Angel-like ladies clad in traditional Chinese attire making tea on stage with undeniably celestial grace left many Nepali viewers filled with awe in Kathmandu on Thursday evening. Almost 500 members of the audience on stage were soaked in a quintessential Chinese ambience for two hours (well, that passed so quickly!) when the artistes performed.

When Chinese and Nepali artists assembled at the hall of Nepal Academy to run the show of Chan-Tea Musical, it gave the Nepali audience an extraordinary opportunity to meditate and appreciate the Chinese culture.

Following the Chinese Buddhist meditation tradition of Chan, combining it with China’s own heritage of celebrating tea ceremony, the Chan-Tea Musical was definitely something of its kind.

Chan-Tea is a method of meditation developed by the Boshan Zhengjue Monastery of China, and nurtured over the centuries by the Chinese Buddhists. The followers of the tradition cultivate their practice through a combination of music, poems, and tea making in order to appreciate the true meaning of Buddha Dharma and Chan.

The show started with typical Nepali dance of Maruni, followed by Manjushree dance by the artists of Byoma Kusuma Buddhadharma Sangha, Nepal. Then came on stage the famous nun-singer Ani Choying Drolma, whose deeply meditative singing of the Great Compassion Mantra mesmerized the audience into serene peace.

The actual Chan-Tea Musical followed then, with 16 performances divided into four chapters, depicting the four seasons – spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each of the performances came with soulful vocals and instruments calling for contemplation while reflecting on different aspects of tea – from cultivation to picking to making the tea and ultimately drinking it.

The event was jointly organized by China International Cooperation Center, Boshan Zhengjue Monastery of China, Zhengjue Cultural Development Center, and Byoma Kusuma Buddhadharma Sangha of Nepal.