(This article is part of our upcoming print quarterly 'Diaspora: Southasia Abroad' and is also featured in our web-exclusive series.)
In and around London, sporadic bursts of Nepali rock concerts take place in the usual suspect venues of pubs and bars. Attire matches lighting – black shirts, faux leather jackets, tattoos and long hair – the darker the venue, the darker the style. The bands, predictably loud, play punk and poetry, Himalayan melodies and metal.
Away from dingy bars, these bands once in a while play on cleaner stages to larger audiences. Distorted guitars wail over a headbanging crowd at the front where boys and girls scream. The speakers ring all the way to the audience sitting at the back: the aunties and mothers, baby brothers and grandfathers.
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