Blogs from Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal, Asia - page 3

Right now a big festival is going on here in Kathmandu called Tihar. It’s the fun festival—the one where people, after the sacrifices of Dashain, can celebrate the good things in their lives, the world, and the future. Tihar lasts 5 days: kag puja, kukur puja, gaya puja/Laxmi puja, mha puja/Newari New Year, and Bhai Tika. Kag puja is a worship for crows, because crows are messengers that bring news. Kag puja is celebrated so that crows will only bring good news in the coming year. The next day, kukur puja, is for dogs, because dogs are loyal and hardworking and helpful to people. The next day, Gaya puja, is for cows, because cows are sacred animals with the essence of holiness. Gaya puja is also Laxmi puja, a day to worship Laxmi, the goddess of ... read more

I've been here in Nepal for seven weeks now, and I've just finished writing a preliminary report of everything I've learned so far. It starts with a description of my primary informants and our conversations (names changed), continues with a description of the schools I've visited so far, and ends with some of my own thoughts/observations/conclusions. It's very long, but I'm more interested in being thorough at this point than in being concise. Please comment, especially anthropologists and professional music educators. Here it is: Principal Informants: Dr. Sitar Professor: Dr. Sitar is a prestigious professional sitar player from a family of prestigious professional sitar players. His grandfather brought sitar music to Nepal. Dr. Sitar earned his Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Delhi, and his dissertation was in Nepali classical music of the Rana period. ... read more

Every day this week the city has been engulfed in a wave of sticky heat. I feel exhausted after doing even the most menial things outside, and it has become very difficult to get out of bed in the morning. This week I learned a traditional Nepali song that heralds in the Dashain season. Nepalis hear it and they feel happy and excited inside; it means that special times are on the way. I’m playing it at a higher secondary school this afternoon with a few music teachers; mid-term exams will be over, and the students will get to enjoy a special performance showcasing their teachers’ talents. Starting tomorrow school will be out for a month for Dashain and Tihar, the big festivals that make up the holiday season. The performance will be fantastic—I frantically rode ... read more

For my project and my write-up, I’m becoming increasingly interested in addressing the question of where music (and more broadly, culture: music, dance, drama, and art) fits into the modern-day milieu of institutional education. I think this question is very pronounced here in Kathmandu where government curriculum is minimal and the many private schools have a lot of freedom to decide what subjects to teach, why, and how. Obviously music is an important thing. It’s an enormous part of culture, identity, history, human expression, emotion; it helps people relax, think clearly, inspires creativity, etc. All of these things are well documented by ethnomusicologists and music education advocates, and most everybody will recognize at some gut level the importance of music. Music also can be a lucrative profession for those who manage to be recognized and gain ... read more

The past few days have been exhaustingly busy for me, but I’ve been getting some great fieldwork done that exactly fits my aim of researching music education. Rather than dressing all my notes up into a polished discourse, this time I’ll just post my frantic memory-dumping note scratches from the past few nights as they are. Feel free to ask me questions or for clarification about any of the events or ideas presented on this blog. I’m still working on getting a new insulin pump; right now I’m negotiating with a company rep from Mumbai about what I need and how much it’s going to cost. Monday I bought a set of tabla, and today I bought a sarangi (similar to a violin); I’ve got a lot of music to learn! Here are my notes: 9-6: ... read more