Tag Archives: Nepal

Maui, Hawaii

Hawaii is the 50th state of the US composed mainly of volcanic islands. Also the very last state declared as the US territory in late 1950’s. We were on the island called Maui. Many travel magazines have described Maui as the paradise on Earth. Precisely the reason I wanted to explore this region. Like many places I have visited, Hawaii had been on my list for the longest time. The state of Hawaii has multiple islands, we chose Maui – because of its natural beauty. If you are looking for adventure, Maui is just the island for you; to hike, zip-line, do many other adventure sports along with some awesome water activities.

75% of Maui island is covered by the dormant volcanic mountain called Haleakala. It’s believed, Haleakala is in fact a mix of two volcanic mountains. This mountain is on the east side of Maui. All the touristic activities take place on the west and south side. Eastern part of Maui, is usually cloudy, rainy but the west and south side is almost always sunny and the eastern mountains also block the wind so tourists can have the most ideal weather experience on Maui.

Clean streets of Maui, Hawaii

One of the first things we did as soon as we arrived was attended Luau. It was a buffet at a resort in South Maui, Wailea – an event full of music, dance and orchids showcasing Polynesian culture. This is a must do to experience Hawaiian-Polynesian culture.

WEATHER
It was on average 82 degrees Fahrenheit (approx. 28 degrees Celsius) on the island in February 2016. Everyone here surfs. When it’s a day off or a weekend, all they do is surf. Locals’ main activities are all water activities, everyone here has a perfectly toned body.

I recommend at least a week-long stay. Rent a car. It’s relatively easy to drive around.

PLACES

West Maui: Lahaina
West Maui’s Lahaina area has a few awesome museums where you can learn about the history of Hawaii and its people. Interesting thing I found out about this state; after becoming a part of the US in late 50s – Hawaii’s own Polynesian culture started deteriorating. Future generations would only speak English, their native tongue was slowly disappearing. It wasn’t until early 2000, that Hawaiians deliberately made an attempt to revive their culture. For a state that seemed to start late, I was very impressed by their heritage preservation efforts. People here are multi-lingual, they have very well adapted to the American setting, keeping their culture in tact – also very cleverly integrating it with tourism.

Lahaina

PARKING (West Maui)
Parking can be a big issue in Lahaina.
Parking tip:> There are plenty of free public parking lots in Lahaina. But if you can’t find one. Right between the intersection of Dickenson St/Luakinu St and Dickenson St/Waine’e St you can find ‘Republic parking’; for 3 – 8 hrs it costs $5. If you park just a block ahead (closer to the main Lahaina market) It costs $5 for 1-2 hrs [2016 rate].

Lahaina is a great area to walk around, it is one of the main tourist areas on Maui. Awesome places to dine, one of which is, Cool Cat Cafe: – I recommend: Blue suede shoes cheese burgers – for the lovers of blue cheese burgers.
Best beach is in the Kaanapali area. About a few minutes (drive) north of Lahaina (although technically the same area). Kaanapali has a big mall (Whalers village) where you can park your car but it’s expensive. We were lucky enough to find a public parking spot, which is right next to the mall. If you get confused, ask the vehicle ticket person at the mall to point you to the public parking space.

South Maui: Kihei
Our hotel was on the south side of Maui. Tourist mainly flock western side – but we chose South side – as we had read in the reviews that the south side would be less crowded. Our hotel was just across an awesome beach from where you could get the best sunset view on Maui. All beaches are public on the island of Maui.

Sunset – Kihei, Beach area

Food (South Maui , Kihei)
Closer to the hotel we stayed at there was>
Cafe O’Lei: This was about 6-min walk from our hotel.
Recommend: Li Hing Mui Margarita

Coconut’s Fish cafe: A few minutes drive from our hotel (30-35 minutes if you walk fast). According to CNN Coconut’s Fish cafe is one of the best top 10 food joints in the US. I would say, it does live up to the hype.

Both affordable.

East Maui
East Maui is all Haleakala – also the no. 1 biggest attraction of Maui. Haleakala mountain offers hiking experience, watching sunrise 10,000 feet above sea level, wildlife spotting, walk through a mystical bamboo forest. It’s a natural beauty jackpot.
Activities:

Haleakala

Haleakala Summit

Haleakala is humongous – considering 75% of Maui is all Haleakala – there is so much to do here in each side of Haleakala.

