I am a filmmaker from Nepal whose documentaries, (Tsundu: Becoming a Lama, and Mystic Vision Sacred Art), DER has been distributing since the mid 1990s. After living in the US for a quite a long time I returned to Nepal to pursue my career as a musician and filmmaker. While living in the US, I found that I had developed a much greater appreciation for the arts and culture of my own country and a deeply rooted connection with its traditions that I had not been aware of before living outside of my own culture.
Like most developing countries, Nepal is going through dramatic changes, both positive and negative. Traditional arts and crafts, have, unfortunately, been impacted rather negatively. Anyone who visits Kathmandu can see how this ancient city of fantastic arts and architecture has been overpowered by ugly concrete modern structures. The indiscriminate desire of people to adopt a “modern” way of life has resulted in the rapid erosion of many artistic and cultural traditions, for example, the disappearance of traditional Newari carved windows and the centuries old rest houses for travelers. In craftsmanship, traditional methods, and rituals, a proud Nepali heritage is being replaced by fast commercial methods.
My feature film, Bicycle Dreams, is streaming now on Amazon Prime.
