Total votes: 554

Weekly Internet Poll # 20Q. Should Nepal’s donors increase development aid ?

#80 8 - 14 February 2002 16 pages Rs 20

Why ride abike whenyou can

ride a Bullet ?

Last year on 14 February, Valleyresidents spent over Rs1 million onflowers. As Valentine’s Day ap-proaches again, gift shops and floristsare stocking up for the big rush. Andbecause Nepali florists can’t meet localdemand, they import roses from as faraway as Bangalore. Chameli inPulchowk expects to surpass the 9,000stems of red roses it sold last year—most of it imported from India. FloraNepal has two flower farms inKathmandu and one in Simara, but canbarely supply 600 stems of Dutch rosesa day. “Winter production is not enoughto meet demand,” says manager DKSrivastava. Next year, Flora Nepal plansto triple production, which still won’t beenough to satisfy all the Valley’s lonelyhearts. But the Valentine in the Valleymay be dampened a bit by the emer-gency this year: rose sales aren’t sorosy yet.

From India, with love

Karen TurnerDeputy Assistant AdministratorAsia and the Near East BureauUSAID, Washington

“What we have is an important frame-work, but the government needs todemonstrate results now. Not threeyears from now, but within the next 12-18 months. There needs to be someconcrete visible evidence on the ground,particularly in the rural areas, wheremost of the significant poverty is.”

Paul EggerHead Asia DivisionSwiss Development CooperationBerne

“Peace is the foremost goal now.Without peace there is no development,no scope of development co-operation.

What they had to sayIn this difficult situation, we needdecisive steps to really attack the root ofthe problems of the country, which ispoverty and insufficient governance.”

Pharang RoyInternational Fund for Agricultureand Development (IFAD)Rome

“With the ongoing conflict, the govern-ment needs to win back the trust of thepoorest people. For this we mustdemonstrate at least two or three simplethings that work. Making VDCs incharge of schools is a major step. Thepoor people have to feel that they areonce again taken seriously, it is aboutbuilding trust…using the army is not theanswer.”

Meiko NishimizuVice PresidentThe World BankWashington

“What should the government do now?Act.”

Ram Sharan MahatFinance Minister

“Everyone seems to want implementation… this is a genuine demand. Implementationneeds total political commitment. I amconfident that we can make it happen.”

Tanja Kristine HeggeAssistant Director General for Asia,Ministry of Foreign AffairsNorway

“The key test is to actually reduce poverty,expand options for poor, and a governmentthat delivers development. ”

Jochen KennewegHead South Asia Division, FederalMinistry of Economic CooperationGermany

“Given Nepal’s limitations, it may benecessary to concentrate on implementa-tion in a few crucial areas for quick results

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BINOD BHATTARAIo, Nepali taxpayers will be paying $10 million to get Rastriya Banijya Bank and NepalBank Limited rescued by international consultants. But wait: if you thought theseparastatals were rotten you should take a sniff at Nepal’s commercial banking sector.

Non-performing assets, conflict of interest, murky offshore ownership, well-connecteddefaulters, loan swapping, political obstruction. You name it, Nepal’s private banking has it.Even the governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank, Tilak Rawal, admitted recently that the stateof our banking sector was “terrible”. A donor representative involved in financial reformtold us: “Nepal has the weakest central bank in the developing world.”

The reason is not difficult to see: political interference. Especially since 1990, bankerswith patronage could get away with getting anything they wanted approved by the regula-tor. Nepal Rastra Bank’s first governor, Himalaya Shumsher Rana said in a recent interview:“Only three of 12 governors actually completed their five-year terms in its entire historybecause they were sacked for undefined exigencies.”

All this is now coming back to haunt the Nepal Rastra Bank, the national economy andthe Nepali public. Till now, we had all thought it was only the Big Two (RastriyaBanijya Bank and Nepal Bank Limited) that needed rescue. But it is becoming increas-ingly evident that private banks may not be in much better shape.

