Dedicated to Nepal and the Nepalis

  शनिबार आज एक दिन उड कल्पनाको उडान मुक्ताकाशमा जून-तारा टिप बादलका रंगीबिरंगी टुक्राह रू   टिप अनि बाक्लो कंक्रिट जंगलको  साँघुरो कोठामा खुम्चिएको टुक्रे आकाश  इन्द्रेणीका रङ्गहरूले सिँगार आज एक दिन चढ शरिरको इंच-इंच दुखुञ्जेल उपलब्धिको नाकचुच्चे पहाड अलि बिस्तारै, अलि सजिलोसँग हिँड प्रगतिको अनन्तसम्म फैलिएको समथर मैदान भोलि फेरि अभिमन्यु हुनु छ  भोलि फेरि चक्रब्युहमा फँस्नु छ शिखण्डीले छेलिएका तथाकथित महान धनुर्धारी अर्जुनको धनुर्विद्याको निरीह तारो  अर्थात् भिष्मपितामह हुनु छ भोलि फेरि आधुनिक भारदारह रू ले रचेको सोफिस्टिकेटेड तर उत्तिकै घातक कोतपर्वमा पर्नु छ, भण्डारखाल पर्वमा पर्नु छ  युद्धका कुनै नियमह रू  लागू नहुने  आधुनिक कु रू क्षेत्रमा लडनु छ  खिइएका हतियार लिएर  भोलि फेरि सौखिनह रू को सोखका खातिर  कोलोसियममा तरबार युद्ध लडनु छ  जीवनको के भरोसा छ र ? भोलि भाग्य बलियो नहुन सक्छ  भोलि नयाँ जंगबहादुर उदाउन सक्छ  अनि तिम्रो सूर्य अस्ताउन सक्छ भोलि तिमी सहित सयौँ यात्री सवार टाइटानिक आइसवर्गमा ठोकिन सक्छ त्य...

Forty years behind bars on a fabricated murder charge. No trial, no recourse for justice. Burden of proof solely on an alien, who is medically unfit to stand trial. You may be thinking: This must be a story from one of those Leo Tolstoy books. This is a fiction, not a fact, for such a miscarriage of justice cannot take place in a modern, democratic world. Or this must be a story from one of those pariah states. Forty years behind bars on a fabricated murder charge. No trial, no recourse for justice. Burden of proof solely on an alien, who is medically unfit to stand trial. Wrong. Absolutely wrong. In fact, this miscarriage of justice took place in a country that takes pride in its 'democratic traditions'. Yes, it took place in a country that presents itself in regional and international fora as the 'world's largest democracy'. Thanks to the efforts of Radhe Shyam Das, the HAM radio club called the West Bengal Radio Club and the Nepal Radio Club, and the kin of the ...

Did you watch Durga Prasad Timsina aka Dipak Jaisi returning home with his kin after his 40-year imprisonment in India on what, most probably, is a fabricated murder charge? Did you see Dipak reuniting with his ancient-looking, grief-stricken-yet-trying-to-be-happy mother. Did you see her grinning? Were you not moved to tears on watching a relatively happy part of Dipak’s life? Or you do not know that Durga aka Dipak Jaisi even exists? Alright. You have the liberty to forget him, to not know that Dipak Jaisi exists. After all, journeys/ordeals of lesser mortals like Dipak Jaisi are meant to be forgotten, no? Otherwise, the annals of history will get heavier and heavier with long stories of suffering in silence and denial of justice. If the so-called beacon of democracy, the Indian state, can forget the alien called Dipak Jaisi for 40 long years after condemning him to prison, why can’t you? If the so-called beacon of democracy, the Indian state, the Indian judiciary can forget the alie...

  How does it feel to be behind bars for 40 long years, that too on an unsubstantiated/unproven charge? How does it feel to languish in inhuman conditions, away from family and friends, without even the faintest of hope for legal recourse? How does it feel to be from one inhuman cell to the other, to be with one set of notorious criminals after the other? How hard is it to adjust in such a world? How does it feel to be behind bars for 40 long years, that too on an unsubstantiated/unproven charge? And how can one remain sane after spending so many years in such an environment? How does it feel to be treated as guilty without proof? Durga Prasad Timsina of Lumbak, Mai municipality-10, Ilam district, knows better. Or does he?   How does it feel to be treated as guilty without proof? Durga Prasad Timsina of Lumbak, Ilam, knows better. Or does he?   Before proceeding any further, let me dwell a bit into the man and the charge against him. For this, let ...

राजनीतिका नाममा यस देशमा मंचन भइरहेको अन्तहीन जस्तै लाग्ने कलाविहीन नाटक कति मात्रै हेर्नु ? सत्ता स्वार्थमा लिप्त भएर यस सुन्दर देशलाई रणभूमि बनाउनका लागि चिरकालसम्म नियन्त्रित अस्थिरता सिर्जना गर्ने देशविरोधी योजना फत्ते गर्न लागिपरेका जननिर्वाचित युद्ध सरदारहरूका अवांछित क्रियाकलापहरू हेरिरहने हो भने अनि संभावित त्रासदीबारे सोचिरहने हो भने मानसिक सन्तुलन नै गुमाउन पनि के बेर ? अनि जुन भ्रष्टतम शासन प्रणाली अन्तर्गत शासित हुने सौभाग्य हामीले पाएका छौँ, त्यस अन्तर्गत बडेबडे नेता, नोकरशाह, नवधनाढ्य, सत्ता र शक्तिका दलालहरू आदिका लागि त देशभित्रै वा विदेशका सुविधासम्पन्न अस्पतालहरूमा हरेक रोग वा स्वास्थ्य समस्याको लागि अत्याधुनिक उपचार उपलब्ध छ । तर सिद्धान्ततः सार्वभौम नागरिक, व्यवहारमा भने रैतीभन्दा माथि उठन नसकेका हामी अर्थात् बराबिचरा, असंगठित करदाताहरू त सरकारी, गैरसरकारी वा निजी स्वास्थ्य संस्थाहरूको चर्को शुल्क सुन्नेबित्तिकै ठाउँका ठाउँ ठहरै हुने सम्मको डरलाग्दो स्थिति छ । यस्तो अवस्थामा व्यक्तिगत स्वास्थ्यको ख्याल त राख्नैप¥यो नि, होइन ? अनि मानसिक स्वास्थ्यका लागि कला, संगीत,...

  Like Saturn, the revolution devours its children. - Jacques Mallet du Pan (1749-1800) Cronus (Saturn), according to the Greek mythology, is the youngest among the first generation of the Titans -- 12 children of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth). As per the mythology, Cronus, on the advice of his mother Gaia, castrated Uranus, separating the Heaven from the Earth. He then became the king of the Titans and took his sister, Rhea, as his wife, begetting Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. Who devours their own children? Per the mythology, Cronus committed this heinous crime. Apparently, Cronus swallowed his own children, save Zeus, because his parents had warned that he would be overthrown by his child. But when Zeus was born, Rhea acted quite cleverly: She hid Zeus in Crete and somehow made Cronus swallow a stone! Zeus grew up, waged a war against his father and defeated him. The youngest of the Titans also made Cronus disgorge his brothers and sisters. So m...

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 ...