One of the Nepal’s more well-known folk and classical bands, Sukarma, returned home after performing musical shows around Switzerland. The two-week-long musical tour took place between August 8-26, 2014. During their concerts, the three musicians of the band, Dr Dhrubesh Chandra Regmi, Pramod Upadhyaya and Nagendra Rai, attracted huge audiences who had come to take in Eastern classical music, Nepali folk, Western jazz and the blues. The band has been performing at major cities in Switzerland since 2002.

During their trip, Sukarma, with the help of the Swiss Nepalese Association, played concerts in major Swiss cities like Morlon, La Roche, Lusanne, Geneva and Zurich. The group also performed at various religious communities, such as the Buddhist Meditation Centre of La Roche, the Yoga Centre of Lusanne and the Bullinger Church of Zurich. The band members play three traditional instruments: the sitar, the flute and the tabla.

“We feel happy that we were able get a great reception from crowds comprising both Swiss and Nepali attendees. At all our shows, the audience supported us and enjoyed themselves a lot.  During our concert in Zurich, there was a person from the audience who was so moved by our performance that he climbed up to the stage with his guitar and a little while later started playing along with us,” shared Dr Regmi.“Although many people from the West are not familiar with Nepali folk music, many loved our music even if it was the first time they were listening to music of that kind. We were always given positive feedback after the concerts. At a time when Western music is edging out traditional music, we feel that it is extremely necessary to promote Nepali music at the international level, in order to preserve it.”