Shovan Dev Panta, a 16-year banking veteran, and CEO of Nabil Bank, admitted asmuch at a recent meeting on financial sector reform. “The financial sector is in an appallingstate,” he said, disclosing that the non-performing assets of private banks may be evenhigher than the central bank’s estimate of between 1.6 to 9 percent. This could grow ifthe economic downturn is not reversed. He added: “I am scared of what could beahead.” Nepal’s financial sector is made up of 13 commercial banks, 12 developmentbanks, 49 finance companies, 34 financial co-operatives and 16 NGO-run financial co-operatives. Among commercial banks all except one, and three or so not-so-bad ones, aresaid to be in trouble. All evidence gathered for this article point to the regulatory agencynot doing it job properly. None of the bankers, regulators and auditors we interviewedfor this investigation wanted to discuss the record of specific banks. But there are someindications of just how deep the malaise is.

For example, several years after the original promoters sold their stock in NabilBank, not even its shareholders officially know who actually owns the largest block ofthe company’s shares. The National Bank of Bangladesh purchased the 1.9 million shares,but these were later transferred offshore to an entity called NB International Ltd incorpo-

rated in Ireland. If the central bankknows about the ownership of thiscompany it hasn’t told anyone as isrequired for companies listed in thestock exchange.

“There are few secrets inKathmandu,” one senior banker toldus. “And everyone pretends not to knowwhat is happening. We have our heads inthe sand.”

Another example: almost every bankand financial institution here has reportedprofits from the first year of operation.Even after the economic slowdown thatbegan in early 2001, many showedprofits. Asks one perplexedauditor: “How can banks be inprofit when the industriesthey have invested in are allreporting losses?”

The central bank issued its ownership guidelines (“Directive 8") in mid-2001. Tillthen it was a free-for-all: anyone, even those with interests in the industrial sector areallowed to own banks. Many promoters have borrowed from their own banks and not paidback. “Here’s how the scam worked,” a Nepal Rastra bank official explained to us. “Youput in Rs50 million to promote a bank and then borrow Rs500 million from it. They arenot opening banks to do banking, but to siphon loans for themselves.” In most casesthe central bank is unable to nab promoters because they tend to be well-known“captains of industry” with connections that span the political specturm. In mid-January 2002, Nepal Rastra Bank in fact ordered one private bank to stop takingdeposits precisely for this reason.

In the absence of ownership guidelines and less-than-transparent disclosures, somebusiness families now have controlling interests in not one or two, but up to five banksand financial institutions. Owners can therefore use one bank to guarantee a loan fromanother, and both end up losing because the loans are mostly overvalued and seldom paidback. Cross-ownership also makes it easy to swap bad loans. The losers in the end aretrusting Nepali depositers, the economy and investor confidence.

Nepali Times interviewed participants at the NepalDevelopment Forum on the last day of the close-door aidmeeting in Pokhara on Thursday. Selected soundbites:

EXCLUSIVEwhich can be seen by the people.”

Martin DinhamDirector for Asia and the PacificDfFIDUK

“The policies are good, but the keyissue here is proper implementation.The poor people of Nepal, the donorsand government here are reallyimpatient for evidence of basicservices being delivered.”

Jin-Koo LeeSouth Asia DepartmentAsian Development BankManila

“The government has comprehensiveeconomic reform plans, but implemen-tation is slow. Agendas are well setbut there are questions about how webring the benefits to the grassrootslevel. People have to be able to feelthe changes brought about byreforms.”

…with the state of commercial banking in Nepal.

Lukla flights areexpected to resume overthe weekend afterMaoists attacked the townon 3 and 4 February. Agroup of about 100Maoists surrounded thetown and looted Rs 2.2million from the RastriyaBanijya Bank branch. “Noone was hurt or har-assed. Everything is quietnow,” Lukla’s VDCchairman Funuru Sherpatold us by phone. Thearmy is said to be

guarding the town, and also airlifted outsome stranded trekkers. Trekkingagencies in Kathmandu say touristshave not cancelled their plans, and arewaiting for flights to resume, whileothers have started trekking from Jiriand Phaplu.

