Renowned Nepalese Buddhist nun Ani Chöying Drolma—sometimes dubbed the “rock star nun” because of her popular career singing Buddhist chants, sutras, and songs—has been appointed to a high-profile role as vice-chair of the Lumbini Development Trust, which oversees the running and development of Lumbini Garden, believed to be the birthplace of the historical Buddha.
The Lumbini Development Trust was established by an act of Nepal’s parliament in 1985 to conserve, develop, and promote Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace, under a master plan drawn up in 1978. Responsible for turning the site into a global pilgrimage destination, the trust today manages land, conservation, infrastructure and monastery development across the roughly 7.7-square-kilometer sacred garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
The Cabinet appointed Ani Chöying as vice-chair of the trust on 16 October, filling a post that had been vacant for an extended period. The position carries real weight: the Lumbini Development Trust Act, 1985 prescribes a five-year term for the vice-chair, who also serves as the trust’s chief administrative officer. The trust’s remit today extends beyond Lumbini Garden to other sites linked with the life of the historical Buddha, including: Tilaurakot, thought to be the location of the ancient Shakyan city of Kapilavastu, where Siddhartha Gautama spent the first 29 years of his life; Devdaha, identified as the home of Queen Mayadevi, Prajapati Gautami, and Princess Yasodhara; and Ramgram, home to the Ramagrama stupa, which was constructed around 2,500 BCE and contains a relics of the Buddha.
As such, the vice-chair inherits a mandate to turn a UNESCO World Heritage Site into an international pilgrimage and cultural centre, and a long-delayed development agenda. Nepal’s minister for culture, tourism, and civil aviation, Khadak Raj Paudel said the Cabinet had decided to appoint her following a proposal from the ministry.
Observers say Ani Chöying Drolma’s appointment is expected to help accelerate development, management, and administrative work in the Lumbini area.
Born in 1971 in a poverty-stricken refugee neighborhood of Kathmandu that she describes as “a mini-Tibet in exile,” Ani Chöying’s early life was a far cry from that of the celebrated singer and revered monastic she has become. From the age of five, she recalls, life was a struggle, with daily beatings from an abusive father, who “was someone who exhibited some unpleasant qualities of men. . . . Somehow he was able to . . . develop a lot of my negative qualities, which led to a lot of anger, frustration, and bitterness.” Ani Chöying still carries the scars, both mental and physical, from that chapter of her life. “My back was always covered in bruises, I was always bent over, but he seldom drew blood,” she writes in her autobiography Singing for Freedom (Pier 9, 2009).
It was the constant beatings, compounded with the fear of being forced to “marry a man who could become my father,” that prompted the little girl to leave home at the age of 13, finding refuge at Nagi Gompa, a Buddhist nunnery attached to Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery on the outskirts of Kathmandu. “My experience of abuse made me make a choice not to have it anymore,” she recounts. “Becoming a nun and going to the monastery was like going to heaven from hell.” (Post Magazine)
At the nunnery, as a disciple of meditation master Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, she learned to chant Buddhist scriptures, quickly distinguishing herself and drawing the admiration of the other nuns for her melodious delivery. Her life took a turn for the unexpected when she was “discovered” singing devotional prayers by American guitarist Steve Tibbetts, who happened to be visiting Nagi Gompa in 1994. Tibbetts encouraged Ani Choying to share her talent with the international music scene, and in 1998 she travelled to the US to give her first performances for international audiences.
Although Ani Chöying’s haunting, Dharma-inspired musical performances of Tibetan Buddhist chants and songs have made her one of the biggest musicians in her native Nepal—and garnered her a fast-growing international following, she Renowned for her numerous humanitarian activities, which include providing education opportunities for young girls, care for the elderly, and medical services for the underprivileged and dispossessed.
Buddhism is the second-most widespread religion in Nepal, which lays claim to being the birthplace of Shakyamuni Buddha in what is now Lumbini in Rupandehi District. Buddhism is mainly practiced among the Newar and Tibeto-Nepalese communities, representing 8.21 per cent of the overall population, according to government census data for 2021. Hindus make up the majority at 81.2 per cent, with Muslims representing 5.09 per cent.
See more
Ani Choying Drolma appointed vice-chair of Lumbini Development Trust (The Kathmandu Post)
Ani Choying Drolma appointed Vice-Chair of Lumbini Development Trust (Nepalkhabar)
Rock star nun: how Nepal’s rebel with a cause became an unlikely sensation (Post Magazine)
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