Venue: Hotel Yak and Yeti

Time: 8 pm

Crowd: 300

Kathmandu: The Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in the Kingdom of Nepal, in cooperation with the ministry of culture of Sri Lanka, hosted a reception and a cultural show at Hotel Yak and Yeti on July 1.The reception, which started off at 6 pm was hosted prior to “Sri Lanka Food Festival” slated to begin at Hotel Yak and Yeti from July 8.

Among the distinguished guests present on the occasion were ministers, delegates, bureaucracts and the who’s who of the corporate world. “Sri Lanka has a distinct culture and in many ways resembles that of our own. It’s indeed one of the richest in the world,” said a guest. Addressing the ceremony, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Nepal, Grace Asirwatham articulated that the cultural show at Hotel Yak and Yeti would help in further “strengthening the close cultural ties between Nepal and Sri Lanka”. Performers attired in traditional and tribal Srilankan costumes presented exquisite tribal dances. The dance show was followed by a sumptuous dinner.

Venue: 1905 Boulevard

Time: 10:30 PM

Crowd: 500

To many of the party animals, it might have seemed like just another Friday night party. But for those at 1905 Boulevard, it was a party of a different kind. It was indeed a spectacular view to watch the crowd swoon to the tunes of a female DJ, something that is seldom seen here in Nepal. When DJ P*Yell took charge of the console in the party called ‘The Summer Blast’, her apt choice of music and beats spellbound the entire crowd that led them savour every moment of it. The party that started around 9 was a smashing hit as was evident from the huge amount of turnover of partygoers. The crowd saw an influx of kinds of people belonging to different age groups and backgrounds. Organized by a group of young girls Rimi, Tenzin, Situ and Sitashma who prefer to call themselves GurlFrenz, the party was aimed at bidding a farewell to the scorching summer, welcoming the monsoons. The music was obviously the major attraction of the party, with the latest of commercial music to some of the most happening hip-hop and Bhangra mixes. DJ P*Yell knew the pulse of the crowd and played accordingly not letting anyone sit down for a moment. DJ Tamu and DJ Biman also played along with DJ P*Yell gifting the party animals a perfect blend of music and ambience. The crowd could be seen manifesting the best of their dancing skills, to tunes like “Where is the love” “Rich Girl”, “Get Right” and many other popular tracks of the kind. And yes folks, if you ever thought that Djing is a man’s arena, do check your records right since this DJ is certainly here to stay and keep you rocking for a long long while!

Venue: Nepa~Laya

Time: 10:30 pm

Crowd: 30

The time, the venue and the performer were the same as usual for music lovers and fans of “three-in-one” Aavas - lyricist, composer and singer. It was the sixth of the series of performance by the artiste organised by the event management group in which he presents a number of his compositions in Nepali contemporary music. Kiran Krishna Shrestha, director, Nepa~laya, said, “For a change, the songs in this session are selected on a theme that revolves around love-happiness and sorrow related to it.” He started with the song “Aakas lo Joon” meaning “I don’t want to be far from you by saying you’re the moon…” from his album ‘Palaa Palaa.’ Then he started singing songs of favourite artists of his own. One of them was “samhalera rakha,” written and composed by his guru Ambar Gurung and originally sung by Sikkim based songstress Shanti Thatal. “You don’t have to sing many songs to achieve the appreciation of the listeners, even a single song written, composed and sung beautifully is enough to catch the fancy of the audience,” believes Aavas, who has recorded only ten of his songs so far. He has a list of songs not yet recorded which he sings in his concerts. Nepa~laya has been organising a series of concerts by Aavas for a small group of thirty people every month and most of the audience had been attending the entire series.

(Contributed by Rita Dhital, Rabindra Pokharel and Yasmin Taj)