Dedicated to Nepal and the Nepalis

 -            Devendra Gautam This year’s festive cacophony is well past us. Finally, you can read, write, think or take a walk under the influence of thoughts, without worrying as to when another cracker blast would shake you from within. What a relief, isn’t it? Looking back, one can hardly forget the peaceful and environment-friendly manner in which the nation used to celebrate festivals. With the imported cacophony getting louder and louder, gone are the days, especially in mega cities, of  Deusi ,  Bhailo ,  Maruni naach  (dance), Sorathi, swings of different types like Charkhe (shaped like the Charkha , the spinning wheel) and Rote (round) and many other traditional features of our festivals. The rapid fading of our soothing  Maalshri  and other features amid thunderous blasts does not augur well. The environment and public health are what suffer the most during festivals of different h...

A glimpse of artist Binod Pradhan's works on display at Siddartha Art Gallery, Kathmandu. This is from a couple years ago. Indeed, some hazy memories are what remain of that visit on a rough and tumble journey on the back of a jeep that would groan more often than not under the collective weight of passengers, having to negotiate muddy and steep stretches, sometimes both at one go.  While soaking in the beauty of rhododendrom blooms of all sorts on the way to Kalinchowk amid chirps of birds of different feathers and whiffs of highland winds, some faraway images of the Everest and other massifs came haunting. Those were the images of those massive rocky formations enveloped in fumes. Rocky formations? Such colourless words against such and such wonders of this universe? This particular expression, is it not the indication of a heart undergoing rapid desertification? Is it not the height of insensitivity, environmental or otherwise, against the water towers on whom millions of people...

Nepal faces a myriad challenges in all walks of life. Who would know this better than the lower rungs of the Nepali society, the lesser mortals that constitute a silent majority? A majority of mouths but with a barely audible voice in matters that affect them the most. They are seldom heard during such rare occasions as election campaigns. Even if they are heard, they are quickly forgotten -- till the next elections. Poverty, which comes in almost every imaginable form and shape, is one such challenge facing the country in general and the bottom rung in particular.  A recent report has highlighted this challenge, once again.   'Nepal Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021: Report (Analysis Towards Action)' points that in  2019, 17.4 percent of Nepalis were multidimensionally poor – just under five million persons, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) was 0.074.  First, a little bit about the MPI. For one thing, MPI is not just one fancy development jar...

-          Devendra Gautam Two vital organs of the Nepali state stand jarringly close, physically.  So close that when the resident animal of the Lion Palace roars, the Themis Palace at Ramshahpath starts trembling along with the statue of Themis. The Greek goddess of truth and justice is blindfolded, but she, unlike numerous pleas for truth, peace and justice, can hear the roar for sure, despite years of state-sponsored neglect towards her health. The goddess stands as a mere shadow of her past in which she even dared challenge the all-powerful royal palace and democratically-elected governments alike, telling them in strictest terms to not obstruct justice by trampling on the supreme law of the land, the Constitution. Alas, those days are gone. At a time when even the sole superpower appears to be on the decline, the Greek goddess also seems to be past her prime.         In 'normal times' also –...

देवेन्द्र गौतम भाद्र ८ ,  २०७९ को दिउँसो। नेपाली कलाको मन्दिर ,  कलाकारहरूको महत्वपूर्ण तीर्थस्थल अर्थात् नेपाल कला परिषद ,  बबरमहल जानु थियो। अचेल यात्राअघि अलि गहिरिएर सोच्न खोज्छु। यात्रा गर्नुको अर्थ हो ,  मूलत: डिजल ,  पेट्रोलको खपत गर्नु। अहिले खनिज तेलको मूल्य अकाशिएको छ ,  सँगसँगै चुलिएको छ वस्तु तथा सेवाहरूको बजार भाउ अनि ओरालो लाग्दो छ मध्यम र निम्न-मध्यमवर्गको जीवनस्तर। बजार भाउ नअक्काशियोस् पनि किन ?  आखिर खनिज तेल नै त हो नेपालको मात्र नभइ विश्वकै अर्थतन्त्र संचालन गर्ने मुख्य इन्धन। नेपालमा मुदास्फितिले अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय मुद्रा कोषको प्रक्षेपणलाई पछारिदिएको छ भनिँदैछ। हामीले झेलिरहेको मुद्रास्फिति (८ प्रतिशत) ६ वर्षकै सबैभन्दा उच्च हो। यसको अर्थ हो नेपाली रूपियाँको क्रयशक्ति झनै घटेको छ। भनौँ न ,  पहिले १००० रूपियाँमा जति वस्तु तथा सेवा प्राप्त गर्न सकिन्थ्यो ,  अहिले त्यहि परिमाणमा प्राप्त गर्न सकिँदैन। एउटा बौद्धिक श्रमिकको गार्हस्थ अर्थतन्त्र यस्तो विषम परिस्थितिबाट प्रभावित नहुने कुरै भएन। त्यसो त बौद्धिक श्रमलाई नेपाली समाज क...

 Protect our lifelines   -      Devendra Gautam Let’s have a look at some of the recent decisions of the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led five-party government. September 08, 2022: A go-ahead for the construction of 62-km Amlekhgunj-Lothar and 50-km Siligudi-Charali (Jhapa) pipelines. The Siligudi-Charali pipeline will be the second Nepal-India pipeline after the 69-km Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline, which is up and running. August 18: The Investment Board Nepal and the NHPC Limited, an Indian state-owned entity, sign a memorandum of understanding for the development of two more export-oriented, reservoir-based multipurpose projects -- 750-MW West Seti hydropower project and 450-MW Seti-VI projects. July 18, 2022: Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (GMR) gets two more years from the Deuba government for completing the financial management of a much lucrative, export-oriented 900-MW Upper Karnali Hydropower Project, virtually legitimising the Indian company’s years-lo...