This book is an accidental product, an incidental result … Two of my other long-form pieces appear for the first time in this book … They are, ‘Other Encounters: Darjeeling’ and ‘Other Encounters: Kathmandu.’ These twin folios mention and highlight those Nepali musicmakers – many passed by now and quite a few still practicing their crafts, of two musical crucibles, one in the town of Darjeeling and the other in the capital city of Kathmandu.
This book is a collection of my personal reminiscences and not a set of historical records in any sense. My narratives, therefore, don’t cite exact days, dates, months, and years per se … However, a cursory mention of essential timelines has been made where applicable.

Peter J. Karthak, 75, was born in Shillong, India, and was brought up and educated initially in Peshok Tea Estate and Nor Busti, in Darjeeling. From 1956, he studied at Turnbull High School and attended St Joseph’s College, North Point, both in Darjeeling. He arrived in Kathmandu in 1966, and completed his MA in English from Tribhuvan University at Kirtipur in 1971. He taught at Patan College; the Pulchowk Central Campus; a private-sector university in Bangkok, and finally, at Kathmandu University in Kathmandu.

Apart from music and other professions, Peter spent 25 years in Kathmandu’s media, liberalized by the Kathmandu Spring of 1990. He was with the founding editorial team at The Himalayan Times, in 2000, The Kathmandu Post/City Post, from 2002 to 2008; his last journalism stints were at Republica as its pioneering editorial team until 2015.

‘All but two long-form pieces in Nepali Musicmakers were published as Peter’s regular columns and features in the above mentioned English-language daily newspapers published in Kathmandu, including Nepali Times.’