Over the last five years the band Kutumba has revived forgotten folk tunes from villages and brought them to the mainstream music scene. Celebrating their fifth anniversary on 9 May, they aim to continue bringing life to tunes from old forgotten instruments such as tungna, arbajo, sarangi and dhimay and to continue to create music which the band members characterise as new age folk.

At the beginning, Kutumba was a group that was formed on a whim?a couple of friends playing together.
Their first album Forever Nepali Folk Instrumental was launched in 2004 and since then they have performed at fundraisers for the flood victims, collaborated with various artists to create a peace song and released another two albums- Folk Roots and Naulo Bihani and toured throughout the country. They also performed the back score for the feature film God lives in the Himalayas.

"Our music has always has been about giving back to society", says Pavit Maharjan, the band's percussionist. Currently they are working on the Danish-funded project Kutumba Sanga Hatemelo, which involves researching and preserving the diversity of traditional music and inspiring other musicians in this field.

A memorable performance for all the band members and an inspiration for their fourth album would be their concert at Janakpur, a place that has never heard orchestral folk tunes like theirs. 'Mithila', their new album, which consists of seven songs is dedicated to Maithili culture, festivals and traditions. This will be released on 9 May at Rastriya Nach Ghar. This concert which celebrates Newari, Gaardharva and Maithali culture is a continuation of their Hatemalo series.

Free passes for the concert are available at East and West Music Box, Thamel. Show is from 4-6PM. 4256411

Shradha Basnyat