March 16, 2021
In the last few years, something unexpected and innovative has emerged within the tightly packed neighborhoods of urban Nepal: calisthenics parks, absolutely free and exclusively designed for youths who love physical exercise.
The parks are easy to spot.
They bristle with overhead horizontal ladders, pull-up bars and other freestanding gymnastic equipment -- standing guard, as it were, over male and female youths engaged in calisthenics. The fact that the facilities are free is key to their success. Nepal is still one of the poorest nations in the world. Few Nepali youths have the money to join private gyms. Fortunately, four friends took stock of the inequity and decided to personally do something about it.
The inspiration behind the creation of these parks is largely due to Sukadev Karki – a 31-year-old professional fitness guru, international bodybuilder medalist, certified nutritionist, and Founder of Nepali Youth Fitness Calisthenics (NYFC), a nonprofit organization established in 2015.
Despite near-death health issues and meager funds to finance his vision, he has transformed his “dream for a fitter Nepal” into a network of parks. As of March 2021, NYFC has 11 calisthenics venues stretching across Nepal. And the number keeps growing. Another park will soon open in Biratnagar.
How Sukadev achieved and overcame so much in a mere six years is a fascinating story of grit, gruesomeness, passion, self-worth, and an overriding belief in community obligation.
Fighting against the lack of opportunity – a common challenge for Nepal’s youth
Born in 1989, Sukadev’s childhood reflects the widespread trend of rural working-class families migrating to urban areas in search of better opportunities. He was born in Sindhupalchok District, a poverty-stricken landscape rising up into the Himalaya and Tibet beyond. Early on, his family moved south to Jhapa District, the southeast lowlands bordering India. Finally, in 1998, his family settled in Kathmandu.
When he was old enough to qualify for Higher Secondary School, (the equivalent of Junior and Senior years in U.S. high schools), he was forced to drop out after only two months because of lack of funds. This, too, echoes what many young Nepalis experience. Although, theoretically, public schools are free in Nepal, the reality is that more than half of all expenditures on secondary education remain the responsibility of the families. This educational hurdle is but one of many reasons young people chose to leave the country. It’s called the “brain drain”, and the one-way-ticket phenomenon has been going on for decades. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of Nepali students enrolled in degree programs abroad soared by 835 percent.
For a while, Sukadev was part of that demographic. As a teenager, his first challenge was to get enough money to leave Nepal.
“I lived very frugally,” he explained to me. “I managed to set aside enough money to buy a quantity of used phones, which I then resold at a profit. Over a period of two years I saved enough money to apply and receive a student visa for the UK. I moved to England in the autumn of 2009 with no backup funds but lots of ambition.”
Six years in the UK
“Of course, I had to work as a laborer to support my UK education – 2 ½ years of that – but things got easier as time passed. More time to study. My working knowledge of English rapidly improved, which I knew would be a future asset. I felt great about making the move to the UK. I loved motorcycles and in November 2011, for my 22nd birthday, I was even able to buy myself a 125cc.”
I’ve got to stop right here. Sukadev LOVES motorcycles. One can’t talk about Sukadev without establishing this right up front because bikes – for better or worse – play an essential part of what follows.
For those unacquainted with motorcycles, 125cc bikes, like the one he bought in the UK, are great for youngsters. They are relatively lightweight, which makes them easier to handle. They are cheap to buy and cheap to repair once you crash them, as most amateurs do. Given his underdeveloped physique, Sukadev conceded that the weight and bulk of his new bike compromised his safety on the road. From that time forward, bikes and physical fitness have gone hand in hand on his incredible journey.
“Eventually, after two bike accidents, I decided to join a gym – to get bigger and stronger,” he told me. “And I did get stronger… for a few months.”
It’s easy to see from the above photos taken in the UK that Sukadev‘s muscular gains were significant over a three-year period.
But the tryptic doesn’t tell the whole story.
Bone Tuberculosis
In September 2012, Sukadev was stricken with bone tuberculosis, a painfully, relatively rare, and extremely debilitating disease.
