POLO Stories, a global non-profit film production platform dedicated to amplifying transformative stories about inspiring women, has featured musician Pushpa Palanchoke in its documentary ‘Echoes from the Himalayas’.
Palanchoke is an applied ethnomusicologist who is currently active as programme manager of Folk Lok, a community-based music initiative managed by the Satori Centre for the Arts. She is one of the 10 women from around the world whose story has been featured in the film.
Folk Lok is a programme that has supported the Tahnani Dapha Khalah of Kirtipur to provide apprenticeships and make space for women in a musical practice traditionally reserved for men. Dapha Khalahs are Newa musical groups indigenous to the Kathmandu Valley.
As per a press statement issued by Folk Lok on Tuesday, the women of Tahnani, who were part of the apprenticeships, have also been featured in the documentary. In it, they have performed a Dapha song titled ‘Shreeta Kamala’ and have shared what music means to them, how it has changed their lives and how it has given them agency.
In addition to ‘Shreeta Kamala’, it also presents a reprise of a song that Palanchoke wrote with her former band Mi Ku ‘Sunaula Baadal’ and a Dapha learnt from Dapha Master Tri Ratna Manandhar ‘Jay Jogini’.
The documentary also includes the story of famous Sarangi player Barta Gandharva and her song ‘Garib Bhai Janminu Paryo’. As per the statement, the documentary, available to watch at https://polostories.org/echoes-form-the-himalayas-nepal/, highlights the importance of preserving indigenous music in practice rather than in archives.
Source : TRN,