Lukla flights to resume

Go to p6

Nepal Peace Ride 2002Kathmandu-Pokhara and back

8-9-10

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Editorial p2FAQ about NDF

Something is rotten…

22222 EDITORIAL 8 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMESNepali Times is published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd,Chief Editor: Kunda Dixit Editor: Anagha NeelakantanDesign: Kiran Maharjaneditors@nepalitimes.com, www.nepalitimes.comAdvertising: Sunaina Shah advertising@himalmedia.comSubscription: Anil Karki subscription@himalmedia.comSales: Sudan Bista sales@himalmedia.comSanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, LalitpurGPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, NepalTel: 01-543333-7, Fax: 01-521013Printed at Jagadamba Press: 01-521393

MYSORE - This city is serene. If itwere not for the wedding-cake palaces,you wouldn’t realise that this was thecapital city of an eponymous state ofBritish Raj. The Maharaja of Mysoredid have another palace in Bangalore,but he reigned and ruled from thisquiet little town at the feet of theChamundi Hills.

Despite the building boom fuelledby the demands of a burgeoningbourgeoisie, Mysore still retains theold-world charm of a small town whereyou stop and greet at least three peopleon your way to the neighbourhoodgrocer. There are caste-marks on theforeheads of men in suits and coconuttrees sway in the gentle breeze. A sweetsmell of incense near the butcher’sblock and the aroma of masala dosabeing folded in the teashop waft acrossthe visitors’ nostrils. There is a stringof white flowers in the hair of a littlechild with a runny nose on her way toschool. It’s all so familiar. And it is.This is the setting of mythic Malgudimade famous by the magical prose ofthe late RK Narayan.

Built on the edge of the city, in themiddle of a near-barren expanse of

FAQ ABOUT NDF“Things don’t move, why?” If there was a prize for the most

frequently asked question during this week’s Nepal DevelopmentForum meeting, that one would get it. Donors were puzzled: there isawareness at the highest levels of Nepal’s government and bu-reaucracy about the fundamental reasons for our persistent povertyand chronic deprivation. There is a proven formula for setting thingsright. There are signs that, despite past inefficiencies, bad govern-ance and lack of transparency, some things have worked andNepal’s development parameters show steady improvement. Yet,things don’t move. Why?

Looking for a single scapegoat for this national paralysis instatecraft is futile, but it is clear that a large part of this crisis is aresult of constant, successive failures of leadership.

It did not take long for the euphoria of democracy to evaporateafter 1990. Our elected leaders and the parties they represented letus down badly. Governance, to cite the current buzzword, is a giftthey never possessed. Or maybe they thought it was a skill theydidn’t need, that being politicians automatically endowed them withthe craft of governance.

Suffering and fighting for democracy, it seems, aren’t credentialsenough to turn freedom-fighters into visionary rulers. Decades ofincarceration, torture and exile don’t guarantee that leaders becomebetter managers or more accountable politicians. We had in the pastten years begun to see a glimmer of the qualities we look for in thecommitment and responsibility of elected leaders at the grassroots.But many of them are being systematically eliminated, or houndedout of their home villages by the Maoists.

At the national level, governance isn’t just about the conduct ofthe state. Politics isn’t just the operational strategy of

the day-to-day survival of the powerful. Politics can’t just be aboutclinging to the table under which deals are made. In any country with ourlevel of human deprivation, politics must be more than that. Politics is thecompetitive process to choose the best and most honest managers sothat they can improve peoples’ lives.

If they wanted to govern well, our elected leaders would havemade the people who elected them a part of the political process thatcould make their lives better. They would have tried harder toredress the skewed balance of social justice by giving a voice(beyond just lip service) to the voiceless. They would have done allthis honestly and efficiently.

