You can find quite a few people who have fulfilled their childhood dreams, achieved excellence in multiple fields, and tried their fate in business, remaining successful in their ventures. Hotelier Shangharsa Bista is one of those few. The Managing Director of Nepali Chulo and President of the Nepal Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN) is an entrepreneur built with the utmost dedication and perseverance.
During his adolescence, a pilot's uniform was the first thing that attracted him the most, and he dreamed of flying an aeroplane. In pursuit of this dream, he reached the United States in 1994 and started pilot training. Back home in Kathmandu, his parents would look up to the flying planes in the sky and make a vow to Goddess Dakshinkali to sacrifice a goat if she made their son return to Nepal.
That was the time before the advent of modern-day communications like mobile phones and social media. Yet, when he got the news about the vow of his parents, Shangharsa made arrangements to leave the US, and after a week, he was with his family. But the impulse to fly in the sky again landed him in the US in 2003. This time, he left the country for paragliding training. He became the first Nepali to obtain a paragliding license officially, and he operated paragliding for about a decade. He is a good swimmer and a black-belt holder in martial arts.
It was the travel and tour business run by his eldest brother, Bidroha Prakash, where Shangharsa finally settled. He joined the business in 1989 immediately after completing his high school exams as an intern and worked as a ticketing officer and ticketing in-charge during his college life. These experiences gradually, yet unknowingly, developed entrepreneurship in him.
Bidroha Prakash was working at Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation and had good connections with the hospitality and travel businesses. So, he sent his brothers Barga Dwanda and Shangharsa for further training in the hospitality and travel sectors. Under the guidance of their father, Shambhu Bista, they entered the business as a 50 per cent partner in Osho World Travels and Northfield Café, which was run in Thamel about three decades ago. In the later years, they expanded their investments in the entertainment and manufacturing sectors as well.
The Bista brothers created a fusion of hospitality and culture through Nepali Chulo (the Nepali name for a traditional firewood stove) in 2004. They were daring enough to launch the restaurant business with a new concept at a time when the armed conflict between the government and Maoist guerrillas was at its peak and the country was in an emergency-like situation. The Chulo at Durbarmarga, in the vicinity of the Royal Palace, started serving Nepali and Newari food and delicacies with traditional Nepali cultural dance and folk music representing about 100 ethnic groups from across the country. After a few years, the Chulo shifted to a two-century-old palace in Lazimpat, which houses various embassies, missions, and business and financial institutions.
"It's about creating a synergy among the culture, business, and economy, or you can say we are trying to bring together the food, culture, and hospitality," Shangharsa elatedly shares.
A mini-museum
The Nepali Chulo is more than a restaurant; it’s a mini-museum of Nepali cultural items and artefacts, including musical instruments, idols of gods and goddesses, traditional windows, various replicas, photographs, plaques, and art pieces. The Bista brothers have put great effort into collecting those precious items. They have asked dozens of contractors who would demolish old houses in the Kathmandu valley in order to construct a new one to inform them if the old house has any cultural items like windows, utensils, furniture, and art. If they found any cultural items, they would buy them for the restaurant.
Unlike Chulo, La Bella and Northfield are modern-looking eateries and accommodations. Situated in the bustling tourism zone of Thamel in Kathmandu, they attract foreigners and domestic tourists. Shangharsa is thankful to his parents and family. "I am very lucky to have the love and guidance of my parents and family. Although my parents were with their four children when I went to the USA, they always wanted me back home. This family bond motivated me to stay here and contribute to society and the economy," he said.
After his marriage to Pratishtha Amatya, a world record holder in memorising random objects, Shangharsa added La Bella Café and Northfield Café to his business portfolio. In later years, the Bista family invested in a couple of other new restaurants and companies. However, currently, they have Northfield Café, Northfield Hotel, La Bella Café, and Nepali Chulo.
Hard times
"We decided to reduce the number of companies in order to ensure quality service," he said. But he is still astonished about how they could keep the businesses of those companies running during the political and economic crises and pandemic. Armed conflict, an economic crisis created by the earthquake, and the COVID-19 pandemic yielded multiple fatal blows to the hospitality business, while the international scenario has not been fully amicable yet. For him, Nepal is not just a country; it’s a holy land, and soon the environment will be better enough to allow the business to flourish beyond expectations.
According to him, the country needs to pay attention to creating skilled human resources and creating enough opportunities to hold them here. To achieve this target, the business and industrial sectors should flourish, international airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara should come into operation, and there should be better promotion of the tourism and spiritual attractions of Nepal across the world. "Most of the Chinese think of visiting Lumbini once in their lives, and most of the Indian Hindus think of the pilgrimage to Pashupatinath or Muktinath. We have many attractions to show, stories to tell, and cuisine to offer," he said.
Being hopeful
Shangharsa is hopeful of a better business environment in the days to come and creating business entities like Nepali Chulo in other cultural and economic hubs like Lumbini and Pokhara. As the president of REBAN, he is working with fellow businesspeople and the government to create a more favourable climate for hospitality and travel business and policy facilitation. However, it is frustrating that the business community has to welcome a new minister every few months and update them about the business. "You have to face and convince multiple ministers while lobbying to enact a policy favourable to business. It causes delay, frustration for entrepreneurs, and loss to the economy," he said.
"However, we never lost hope. When there is darkness, you must realise that there will be a dawn. But only hoping won't bring any result; you must act to ensure the survival of your business and continue with innovation," Shangharsha said while adding that the secret to success in hospitality is to meet the expectations of the customers. A satisfied customer is the best promotion for any business, so Shangharsa is on a mission to create thousands of satisfied customers.
Business over politics
Hailing from a family with high political consciousness, Shangharsa had thought about joining politics a couple of times in the past. The late Rupchandra Bista (Ru Da Ne), initiator and activist of the Thaha Movement, was his uncle. Rupchandra is one of the most highly influential and respected political philosophers in Nepal.
It is quite interesting that his brothers and family members chose business over politics and achieved success in it. Shangharsa also opted to join business while having high respect for philosophy, courage, altruism, and spirituality.
However, during his youth, he had occasionally been involved in political activities. "There is still an opportunity to join politics, and many of my relatives and friends still suggest I step into it. But I enjoy business and think that I can make better contributions to society and the country from it," he said.
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