“The doctors suspected it could have been because of a vitamin D deficiency, but that was just a guess.” Much remains unknown about bone tuberculosis. Recent studies, however, have shown that the prevalence of the disease has significantly increased in developing nations, like Nepal.
In the event, bone tuberculosis migrates to the spine, long bones and joints. Symptoms include swelling, stiffness and acute back pain. Untreated, the disease can lead to bone deformity and paralysis.
Sukadev’s bodyweight dropped to 48 kilos (105 pounds).
To reverse the illness, Sukadev was prescribed a six-month course of powerful anti-tuberculosis drugs saddled with their own checklist of side effects: nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and depression. He was also ordered to observe six months of bed rest.
Bed rest for six months? Well, maybe.
Being a workout-junky myself, I empathized with what I’m sure would have been his aversion to quitting the gym – especially for six months. That kind of setback would have gone against every fiber in his body. My hunch, after I re-examined the photographs, was that he was still somehow sneaking off to a workout center. Between 2012-13, all I saw was vascular improvement and iron-clad resolve – a fighter stepping up to Mr. Self-Pity and punching his lights out.
Clearly, he was looking positively fierce when the next photo was taken in 2014. Beast Mode: an uncoiled cobra, upright and preparing to strike. This was a portrait of a guy who had been through some shit and had become all the stronger for it.
As if to prove it, in August 2014, Sukadev was invited to compete in a major British bodybuilding contest. Against all odds, he secured 3rd place in the UK Nepal Bodybuilding Federation competition.
Triumphing over health issues was one thing. Sweet-talking his way around British red tape was another. Sukadev’s five-year student visa expired. He applied for an extension but was turned down. He was deported back to Nepal in June 2015.
A more difficult time to return to Nepal is hard to imagine.
On April 25, Nepal experienced a tumultuous 7.8 magnitude earthquake that resulted in the deaths of nearly 9,000 people with another 22,000 injured. Nearly 3.5 million people were left homeless. The 55-second quake could be felt as far away as central India, the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Pakistan. Scores of aftershocks and tremors caused deathly avalanches in the Himalaya and landslides further south.15 days later, on May 12, a second quake struck at a 7.3 magnitude causing more deaths and destruction. By the time Sukadev returned to Nepal – two months later – much of the nation’s frail infrastructure was either ruined, destroyed or in some way seriously compromised.
I was in Kathmandu during the earthquake. See my The Daily Beast Article
And yet, in spite of the devastation, Sukadev was “really happy to be back. I was reunited with my family and my friends. The bone tuberculosis was behind me. Physically, I was more fit than I had ever been. I was even invited to participate in the upcoming Nepal National Bodybuilding Championship competition. Even better: I had saved enough money to buy a KTM 390 bike, which provided me with freedom of movement, which people didn’t have because most of the roads were closed to four-wheel traffic. All of those things were positive, even though the old Nepal that I had grown up in was in ruins.”
There was also this: He made friends with three young guys at a gym: Manil Puri, Nirajan K.C. and Gaurav Raj Ojha. They began hanging out together, riding their bikes around the Kathmandu Valley in search of locations to shoot outdoor calisthenics videos of themselves.
One thing led to another. “We had a feeling that our taped workouts might motivate people our age to engage in calisthenics. Opportunities for youths after the earthquakes were next to zero. We wanted to show kids that, if nothing else, they could still exercise and with no equipment or expensive gym memberships required. We started a page on facebook. We called it Nepali Youth Fitness & Calisthenics. Mani Puri created our logo. which cleverly incorporated the unique double-triangle-shape of Nepal’s national flag. That’s how NYFC was introduced to the public.”
Soon after, Manil moved to India “for higher studies”, but it didn’t affect NYFC’s growing popularity. (The facebook page continues to grow. As of March 2021, it has @140,000 fans. That is a huge following for a small country like Nepal.) NYFC page on facebook
“And then, only six weeks later…”
“Everything was going great,” Sukadev continued. “The facebook page was up and running. It was just a week before the finals in the bodybuilding competition I had entered. I felt confident about my prospect in winning. And then came October 2.
