Just finished doing the back up of the recording of the ten days of the Kartik Naach. The Kartik Naach is a dance-drama performed in the month of Kartik (October-November) in Patan Durbar Square, started in 1641 by King Siddhi Narsingh Malla. The apex centres around Narsimha Avatar. And here’s a bit of Narsimha dance (day 8) and Baraha dance (day 7). Narsimha is the half-man half-lion incarnation of Lord Vishnu fighting and killing the demon Hiranyakashyapu. There was a sea of people watching from every step and corner, sitting and standing, recording with their phones. From the top where I was standing, I could not see where the crowd ended. While some cultural performances seem to be sadly disappearing, the feeling here is that the Kartik Naach has a long and bright future ahead, with such participation and enthusiasm. But so much has changed since I first watched it in 2005, first of all the way it is inevitably being influenced by social media. Together with Narsimha and Baraha dancing, there was an interesting dance of mobile phones in the air too. A lot to explore now through interviews.