“Charan Pradhan, the founder and choreographer of an Edinburgh-based dance company, Dance Namaste, wanted to showcase a fusion of Nepali dance and music at the Mela this year and hence contacted us,” Gurung shares how Kutumba landed on this opportunity, perhaps the first for a Nepali band. Kutumba is set to play at the Edinburgh Mela on September 1 and 2.
After the Mela, the group will move on to North-western Scotland where they will be playing at various venues in Aberdeenshire. Apart from musical performances, Kutumba will also meet and play with local folk musicians who are a part of the current revival of the Scottish music and dance.
A two-week workshop on Celtic music will be held in various primary and secondary schools as well as a youth forum with Kutumba as one of the facilitators.
“Even though we are half way across the globe, there are similarities in our music and Scottish music, due to the high altitudinal geography that we come from. Hence, we will be collaborating and while promoting our Nepali folk music instruments, we will also be talking about how we can preserve our folk music roots,” says Pavit Maharjan, percussionist of Kutumba.
The final concert at Aberdeen will take place at the Arts Theatre, University of Aberdeen with the presence of the ambassador of Nepal who will be there to strengthen trade and tourism between Nepal and Scotland. London will be the group’s next stop where they will mainly be performing at the ‘Peace One Day’ on September 22.
France is also set on Kutumba calendar. A concert is slated to take place at the Alliance Franciase Foundation, Paris on October 4 as a part of Alliances en resonance Nepal. The tour, as of now, is scheduled to end with a concert as a part of the World Music Festival in Corsica Island on October 17 and 18.
With such a lineup, the excitement as well as the tension is building up. The thought of spreading Nepali traditional music in different corners of the world is something of a pride, yet there is a lot of struggle.
“We are a big group travelling with a variety of instruments, which is hectic. Add to that, the immigration process for artists from developing countries like Nepal – the stress level becomes very high,” Maharjan points out. “We have certain expectations and plans about how to work things out once we reach these cities, but the thing is, we can never really be sure about how things will turn out to,” he explains adding, “It’s a big adventure.”
Even with so much on the back of their minds, Kutumba must deliver the best. “We have to still maintain professionalism and match up to a standard that the audiences expect from us,” Maharjan concludes.
This folk ensemble has been a part of a number of international events including the Commonwealth Games and Music and Dance Festival, India; Planetv Nepal, France; along with a US musical tour.
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