चाेखाे माया डट कम: जन्मभूमि नेपाल र नेपालीहरूमा समर्पित

Devendra Gautam The open wounds of Nepal, the result of a forged Sugauli treaty that supposedly marked the end of the Anglo-Nepal war (1814-16) with the dismemberment of Nepal (with the loss of two-thirds of her territories) through severing of supply lines to women, children and elderly fighting for their ancestral land against an empire bent on conquering the world through gunpower, have begun festering, once again.     This, after China and India agreed to reopen border trade, among other points, through Lipulekh, following discussions between India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, where they pledged to boost economic activity, people-to-people contact and cooperation on trans-border rivers. From Doval, who happens to be from Gadhwal, it’s another ‘gift’ for Nepal, isn’t it?  Albeit feebly, Nepal has objected to the deal, through a social media post in Nepali from Nepal’s Foreign Minister whereas India, through a state...

Devendra Gautam After doing a cursory study of the goings-on in this wonderland of ours, apart from going through chapters of lived experiences in the course of his 25-year career, yours truly has come to a conclusion that ours is a country of formers, the Bhootpoorvas, with not much space for the newbies, from newspaper columns to vital bodies of the state, unless and until you happen to be the kith and/or kin of powers that be.  While writing these lines, the Bhootpoorva (Bhoopoo) hotels and lodges of western hill districts of Gulmi and Palpa come to mind. These lodging and boarding facilities borrow their names from service personnel, who served in India and other parts of the world in their prime, fighting others’ wars on others’ orders in other-lands, mainly because successive regimes of different hues and shades that ‘ruled’ our country after the Anglo-Nepal war of 1814-16 did not bother to mobilize those bravehearts for the protection of the country and her peoples....

 केही वर्ष पहिले मैले छद्यमनाम प्रयोग गरी लेखेको र कुनै ऐरेगैरे अनलाइनमा सित्तैमा प्रकाशित कविता, महँगी र वर्तमान अर्थमन्त्रीमा समर्पित गरेको छु: डिल्लीराज गुरू अर्थात् पूर्वव्यावसायिक शिक्षा पाककला, माछीकाँडे र अन्य सुन्दरसुन्दर बुट्टा केले बन्या होला सरको कहिल्यै नफाट्ने बुट्टे टोपी? रातो कमीज, नीलो पाइन्ट, बलियो जुता लगाएपछि जुग जाने, आरामदायी पनि घामपानी लम्तरी डाँडा–सरस्वती निमावि देवालीपोखरा देउराली, उकालीओराली अनि बेँसी खै केले बन्या होलान् गुरूका ती लुगारु आत्माजस्तै बलिया अनि टिकाउ पनि सोध्न मन लाग्या हो विद्यार्थीवयमै खै कहिल्यै आँटले साथ दिएन महङ्गीले डस्या यो बेला हजुरको मूर्ख विद्यार्थीलाई फेरि सोध्न मन लाग्या छ त्यही प्रश्न आखिर केले बन्छन् गुरू त्यति बलिया लुगा? +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ तेजुराज गुरू अर्थात् एकजोर चलाख आँखा ज्यामिति, अङ्कगणित अनि अल्जिब्रामा छुरा अनुशासनमा कडा, तैपनि भइएन बेञ्चमा खडा खाइएन सरको लठ्ठी, खाइएन सिस्नोपानी भइएन फेल, भइएन त्यति गयल, खाइएन गालीपनि उभिइएन बेञ्चमा अनि बनिएन कुखुरा --------------------------------------------------- तर जीव...

  Mahadev, marooned? Yup. Just a few days ago, there came a piece of interesting news. Interesting piece? That is hard to come by, right? Well…. The piece was about the Kusheshwar Mahadev temple on the confluence of the Sunkoshi and an angry Roshi, in Sindhuli. According to the report, the temple wears a deserted look with the Roshi sweeping away a hume pipe that was acting as a bridge between Mahadev (the lord of the deities) and the devotees, who would come for puja from far and wide.   Such audacity against the superlord? How dare you, Roshi?  Such is the wrath of the Roshi (rosh, by the way is a Sanskrit word that means anger) that it swept away part of the BP Highway last September, leaving behind a trail of death and devastation. What old score did the Roshi want to settle with an artery named after BP Koirala? And what beef does she have against the good ole Shiv, almost always meditating (when not romancing with goddess Parvati) and ever ready to grant wishes...

 The government of Nepal can heave a sigh of relief following a supreme order in response to a six-year-old petition seeking a mandamus order with regard to encroachment upon Nepali territories, which, by the way, has been going on unabated for decades. This relief from a division bench of the Supreme Court could not have come at a better time for a beleaguered government stewing in its own juice due to corruption scandals galore, one of which has prompted the resignation of the Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration. A swift resignation from a Nepali politician from the southern plains of the country has triggered at least a mini-debate on social media, with many wondering aloud if tainted Brahmin and Chhetri politicians can stick to positions of power while rules of morality apply only to Madheshi and Janjati leaders. It’s a valid question and sooner than later, voices like these will get louder and louder and, hopefully, tainted politicians will find it quite ha...

“History teaches us that man learns nothing from history.” The wise words from Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel ring so true for the whole of humanity, especially in this day and age of 5G technology, artificial intelligence and the internet of things that offers the human race a rarest of the rare opportunity to make this living planet liveable for all, and make significant dashes for higher heavens at the same time. To say the least, two great wars and limited wars in Europe and the Mideast, which might morph into broader wars, have shown how exact Hegel has been, all along. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, goes another nugget, from George Santayana. This home truth emphasizes the importance of studying the past—and learning lessons—to avoid repeating the same mistakes, It’s a given that there’s not much learning without studying, right? Now, let’s try to find where we stand in the league of voracious readers around the world, as a nation. According to the...