GET INTO THE RHYTHM

"We are wacky, crazy and totally out of tune…" These were the words they spoke when they began their radio show at Kantipur FM five years back. You can attribute these synonyms to the two brothers- Asish and Prasan -if you want to, but there is lot more to this duo.

Pragya RAJOURIA

Come to Dabur Vatica Miss Nepal 2002. Who stole the lime light this year? Of course the beautiful contestants you would say. It’s true but there were two men associated with the show who became as memorable as the winner of the crown. Prasan and Asish, the two MCs who set a new trend in the way MCs do their stuffs in such events. They didn’t appear in a tight-fitting tux looking uncomfortable or just held mike and spoke to people from the stage. They made the program interactive and enjoyable, putting everyone at ease.

Were you as comfortable as you looked when you’re emceeing? "Of course not. We were jittery. Thousands of people were watching us across the nation. We were tense like anything and it’s difficult to maintain your cool, talk cool and look cool under such situations," said Prasan, the younger brother. Prasan and Asish, the Kantipur FM duo are as popular as this FM radio itself. So much so, they’ve become household names. People may not know how they look but they definitely recognize their pleasantly gruff voice. And they are known to flirty, especially Prasan. Were they more occupied with the pleasant distractions (the pretty wanna-be miss Nepal ladies) or were they worried about what they were going to say the next? " The beautiful women were our last concern. We focus on our work one hundred percent. Unless you do this, you can never give good output. Emceeing in Miss Nepal contest totally sapped our energy. By the end of the event we were too exhausted to stay for the party. We just had dinner and headed home," said Asish.

When Asish and Prasan joined Kantipur FM five years back, they broke the monotony of the way programs were carried out on FM radio stations. They were spontaneous, authentic, informal and very normal, just the way young people wanted their RJs to be. Right from the week they started their radio shows, they were inundated with fan mails, and letters continue to swamp the mailbox of Kantipur FM till this day. "Being an RJ is a responsible job. It requires a lot of hard work and discipline. They are so many young people who listen to us and count on us to give them right advice. Within these five years we’ve also matured a lot. We’ve become more of counselors to young people than entertainers who just play them good music," said Prasan.

The brothers gave a lot of credit to their parents for their success. "Our parents were liberal. They supported us on our endeavors and allowed us to make our own choices," said Prasan. "Parents shouldn’t be over protective. They should give certain freedom to their children so that they develop the capacity to think for themselves and make correct choices. As for young people, they should remember that they are unique and special in their own ways. They should try to find out their potentials and weakness and figure out what they really want to do in life," expressed Prasan.

Asish is a homebody who loves to play guitar and stay at home whenever he is free. He owns a company and divides his time between his job at the radio station and side business. Prasan loves to party till the wee hours in the morning. He travels a lot and takes at least four holidays a year. But the two have one thing in common: their love for their job. The young men say that they will never quit the media which has given them so much personal as well as job satisfaction. "Once an RJ, always an RJ," said the Rhythm Brothers in unison.

Scale Mt. Everest Trumbull way

Pooja SHRESTHA

Why do you climb the mountain?" "Why do you climb the Mt. Everest?" These are oft-repeated questions. The second one has a famous answer by someone who never came back from the summit, George Mallory, "Because it is there."

Even climbing Mt. Everest has become passé and people are trying to do it differently each time. Some reach the summit without oxygen bottle, some go there solo and some try to reach the summit in just one day from the base camp.

This year people are trying to set a different climbing record on the occasion of "The 50th Anniversary of Mt. Everest- May 2003". People following seven religious beliefs: Buddhism, Hinduism, Christians, Islam, Confucian and Taoist are climbing the Everest together. Apart from them, Harry Kikstra, a humanitarian and world famous climber would also be in the team and so would Lance Trumbull, a mountain climber.

Lance Trumbull, a Buddhist practitioner is the main person behind it. Ask him about this idea and he says that it sprouted some months back when he was at Ladakh. The scenic view of the valley inspired him to do something for the world. " With the emerging problems in various countries and specifically Nepal, I thought that mountains being the symbol of peace can bring about difference," he said.

An American who majored in religious studies from University of California, Berkeley, Trumbull initiated this project on the 28th of October naming it as – "Everest Peace Project".

Each climber will carry to the summit a flag with the earth printed on it. The reason behind it is simple states Trumbull. "It represents everybody in this earth with no differences," he says. He quotes a famous saying of Joseph Campbell. "The view seen from the space is of no region, caste, creed and country but of the earth."

By profession, a book dealer in the net, Trumbull has a passion for climbing. He has done extensive travelling and trekking in different regions. He said, "With a motive to do something for peace, I have traveled all the way to Nepal." He sold everything to make this happen, even his house.