But somewhere in the last 12 years, we lost it. Politics has becomean end in itself, politics for politics’ sake. And those of us outside politicshave often chosen to remain outside the political process itself. We haveforgotten the bond between development and democracy. Politics mustforce elected leaders at all levels to create the conditions necessary forcitizens to live more decent lives. Or else, they do not get elected again.This connection was the reason for hope in 1990. And it is becauseeverybody forgot that missing link that we are in the mess we are intoday. Even if you don’t completely buy the theory of cultural determinismthat makes Kathmandu Valley’s elite a bunch of pampered fatalists, thereasons for this are as much socio-cultural as they are rooted in thehistory of feudalism and autocracy that saddled us with the politicaleconomy we have today.

Development failed because the people do not feel they are a part ofit, and they don’t feel they are a part of because they are hardly everconsulted. The United Nations’ Nepal Human

Development Report 2001 which was released just before the NDFmeeting last week put its finger right on the problem: poverty inNepal, the report said, is first and foremost a crisis of governance.“The level of human development in Nepal remains among the lowestin the world …and this stems basically from inequity and inequality inthe distribution of resources and opportunities.”

The result: nine million Nepalis still live in hardcore poverty. Thegap between rich and poor in Nepal is wide even by South Asia’sinequitable standards. The figures for female literacy and maternalmortality are as shameful as ever—especially in the far and mid-west. Millions of Nepali women continue to live in misery.

It’s true, it’s not all gloom and doom. Nationwide, the literacy rateis moving rapidly past the 65 percent mark, the life expectancy ofNepalis has gone up, per capita income is rising, access to healthcare has improved, decentralisation is starting to give people at thegrassroots greater control over their own destiny. The efficiency ofthe delivery of basic services can be further improved by turningover the control of their management to local bodies.

So, why aren’t things moving? Because Nepal is badly governed.What can we do about it? Ensure greater participation of the peoplein decision-making, and force politicians to be more accountable.Donors will only go so far, ultimately we have to do it ourselves. Wecannot wait for the insurgency to be over before we launch anaggressive development drive, otherwise it will never be over.

by CK LALSTATE OF THE STATE

Despite the market mantra, it is government that makes things happen. Even in Bangalore.

Letter from the Silicon Plateauland, Lalit Mahal was once the royalguesthouse. The Indian governmenthas found an appropriate use for thispiece of regal property—the palace hasbeen turned into a five-star hotel runby the Indian Tourism DevelopmentCorporation. I couldn’t have askedfor a better backdrop to ruminateover my whirlwind tour of theDeccan’s Silicon Plateau.

Cyberbabu Naidu has givenHyderabad an iconic status, but muchof his IT dream remains just that. Nodoubt, the gleaming Cybercitycomplex is functional, the computeri-sation of government records is inprocess, and this week Naidu flew tothe United States to draw furtherinvestment into his ambitiously named‘knowledge corridor’ around theBegumpet wilderness. But even theknowledge industry needs a criticalmass of knowledgeable peoplewilling to and capable of takingrisks. In this, Hyderabad has a lot ofcatching up to do.

Andhra Pradesh has a long way togo before it can even begin to competewith Karnataka’s cyber-savviness. Itneeds to resolve the insurgency led by

the Peoples’ War Group. It has todevelop a pool of technicians to takecare of the nuts and bolts matters whilethe high-fliers pursue their IT-fantasies. It has to build dependableinfrastructure—roads, water supply,electricity, banking, insurance, schoolsand hospitals. These are things thatcannot be delivered in an instant overthe Internet. Even a determinedgovernment with strong political willneeds some time to get things going.

If Naidu fails in his dream oftransforming his state into a real ITsuper-power, it wouldn’t be for lack oftrying. The beginnings of his corridorof knowledge are there, with theUniversity of Hyderabad doing whatStanford is supposed to have done forSilicon Valley, and what the IndianInstitute of Science (IISc) did forneighbouring Karnataka. Hyderabadcan boast of an Indian Institute ofInformation Technology (IIIT), whichis engaged in cutting edge research.The hype about the e-governance inAndhra Pradesh is hype: but no onedoubts that Chandrababu Naidumeans business.