Road to Hana (all day trip)
Watch sunrise: Make sure to wake up early for this. To get there on time, you have to leave your hotel room by 2:45 a.m. if you are on the South side. For those living on the west side, will have to leave even earlier.
Explore the Haleakala mountain. Go for hiking. We tried, Halemau’u trail and Hosmer’s Grove trail
Part of the Haleakala National park> Pipiwai Trial: This trail was something out of a dream. Nothing like I had seen before, forest full of bamboo, gave me goosebumps – very mystical and spiritual.

Haleakala Summit

North Maui
We were on the island for 8 days – so after we were done with all touristic activities – we had enough time to also check out the Nakalele Blowhole. If you do not have enough time – you can skip this. But if you do, do not miss out. It isn’t a protected area, hence you will see plenty of sign boards saying something like, ‘..explore at your own risk’. Please do not go so close to the blow hole, it is in fact very dangerous. Blowhole area looks a bit like alien planet. It took about 2 hours drive to get to this place from Kihei (south Maui).

Nakalele Blowhole, North Maui

Overall Must dos:

Attend Luau
Explore all the best beaches of west (Kaanapali) and south Maui (Kihei).
Go snorkeling: We went snorkling at Molokini crater. Water was absolutely divine. I have never seen water so clean. You can see all kinds of aquatic creatures from the boat, you don’t even have to jump in the sea. It was that clean! Molokini is a protected area, you are not allowed climb the rocks of Molokini. Snorkling will be limited within a certain area only. But highly recommend it for sure. Besides Molokini, this package also included watching sea turtle on south Maui. As a bonus, we also got to see humpback whales. Turns out it was a whale mating season, so there were multiple male humpback whales trying to impress one single female whale and ended up very close to our boat. Boats are not allowed within 100 yards of whales, but if whales decide to come close to the boat, there’s nothing the captain can do but stay put. It was an awesome sight!
Explore Haleakala: Watch sunrise, hike Pipiwai trail, and other trails of the mountain.
Zip-line

Snorkling at Molokini crater

All in all, I found Maui very similar to Nepal. Hawaii is literally at the top most level in the landscape of international tourism. When I say, Maui is very similar to Nepal – I am not even kidding. Except for the ocean, everything else in Maui reminded me of Nepal. From long and winding road to Hana, to summiting Mt Haleakala, seeing the sunrise above the clouds, to beautiful weather – it felt very much like going back home. If such a small island can offer so much, Nepal being a bigger country would naturally have much more to offer, if only managed well. Still, having said that, Maui of course has its own charm that cannot be compared to any other place; especially its people and culture – very unique and one of a kind. If Maui is on your bucket list – I hope you wait no more to book a trip.

Watch a snippet of our trip:

Maui, Hawaii from Shailiza Manandhar on Vimeo.

Watch this on Youtube

Top 5 Manufacturing Industries of Nepal

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I had been wanting to work on an svg animation for a very long time. Finally managed to create this simple animation. There’s a lot more to work on, until then here’s a quick preview: http://shailiza.com/animation/

This was inspired by the awesome animation of Adam Coulombe.

You can also access my source files at this GitHub account: https://github.com/shailiza/svg-animation

My process involved:

Drawing in Illustrator – grouping each object appropriately.
Further edited svg file.
Added CSS, JavaScript. Majority of my time was spent in Illustrator and CSS.
Followed by endless debugging.

Adam has done a great job explaining the process. I recommend you to go through his post.

Note: This only works when run from the HTTP protocol for security reasons. If you are having issues getting the SVG to load, be sure you are testing from a web server or running on localhost.

Top 5 Manufacturing Industries of Nepal

Data Source: cbs.gov.np. National Census of Manufacturing Establishments of Nepal 2011/2012, Central Bureau of Statistics, Government of Nepal.

Free Download – Grain Mill Factory – Nepal

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Find all free downloads here: http://shailiza.com/downloads/ Added to the list: Grain mill of Nepal [PDF and AI versions].

Grain mill of Nepal vector art

Free Downloads – Nepali People Vector

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I’m providing Illustrator (AI) and PDF (with illustrator editing capabilities preserved) versions of Nepalis.

Nepali woman

Vegetable Seller

You can find all free downloads here:

http://shailiza.com/downloads/

Let me know if you face any issues downloading files, if you need different formats or if you have any other questions.

Free Download – Kathmandu Skyline People Vector

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My cousin asked me if I could add people to an existing layout and so I did!

