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A year after the Nepal Earthquake, Kathmandu’s ‘Masked Dancer’ unmasks the regret of his life

At around 11 am on April 25, 2015, Nilu Ranjit (Chitrakar) and her colleagues gathered inside Kasthamandap, a travellers’ rest in the heart of Kathmandu (the city also gets its name from the landmark), to commemorate their office’s (Nimbus Saving and Credit Cooperative) anniversary.

Nilu’s husband Laxman Ranjit lay beside her, and the couple donated blood. Although Laxman had been donating blood for the last few years, this was the first time that Nilu was doing it.

“This couple here make for a good photograph,” a clerk from the office had said. “This calls for a photograph.”

He had just completed his sentence when everyone inside the centuries-old building felt the ground shake.

Within a matter of seconds, Kathmandu’s Durbar Square was filled with dust. That day many people who were there said they felt that all their senses went numb. As buildings that survived hundreds of years of crumbled, all one could hear was people screaming, praying to god that they be spared, and a dust storm claimed the square, blinding everyone for a few minutes.

At 4 pm that day Ranjit, lying on a bed at the Trauma Centre in Kathmandu’s Bir Hospital, received news that his wife Nilu was no more. It was then that the day’s events replayed before his eyes.

“Nilu’s mum had invited us over for lunch that day. We were to go there after the blood donation programme,” remembers Ranjit.

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“Our son Aryan was playing just outside Kasthamandap. When I realised that my son was in harm’s way, I immediately took off the needle on me, and jumped towards my son without thinking.”

“In a matter of few seconds, there was dust everywhere. I could not see anything. I soon realised that Kasthamandap was gone, and everyone inside it was crushed to death under its weight.”

“I was holding my son tight. I felt pain on my left leg.”

“Later I was told that I had multiple fractures on my left leg, and ankle.”


At 4 pm that day Ranjit, lying on a bed at the Trauma Centre in Kathmandu’s Bir Hospital, received news that his wife Nilu was no more.


Ranjit and his family have a close relationship with the square. It was here that he and his siblings spent time sitting, chatting and playing. It was also here that he had met his future wife. It was just six months ago that he had donned the famous Lakhe mask and danced his way into “warding off evil spirits.” They had told him that there was no one else who could dance like him, and that had made his wife proud.

This was a big leap for Ranjit, who was once notoriously famous for sitting at home doing nothing, and getting into neighbourhood fights. He credits everything he’s achieved to his wife.

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Few seconds before the April 25, 2015 quake Nilu and her husband were donating blood. Above: Laxman’s portrait; source: Bibek Raj Shrestha/ Youtube

Nilu and Laxman had known each other since their childhood. They used to play together, and had common circle of friends. Soon the friendship developed into love. They would pretend not knowing each other when their eyes would meet while in the neighbourhood. They would talk in letters, and meet secretly far away from their homes.

“One day we decided to get married. I told my parents that I was going to attend a friend’s wedding. She also did the same.”

“We went to temple on the outskirts and got married.”

When the two realised that their families would not accept their wedding, they decided to run away to Birgunj. “When we reached Birgunj we got married again.”

“She called home to say that she would not return.”

“That night she cried a lot, I also cried.”

That would, however, change soon. Both the families agreed to the wedding, and soon the couple had its third wedding.

Laxman’s life took a U-turn after his wedding in 2007. With his wife and son by his side, he wore the mask and danced like never before. On the professional front, his brother (upon the request of his wife) helped him get into the police, and train as a weight-lifter. He even won a medal during the fifth national games in 2008.

“My son was also born around the same time,” he remembers.

“During our last Indra Jatra together, I had put on the mask, and my son and wife had come along to see me. I had not imagined that this would be our last Indra Jatra together.”

“Nilu was someone who was full of life and energy. But she also was someone who would lose her patience a bit fast,” says Laxman. “I did not see what her reaction to the quake was, but I am certain she would have been overwhelmed by it.”

“I think that I am alive today because my son saved me, and I saved my son.”

“They said that if Nilu had been rescued an hour earlier, she would have been alive.”

“That I did not go to her rescue will be the one thing that I shall regret all my life.”

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