Ruralising the City: Migration and Viraha in Translocal Nepal (original) (raw)
Related papers
Changing the Sound of Nationalism in Nepal: Deuda Songs and the Far Western Region
This article looks at the deuda¯ songs of Nepal’s far-western region and their relationship with changing ideas of Nepal as a nation. Drawn from regional folk dances, deuda¯ songs have become popular in the commercial music industry. The deuda¯ industry is centered in the studios of the far west but has increasingly become part of the central music industry in Kathmandu. However, this has not happened without struggle, and many deuda¯ artists feel that their music and region are marginalized within the country as a whole. In a time of state restructuring after a 10-year civil war, artists in the deuda¯ industry use their music to express aims for national recognition of far-western art and culture as both regionally unique and integrally a part of Nepal. Their focus on inclusivity challenges arguments that deem all identity politics communally divisive.
‘Kyidug Manyom’: Transnational Migration, Belonging and Social Change in Mustang, Nepal
HIMALAYA, 2021
This paper explores transnational migration in and from Mustang, Nepal, a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, to understand how people who migrate and return reconstruct a sense of belonging to their birthplace. Narrative ethnography forms the core of this paper as we discuss the stories of four individuals from Mustang to explore the complex decision making around migration and the act of returning, permanently and cyclically. We build on theories of ‘transnationalism’ and ‘belonging,’ and emphasize the circular nature of migration, to argue that migratory journeys involve a continued evaluation of the social and economic realities of contemporary life at ‘home’—highlighting intergenerational tensions, ideas around cultural preservation, and a dynamic understanding of belonging in the context of a transnational community. Although financial need continues to be a primary driving force behind migration trends in Mustang, this paper acknowledges other factors that shape migration ...
Class Love and the Unfinished Transformation of Social Hierarchy in Nepali Communist Songs
Music and Communism Outside the Communist Bloc, 2013
Nepal's twentieth-century tradition of leftist music, known as pragatisil git or progressive song, developed musically during the 1960s and 1970s along with state-sponsored nationalist genres meant to serve as musical representations of Nepali identity. The differences were primarily in the lyrics: pragatisil git's leftist themes were deemed too incendiary for a regime that forbade political organization. Composers writing songs for the national radio were encouraged to produce love songs, deemed apolitical and therefore safe. At first glance, communist pragatisil git avoids themes of love, in stark contrast to mainstream folk and popular music. Yet, while themes of romance are indeed absent from most Nepali communist music, a closer look demonstrates a strong concern with other forms of love and sentiment. This chapter focuses upon the theme of class love, examining how it is imagined to be socially transformative, and how it has changed through different communist parties&...
Sending the Sons Away: Western Himalayan Songs of Women Alone at Home
European Bulletin of Himalayan Research, 2019
The subsistence agricultural economy of the Western Himalayas necessitates the migration of men in search of jobs to far off places. This theme is well documented by social scientists and fiction writers. However, what happens to their homes once they leave their families is little understood or written about. How does the family fend for itself? What are the economic and social pressures on the women of the family and how do they negotiate the vicissitudes that come their way in the absence of men. What emotional traumas do they face in the absence of their husbands, often the only emotional support in their lives? Some of these themes are articulated in the songs sung by waiting-women of Kangra, in Himachal Pradesh, that were transmitted over generations. These songs help us to understand the much neglected women’s perspective, and provide a vital resource in constructing their ‘world’, as they battle the absence of men from their homes and lives.
Himalaya
This article examines how Ladakhi songs represent cultural self-images through associated musical, textual, and visual tropes. Many songs of the past, both from the old royal house and the rural Buddhist populations, reflect the socio-political structure of Ladakhi society. Although some songs, past and present, reflect a pan-Tibetan identity, a distinct Ladakhi identity is nevertheless consistently asserted. Situated on the caravan routes between India, Tibet, China, and Central Asia, Ladakhi culture developed distinctive hybrid characteristics, including in its musical styles. The article discusses this tradition of hybridity from the 17th Century to the present day. Ladakhi music has moved into modern media space, portrayed through scholarly works, concerts, mass media, and the internet. The article examines various contemporary representations of “tradition” and ethnic identity in both traditional and popular music. Looking at Ladakhi popular music, we see further hybridity base...