In winter it used to be a common sight to see half-clad women and their newborns in the kausis of Kathmandu Valley enjoying the mild sun while a midwife administered an oil massage to the little one.

While the practice has become rare here, baby massage has become a rage in Europe. The woman responsible for taking this ancient Newari tradition and adapting it to the European lifestyle is Nasma Scheibler-Shrestha.

Nasma met her husband, Giovanni Scheibler, in Bhakatapur while they were both working on the German-supported Bhakatapur conservation program. While having her first child, Jamuna Maya, in Switzerland, Nasma's parents came to take care of them. In the traditional Newari style, Nasma's mother wanted to give her granddaughter an oil massage but the nurses and doctors at the hospital were appalled.

"Why do you want to massage the child? There is nothing wrong with her," Nasma remembers one nurse saying. She found this strange thinking, "do babies in Europe only get massaged after they fall sick? Why not before?"

As the hospital continued to deny permission for the massage, Nasma consoled her mother, saying that they would do it once they got home. But then another nurse in the hospital approached Nasma proposing they do the massage in secret Indian baby massage and wanted to see the Nepali version. The rest, as they say, is history

Nasma opened her Professional School of Baby Massage in 1986 where she promoted her adpated Newari massage. Since then she has trained over 100 masseuse and innumerable parents in the practice. Baby massage is not only important to maintain traditions or to strengthen bonds between mother and child. According to paediatricians from Nasma's adopted town, Zurich, such closeness is also necessary for the baby's psychological and physical growth.

Nasma has adapted the massage to the psychological and physical needs of European parents. Instead of traditional mats, the massage is done on carpets and cushions and heating lamps are used in place of wooden fires. "It was necessary to bring western logic into the practice and to be able to explain the reasons for the massage as no one in Nepal really thinks about it."

Nasma believes the massage caught on so fast in Europe because there is a deep need for parents there to bond more with their children. "I found that in Europe, people are so stressed and they are never able to spend proper time with their children. The massage gives the mothers a special and quiet time to be with their baby and share a deep bond."

Although in Nepal, it would've been unheard of for the father to administer the massage, as European dads are now doing, Nasma believes that what is important is to take the positive aspects of Nepali traditions and spread them throughout the world.

Adds Giovanni, "The fathers are always ignored after birth but with this technique, they are able to spend more time with their child and create a unique bond of their own".

After the success of their technique in Europe, where the massage book is in its seventh edition, the couple decided to hold a travelling exhibition of pictures depicting the art in Europe and Nepal as well as a 25-minute film called Story within a Story explaining the origin of the practise and Nasma's work to adapt it.

After touring eight European cities, Nasma thinks it is time to bring the exhibition home. "I feel like the tradition is being lost here. I don't see people massaging their babies in courtyards anymore. With the nuclear family becoming more popular in Nepal, people seem to have lost touch with the bonding that used to happen. The need to bring harmony within the family is being felt here as well. So by bringing this tradition back home, I believe we will be able to make people aware of the need for this important aspect of a baby's life."

The Baby Massage Exhibition
Patan Museum from
30 December -15 January
10AM -5PM
Free Entrance
The exhibition and workshops will also be held in Dhulikhel Hospital from 19 January.