Karnataka is the reigning IT leader

in India, a fact recognised by visitorssuch as Tony Blair and Zhu Rongji, aswell as IT-superstar residents like NRNarayanamurthy, chairman of Infosys,and Wipro chief Azim Premji. InHyderabad, the air is full of anticipa-tion; in Bangalore, exhaustion with ITis more pronounced. The buzzwordhere these days is biotechnology. Andthey are not talking about just theirown state—scientists from Bangalore’sbiotech labs are scouring India’snortheast for exotic enzymes they canpatent. In Begumpet, the operativeword is software, in Whitefields, theyhave started to talk about IT-enabledindustries and bio-informatics.

There are many reasons behindthe emergence of Bangalore as a centreof knowledge industries, but none ofthem has anything to do with marketforces per se. Much of the credit fortransforming Bangalore from apensioners’ paradise to a high-techMecca goes to the IISc—the institutethat has India’s own super-computerPARAM. The IISc is so obsessed withits premier image, that last month itrefused full professorship to the fatherof Indian missile technology, APJ

Abdul Kalam, on the pretext that hisdoctorate was an honorary one, notearned. The University of Hyderabadeagerly welcomed Kalam into their fold.

Senior scientists and technocratspoached from huge Bangalore-basedstate enterprises like HindustanAeronautics Limited, Bharat HeavyElectricals Limited, HindustanMachine Tools, and Indian TelephoneIndustries helped the informationrevolution take off. Even in the eighties,Bangalore had more engineeringcolleges than any other city in India,and graduates of these institutionsfuelled a supply-led growth of theknowledge industry.

Prof Kalyani, Dean of Bangalore’shighly-regarded Indian Institute ofManagement, puts the phenomenon inperspective when she says that it is thegovernment that makes things happen,despite the mantra of market so popularthese days. In recognition of the rolethat policy can play in economicgrowth, her institute is starting a courseon Policy Management patterned afterthe famed Kennedy School of Govern-ment. IIM-Bangalore is renowned foraccurately predicting management

trends, and if its emphasis ongovernance is anything to go by, thechallenge of the future is not finance,production or the market, but policy.

Where do we in Nepal figure inall this talk of IT, bio-informatics andIT-enabled industries? Nowhere,which is why Nepali visitors to SiliconPlateau give the International Informa-tion Technology Park a miss and headstraight for Sai Baba’s Ashram nearby.The Baba looks frail, but still sits onhis throne blessing devotees duringafternoon bhajans, and a significantnumber of his followers continue to beNepali. The Sai Super SpecialtyHospital is now complete, and itsgolden dome competes with the glassand chrome of IT park for visitors’attention.

Nepal’s cyber aspirations,however, have the blessings of LordPashupatinath. The largest statue of theNandi bull in the world is in Andhra.The second largest is in Karnataka. Thethird largest, and perhaps the mostbeautiful, is in the Pashupati Temple.Could this pattern portend that Nepalmight be next in line for an ITbreakthrough?

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333338 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMES

L E T T E R SL E T T E R SL E T T E R SL E T T E R SL E T T E R S

NATION

by PUSHKAR GAUTAMCOMMENTARY

hen he sent Gorkhali soldiers towar, Prithivi Narayan Shah toldthem: “Jai kataka nagara, jhiki

kataka gara.” (Don’t kill unless attacked,but kill if attacked.) The Royal NepalArmy is now out of the barracks andfighting the Maoists under similar orders.

The surprise Maoist attack in lateNovember forced the Royal Nepal Army(RNA) to take on the offensive. How-ever, it is facing certain strategic difficul-ties in responding to the insurgents forseveral reasons: numerical inadequacy oftroops deployed, our open border withIndia, and a cash-strapped national

Red terror

economy.Then there are logistical problems

fighting a guerrilla war in this terrain,Maoists can easily flee into India as thepressure against them intensifies, andalthough the military’s intelligencegathering has improved it is still notadequate for infiltration.