My cousin Dipesh and I rode outside of town to shoot a video. The plan was for him to record me to doing a knee-down flyby.” (Knee-down riding is a maneuver in which you take your motorcycle at high speed to its maximum lean angle as you approach a bend in the road. Essentially, you hang over the bike with one knee grazing the ground.) Youtube has the graphic footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZKhZxK92KI
“The last thing I remember was seeing a group of girls walking toward me on my side of the road. I swerved to the opposite side to stay clear of them…just in time to crash, head-on, into a truck coming around the curve from the other direction. The impact sent me flying. You can see it in the video. No one believed I had survived.”
Trapped in an ICU and five major surgeries in the first nine weeks.
Sukadev described the aftermath. The pain was brutal, of course. But what he found terrifying was the possibility that he might never regain true mobility.
“According to the doctors, there was no guarantee that I would be able to walk again. I couldn’t really talk. I coughed blood with nearly every breath. I just shook my head when visitors visited me. My mother was there by my side, day and night, to tend to my needs. I took comfort in her love and attention. But deep inside I was inconsolable. The wreckage of my body: I had no one to blame but myself. And the humiliation: I was incontinent for four months. Rolling in and out of operating rooms, one operation after another. At my lowest moments, I thought of killing myself. But that was a joke. How was I going to commit suicide? I couldn’t move! The irony was that I was physically incapable of committing suicide!”
Gradually, his depression was overshadowed by the warrior in him. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t give up on regaining physical freedom from his frozen body. When he was strong enough, physical therapy was introduced, which, emotionally, made a huge difference.
“People cautioned me to be patient, I turned the other way. I started paying attention to my instinct. I was hell-bent on getting back to normal. Patience wasn’t the answer. Whatever exercise challenge was given to me, I jumped all over it. Bloody feet? Who cared? Every single day I worked. The next day, I worked even harder. I trained with a determination that I had never experienced before. Once I could sit up, I started using dumbbells to rebuild my biceps, things like that. Anything to keep the momentum going.”
Eventually, his willpower turned the tide. Four months later, with the aid of crutches, and to the astonishment of his doctors, Sukadev stood on his own two feet.
“And then came the day when I was able to throw away the crutch! That’s when I really started working out, even though I was still limping. The pain no longer mattered. My balance was a little off, but that didn’t matter either. I was back. I was in control of my own body. I was over the moon.”
His rehabilitation was jaw-dropping. NYFC’s facebook page hits were skyrocketing. Manil, still studying in India said, “Sukadev’s recovery inspired thousands all over Nepal. He went from an unknown to one of the most influential figures in the fitness industry.”
It would be 25 months before all the implants were removed. A mere 18 months after the accident, defying all odds, he qualified for the National Bodybuilding Competition.
“I came in second,” Sukadev remembers. “Then, a month later, I won first in a regional powerlifting contest. More meets followed and I always took first place. More and more, I appreciated what highly-focused exercise had done for me.
I wanted everyone to understand that whatever life throws at you, with the right attitude, a new you can be acquired. I’m not just talking about your body. Exercise strengthens your character and your compassion for other people’s limitations as well.
On a personal level, choosing to exercise was about re-asserting control over my life. Self-determination equals Freedom. Who doesn’t want that? I took a closer look at my generation. I decided to focus on how to benefit them. The youth of Nepal had never needed more encouragement than they did now, in the 21st century.”
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I first became aware of Sukadev’s work via Instagram. Posts on his nyfc_nepal page, as well as his personal page and facebook, fascinated me. I had been going to Nepal for over thirty years, reporting and interviewing young leading voices in search of a better Nepal. Sukadev’s building of free exercise parks stood out as one of the most original and meaningful ideas I had seen offered to the public. The idea was ingenious and beautiful in its simplicity. And refreshingly free of politics. I had to meet this guy. Through text messaging, Sukadev and I became friends. We agreed to meet the next time I landed in Kathmandu.
