Save Instrument Museum

Nepal is recognised globally as a country of natural beauty and cultural diversity. The constitution defines Nepal as a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-cultural state and acknowledges the necessity to preserve and promote these features as key characteristics of the Nepali identity. The statute also states that every community in the country shall have the right to preserve and promote its language, script, culture, cultural civilisation and heritage. And we have Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation with various agencies under it to support citizens in this momentous task. However, things don’t seem to be going as desired in regard to preservation and promotion of the country’s arts and cultures.

Take, for example, the case of music, folk music in particular; it is a key component of culture and reflects the values of various communities living across the length and breadth of the country. In this sense, the government needs to play a pro-active role to preserve and promote all forms of music. However, according to a news report in this daily, the Museum of Nepali Folk Musical Instruments housed in a building owned by Guthi Sansthan at Tripureshwor in Kathmandu is in a derelict state. The museum is the fruit of the hard work of an individual – Ram Prasad Kandel – who started collecting folk musical instruments from diverse communities since 1997 when he got it registered. He has collected about 650 rare and historically important musical instruments, some of which are two centuries old. But only about 200 instruments are put on display due to lack of enough space in the building while many instruments made of animal hide and wood have started decaying in absence of proper care and management. Worse, the Gorkha Earthquake of 2015 has left the building in a dilapidated condition; it also destroyed some 60 rare instruments.

Meanwhile, two years ago the Guthi Sansthan signed an agreement with Tribhuvan University to provide the space occupied by the Museum on lease for 25 years for running the Music Department of the university. And now the Guthi Sansthan has issued a notice to evacuate the building for the reconstruction of a new facility. So Kandel, the curator of the museum, is at his wit’s end. He wants to hand over all the instruments to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation or the Guthi Sansthan. However, so far he has not received any assurance from these authorities in this regard.

This is only an example of how the state authorities have failed to play an effective role to duly preserve and promote the rich culture and heritage of the country. This may be because they lack enough financial and other resources to accomplish the task. But as things stand, it is mainly a function of vision and willpower. The country has now embraced a federal model with all-powerful local governments, which need to show dynamism about preserving the culture and heritage of various ethnic communities in the respective regions in line with the constitutional commitment of the country. Meanwhile, the Guthi Sansthan should accept the onus of taking the ownership of the Folk Instrument Museum as curator Kandel wishes and operating it in a systematic manner. Otherwise, we are at risk of losing the invaluable instruments collected over a long period of time, depriving future generations of an opportunity to see and wonder about their creators.