Kathmandu, April 18 — There is something tender about remembering. Whether it’s how an elder sips their morning tea, the quiet strength in a woman’s gaze, or the lotus leaves floating on a forgotten lake, memory lingers in the everyday.
At Siddhartha Art Gallery’s latest exhibition, ‘Chitra Katha’, twenty-eight artists from Bhaktapur come together to honour these fragments of life. Each work is inspired by personal memories, lived experiences, and collective aspirations rooted in the city.
Through a wide range of media, including painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, and light installations, the works reflect diverse artistic voices encompassing themes of belonging, ritual practice, and the shifting fabric of daily life in Bhaktapur.
Manish Dhoju’s ‘Bhairav and Her Invocation’ is the first painting to greet the viewer. Placed on a crimson-coloured wall, the painting holds a magnetic allure that draws your gaze and attention for a long time. It features Bhairav on the left side and a lady in Bindu Patra Mudra, clad in a Newa sari, seated on the right side.
The phrase ‘bold and beautiful’ might hold different meanings for different people. For me, this woman, with her sharp gaze, embodies both. She radiates confidence and grace.
What truly stands out in this piece are its exquisite details. Each strand of the woman’s hair is sketched so precisely that it appears lifelike. Bhairav’s intricate features are drawn with such meticulous care that one can’t help but be in awe of the craftsmanship.
Interestingly, the lady does not appear to be Nepali. Curious, I asked the artist about her identity. “She is Russian,” he said. Then, after a pause, he added, “But in the end, she’s human. Just as we Nepalis are human. If Bhairav himself does not discriminate, why should we? I believe Bhairav watches over all of humankind, not just Nepalis.”
Pooja Duwal’s series of paintings entitled ‘Custodians of the Ephemeral’ portrays fleeting moments that often go unnoticed, yet hold layers of depth and meaning. Through keen observation, she has painted the beauty of everyday life, particularly in the lives of elderly individuals in Bhaktapur.
The series features paintings like a traditional wooden door, an idol of a god, two elderly men engaged in quiet conversation over cigarettes, and a breakfast spread. Each piece is inspired by photographs Duwal took in Bhaktapur, which she later transformed into paintings.
Elderly individuals are the heart of her work. For Duwal, their presence is symbolic. “An elderly person’s existence tells so many stories,” she says.
One standout painting in the series is a breakfast setting. It is simple and familiar, yet beautiful. Placed on a woven sukul, two glasses of tea, one black, one with milk, sit side by side. The choice of glass cups is intentional; they are the kind found in nearly every tea stall across the valley. Next to the tea are a selroti, a boiled egg, and chickpeas.
These food items are not chosen at random. For Duwal, they are part of her childhood memories. It is the common breakfast staple she watched people enjoy while growing up in Bhaktapur. Through this painting, she captures a collective cultural memory. The painting is not just beautiful but also salivating to look at.
Her other artworks seek to portray the daily life among Bhaktapur’s elderly. “I was imagining how their lives unfold,” Duwal shares. “They go to temples early in the morning, have tea afterwards, and spend time talking. I wanted to paint that normal life.” Indeed, her paintings speak to the commonality of life in Bhaktapur. They remind us that within the ordinary lies the extraordinary.
Rabita Kisi’s ‘Above Attachment’ centres around a lotus flower. Beyond carrying a floral motif, the lotus is a metaphor for resilience. While lotuses bloom in various hues in nature, Kisi chooses to paint them in shades of red. “The colour red feels vigorous and lively to me,” she explains. It’s a bold choice, red, after all, evokes vitality, courage, and passion.”
Beyond their visual appeal, her lotus paintings are symbolic. The lotus is widely regarded as a symbol of hope-something that keeps us going through life’s uncertainties.
“Hope,” Kisi reflects, “is essential for living. Without it, life becomes dull and lifeless.” Kisi also has an interest in Buddhist philosophy that adds further depth to her work. In Buddhism, the lotus holds profound spiritual significance, representing purity, spiritual awakening, and detachment from suffering.
Kisi’s paintings seem to voice the teachings of Buddhism: we must not dwell in the past but instead move forward with renewed hope. She believes that, like the lotus, which blooms beautifully above murky waters without ever leaving its muddy roots, we too must rise and grow while remaining connected to where we come from.
However, she draws an important distinction-remembering our roots should not mean being held back by them.
One of her artworks in the series features three red lotuses. Their roots are visibly tangled and intertwined, yet the flowers appear serene and radiant above. The longer one gazes at it, the more philosophical the painting feels. It captures the essence of human existence: beneath the surface, life is messy, chaotic, filled with entanglements. Yet, akin to a lotus, we are capable of blooming regardless. Kisi’s ‘Above Attachment’ reminds viewers to grow, not away from, but above the things that hold us down.
Narayan Bohaju’s ‘Floating Hopes II’ is a diptych painting, meaning two canvases are connected together.
The painting juxtaposes an image of a bustling highway of Kathmandu valley, teeming with vehicles, against the unexpected presence of floating lotus leaves. While the cars are grounded, the lotus leaves float above them. Moreover, erratic, abstract lines are drawn here and there that inject a slightly surreal, even eerie, atmosphere to the painting.
Bohaju draws inspiration from ancient mythology and history. He recalls the belief that the Kathmandu Valley was once a vast lake, where lotus leaves floated freely on its surface. “I merged the ancient Kathmandu with the present Kathmandu,” the artist shares. His work bridges these two worlds-the mythical past and the modern present.
The highway, filled with vehicles, symbolises contemporary life’s fast-paced, restless nature. In this constant rush, we often overlook our existence’s subtler, more curious elements. “Despite the speed and pressure of modern routines, our yearning to be close to nature persists,” he adds.
The floating leaves are metaphors for these unspoken, perhaps even unconscious, desires to pause, breathe, and remember when life was more attuned to the earth’s rhythms and connected to nature. This painting reminds us to reconnect, remember, and return, if not physically, then spiritually, to the natural world that once cradled us.
Chitra Katha
Where: Siddhartha Art Gallery, Babermahal Revisited
When: April 11 to May 11
Time: Sunday to Friday, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm,
Saturday 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Entry: Free