Our rendezvous took place in the fall of 2019, in the garden of Hotel Shangri-La on Embassy Row. We didn’t stay there long. It was late afternoon and our pre-arrangement was to visit one of his parks before nightfall.
But I did manage to clarify one thing before we left.
“NYFC is now calling its expansion PROJECT TEMPLE. Why is that?” I asked him.
Sukadev shrugged. “You know as well as anyone that Nepal is a country filled with Hindu and Buddhist temples. They are everywhere. Temples, holy monuments, sanctuaries are in our blood. As I see it, our youths need special temples – places dedicated to physical praying. Places where young people’s bodies can pray through calisthenics.
And like our temples, our parks are free for Nepalis. All young people are invited – girls, boys, teenage groups, under-twelve groups. We’ve also introduced workshops, seminars and competitions. The great thing about our temples is that group bonding soon develops and with it the opportunity to choose more wholesome lifestyles. Especially in these times. There are so many social pitfalls today: drug usage, alcoholism, smoking, gambling, domestic violence, virtual-reality idleness. Physical exercise definitely opens the door to better choices.”
Dusk was setting in. We exited the hotel lobby. Sukadev handed me a helmet. I hopped on the back of his CF MOTO/250 NK. It was rush hour: bumper-to-bumper traffic on Lazimpat. I was aware that my driver had a blemished motorcycle record. Still…Though this be madness, yet there is method in ’t. (Hamlet, act ii, scene ii.)
What better way to get to know my bike-crazy interviewee than ride pillion? It was far more revealing than a polite across-the-table verbal exchange. Besides, his bike maneuvering exhibited outstanding artistry. I was also dead certain that the logjammed cars flanking us could, at any moment, morph into buzz saws and slice off both of my legs. Still, top marks. Lunge, parry, riposte: Fencing moves on two wheels.
We picked up a bit of speed as we turned off the main road. The bike carved its way through the narrowing lanes like a scalpel. Our general direction was northeast – away from the Narayanhity Palace, Thamel and other tourist-familiar places associated with Kathmandu. Our goal was Boudha, the enclave surrounding Boudhanath Stupa, one of the holiest sites for Tibetan Buddhists.
It was twilight when we reached our destination. We dismounted at Boudha Shanti, the name of Sukadev’s first park and, subsequently, NYFC’s head branch.
It was a large rectangular green field surrounded on all sides by unimposing three-story residential units with small family-owned businesses occupying the ground floors. I was amazed at how many young people were there in the gathering darkness, perhaps twenty in all. This wasn’t an organized class. It was simply a bunch of kids in the act of independently rehearsing different bar moves – dips, chin-ups, pullovers, front levers – trying to get in as much practice as they could before the sky went black
When they saw Sukadev, they dropped to the ground – all save one six-year-old, who remained glued to his prize corner roost, while paying close attention to what was unfolding below. As Sukadev approached, the gymnasts gathered around him. I couldn’t quite hear what he was saying because I was at some distance taking photographs. But it appeared that he was giving impromptu directions on a certain bar technique. Whatever the topic, these kids were listening intently and stood as motionless as actors in a theatrical tableaux.
Only this wasn’t a play. This was real life in real time. This was the heartbeat of PROJECT TEMPLE. I was in the midst of NYFC’s precise target group: kids with little or no money, who were making the very most of the opportunity to make use of free facilities – a safe, supportive place where they could learn proper strength-training techniques, unselfconsciously, and among their peers. Sukadev had filled a void that no one else in Nepal had even realized existed until he came along.