Again, I’m providing A4 size Illustrator (AI) and PDF (with illustrator editing capabilities preserved) versions of Kathmandu skyline with people walking and cycling. You can manipulate the layout for brochures, presentations, posters or for any other purposes.

kathmandu skyline + people

You can find all free downloads here:

http://shailiza.com/downloads/

Let me know if you face any issues downloading the files or if you have any other questions.

Happy Designing! 🙂

Free Download – Kathmandu Skyline Vector

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I am providing A4 size Illustrator (AI) and PDF (with illustrator editing capabilities preserved) versions of Kathmandu skyline. You can manipulate the layout for brochures, presentations, posters or for any other purposes.

Kathmandu skyline

You can find all free downloads here:

http://shailiza.com/downloads/

Let me know if you have any questions.

Happy Designing! 🙂

Here’s to Patan

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My 2014 narrative was dominated by upper Mustang. I must have had thought there couldn’t be a bigger high than upper mustang experience, that place – so barren and yet so beautiful. I was a rare few amongst my peers who’d made it to the Tibetan border; that subsequently turned me into a complete travel snob. But as I recall 2014, Mustang was not the only place I had discovered. Neighboring city next to Kathmandu – Patan, was in fact my very first discovery of the year 2014.

Growing up in Kathmandu, Kathmandu Durbar Square had been an integral part of my childhood days. It was just a few minutes walk from my home in Ason chowk. One of my aunts lived in the Durbar square area and I would go there every possible weekend to hang out with my cousins. I grew up playing hide and seek in Kathmandu Durbar Square, I learnt to ride a bicycle in Kathmandu Durbar Square. My childhood memories are made up of Kathmandu Durbar square. Whereas, Patan, not so much. It barely even crossed my mind.

Fast forward to 2014, when I was home – my parents had moved to a different neighborhood, except this time it was closer to Patan. When I needed to hang out with my friends, Thamel seemed too far. Lo and behold – it was the right time to discover Jhamsikhel – or more popularly known as ‘Jhamel’. A combination of ‘Thamel’ and ‘Jhamsikhel’, mockingly coined as new Thamel. It was up and coming, hip neighborhood of Patan where all the cool kids hung out. I presumed I was one of those cool kids. My quest to discover Patan, began by exploring Jhamsikhel. The clean and cool neighborhood, decent eateries and the hypnotic musical ambience attracted me all the more toward this quaint community.

Food

Jhamsikhel has many options, you can pick and choose from. Some of my favorite places to go eat are:

LeTrio

This is the spot for hot and spicy mouth watering Jhol momo. That’s it. I go there just for Jhol momo, best in town. If you are adventurous, try chicken wings. It was great the last time I tried. Their veg menu is good too.

A photo posted by Shailiza Manandhar (@shailza) on Oct 21, 2014 at 2:36am PDT

Tamarind

The first time I was here on a Friday night, had tried Salmon Medallion, I loved it. I thought this place could fulfill my craving for American food. As the clock was about to strike 7 p.m., I heard this guy sing, his music, loved it even more than the food. Music seems to be the only reason I keep going back to this place. I must admit though, every time I went in; the quality of food seems to deteriorate a notch. Nonetheless, still not too bad to try at least once. But MUSIC! music is always 100%. This musician, Dharmendra Sewan has a great personality. I believe he performs every Friday night in Tamarind. That man nails every song he sings – be it Nepali folks, contemporary English or my most favorite hindi movie songs. He is genuinely a good singer and a great entertainer. Check out this place every Friday nights. You won’t be disappointed, thanks to Dharmendra Sewan.

A video posted by Shailiza Manandhar (@shailza) on Dec 19, 2014 at 6:28am PST

Thakkhola

Thakkhola is a hidden gem. My dad introduced me to this place. It’s a great spot to have authentic Thakali food. Most importantly, you get great food, that is within your budget, in squeaky clean cozy atmosphere. The reason it costs less as compared to the others in Jhamsikhel is because; restaurants offering 100% traditional Nepali food do not need to pay value added tax (VAT). Therefore, it gets a lot cheaper for the owners to run the restaurant and subsequently gets lighter on our pocket too. If you are more into Nepali food, I highly recommend this spot than any other places in Jhamel.

