Kathmandu, June 13 -- In a village where ownership of a buffalo determines social status, Lukhure's family of indebted farmers dares to buy one.

In Ramesh Bikal's Madan Puraskar-awarded story collection 'Naya Sadak ko Geet' (1959-62), one of the stories, 'Lahuri Bhainsi', explores a marginalised family's struggle and expedition to buy a buffalo.

What follows is not unusual. In a society where the 'supreme power', inherently privileged enough to own wealth and land, dictates what is right and what is wrong, which buffalo is healthy and which is not, the dynamic between the rich and the poor is predictable.

A commendable amount of a theatre's emotional weight is carried by its live music, and 'Lahuri Bhainsi' is no exception. Within mome...