Nepathaya's hit song Sa Karnali and its music video are milestones in Nepali pop music. Fusing folk tunes with modern music may be the rage among Nepali rock bands trying to get into the rural market, but Nepathya and Nepa~Laya, their managers, deserve praise for reaching out to Dolpo, the largest district, and yet one of the most remote and underprivileged in Nepal.

But that's not why the song and its video deserve mention. Sa Karnali's music video stands out because it brings the best of Dolpo through a song whose lyrics and tune have a local folk base and are yet catchy enough for urban hipsters to want to twirl around like Amrit Gurung, Nepathya's vocalist in the video. The story in the video aptly portrays a small segment in the life of a Dolpoli.

Thinley, of Caravan fame, and Amrit are traders travelling on business. The much older Thinley hands Amrit a 'Company Mala' a necklace of silver coins from colonial India and another lined with the tusks of a musk deer so that the young man may get himself a bride. The necklaces are still considered a symbol of wealth and are in the region. They are also linked with Nepal's long history of migrant labour and trade connections down south in India and up north in Tibet.

In The Making of Sa Karnali, director Kiran Krishna Shrestha follows the shoot of the video directed by Bhusan Dahal. The on-location scenes shot before and during the making capture the sentiments of all those involved in the process.

Protagonist Amrit Gurung's agony due to the conflict is apparent when he discovers trenches dug by the army around the Juphal airport. Cameraman Bidur Pandey and director Bhusan Dahal are awestruck by the landscape despite the lack of greenery and constantly talking about how different it all is from what they are used to. Thinley, still a real character, is unforgettable. The village lass to whom Amrit is seen offering the necklaces is a perfect portrayal of Nepal's hidden rural beauties. And finally, watching Dolpoli horsemen race down the banks of the Karnali convinces one that the blood of Genghis Khan flows through them.

The documentary is a must-watch for those who loved the song as well as for those who have dreamed of the turquoise blue waters of Shey Phoksundo and is being screened at the Kumari Hall from 6 October for a week.