With a laptop and a rented house, he has been working to get together all the climbers for this project, raising funds for the event and for donations to the Sherpas and porters. And his website: everestpeaceproject.org clearly welcomes everyone to get involved in the project. You can get involved too!

Simply roots

Ram Krishna Bhandari works expertly on various mediums but shaping roots is his forte. Small or big, his root images are very lively. They are material expression of human experiences and emotions. Meet this amazing artist with Perina Pathak

All individuals have their particular way of express ing feelings. Some express through words as in a poem or novel. Whereas some express thorough colours in canvas. And some prefer stone as medium to express their feelings.

But apart from all Ram Krishna Bhandari has chosen a different medium to express his feelings. He chose "root" which he felt is the best way to unveil his inner feelings. According to him, root is the best medium to portray the inner feeling, whether it is sadness, anxiety, happiness, or any kind of exposition.

When asked why what attracted him to the roots, Bhandari said that they have interesting shapes and sizes, which help an artist to portray his feelings easily. "One just needs to carve some extra parts," he said.

Once during his childhood, when he was playing on a riverbank he came across a floating root. He felt as though the root was trying to tell him something and he took the root home.

"I trimmed and polished it," he said. "From the very day I found root as the best medium to express my inner feelings in the form of art," he added.

Forty-two-year-old Bhandari creates magic out of ordinary roots but his artistic talents are not limited to root works.. With equal dexterity he carves on stones, works on metal and shapes clay. Bhandari’s brush strokes are equally perfect. His artworks created in different mediums displayed in his small shop that give ample evidence to his craftsmanship in all these mediums.

To casual viewers the root carvings might appear to be some piece of unrecognisable art works. Upon closer look one can easily find out what the artist is trying to say.

Artist Bhandari learned art from his father late Kulaman Sing Bhandari, who was a well-known artist during his time. "My father was also an artist, I used to sit behind him while he worked. I got influenced from his works," he said. Besides his father, the historic city of Kirtipur, the place where he resides influenced him into taking this field.

Statues made by Bhandari form the centre piece at various places of the country like Madan Ashrit’s in Butwal, Parijat at Balaju, Madan Bhandari in Bhaktapur. Only few people are aware of the artist who made them. His other creations include statues of great personalities like martyr Gangalal Shrestha, poet Krishna Lal Adhikari. He makes idols of Gods and statues of people on request as well.

Bhandari works expertly on various mediums but shaping roots is his forte. Small or big, his root images are very lively. They are material expression of human experiences and emotions like pity, love, chase, dance, awaiting etc. All his images carry deep emotional messages.

Coffee coffee

How would you like your coffee? Plain? With milk and lots of sugar and cream? Cold, iced or steaming hot? Hot or cold, many find coffee delicious. You can experiment with this brew in hundreds of different ways and make it taste just the way you love it. There is instant coffee easily available at the market or you can buy the ground coffee and brew it at home. If you have the patience to roast and grind the coffee beans, you have your choice.

The word coffee comes from the name of the Ethiopian town Kaffa. Coffee comes in a huge variety and each has its unique flavour and aroma. There are famous coffee growing areas around the globe and the flavours that come from each region are special on their own. Coffee is grown even in Nepal though Nepali coffee is not famous like the Brazilian coffee and Italian coffee. One delightful thing about coffee is so many liqueurs blend well with it. Even alcoholic liqueurs go well with coffee. So you want to add some zip to your mug of brew, you can add alcohol of your choice to it.

And there are gourmet coffee as well and coffee with special names, famous worldwide for their distinct flavour. In Kathmandu also you can taste the gourmet coffee at places like the Himalayan Java at Thamel, Annapurna Coffee Shop at Durbar Marg and at star hotels. The espresso, Americano, latte, cappuccino, mocha, you name them and you’ll be served the brew of your desire at these places.

Any coffee served on demand is espresso and it’s a general term. But when you ask for espresso you will be served coffee made from freshly ground beans. You’ll be served the espresso in a jiffy so that the cream in the coffee does not get chance to break down. There is latte, an espresso shot blended with freshly steamed milk and capped off with heavily foamed milk. Cappuccino is brewed by added steamed milk to espresso shot until the cup is 2/3 full. A final topping of foamed milk is added to make the perfect topping. Americano is also another espresso topped with hot water poured carefully down the side of the mug to prevent the cream from melting. In mocha coffee a generous portion of freshly steamed chocolate milk is added to the espresso and topped off with sweet whipped cream.

It may sound strange but people took to coffee rather late. In fact it was discovered only around 600AD in the Middle East. It made its way to Europe in the 16th Century. Within 500 years or so it has become one of the most popular brews in the world. Freezing cold places, warm places and unbearably hot places, people relish coffee everywhere.

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