Untouchable Love: A Romeo & Juliet Story from Nepal

Rockland resident Meghan Vigeant will present her multimedia documentary, “Untouchable Love,” about inter-caste marriage in Nepal at the Camden Library at 7:00 pm on Thursday, March 27. (The presentation was originally scheduled for Valentine’s Day but was rescheduled due to wintry weather.) In a caste system people are divided into groups based on their occupation and ancestry. It is a system that perpetuates discrimination, and it continues today even after laws have tried to stop discrimination. Meghan Vigeant traveled to Nepal in November of 2012 and asked Nepalis how they feel about the caste system. Specifically, she wanted to meet a young couple that married across caste lines.

Nisha and Raj Kumar kept their love a secret for five years. When they finally eloped, Nisha’s family reacted with rage, violence, demonstrations, and kidnapping. Meghan will tell their story with photos, sound, video, animation, and live narration. Attendees can enjoy a cup of Nepali tea before the presentation. A question and answer session will follow the half-hour presentation. The documentary is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.