Pranju Niraula
Co-founder · Organizer · Poet
@_pran_juhuhuhuhuAbout Karwaan
A stage built from
chai and courage
Karwaan (कारवाँ) means caravan — a group travelling together toward somewhere worth reaching. It began as chiya guff: friends over endless cups of chai, talking about the poems, songs and jokes that never found a room to be heard in.
So they built the room. An independent, community-run open mic for poetry, music and stand-up — mostly free entry, no gatekeeping, and a bias toward emerging local artists. In under eighteen months that idea became a sponsored, six-edition series that has filled venues across Kathmandu.
Why we do it
The mission
Every city has voices it hasn't heard yet. Karwaan exists to hand them a microphone — the nervous first-timer reading a poem in public for the first time, the singer between gigs, the comic testing five new minutes.
We keep entry free wherever we can, rotate through venues so the journey stays fresh, and partner with restaurants, brands and venues who believe a city is richer when its art has somewhere to live. Edition 3 turned the whole night toward a cause — HIV/AIDS awareness — because a caravan can carry more than entertainment.
Because the mic still has stories to tell.
From chiya guff to Karwaan
The journey
- 01
The spark
Long chiya guff conversations between friends — "wouldn't it be something to give these voices a stage?"
- 02
Edition 1
February 2025, The 100 Spaces. A dream made real: "Karwaan was a dream, and you all made it a reality."
- 03
Edition 3
A charity night for HIV/AIDS awareness, with Poet Idol finalists on the mic.
- 04
Today
Six editions, four-plus venues, nineteen partners — and the caravan keeps moving.
The soul of the show
The people steering it
Three passionate individuals — and a wider crew — steering this dream with dedication, creativity and heart.
Sonu Niraula
Co-founder · Organizer · Host of every edition
@sonu_niraulaAryan Kamat
Co-organizer · Core team
@aryankamat__Himanshu Singh
Director · Core team · Poet
@himanshusingh_303