Kathmandu, June 21 -- Nepal's newest music festival is guaranteed to start with a bang. Surya Nepal Drum Jatra next week will feature the heavy beats of metal, wood and leather drums alongside delicate sounds of bells and singing bowls. The damphu, madal and dholak will inject a Nepali flavour to this international event.
"We want to showcase the variety of styles we have in drums because Nepal is so rich in them, but we hardly ever celebrate drums," says festival organiser Navin Chhetri. "Every major city in the world has drum festivals, except Kathmandu - we wanted to start something new."
Kathmandu will reverberate 24-29 June with Drum Jatra concerts that will feature Nepali sounds like Naykhibaja, the drumming of the butcher communit...