Singing for Freedom

Ani Choying escaped her violent home for a monastery in Nepal, where a Buddhist monk offered her Sanctuary and understanding, teaching her to embrace life again. Cheeky and mischievous by nature, she rebelled against the rules of the community at first and delighted in flouting convention by learning kung fu. But slowly she found a way to channel her rage towards her father into helping others. One day, an American jazz guitarist heard the young nun sing and was so enthralled by her voice that he invited her to record an album with him. The royalty cheque was unexpected windfalls that enable her to fulfill a long cherished dream: to set up a school for young girl like herself, in a country where 80 percent of women are illiterate. In 2000 Ani Choying opened Arya Tara School, just outside Kathmandu. She went on to adopt little girl, then two, and another followed – until they become sixty. Ani Choying now tours the world giving concerts, driven by her desire to help he young Nepalese charges. In singing For freedom she tells her sometime shocking, always inspiring story.