Thakkhola, Veg Thali

Patan Durbar Square

From the narrow streets of Jhamsikhel to the main attraction of Patan, one of the world heritage sites of Kathmandu valley; Patan Durbar Square. In order to understand this place you have to immerse yourself in its surrounding. You have to get it from every angle. Spend time and learn about this piece of history through the most well preserved museum in Nepal, inside the durbar square. Also get a good bird’s eye view, from any one of the tall restaurants of the neighborhood. Gaze at Patan in all its glory. Go with friends that you can have a conversation with just about anything and everything, and don’t forget a chilled glass of beer – I recommend, Gorkha or Tuborg.

A 1000-year-old heritage mixed with hustle and bustle of everyday people – that’s Patan for you. I’ve seen Patan Durbar Square in all its shape and form. In the most bright sunny day, to monsoon weather, I’ve seen it drenched in rain and form a mini river. I’ve seen that place illuminating underneath a starry night and street lights. I truly feel like I have seen it all, all of Patan, inside and out.

Patan Durbar Square in all its glory

Patan Heritage

My admiration for this city didn’t just end with gazing at everyday Patan. I was lucky enough to take a heritage walk with Anil Chitrakar in and around various tiers of Patan. The science behind the architecture of the main Patan square and its periphery is simply mind blowing. What you see today is just a glimpse of what’s to come in next few years. In next 5 years or so, Patan will get a complete facelift. Wait and watch. I highly recommend you to sign up for the Patan Heritage Walk with Anil Chitrakar, and allow him to blow your mind.

A photo posted by Shailiza Manandhar (@shailza) on Jul 13, 2014 at 2:39am PDT

Almost all through 2014, I also took a dance class in the heart of Pulchok, again that was in Patan. I have ventured all the way to Patan Durbar Square from my parents’ house and located all possible nooks and crannies and short cuts to Patan. May be I haven’t yet fully uncovered Patan’s gallies as Ason chowk but I know – one day I will get there. Through this post I want to acknowledge the greatness that is Patan. The place that remained unexplored for so long. When finally the moment arrived, I discovered it in such a way that I felt like I was a part of Patan all long. Here’s to the city that helped expand my horizon, to the city I fell in love, to the city that will forever remain etched in my heart.

Revisiting Chitwan

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I am a typical urban Kathmandutie; but unlike majority of my peers, I can proudly say I haven’t just visited places beyond Kathmandu but even lived there. Chitwan being one of them – however, the very famous national park of this district had been left undiscovered for quite sometime – until very recently.

In the midst of Monsoon (August 2015) I made it to Meghauli, Chitwan – about 178 KM from Kathmandu. Flew from Kathmandu to Bharatpur. Took a cab from Bharatpur to Meghauli (32 km) where Barahi Jungle Lodge is located. It takes about 1.5 hrs to get there from Bharatpur airport. This was part of a package tour.

Bharatpur Airport

Interesting things to witness on the way to Meghauli (as is with every other flat land of Nepal):
1) Greenery
2) Vast farm lands
3) People commuting in bicycles: Again another typical terai feature. Like people in Paris or Amsterdam, except – here in Nepal, it is the cheapest way to commute – not that we care about the environment; unless they really do care about the environment.

While reading the reviews, I noticed people complaining about this long ride to Meghauli. On the contrary, I actually loved it. The downside is the bad road condition – otherwise it is a great way to watch the local world go by.

Highlighted districts: Chitwan and Kathmandu

I felt very awkward by the fact that my brother and I were the only guests on the day of the arrival. All attention on us, just not used to so much luxury. Barahi Jungle lodge is located in a Tharu village, hence the reason they have mainly employed all Tharu locals. We were assigned Subash Gurung as our naturalist, he was an encyclopedia of Chitwan National Park and Chitwan itself. If you ever go there, hunt down this guy and learn everything you wanted to know about Nepal and its wildlife, and don’t forget to give me a credit – i.e if you are interested in one.

