MICHEAL COX

Gold and silver trophies hang in box frames on a wall. Take a closer look, and you realise they are the hands and feet of a newborn baby set in stone, so defined that you can read the palms.

Getting moulds made out of the hands and feet of your newborn baby is a phenomenon that has taken Australia by storm. Could it catch on in Nepal? One Jawalakhel resident has a hunch that she could be on to something.

Nishan Rai is about to launch a new business called 'Capture Childhood' to literally set memories in stone by sculpting the hands and feet of babies. She says it's not art, and is not sure how the Nepali people will respond to this slightly bizarre craftsmanship, but explains: "You will only have your baby once, you won't give birth to the same baby twice, and this gives people the chance to capture that moment forever."

It was a trip to Australia that sparked the idea to mould Nepal's childhood.

Rai was working for an Australian company in the business of making these sculptures, but says her counterpart and friend at the time did not want to share the knowhow. Secretly, she began to piece together the process.

"We are grown-ups, from different social backgrounds, so I'm not angry at her for not sharing it with me. I'm still grateful to her because I learnt how it was done," says Rai, who believes that Nepal's new middle class could be interested in spending between Rs 7,000-12,000 on such moulds.

Though her sculptures started as a hobby, Rai now has enough overseas contacts to build her business from the ground up in Kathmandu. So far she has only been taking moulds of children of her friends, such as artist Ashmina Ranjit.

Says Rai: "Sculpting memories is a good way for families to stay connected. These stone sentiments can be captured at different milestones, and are guaranteed to last a lifetime."

Meet your feet

Aba Ranjit, almost two years old, stares at his feet everyday, according to artist Ashmina Ranjit. Moulds of his feet, that is, mounted on the wall. Ranjit says her first-born son interacts with the sculpture now that he is growing. "He has this expression when he points at his stone feet, his attachment to the sculpture is so deep," she says.

Ranjit was Rai's first client and says the sculpture provides a sense of time and growth. "I'm encouraging my circle of friends to have one made with their children because I think most people who see it will want it," she says.

She concedes moulds are more of a craft than an art, but adds: "The definition of art is always changing. If we open our eyes, whatever we see, one way or another, it is a piece of art."

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