Sarj Hada

Mamaku stimulates creativity

The Hada family has lived in Mamaku since 2017.  Its rural environment stimulates Sarj’s creativity.

Once his day job at Toi Ohomai finishes he frequently paints at home into the early hours of the next morning. 

Sundays are his ‘inking  days. That’s when he turns to tattooing.

It’s a craft he became acquainted with in his birthplace -  Kathmandu. His limbs and chest are living canvasses which are mainly dedicated to Nepali body art. 

He now has his own studio.

Before we  focus on that prong of his artistic talent Sarj paints us a verbal picture of his Himalayan heritage.

Tribal affiliation

He affiliates to the Newar tribe who were among Nepal’s earliest settlers.

 Sarj points us to research that reveals Newar people pride themselves on being the true custodians of Nepal’s religions (Hinduism and Buddhism), culture and civilisation. 

He’s inherited his ancestors’ raft of skills.

His boyhood was steeped in local culture.

“Growing up I was constantly surrounded by vibrant festivals which we celebrated with our families, our communities and the whole nation.

“It is said Nepalese people have 366 festivals a year which means we have a reason to celebrate each day.”  

He considers himself a child of a middle-class family. 

“But not what would be considered middle class in New Zealand.”

His father had a hardware business and his mother’s family owned a paper factory. 

It specialised in producing hand-made traditional Nepalese paper used for printing religious scriptures and handcrafts. 

Tourist central 

“Where I grew up very close to Kathmandu’s Thamel district it’s tourist central. I was exposed to people from overseas from an early age.

“Like Rotorua it is a major hub for visitors.  Gee, I realise how fortunate I was to grow up where I did when I did.

“It’s become very crowded, polluted and westernised. When I go back it feels like my Himalayan home has been wrecked by over-population and over-development.”

He insists there’s no way he’d trade Mamaku’s quiet life for the “crowded busyness” of Kathmandu as it is today.

“When I visit now it feels like sensory overload; the noise of the traffic, the smell of exhausts, the dust and there are people everywhere.

“I like the early mornings with all the bells ringing from the temples and the night time. That’s when it’s quieter - more like Mamaku.”    

Speaking English is second nature to Sarj. As a student at a private school most of his lessons were in English.

 “From when I was a kid I read a lot of English books, watched lots of movies.

“I grew up in the heyday of MTV and have always listened to lots of music, mostly rock and heavy metal.

“Now my Nepalese is not that good, especially writing. I’ve always been bad at Nepalese writing.

“When I speak with my family the Nepalese words come back.” 

Accountancy in Australia

It is, he says, common for Nepalese people to study overseas.

He was 19 when he went to Australia to study accountancy. Commerce-related subjects had been his best at school.

“My first choice was the States, my second was the UK but 9/11 happened and both the embassies were shut.

“Dad had a mate with two sons in Sydney so that’s where I went.”

While studying accountancy at Sydney’s Central College he worked in a restaurant kitchen under a Kiwi chef.

“All I knew about New Zealand was Sir Edmund Hillary. Everyone in Nepal knows about him.

“After I graduated I got tempted to change my career path. I enrolled in a diploma in hospitality management and worked as a chef for 10 years.”

Meeting Kiwi wife-to-be

He met his future wife at Coogee Beach’s Barzura Restaurant where he was a demi chef and she was a front-of-house supervisor.

Sarj wasn’t an instant hit with the woman from Rotorua.

“At first she shied away from me but I can be quite persistent.  

“I felt there was something right about her.”

As their relationship developed she brought him home for a visit.

“I fell in love with this country. I would say ‘yours is such a clean, beautiful country’. 

They married in Rotorua in 2014.

Sarj reminisces how Kerri discovered he was a painter.

“The first time I took her to my apartment she saw the lounge was converted to an art studio. 

“I think it was a bit of an ice breaker.  I saw this look on her face. I remember her saying ‘I knew you were an artist but not on this scale’.”

Art mandatory school subject

“At school in Kathmandu it was mandatory to take art classes at least once a week. I was never top of the class, probably second or third.

“I also had a few private lessons with my granddad’s artist friend.”

He abandoned his brushes in Sydney but picked them up again after watching a documentary featuring a young Aboriginal artist painting in a shed.

“I thought maybe I could have another crack at it [painting].

“In hospitality I was working a lot and spending time after work socialising. Basically I was burning the candle at both ends.  I needed my own time, a proper hobby.

“I started by copying the old masters’ landscapes.

“I didn’t hang around it long. I realised ‘this is not me’. I needed to do my own thing.”

Settling in New Zealand

When Sarj and Kerri decided to settle in New Zealand Wellington was their original city of choice.

“As we were stepping off the plane it was oooh so windy, the dust was getting in our eyes.  We looked at each other and said ‘no, we aren’t living here.’ 

“My father-in-law was in Auckland so we went there.”

Sarj returned to kitchen work.

“No offence but I absolutely did not like it. I had been warned the money was bad. It was very bad, so was the kitchen and the food was basic but it was the split shifts that really wound me up.

“I stuck it out until it came to the point where I was looking for anything including labouring jobs, holding traffic signs, absolutely anything.”

He spotted an ad for a culinary tutor at the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT).  He applied but didn’t make the cut.

“Then they contacted me and said someone had broken her arm and asked if I’d be interested in coming in for six weeks to help out.

“That turned into getting on for three years. 

“After working for the purchasing department I gradually moved on to teaching in the trades academy and eventually culinary art full time.

“I got all the necessary qualifications. I’ll always be grateful for the major support I had from staff there.”  

He only quit when he and Kerri decided to move permanently to Rotorua.