Things we did:

Elephant safari: Monsoon is an off season. Since it rains so much, jeep safari is not allowed in the park. Plus elephant safari is permitted only in the community forest area, which I must say was still very impressive. You can also notice the extent of the thickness of this forest while you’re on board approaching to land in Bharatpur.
Elephant Bathing: I technically didn’t do this because it involved taking a dip in the river and the heavily influenced American side of me got scared by the brown colored river. I know, I totally chickened out 🙁 Actually I suffer from aquaphobia.
Boat ride: This was the best part of the package for me. I think Gorkha beer had something to do with it (or had everything to do with it). There were four of us (my brother, I and two other guests). This was supposedly only a boat ride. Those guys surprised us by stopping somewhere in the jungle – with beverages all lined up. I was like – heck, I’m drinking beer! But didn’t think I could take the whole bottle since my brother didn’t want to accompany me. Then this another guest and I made a deal – to share a bottle… and another one. It was drizzling in the middle of this green community forest. Very romantic. Then the two elephants were brought in to pick us up! another round of elephant safari.
Visit to Tharu museum: Learned that tharu and Newars have in fact a very similar culture. I highly recommend this to those who are curious to learn about ethnic community of this district.
Bullock cart ride: It was a fun ride

Barahi Jungle Lodge

About Chitwan National Park: I was thoroughly impressed by the park. Out of 3500 national parks in the world, this one is the 19th best! The main park is spread across 900 sq meters plus the community forest separated by the river. Although, technically I didn’t get to visit the main part of the park, the community forest alone was very impressive entirely owned and managed by the local community. We could have had done, jungle walk in the main park – but it was way too hot to try that. So, I bailed out. The park is safe guarded my Nepal army, one of the reasons why poaching is under control. Considering nothing in Nepal seems to be working, turns out that’s not the case with our national parks. Nepal is in fact pioneering the wildlife conservation. Yeah, try beating that America!

Coincidentally, the last day when we had to leave – it was supposedly Tharu community who’d called for Chitwan bandh. But the Tharus of this village didn’t seem to have a clue. One has no idea what’s happening in Nepal, can’t trust the media either. Everything is happening in Nepal; yet nothing is happening in Nepal, if you know what I mean. All I can suggests is – do not trust the media. Talk to the locals instead. There are definitely no security issues, but that doesn’t mean you venture out in unknown areas without your guide either.

Evening

I’m definitely visiting this place at least one more time.

Chitwan, Nepal from Shailiza Manandhar on Vimeo.

Watch this video on YouTube:

2014 – The Year That Was

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2014 could arguably be the best year of my life. This is the year I wrote most number of my blog posts compared to any other year. The year I travelled to various parts of Nepal, albeit didn’t manage to get to all districts as had planned but sure did spread my wings across the border to India, West Bengal and Sikkim to be specific. Come to think of it, I actually made it to China as well, at least the border town of Khasa. I still hope to travel, still want to make it to all the districts of Nepal. Continue working on 100s of other things that I have started but not yet completed.

This year-end review would be incomplete without Kathmandu. I need to be honest about the realities of living in the capital city. It is not so easy to live here, not that I imagined otherwise. Food prices are through the roof, the usual power cuts, the perpetual water crisis, what else am I missing? But I was able to live fairly comfortably in Kathmandu. However, not as comfortable as it is in the US. Internal heating system is still the first thing I miss during winter. I work from home and the constant/intermittent internet interruption, power cuts, significantly affected my work hours during an earlier part of 2014. Although looking at the brighter side, since my day one in Kathmandu – till today I only see things getting better and I am not fabricating. In the first few weeks, if the internet was out for 3 hrs every day, now it’s down to let’s say 3 hrs twice a week. Comparatively, it’s gotten much better. Since I was the one who chose to take this step, I guess I have to suffer the consequences as well. At the same time I know I am a very lucky few who can say that they were able to live comfortably in Kathmandu. For many who comes to this city in hopes of making it big, can’t imagine how they survive in this beautiful ancient place that can be cruel to them at times. As an honest citizen of this nation, yes, I have had the lowest of lows but every day I see better things happening from the citizens’ standpoint. Government on the other hand continues to disappoint me. But that’s beside the point, we don’t stop living just cause government fails to do its job.

While traveling across few parts of the country, I did get a glimpse of politics here and there, mainly relating to the constitution writing process, printed on the walls of abandoned, dilapidated buildings, or gigantic rocks. But I don’t think general public gives a shit about constitution. They are worried about bigger problems like how to put food on the table.
I don’t believe Nepalis have faith in the government and I think they moved on long ago. Cause had they been waiting for proactive governance, they would be waiting forever. But I know how integral constitution is for a stronger foundation of this nation. But guess what, life hasn’t stopped because of incomplete constitution. Constitution, by default should be a work in progress. However, having said all that, it is not as bleak as I may have sounded. There are a few good things happening too, even if they are far and few between.