The army is first concerned about itsown security, thereafter it wants tosecure the cities, and then the districtheadquarters. There is logic in theapproach: because a cardinal rule ofwarfare is securing your own safety beforeattacking the enemy. There are several

factors working in favour of the RoyalNepal Army in this war:

All parliamentary parties support thedeployment of troops against the rebelsand so does the international community

There are today many more accessroads that reach deep into the hinterland

The lack of accessible forests wherethe insurgents can hide for long periods

The Maoists now have less andless room to play, and the

army can take the strategyof tiring them intosurrender or defeat.Although it would benefitfrom a bigger fightingforce, the RNA also has

the advantage of numbersover the Maoists. However,

the Maoists are battle-hardenedand have a commitment to the

revolution.The Maoists need to spend about

Rs10 million every month to keep the wargoing: for the upkeep of their own guerrillaforce, logistics and hardware. The army

would need at least five times thatamount because it relies on air support,state-of-the-art weapons and otherexpensive equipment. Even thoughthe cost may not be an immediate

concern, over time it will be. Moreover,security spending will divert money fromdevelopment which needs to go hand-in-hand to address the rural neglect that fuelsthe revolution.

The rebels want to fight the battle inthe territory they know best, and aretrying to lure the army to their lairs.Getting there is not only a logisticalconcern for the army, it also has to sealoff the guerrillas’ entry and exit routes.Even though it is a long shot, the armyseems to be trying to tighten the stran-glehold on the Maoist heartland withoutactually entering the areas themselves.

The Maoists are therefore fightingthe war with ambushes, booby trap minesand their superior knowledge of theterrain. The army is not finding it easy tobuild a network of local informantsbecause the Maoists are terrorising localpeople with brutal slayings of villagers.

This strategy is known as “red terror”in Maoist lore—a response to what iscalled the state’s “white terror”. Thisexplains why the rebels have begunpicking out innocent teachers, who theybelieve the army may try to use for itsintelligence-gathering and infiltration.Teachers live in the villages, they have anintimate knowledge of the terrain andother villagers. They also happen to beemployees of the state.

The army’s psy-ops techniques nowhave to go beyond issuing sterile dailystatements through the Defence Minis-try. The Nepali people have been used topress freedom for the past 12 years, andthey can tell when a news item soundscredible and when it doesn’t. The otherdisadvantage is that the government islosing the battle for hearts and mindsbecause development is at a standstill.

There has to be an immediatepolitical understanding between the RNAand the civil government on deliveringdevelopment to the grassroots. Havingcorrect ground-level information needs anetwork of local informants: fire-power isuseless unless you know where to shoot.

The Royal Nepal Army in the pasttwo months has gained experience and isimproving intelligence. Its strategy nowwill be to push the Maoists into higherterrain and keep them there. Dolakha,Udayapur and Dhankuta have nowemerged important regions in thiscounter-insurgency thrust in the east. Inthe west, Gorkha, Palpa, Surkhet andDang could be where this effort will beconcentrated.

Mao saw “red terror” as a way to counter the state’s “white terror”. Our comradesare doing it to sow fear, and pre-empt the army’s intelligence gathering.

In line with Mao Zedong’s doctrine,Nepal’s Maoists have always planned andcarried out a major assault on a police orarmy base every two months or so. Thecomrades call it “Dhakka”: thrust. Thisis to keep their cadre in battle-readiness,maintain morale, and use the attacks forpropaganda value to expose the govern-ment and military’s vulnerability. Theywill pick soft targets that create thebiggest news impact. Given the pressurethe Maoists are under presently, andtheir affinity for anniversaries, such anattack on a major military base on oraround 13 February is a possibility.Mobility is critical to the guerrillas, andthey will try to break out of the army’scordon by ambushing convoys, hittingsupply lines, and creating a rift betweenthe local population and troops.

