US Embassy Supports Kartik Nach

 

--By TC Correspondent

 

The US Embassy hosted a preview of the time-honored Kartik Nach tradition on October 31, 2013. According to a press statement by the embassy, US Deputy Chief of Mission, John Carwile, inaugurated the performance.  The event, held at the U.S. Embassy, brought together performers, Alliance for Ecotourism and Kartik Nach Preservation Committee members and other guests. "This unique form of storytelling through dance, started in the 17th century, has not been performed in its entirety since 1949.  With the support of the US Embassy, in partnership with the Alliance for Ecotourism, the full Kartik Nach will be restored and documented," says the statement.  

 

The US Embassy’s support of Kartik Nach was made possible by a grant of $75,300 from the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).  This is the Embassy’s first non-tangible cultural heritage project funded by AFCP in Nepal. The embassy hoped that the assistance and grant will revive the centuries-old tradition.  The grant will assist the Kartik Nach Preservation Committee to restore the full form of the dance and to document and teach this cultural tradition to a new generation. 

 

The Kartik Nach festival is an eight-day long dance festival believed to have been introduced by King Siddhi Narsingh Malla in 1637 AD. It is a combination of traditional music and drama based on the story of Lord Narsimha, incarnation of Hindu god Vishnu. The dance will be performed each evening in the month of Kartik in Patan Durbar Square.