Even better, PROJECT TEMPLE was continuing to grow, manifesting itself across the Nepali map:
Existing Parks
Boudha Shanti Park in Near Boudhanath
Pashupati Park, near Pashupatinath Temple
Jagdol Park in Gokarna
Bhutkhel Park, in Tokha
Thapathali Park, UN park
Narayan Chaur Park, in Naxal
Nepalgunj Park, in Dhamboji
Two Parks in Pokhara, Miyapatan and Dihikopatan, Lakeside
Jorkusum Park, in Chitwan, Narayangadh
Butwal Park in Haatbazaar, Butwal
New Park opened March 12, 2021
Sundarijal -1 , Gokarneswor
Soon to be opened
Biratnagar Park
Proposed Locations
Sankha Park, Dhumbarai, Kathmandu
Sano Gaucharan, Kathmandu
Birtamode Jhapa
Bhaktapur
Lalitpur
“And always,” he told me later, “I encourage the local communities to take stock of the benefits enjoyed by their children. Eyes don’t lie. Youths engaged in healthy lifestyles resonate with communities. They see the benefits their children and their neighbors’ children are reaping from the parks. It’s free advertising. Parks being used. It’s the easiest way to activate parental support that I can think of.”
“We’re also conducting organized classes, indoors as well as outside. These include professionally taught yoga classes, self-discipline, balanced diets and career development.”
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Before we left the park that night, Laxmee, Sukadev’s wife, rolled up on her motorcycle. Soon after, the three of us relocated to a terrace restaurant overlooking Boudhanath.
Laxmee was charming. She was poised, intelligent, of gentle disposition but definitely with a business head and – as I quickly came to understand over dinner – was of considerable importance to the operation of NYFC. Sukadev and Laxmee met in 2016. She had a managerial job in the movie industry at the time. They married in March 2018. Thereafter, she switched careers to manage most of the administration work for NYFC.
“Have there been other shifts in NYFC management since its 2015 inception?” I asked.
“Well, yes,” Sukadev said. “Others come aboard as our network extends to additional locations away from the Kathmandu Valley.”
“What about your other three original members?”
“Manil Puri left for India to pursue his education. This was just six weeks after we launched NYFC. He came back in 2017 during his summer college break, which was when we constructed our first park. From digging holes to mixing concrete, we did all the manual labor ourselves. Manil returned to India that fall and finally came back this year permanently.” (Manil landed a good job with a software company but subsequently gave it up in 2020 in order to return to NYFC full time. Of the other two original members, Nirajan Khatri moved to Australia in 2018 and Gaurav Raj Ojha is now a full-time employee of Nepal Airlines.)
“But it’s always been you,” I insisted. “You have been the glue, the one constant force, and certainly, the face of NYFC.”
Sukadev averted his eyes. His shyness surprised me.
“It’s true,” I pressed him. “There’s no reason to be hesitant about that. You are the one with all the social media followers. It’s your story that has inspired so many young people in Nepal. You’re not being cocky by admitting it. You’ve earned the right to be proud of what you have achieved. Take it from an older dude: Claim what is yours.”
I changed the subject. “One more question about the business side of NYFC and then I’ll shut up. I know your NGO has always worked on a shoestring budget. How in the world did you manage to acquire the land for the parks?”
“Oh, NYFC doesn’t own the properties,” Sukadev explained. “I had to find spaces that would be rent-free. My idea was to repurpose vacant urban lots that no one seemed to care about. Here, for instance, in the Kathmandu Valley, I canvassed for vacated plots that were government-owned, but were discounted as useless state properties. Once a specific site was targeted, I met with local community officials. I showed them park designs – Manil has always been our graphic artist – and requested permission to erect temporary structures. I emphasized that NYFC’s sole purpose was to provide free exercise grounds that would benefit the health of their local communities. It wouldn’t be NYFC’s accomplishment, it would be the community’s accomplishment. Most of the neighborhoods I have approached have been very supportive and enthusiastic.”
Before we left the restaurant, I walked over to the terrace railing and photographed Boudhanath Stupa. It was starkly lit against a pitch-black sky.