There is no doubt that the army’s bestchance of effectively defeating the Maoistsin the short-term would be to get theleadership, as happened in Sri Lanka withan intelligence breakthrough that resultedin the arrest of the entire top brass of theJVP in 1989, as well as the capture ofAbimael Guzman of the Sendero Luminosoin Peru in 1992. The rebels seem to haveanticipated this, and have taken refuge inIndia.

A coordinated intelligence and under-cover operation in collaboration with Indiais therefore needed not just for the leader-ship’s whereabouts, but also to severecommunication links between the topleaders and the cadre. Otherwise thiscrossborder element could complicate theinsurgency, and join Nepali Maoists in awider revolution with their comrades inBihar, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh.

(Pushkar Gautam is a former Maoist areacommander for Okhaldhunga and left themovement three years ago due tointernal conflict with the leadership.)

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POWER GRAB?The leaders of the RPP, CPI-UML, and the non-ministerialfaction of the Nepali Con-gress led by Girija PrasadKoirala, are not very convinc-ing when they say that thepurpose of the so-called“broad national consensus”is not to grab power (“Demo-cratic dalliance” by PuskarBhusal, #76). They will haveto go beyond cosmetics ofterminology (multi-partyalliance becomes broaddemocratic alliance becomesbroad national consensus) orsophisticated politicalreasoning. One problem isthat their antecedents are nottoo convincing. If they areserious then perhaps theycould start off by saying(promising) that they are notinterested in entering govern-ment, but that they willconcentrate on strengtheninggovernment from the outsidethrough responsible butcritical support within the NC,and critical but loyal opposi-tion within parliament. Amajor test of their sinceritywould be their support forextension of the emergencyfor three more months, if the

government felt that this wasessential, which it most prob-ably is.

Mithun JungNaxal

KHUMBU SPRINGIt is clear from Ramyata Limbu’sarticle (“Khumbu hopes forspring,” #78) that if the govern-ment does not send moresecurity forces to the Khumbu,an attack by Maoists couldcause colossal losses. As anative of the area, let me alsoadd that Bal Bahadur KC in myexperience is making a mistakewith Syangboche airport—it isjust too high for tourists foracclimatisation.

Phudorji SherpaConnecticut, USA

Thank you for Ramyata Limbu’sexcellent reporting from Lukla. Ihave many friends here whowant to go on the Everest Trek,and it was a great help.

Jack PrasaiCape Town, South Africa

“FOREN”Now that Rajendra Khadka isdone pontificating (“Diaspora indilemma,” #76) on who thethousands of us FoReN are,

what we think, see and feel, andeven what we should do, couldhe be so kind as to use hisdemonstrated omniscience andsend us (preferably withoutcondescension, contempt, over-generalisations, or literaryname-dropping) the winningnumber of the next PowerballLottery?

R SubbaUSA

I am writing to say that I amstruck by the vehemence anddefensiveness of the reaction toRajendra Khadka’s perceptivearticle on the diaspora. Obvi-ously, Khadka’s article hasforced them to ask toughquestions about themselves.

Geetanjali Tamangby email

I agree with Rajendra Khadkathat there are possibilities inNepal. But we need to makethem happen. And we won’t dothat by making it an “us” and“them” issue. Khadka’s article isa vague and myopic generalisa-tion that categorises all theNepalis living in the West withhis new coinage: “FoReN”. He

condescendingly challengesthe intelligence and maturity ofthe Nepali diaspora by limitingtheir discussion of Nepal to“dust, corruption, decay”.

Some may choose to liveabroad, some may return afterlearning skills, and some mayjust opt out. Various Nepaliorganisations such as oursmake an earnest effort toincrease understanding throughexchanges. There is a newtrend among Nepalis, includingreturnees like Khadka, toengage in productive activities.This is a positive sign as longas it is conducive to growth. It isbetter for Nepalis in Nepal andoutside to work together insteadof throwing labels at each other.