“We came because her family was here and housing was cheaper than in Auckland. Then we discovered it was cheaper still in Mamaku.”

Waiariki Polytech tutoring

The newly arrived Sarj was on his way to a job interview at a luxury lodge when he dropped into what was then Waiariki Polytech.

“My last assistant dean had suggested I call in and say ‘hello’.

“It was just like MIT all over again. They didn’t have a fulltime job but needed someone for the  campus’ Melting Pot Café. A staff member was on maternity leave.

“I said ‘yes’ but I did feel a bit sorry for the lodge.” 

He’s been at the polytech under its various name changes since, moving from the cafe into tutoring.

In recent weeks he’s completed his Bachelor of Culinary Arts via the Otago Polytechnic/Te Pukenga.

Study sparks passion for all things Maori

Along the way he’s completed a Te Tiriti O Waitangi course through AUT, te reo Maori (level 2) through Toi Ohomai, He Papa Tikanga (level 3) through Te Wananga O Aotearoa and is currently studying He Tikanga Whakaaro (level 4) at the same Wananga.  

It’s developed a passion in him for all things Maori. 

Since joining Waiariki/ Toi Ohomai he’s taught students whose ages have ranged from 16 to 59.

“Culinary art isn't only about cooking.  It's about acquiring life skills. It’s a great skill to have.”

The drop-off in international student numbers following the global pandemic and changes to visa requirements disappoints him.

“A few years ago I’d be tutoring 21 or 22 students, now it’s down to six in a class.

“But it’s a great workplace and one of the best jobs I’ve come across.” 

Art styles - various

Polytech hours give him freedom to pursue his art and tattooing.

He still paints landscapes but they are a far cry from those after the style of the old masters he favoured when he returned to painting in Sydney.

“I now put my own twist on them.

“I also do abstracts and black and white portraits of famous people that other people can relate to.” 

Revolutionary Che Guevara’s a favourite

“I have now got quite a few styles under my belt, but everything is experimental. I just do what I do.”

He’s held a solo exhibition in Sydney, another at an Auckland winery and has twice taken part in the Vodafone original art sale.

 Two of his works hung at the recent Bay of Plenty Artists Exhibition, he was a guest presenter at the ArtsMad festival and has an exhibition at The Arts Village scheduled for early next year. It will be his second there. He also accepts commissions.  

Inking himself and others 

Before moving into tattooing Sarj “dabbled a bit” in bone and wood carving but has always had an interest in the intricate art of inking.

“In my early days of getting tattoos I’d walk into studios and think tattooists were so cool they looked like rock stars. I still do.“  

His first tattoo was self-administered when he was 12. It was on his arm.  

“It was pretty bad, it’s been covered up since then.”

More were added in Sydney and still more when he and Kerri were working on Queensland’s Hamilton Island. 

The outlaw Ned Kelly’s  claimed last words, Such is Life, are tattooed across his chest.

“I am a big fan of his.”

Whenever he returns to Nepal his collection multiplies.

“I have this tattoo artist mate with a business named Eros Ink. That’s where I got the major pieces on my chest and forearms. I’m planning for him to do my back next.”

When he settled in Mamaku  and began to practise his own inking he started on fake skin then pig skin.

“My mate Mason from the fire brigade was a butcher at Pak‘nSave so he used to supply me with tons of it. 

“After that I did a couple [of tattoos] on my legs  I started working on friends and family. “I began with butterflies and flowers, names, a few tribals [tribal gods and deities] and mandalas but my goal is to strive towards black and white realism.

He doesn’t chase clients. His work comes through word of mouth.

“With the Nepalese community growing in Rotorua I have a few Nepalese clients.

“I have even convinced a few local clients to get Nepalese designs.

“At first I would take a break between outlining and shading.  Now I’m at the stage where I actually prefer to finish a piece in one go.

“I’m definitely keen to do bigger works.  I like the tattooing process.

“For me it’s good therapy but probably not for the client. 

 “When I work I have my music on. My studio is a nice big open space. I just focus on the canvas and off I go.” 

Fully fledged firefighter

Since settling in Mamaku Sarj has expanded his skill set beyond the artistic.  

 He’s become a volunteer firefighter.    

For the past six years he’s been a member of Mamaku’s volunteer fire brigade. There’s been time out this year while he focused on his degree and the break will extend into the middle of next year while he works on his He Tikanga Whakaaro course.

“Then I’m planning to re-join.

“My father-in-law suggested I join the brigade. He said it was a great way to get to know people in the community and stay fit. 

“The volunteers are a great bunch. We mostly get called to medicals and accidents. I’m not a fan of them but fires are different.

“The biggest fire I’ve been to was the huge one at the auto dismantlers yard in Ngongotaha in 2020. 

“It could be seen from miles away. 

“As we pulled up it was like walking onto a movie set. The fire was incredible.

“There were multiple [fire] trucks there from across the region. I got to go in three times. It was such a buzz applying our training in action. 

“Everyone was itching to swap their oxygen tanks, reset and get back in.” 

Rhododendrons flowers of home  

Mamaku with its laidback lifestyle is Sarj’s Nirvana. 

"One of the first memories I have of coming up here was seeing all the rhododendrons.   

"It is the national flower of Nepal. It reminded me of staying with my grandmother in her village .

"It was scary how quiet it was. The birds wake you up every morning.

“When we settled here Mamaku had a population of 730. I posted [on Facebook] there are now 73 2.5. Kerri was pregnant with our son and we had our first dog.

“It is a great community.

“I love it.  We are very happy here. The kids are very happy here. 

It is very different from Kathmandu and the Himalayas but it feels like home, it is home.”