Afantastic Kathmandu night. Soothing background music as the camera trails over the city and angles down to a small house-a Disney-ish version of a typical Nepali village house. And this is where it begins, the story of Nunu, a fairy from the moon who sprinkles sleep dust over the city. But Nunu hasn't arrived yet, and the two little sisters who live here, Navashree and Navistha, are playing with their mother Shrijana, and asking her to tell them a story. And so she does, bringing them Nunu to make them happy and sleepy.

This colourful five minute journey through silhouettes of Dharahara, pagoda temple tops, Swayambhu, dotted with lush plants, chirping birds, jumping fish, and hopping frogs is visualised around a lullaby composed by the late Gopal Yonzan when his first child was born in 1970. Interestingly this child, Shrijana Yonzan Singh, plays mother to her own two daughters in this live-animation, Nind ko pari (Angel of dream). This would have died out, like so many 30 year old dreams, but for the will and vision of Renchin Yonzan, Gopal's wife, who ignored time and budget constraints to undertake what many might have said was an impossible task. She raised the Rs 700,000 this project cost and got together a team with great synergy. In four short months, Nind ko pari was made, and animation was back in Nepal.

Says Dipendra Gauchan, director of the video: "We (animation artists) were trying to get back together, and when this project came about, it became a turning point for all of us. For Nepal, this is a milestone in animation incorporating artwork, live shots and computer graphics." About a decade ago a GTZ project brought together 16 animation artists to create cartoons for Nepal Television. They're still the only trained animators in Nepal, but they've not had much work after the project expired. And now, as Nind ko pari puts children to bed, it may wake up a new generation to the possibilities of animation. The animators are the artist couple Sudarshan and Sunita Rana, Kriti Keshar Joshi, Rajesh Rajkarnikar and Rajendra Rana. The live shots were filmed by Manod Shrestha, and the film is edited by Bina Gauchan and Ram Prasad Joshi. And the song? Not, sadly, the original, which was sung by Kamala Shrestha-the recording was badly preserved-but a new version by Manila Sotang, arranged by Prakash Gurung.
Renchin says, "This project fulfils my urge to share our dreams-Gopal's and mine-with the rest of the world, especially with innocent children who are born into an environment filled with strife, misery and deprivation. My mission in life is to create beautiful environments to provide food for the soul." The crew seems to have caught her enthusiasm. They say they wanted to bring back to us, and to children's literature and art in this country, an appreciation for life, for the joy in everyday tasks. The video, launched 25 May to mark Gopal Yonzan's fourth death anniversary, will be aired on Space Time's Channel Nepal, and Renchin also plans to travel to different schools in the Valley with the film. "That way I can also interact with the children, hear their remarks and share my views," she says.