The fragrance of scented candles in the air and flower petals floating on copper pots welcomed the audience to Nepalaya’s r-sala, where an amalgamation of poetry and music was to take place. Soft lamp light illuminated the stage as people sat themselves on the floor cross-legged, apt given the title of the musical series, Paleti.

Directed by the musician Aavas and produced by Nepalaya’s Kiran Kumar Shrestha, the Paleti music series did something different over this past weekend, pairing verse poetry (chhanda kabita), recited by the talented Bhushita Vasistha, with a musical ensemble.

In a little over two hours, Vasistha recited 17 poems by a number of legendary Nepali language poets—Pandit Jagannath Upadhaya, Bhanubhakta Acharya, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, Bhimnidhi Tiwari, and Madhav Prasad Ghimire. She also added a personal touch to the recital by reciting a poem by her father, Bharatmani Bhattarai, and one of her own. The poems she recited were in a number of metric styles, from shragdhara, totak, hari geeta, shragbidhi, bhujangaprayat, rathyodhya and mandakranta.

Vasistha’s clear, melodious voice was backed by an accomplished musical ensemble—Aavas on harmonium, Dinesh Regmi on keyboard, Sundar Maharjan on percussion, Balaram Samal on flute, and Suraj Pradhan on guitar.

Starting with Pandit Jagannath Upadhya’s ‘Gunaratna Mala’, a poem in the Shardulvikridit chhanda, Vasistha went on to recite Bhanubhakta Acharya’s ‘Badhu Shiksha’ in the same metric style. Alongside, she explained what the poems were about. Bhanubhakta’s ‘Badhu Shiksha’, for instance, sets out the criteria for an ideal daughter-in-law: one who wakes up early in the morning, prays to the gods and sees god in her husband. Vasistha disputed Acharya’s ideal buhari as a submissive woman devoid of personal agency, but that didn’t prevent her from cherishing the metre, rhyme and musicality of the poem.

But for every Bhanubhakta who thinks that any woman who laughs is a prostitute, there is a Laxmi Prasad Devkota who finds a prostitute’s spontaneous laugh captivating. Vasistha next recited ‘Ek sundari beshya prati’, Devkota’s rebuttal of the aadikavi’s ‘Badhu Shiksha’. For Devkota, the world had become materialistic, with consumerism putting a price on everything, and humans failing to appreciate beauty and love. A prostitute, sitting by the windowpane observing these lifeless people, recognises this and laughs at their misery. Vasistha said that among all the poems she recited that evening, Devkota’s, written in the Panchachamar chhanda, was her favourite.

Vasistha believes that poetry acts as a mirror to society, helping us understand who we are. Her love for language and literature was evident in her crisp commentary, in perfect rhythm with the poems she recited. Vasistha’s command over the language, rhythm and metre of the poetry enthralled the audience, even bringing them to tears.

When asked why she chose to recite these chhanda poems, for comfort, said Vasistha. “There is comfort food, where you are certain things as a child and you go back to them  during times of distress. For me, this is comfort melody,” she said. She grew up listening to chhanda poetry at home and they are a panacea to her anxiety, she said.

Vasistha is a novice poet herself, among many other things, including a former journalist with the Post, a writer, corporate communicator, Osho dhyani and theatre actor. The latter role stunning audience with her debut turn as Anidra in Kumar Nagarkoti’s surreal Bathtub.

Vasistha’s recitation, with the music of a stellar ensemble, provided a moment of tranquility among the chaos of everyday life. Her recitation, it seemed, was asking the audience to just pause a little more and simply reflect.

The Paleti musical series takes place every month at Nepalaya’s r-sala. Next month, Shanti Thatal will be performing Muna Madan on 24-26 May at 5:30 PM.