Earlier this year, American  rapper and singer Svetha Yallapragada Rao aka Raja Kumari was invited to visit Nepal by the country’s tourism board. So taken was she by the country’s energy that she pitched the idea of a live performance there. “This was my first solo show performing Kashi to Kailash,” she tells us, days after she performed her latest album at the historic Lohan Chowk in Hanumandhoka, Kathmandu. “Usually, in my shows, a small section has spiritual undertones. But this time, the entire show was rooted in that energy. I really opened up, and spoke about moments when I felt God was guiding me in my journey as a musician. It was beautiful to share in such a sacred space,” she says.  

 In her older interviews, the Grammy-nominated songwriter had spoken about going through a dark phase around 2023 when she was blackballed and her India tour was cancelled. This album centred her, she says. “Looking back now, I see that period as necessary for my healing. It forced me to examine what parts of me were performative, and what was authentic. I took a year off the album cycle. That year, I wanted to reconnect with my body, and I realised how important it was to allow myself to heal. It’s no longer about meeting external expectations. It’s about creating from a place of truth.”