According to one Tibetan tradition, stupas are architectural representations of Buddha’s body. The sheer mass of the white dome suggested power. Buddha’s eyes, which were eye-level with our own, gazed out in the four cardinal directions in unyielding omnipotence. His forehead was manifested as a 13-tiered gold-leaf spire symbolically rising toward enlightenment. Day or night, the monument is a testament to harmonious proportions: beauty inspired by strength.
Beauty and strength. I had heard those two words linked before, but in a different context. What was it?
And then I remembered. The ancient Greek words kállos means "beautiful". Sthenos means "strength".
Combine them and you have the English word calisthenics.
Finally, Sukadev’s reasoning behind calling his work PROJECT TEMPLE made perfect sense.
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Much has happened in the 1 ½ years since I met Sukadev. His fame in Nepal continues to grow – TV appearances, a steady flow of social media attention, youtube videos, that sort of thing. He now has Brand Ambassadorships for three major companies in Nepal.
But community projects are also ongoing. Only a few days ago, on March 12, yet another park was officially opened in the dell of a hilly village in Sundarijal.
Meanwhile, he continues to conduct classes – big and small – and workshops for a variety of interested national institutions, including the Nepal Police and a 6-week training course for the Nepal Army. Truly, Sukadev is a force of nature.
Private Clients
For those lucky enough to have one-on-one workout sessions with Sukadev, the experience can be revelatory. It’s only fitting that I end this profile by including a testimonial sent to me from one of his students (and an old buddy of mine): General Gaurav SJB Rana, Former Chief of Army Staff, Nepal Army (2012-2015)
General Rana’s take on Sukadev Karki
Dynamite comes in small packages they say. For me, my Guru or teacher (“personal trainer” in our culture is somewhat demeaning) is a stick of dynamite. Sukadev Karki is humble, gracious, energetic, dynamic, gentle and forceful when it comes to giving a wake-up call to long unused muscles. There isn’t an iota of doubt that he knows exactly what he is doing, when exercising and rejuvenating the 65-year-old body of a veteran warhorse.
Strangely enough he was referred to me by a dear Californian friend of mine Mikel Dunham. On hitting the google search to get some background info I was pleasantly surprised to gather that he is one of the best-known individuals on social media in Nepal. His area of expertise is primarily fitness and calisthenics training. But he is also hugely focused on community development with a string of social service initiatives. These are directed at developing a disciplined and dedicated generation of hardworking youths committed to the selfless service for their country and community.
In the military, physical fitness is an inalienable part of our mindset and daily life. However, as you gain prominence in the military, instead of being involved in direct fighting, as I would put it, you tend to be more closely associate with planning and managing the fighters. This puts you into an armchair behind a desk. If you aren’t careful, which I wasn’t, you can go overboard and become obese. You get lulled into a false sense of well-being, based on a gung-ho “I can do it” attitude.
I guess a change in lifestyle, necessitated by the Covid 19 pandemic, was a blessing in disguise for me. I decided to see how fit I really was and spend more time exercising at home.
I was 65-years old. I exercised irregularly. I tipped the scales at 93 kgs [205 lbs] and I had a magnificent gut.
And then came Sukadev.
In just under 5 months, without any injuries or hardship, except having to watch what and how much I ate, I’ve managed to trim off 10 kgs. Fighting fit. Gut is imperceptible, fat has disappeared, muscle is toned up and I feel so much better—internally, as well as in the “mirror mirror on the wall” context.
Sukadev’s scientifically and professionally-structured training program has definitely added 5-10 years to my life and debunked the fallacy of exercising lightly or not at all at advanced ages. Thank you Guru.
General Gaurav SJB Rana
Former Chief of Army Staff, Nepal Army (2012-2015)
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You and your community can ride with Sukadev too.
To learn more about NYFC, contact:
Sukadev Karki: 98490-76707
Laxmee Adhikari: 98234-03130
Manil Puri: 98432-85028
Email: [email protected]
Or go the NYFC’s website:
https://nyfc.com.np/
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