Losing a Home in a Remote Village of Nepal
Imagine losing your home in an instant.
Few hours ago a landslide destroyed part of the village of our master artists Kamal and Sanjaya in Kavre and they lost the house where they were born.
Thankfully our relatives are safe but some of our villagers friends were injured. There are people that died in the area according to the first reports. According to the news the floods of the past days killed more than 100 people and many are missing in Nepal.
After almost 3 days of rain and floods many roads are closed and entire areas are under water. However the rain now stopped and we hope in few days to be able to reach the village and bring food, clothes and medicines.
These are the pictures that we just received from our friends and family.
Many of the artists and artisans of our thangka school have spent their childhood in small villages in remote areas of Nepal. And for all of us, our family house in the village has a special place in our hearts.
Beyond the physical destruction.
Together with earthquakes, floods and landslides, the families that live in rural villages, like in Kavre, have seen their livelihoods disrupted and this forced many to flee their homes. The economic impact of these events have been devastating, as communities struggle to recover and rebuild. This process, together with many young Nepali migrating, is creating ghost villages and destroying communities and their cultural heritage.
The lives of the people that decide to stay in these villages rely on agriculture and the financial support of their relatives. If you feel like sending a donation to help our villagers friends and families of our thangka painters we are very thankful.
Please use these links:
https://paypal.me/TradArtNepal
https://www.paypal.com/donate/XAQTVUA4XFEU4
Blessings and gratitude for your heart-warming messages and solidarity.
Namaste.
Note: Because of the disruptions caused by the floods also in the Kathmandu valley we will have to delay shipments. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this difficult times.
More updates on our social media pages.
Supporting The Community During The Lock-down
The entire world is living a difficult time as the covid-19 pandemic changed the life of many and people are very concerned for the future of their families and their communities.
In under-developed countries like Nepal people are more accustomed to uncertainty especially in the last years during which we faced earthquakes, blockades, shortages and economic and political crisis.
Here most of the population can afford to feed their families with day to day jobs, and since the start of the lock-down it began a new humanitarian crisis that is affecting the people that are more vulnerable.
Even before we started our little website to share the works of art created by the artists and artisans of our village with the world, we always been committed to help our community.
The meaning behind the artworks that we create is a universal message of compassion and kindness toward each other, and we try as much as we can to live according to these values.
We strongly believe that our generous customers and all our friends that follow us on instagram, twitter, facebook and other social media are moved by the same spirit.
During these years we promoted and participated to several projects that were successful also thanks to help of many of you.
We are sponsoring a beautiful project carried on by Girls Empowered by Travel – Nepal that is currently distributing rice, flour, lentils, oil, salt and milk to vulnerable women: pregnant or new mothers, single mothers and elderly women in three rural communities: Sarlahi, Changunarayan and Gre.
Please share the link of the campaign of GET-Nepal project on GoFundme and if you can please contribute with a small donation.
$10 can feed a family for one week!
Thank you.
Our Thangka on Display at The British Library Exhibition in London
British Library art exhibition – Buddhism origins, traditions and contemporary life.
Since the first seven steps that prince Siddhartha Gautama walked right after his birth in a garden in Lumbini to his death in Kushinagar, Buddha’s life story and teachings inspired cultures all across Asia and Buddhism became one of the world’s biggest religions. The different approaches to the Buddhist philosophy in different countries created a rich diversity of traditions and lineages that vary tremendously from region to region.
Today the Buddhist principles of compassion and tolerance, the practice of meditation and mindfulness and the concept of enlightenment have crossed over into Western culture acquiring a global scale. However not so many people are aware of the vaste diversity of the cultural footprints that Buddha’s journey left around the world. The current exhibition on Buddhism at the British Library in London wants to be a showcase of this journey.
Among delicate scriptures, illustrations painted on tree barks or leaves, silk scrolls of sutras and ancient objects, the show displays more then 120 artifacts from 20 countries and it covers a time span of 2,000 years.
We are happy and honored to announce that among these beautiful artworks you can admire the thangka painting of the Wheel of life painted by our master artist Buddha Lama and adorned with a silk brocade created by our dear tailor Susmi Tamang.
The British Library dedicated an entire wall to the thangka and it is on display until the 23 of February 2020 as centerpiece of the exhibition!
Both master Lama and Mrs. Tamang, our thangka school and all our team is deeply grateful to the lead curator of the exhibition Jana Igunma for commissioning the thangka, for her passion, kindness and care. Thank you also to all the staff of the British Library for such an amazing opportunity and for the generous contribution to the artists and artisans of our community.
Sadly it’s not possible for us to attend to this beautiful event however we are all following with excitement the articles, the twits and the photos that many visitors are posting on social media. Here some images:
The British Library also planned a series of events during the exhibition. People that are interested in the Buddhist teachings and practices can join different courses and classes on Mindfulness, Buddhist art, meditation, Zen calligraphy and much more.
You can find more info and the schedule of these events at the British Library official website.
If you are in London or you plan to visit the city during the coming holidays don’t miss the exhibition, it is open until 23 of February 2020.
More info at: British Library Buddhism Event.
Email: [email protected]
Contact number: +44 (0)1937 546060.
They offer 10% discount on groups of 10+ people or if you book online.
Namaste.
Nepal Flood July 2019 – Report from Changu
Rising water level in a stream at Kalanki in Kathmandu July 2019. Photos of Sanjog Manandhar – Kathmandu Post
We are having heavy rainfall especially in the past 3 days and it is still raining today. Many places in Kathmandu valley and southern Nepal have been flooded.
We cannot reach Bhaktapur (only 8km from Changunarayan) because the main access road is totally flooded and the steep road downhill is full of mud and big rocks.
View of the bus park and the main road flooded in Changunarayan, Nepal – July 2019[
All roads to Kathmandu have been cut off and many areas are without electricity and phone lines are off as well. The rescue teams are trying to reach these areas by helicopters.
There are reports of landslides from villages where our relatives live in the areas of Kavre and Sindhupalchock, also few casualties were reported. Today we managed to talk to our families and friends on the phone and they are safe. The fields are covered in mud and stones, and the crop are damaged or lost and they have a total blackout since days. The electric poles are very dangerous in Nepal especially in case of floods.
Here some pictures from Kavre taken by the relatives of Mira and Kabita, two of our dear master artists.
Following few videos showing the magnitude of the flooding – Videos by Sanish Jalmi Maharjan.
It is still raining, but less and the weather should get better in the next days as we keep our hope high.
There is a saying in Tibetan: “Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.”
No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.
~ the Dalai Lama
We are sorry to delay the shipments of the artworks for our kind customers. We all thank you for patience, your nice messages and prayers. We will answer your emails as soon as possible.
Namaste.
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Artworks on Sale
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Life of Buddha Master Thangka
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Wrathful Bhairava Mask
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Vajrabhairava
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Kalachakra Mandala
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Kalachakra Mandala
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Silk Frame #02
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Samatha Meditation Thangka
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Modern Design Brocades
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Sri Yantra Mandala
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Yin Yang Mantra Mandala
From: $45.00