hough the outcomes were less than favourable, it seems that the hype around last year's COP 15 (the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, remember?) managed to mobilise not only the environmentalist hippies, but inspired a much wider group of people to care about the earth. After the Maldives started a trend by holding a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the threat posed by global warming, Nepal held a meeting in Everest Base Camp to draw attention to melting snowcaps in the Himalayas. Despite a series of environmental events (not all of which have been misguided), hardly anything has changed. But then as human beings we can only hope, right? On this note, Alliance Française with the help of Cultures France organised Planet Nepal Festival of Arts and Environment from October 29-31 in Patan Durbar Square, the first of its kind in Nepal.
The three-day event was a collection of roundtable discussions, documentary screenings, and installations focusing on the environmental issues of Nepal. One of the highlights was the musical performances by Nepali and French artists like Kutumba, Lo'Jo Trio, Tryo, Nirnaya Da'NSK and others.

Kutumba, who gave the first performance of the Friday-night event, entranced the audience with their energetic folklore beat – the effect of the percussion instruments augmenting the energy of the crowd. While the performances from Tryo and Lo'Jo Trio may have sounded gibberish to the majority of the Nepali audience present, nothing could stop them from dancing away to the upbeat reggae tunes amongst others. Finally, Nirnaya Da'NSK brought the house down with his Nep Hop style.
On the occasion of this festival, five Nepali performers, Kutumba, Nirnaya Da'NSK & Astha B, Bijay Vaidya and famous Poet Manjul Nepal, came up with a special album called Recycled Music, compiling songs from various artists to tell a story about the environment.
The lively interaction between the artists and audience was visible throughout the musical part of the festival. It's just a shame that the organisers didn't capitalise on this enthusiasm and leave some of the exhibition spaces open for guests. During the days, the venue looked like everyday Durbar Square, but the place completely changed colours in the evenings, with colourful lights put in the palace and in almost every temple.