This year I met some old friends, made some new friends. We had a great conversation, out of which came great ideas. Those ideas are something I am still working on. 2014 gave me a head start, hope to give continuity to all the work that I’ve been doing in the years to come. My best days are surely ahead of me.

As Rumi once said, destroy your reputation, be notorious, I hope you’ll do your best to chase your dreams, and not be limited by class or caste or political ideologies or any other social norms, I hope you break some rules in 2015. Here’s wishing you and I an adventurous year ahead!

2014 Collage

2014 kick started with attending a lot of weddings, of my own cousins. Hence, I had to post at least one of the photos of the wedding parties.
As I travelled to a few parts of this country, I flew as well to certain areas. This is just one of the perks of being on board.
I find Pokhara highly overrated. But when I was there this past May, this street took me back to my childhood days and I couldn’t stop myself from clicking a photo. I’ve spent significant amount of my growing up days in Pokhara, this is just one of the streets I associate my childhood days with.
My upper Mustang trek was definitely a highlight of 2014. A great shot of a beautiful landscape that is upper Mustang.
Illustrating my point above, political slogan relating to constitution. You’ll come across plenty of those while traveling across Nepal.
Witnessing Tibetan kitchen was a cultural experience in itself. The kitchen of those who in live in upper Mustang area is so rich and sophisticated, in fact the entire household speaks all things ancient Tibet.
That’s me with my short hair. I’m just posting it here cause I wanted to make a big deal of the fact that I chopped off my long beautiful hair.
The office of Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC). I had the opportunity to visit the KMC office this year. It was such a beautiful ancient palace, that’s slowly turning into a ruin. This palace should be turned into a hotel or a museum. It’s too precious to be left around in the hands of people who can’t take well care of it.
I thought this was the best invention of the year. For the first time in my life (in Nepal) I didn’t have to ask for an opener! Tuborg beer bottle it is!
Our house is full of dogs, two more are missing in the picture. They are all stray dogs. These two have really grown up since then. You gotta love stray dogs, if you love Kathmandu, adopt a few of them.
I guess, the most important part of 2014 is the fact that I set up my own company. No, it’s not an auditing company. It’s just a picture of my company’s audit report. There’s much more I want to do before I reveal it all. But yes, I did set up my own company. That feels like an accomplishment on its own.

Kanyam, Ilam

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Map of Nepal with Ilam and Jhapa districts highlighted

I discovered Kanyam by accident. I had heard of Ilam’s beauty. However, I had zero knowledge of this district and the places I must visit. I was supposed to catch a flight to Kathmandu the next day from Bhadrapur, Jhapa. So, the plan was to stay somewhere in Ilam where I could do some exploring. Journey to Kanyam started from Pashupatinagar, Ilam (bordered to Darjeeling, India). From there you can take a local bus all the way to Fikkal (another famous town of Ilam). There was nothing much there, took another local bus from Fikkal towards Jhapa. On the way I witnessed a long stretch of tea estate, and was absolutely awestruck. That’s when I decided this is where I’ll stay. The place was called Kanyam.

Later found out, Kanyam is a very popular tourist destination in Ilam. Tourists on their way to Kanchanjanga base camp also have a night-stay in this beautiful town. I haven’t captured much of this place. I just went down to this tea farm, it was so romantic just couldn’t leave that place and captured whatever I saw in that moment. There’s more to Kanyam than what you see in the video given below. If you ever visit Ilam – do make it a point to visit Kanyam. This place is not at all crowded, the very fact that it is such an underrated tourist destination. For someone who just came from Darjeeling to Ilam, this place is impeccably clean with zero pollution and lush green tea garden stretched as far as you can see. As cliche as it may sound, this place is nothing less than a heaven on earth. If there ever was one, it would be Kanyam.

P.S: Story behind the music I used in this video:
For a long time I had been wanting to use hindi film song as a background music to my video, primarily cause I’m a total sucker for hindi movie songs. Also, this particular one that I came across is a love song that you would sing to the one you love. It’s titled “Pakeezah” released this week I think (2nd week of Nov 2014). It just so happened that I wanted to sort of write a love letter to Kanyam. It was a place I had never heard of, it was neither in my plan nor my head space. But it was such a wonderful discovery. This is my way of thanking this place for somehow being there on my way and allowing me to explore. It seemed to fit perfectly as my ode to Kanyam.

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Find my video on Vimeo:

Kanyam, Ilam from Shailiza Manandhar on Vimeo.