The oldest running theatre company in Australia - The Lieder Theatre Company in Goulburn - invited these children from a Kathmandu based school.
But, these are not your typical ordinary kids. The kids, ranging in age from 8-14 are global celebrities in their own right.
For the children who have already made a name in the theatrical world, Goulburn's Youth Festival of Theatre was yet another feather in their cap.
Sunita Poudel-Thapa is the Principal of Kathmandu Pragya Kunja (KPS) School which prides itself on its extra-curricular activities and has enabled its pupils to travel far and wide.
"Whether it be for sports or drama, our students have travelled far and wide and for an average school in Nepal to achieve this is not common," Poudel-Thapa told SBS Nepali.
The children, who have been touring overseas with their theatre productions for the last couple of years, most recently were invited to perform at an international children's theatre festival in Belarus and in Poland.
Tanka Chaulagain with the school children during Soligorsk Children's Theatre Festival in Belarus Source: Tanka Chaulagain/Facebook
That's when Tanka Chaulagain who heads School Theatre Nepal and works in tandem with the KPS, met The Lieder's Artistic Director Chris John Hancock. He was so impressed by the enthusiasm and charisma of the Nepali kids that he invited these little artists for an Australian performance.
Amelia Whalley-Routley, who coordinated the visit from the Lieder Theatre, says the age group of the performing children immediately got hold of their attention.
"The group is very similar to what you see here in Goulburn. And, it was such an amazing opportunity to have that sort of cultural and theatre exchange," she said.
Ujyalo Tira: Towards the light
Source: Facebook
Prakash Sindhuliya, who directed the play, says their productions are generally bilingual so that international audience can understand what's going on.
"But, to provide justice to the historical events portrayed in this production, we decided to present 'Towards the light' in Nepali with some ancient phrases," he told us.
"We were a bit apprehensive of our approach - but the visual depiction with expressions is a powerful tool. The Australian audience seemed to grasp the core theme."
The Lieder Theatre had printed and handed out the synopsis of the story, which enabled the locals to understand the ancient tale from South Asia.
Sindhuliya thinks to know about Buddha and reading about it - albeit in short form, definitely helped.
"Most of them had heard about Buddha and had some knowledge of who he was. And, the brochure, I think that made the difference in acuity."
Poudel-Thapa adds although the majority of the audience is not acquainted with the language, the acting and expression of the children on stage was marvellous, which drew the attention.
Buddha and Angulimal during the screening of "Towards the light." Source: Facebook
Concurring with Poudel-Thapa, Ms Whalley-Routley says the Goulburn community was "enchanted with the performance".
"We were really impressed with the performance, especially the focus of the group so young," she told SBS Nepali.
Shashank Pradhan, one of the child artists, hinted their hearts were pounding despite all the rehearsals.
The school children with their teachers at SBS Studios in Melbourne (Aaron Wang/SBS) Source: Aaron Wang/SBS
"We were nervous to start with, but the audience was so encouraging, our confidence just grew and grew as the show went on," he said with zeal.
The troops, rallying behind Pradhan all said they were bamboozled by the setup of the theatre.
Ms Nishu Koirala recalls when the curtain fell, she and others thought maybe the audience didn't understand the play but was quickly reassured by her newly made local friends.
"To be honest, after seeing the local kids performance, we had butterflies in the stomach," Koirala, yet another student member of the entourage told us.
The Aussiepali Bond: Mates and "Sathis" for life
Nepali and Australian kids forged friendship in Goulburn (Tanka Chaulagain) Source: Tanka Chaulagain/Facebook
Amelia Whalley-Routley informs there were seven host families, all from the local theatre fraternity who had the time of their lives with their "Himalayan visitors."
"Most families had two guests each except one which had four people by the end of the week after few swaps!" she recalls, still clearly jubilant from the success of the project.
Ms Poudel-Thapa agrees and says if they were just visiting, it would not be possible.
"For kids, for us, for the host families and their little ones, it was a huge experience."
"The children gelled in many ways - I think they made instant connections."
Shreedika Poudel, another member of the young team, says it was just like being with your own family in your own home.
"Everyone was so caring, and we made tons of new (Australian) friends - Lauren, Joel, Matilda, Erin to name a fav few," she quips with a smile.
Anubhav Bajracharya, yet another dashing kid, hurriedly said that he too has made mates.
Bajracharya definitely didn't want to miss the opportunity to expose his new-found Aussie camaraderie.
"I made two great "Sathis" - Ajack and Tom," he said, with sathis meaning friends in Nepali.
Despite the age, the children say they already have connected through social media and will stay in touch.
"Friends for lives," adds their Principal.
Cultural differences
However, there were cultural differences, food and some language barriers to overcome and iron out, which SBS Nepali learnt were smoothed over as the visitors and hosts bonded during the week.
For Anchit Dhungana, trying falafels was extraordinary while chatty and witty Rajendra Lamsal said he was taken aback by people having beef as cows in Nepal are sacred and the law forbids consuming beef.
"Some of the host families are getting quite a few calls from the kids now (from Nepal)," said Amelia on the newly formed relationships from half a world apart.
She also told us that there were few tears when the Nepali kids were leaving after the brief stay, such was the bond.
Poudel-Thapa said it was more than they expected - the hospitality, the warmth of country people in Goulburn and the wider theatre community.
Chaulagain, who has travelled extensively, says the people of Goulburn were more akin to people back in Nepali villages.
Nepali visitors with their hosts in Goulburn (Chris John Hancock /The Lieder Theatre) Source: Facebook/ Chrisjohn Lieder
"They treated us like gods - like we do - to our visitors. They all embraced us so well, made hearty meals, showed us around and didn't left us for a single moment," he recalled of the time the group stayed in the country town.
Not only drama
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Uditi Mandal joined the circus workshop where she learnt how to juggle while another young girl, Nalina Timalsina, was enthralled by the special effects makeup workshop where kids learnt how to transform into a zombie.
And, besides the country hospitality, the kids travelled to Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne soaking all the metropolitan life Australia had to offer.
Having come from a landlocked country, everybody agreed the most fascination they had was with the sea and the beaches.
Adventures of the Nepali kids in Australia (Chris John Hancock /The Lieder Theatre) Source: Chrisjohn Lieder
Probably something similar to what most Aussies would experience with the high hills and snow-capped white gigantic Himalayas of Nepal.
Sampanna Dahal, one of the youngest in the group, expressed how much he was looking forward to going to the beach despite bleak Melbourne weather.
Until next time: The child artists at Melbourne Airport after their Australian Odyssey. Source: Gopi Krishna Dhungana/Facebook (Prakesh Sindhuliya)
