin Munikar and Nhuchhe Raja Munikar. They used to play particularly flute and other instruments during different social programs. During one of these programs, they happened to meet Lujaw Singh, who offered the idea of forming a band and throwing a concert but due to some problems and lack of time, they couldn’t do so. However, four of them had performed on WTC during seminar program and were able to win hearts right away. Naresh then thought of adding another group member by welcoming his friend Nagendra Bikram Rai into the gang. Gradually they needed another member for additional effect and charmin their music, thus Paras Mani Subedi got into the band. And eventually, Sabin Munikar introduced his friend, Hemanta Maharjan to the group and thus ended up with a magnificent group of seven souls. Because this idea of band was introduced by Lujaw Singh he was the one to baptize the band as Saptak, the 7 souls and hence he is acknowledged as the band manager as well as the founder of the Saptak.

Seven souls first chorused their instruments on the occasion of Mahashivratri Nite 2007. It was Saptak’s first live performance ever after the band formation. They were the only instrumental band among various other bands present. They were also the last to perform that night but they sure were not the least. Audience failed to show hints of interest at first as Saptak was going to perform instrumental unlike other bands that had vocalist and rocking music. But as the music of Saptak reached its peak, audience couldn’t help thumping their feet and moving their bodies along with the flow of music. Sanjay Maharjan tells that it was really a great feeling to perform in front of a huge enthusiastic mass that night.

They have performed in many grand events after that. Some of the events where Saptak has enchanted the audience are: Miss Newa 2010, Aba ko Nepal, Pulchowk street festival, Holi-2068(at 1905), A night of hope, walk of fame (by movers and shakers), Photokipa 2012, and N-cell purple day 9^th Durbar Marg street festival namely. The band sure has won many hearts through these events. It has also presented its music to various charity events as like Summer Bash Mega Event-2010,Dhulikhel, Tehbal Dashain Festival,and Basantapur Dashain Dhamaka 2011. Every event, where Saptak has ever performed, is highly captivated by their music. And the demand is ever rising. Today, most of the event in the valley is overflowing with Saptak’s music.

Beyond Saptak, every member has their own routine life. Some are professionally into music while some are involved in other professions. Nagendra is a music instructor at Arco Music Institute and works as flutist in a music studio. Similarly, Sabin is a violin instructor at Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory and he also has his own violin institute where he tutors the young violinists. Paras is a music teacher in Occidental Public School. And Naresh can be found at Bhojan Griha during evening as he plays live there. Apart from this he is also one of the board members of Anshura credit and co-operative Ltd. Hemanta is a Graphic and webpage designer in Code Pixel Media. He is also designing the webpage for Saptak Band as well, that is currently under construction at the moment. Nhuchhe Raja has been working with World Vision Project lately. Sanjay is an event co-coordinator for Nepalese Fashion Home and is also a scout. He is known as "Scout ko sir" in schools like: Dallu Awasiya Higher Secondary School and Intensive Boarding School. Lujaw Singh, the band manager, is a photographer and a videographer. An international exhibition of his photography is in process.

Saptak performing live at Ncell 9th Durbar Marg Street Festival

Well, they sure are busy men, aren’t they? But the music flows in their heart and soul. And even with such a busy timetable they all take out their time for Saptak. At the beginning, they used to rehearse at Nhuchhe Raja’s Home at Nardevi, and then they moved their practice sessions to Jyatha. Currently they practice in Sabin’s violin institute at Lazimpat. There are also times when they can't manage and maybe that’s one reason why, audience missed Hemanta during their performance in Photokipa. However, the band has a great teamwork and has an ability to cover each other’s absence. That’s why, they have been together as close buddies for 5 years and unlike other bands they have been successfully winning hearts without any differences and grudges among the group members.

Everything has its own good and bad aspect. Nobody’s perfect as they say, everything has a flaw. Saptak is a unique and united band with good-looking members. However they require more cheerful faces. Fans have been commenting over social networks like facebook that smile is the missing factor in their performance. They have a very distinctive kind of music and outstanding performance but what they need is just a curve around a face known as smile. However, Saptak’s music is really outstanding. The music is really appreciated and loved by the audience. Saptak’s music has a power to bring charm people and make them thump their feet with the music.

Saptak is a promising five-year old band with enthusiastic and good-looking musicians. A team of seven close buddies has been touching hearts of K-town through various events and planning to continuously out more of their originals in the coming days. Their choice of music according to the event is also a plus point. The other best part of this band is they are really down to earth and polite. Despite the presence of huge and great bands in the country, they dare to show their talent rather through their confidence than experience. They did prove themselves to rise up and yes, they are rising. The fusion of eastern music and western instruments is really worth listening to. If you haven’t listened to them, then you ought to. You can know about their upcoming event through their events update in facebook fan page www.facebook.com/saptak7soul.