Dedicated to Nepal and the Nepalis

The government of Nepal has announced another round of lockdown -- this time it's called prohibitory orders -- to control the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  This comes amid a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Nepal. The prohibitory orders should give us some solace as the government appears to be doing something other than bragging that it is doing better than the lone global superpower in its fight against the pandemic. This sounds quite silly, given the superpower’s poor performance on the virus control front.   Government appears to be doing something other than bragging that it is doing better than the superpower in its fight against the pandemic Here, it will be contextual to present the status of the global pandemic in brief.   As of early August 22, the number of PCR tests conducted in Nepal stands at 5,79,819, number of RDT tests at 3,12,402, PCR negative cases at 5,49,416, PCR positive cases at 30,483. Altogether 12,234 people ...

Perhaps this striving won't last long, for yours truly has a very short memory like many other fellow Nepali nationals. Wondering what yours truly is talking about? Well, he is talking about ways to avoid vegetables and fruits imported from across the border out of fear that most of them may contain chemicals harmful for human health. With the two-third majority KP Oli government allowing the virtually unhindered entry of vegetables and fruits from the southern neighbour by buckling under pressure and relaxing their testing for residues, the onus now is on the consumers themselves to protect their health. Yours truly feels pity that the government of a sovereign country has failed to do even what the Indian state of Sikkim has done by not allowing the entry of vegetables and fruits from outside.  In these times, awareness of perils of consuming such freely-imported vegetables and fruits and exploration of healthy alternatives are a must to keep us healthy.  Keepi...

Free as a bird: Keeping off political matters is one sure way to maintain your sanity.   These days, I try not to think too deep, especially over the conduct of the nearly two-third majority government, for deep thoughts are like an abyss from which returning won't be easy. These days, I fear that thinking long and hard about this country, about the ways this government is functioning, may make me mad. What's the use of thinking over matters over which you have no control at all? You may choose to write/talk about it, only to provoke the greyhounds in human form.  So, let it be........ Let it go, for nothing lasts.....  What's the use of thinking about the Guthi Bill, which, according to dissenting voices on the streets and on TV channels, is meant to finish off our centres of faith like temples and Gumbas by attacking our traditions, by attacking our way of life existing for ages, by handing over land and other properties belonging to the Gu...

The days of 'radical politics' are long gone, at least for yours truly and his bunch of friends. We differ on many issues without coming to blows. May be this is because we are no indoctrinated cadres of one or other political party. We never were.  This is a far cry from the days when, in this country immediately after the advent of multiparty democracy with constitutional monarchy in the 90's, cadres of one party used to shun those from other parties not only during happy occasions like weddings and birthday parties, but also during death and other tragic events, when one forgets enmity and tries to provide solace to fellow humans. In those days of madness, encounters would often lead to fights. Families would often split on ideological grounds.   Our free-wheeling discussions often lead us into the national political goings-on, which never ceases to amaze yours truly.  In one of those discussion sessions when the protest against the government-...

Kathmandu: For a few days, #Nepal's very own #Hyde Park, the #Maitighar Mandala, has been the major hotspot of the protest against the #Guthi Bill, the nearly two-third KP Oli government's bid to make changes in Guthi (cultural-religious trusts) administration.  The Bill has not gone well with large sections of the public, including people of the Kathmandu Valley, who largely see it as part of the design to hand over to cadres of the present ruling party both public and private trusts like the Swargadwari  Guthi (Pyuthan) with huge landholdings, which ensure continuity of ages-old cultures and traditions, numerous jatras  and preservation of both tangible and intangible heritages, by making resources available.  Culture experts fear that changes in the traditional Guthi system will put Nepal's UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sites, including those in the Kathmandu Valley ,  in peril. Even leaders of the ruling party have opposed the Bill, tha...