Sujit NS ThapaNepal Association of

Northern CaliforniaSan Francisco

DAWA’S DREAMUnlike what some NMA mem-bers have stated in your Follow-up column (“Wanted: mountainmemorabilia,” #79) the entirefloor space and design of theMountain Museum in Pokharaevolved around the specific

by our client, and are continu-ing to provide our consultancy,as well as free personalservices for the interior display,to fulfil Dawa’s dream.

Narendra PradhanKathmandu

NOT PERFECT FIVEIt is indeed encouraging andvery inspiring to read in BinodBhattarai’s “Can Nepal do IT?”(#79) that PCS rates a perfectfive on the CMM scale. Or doesit? Very few software houses inthe whole world have beenable to achieve CMM level 5.So, if what Mr Suresh Regmisays is true, PCS would be amajor player in the worldsoftware market.

Amar Gurungby email

Mr Gurung is right. PCS doesnot have any CMM rating. Theerror is regretted. –Ed

utility and artefacts to bedisplayed. As you state, theproject was the creation anddream of one man: DawaNorbu Sherpa, the late presi-dent of the NMA. I am pained tosee that Dawa’s name andcontribution to the project rarelysurfaces these days. In theoriginal master plan themuseum building is part of acomplex interconnected bycovered passages and theopen areas landscaped withgardens, footpaths, stupas,mani walls and even a climb-ing rock. We had also takeninto account buildings to thenorth blocking the view. Havingbeen involved so closely in thedesign and implementation ofthe project we were surprisedto discover through your follow-up that the NMA is askinganother “architect” to provide a“facelift” to the complex. Wehave not been informed of this

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from the misconception that deforesta-tion in the hills is the cause. “Theyhaven’t understood or been explainedthat soil erosion over the years haschanged the courses of rivers like theKosi, that all Asian countries areaffected by the connection between theIndian Ocean, the Himalaya and themonsoons,” says botanist Dr TirthaBahadur Shrestha. “Even then, thepublic attitude towards mountains isnegligent. Access to mountains isdifficult. They are difficult to reach;once you get there it’s difficult to livein, and if you stay, they’re difficult toendure. That’s why it’s important for amountainous country like Nepal not tolook at mountains from a distance, butto look at their practical problems inthe face.” Dr Shrestha is working withnational committees that includesprofessionals from the non-governmen-tal sector and tourism as well asacademics and researchers, who will alltrack the various special mountain-related programs in Nepal this year

What’s happening, whereICIMOD, together with other donorssuch as the FAO, the Japanesegovernment, the Swiss DevelopmentCooperation, the International Unionfor the Conservation of Nature(IUCN), the Mountain Institute, theWorld Wide Fund for Nature(WWF), and the German aid agencyGesellschaft für TechnischeZusammenarbiet (GTZ), is taking alead role in sponsoring and organisingIYM 2002 activities.

The highlight of the Centre’s busycalendar of events will be globalmountain women’s meet from 28-31May. “Celebrating Mountain Women”will bring together indigenous women,donor agencies, policy makers andplanners, entrepreneurs, and research-ers to share the problems and progressof mountain women. Mountain womenwill have a forum to articulate theirconcerns and share their experiencesand ideas in areas like natural resourcesand environment, health, entrepreneur-ship, legal, political and human rights,and cultural and indigenous knowl-edge. The idea is that such a gatheringwill not only enable mountain women’snetworks to grow and strengthen asagents of change, but that it will alsomake a significant contribution topolicies and practices that empowermountain women and their communities.

The other major event will be theHigh Summit 2002 InternationalConference Around the World’sHighest Mountains from 6-10 May,that will take place with simultaneousregional conferences in Kathmandu,Milan, Mendoza and Nairobi toidentify critical mountain policies, withpolicymakers and planners video-conferencing every day for an hour.And a global e-conference in Februaryand March will explore the dimensionsof natural resources-based conflicts andresolution mechanism in the HinduKush Himalaya.

During the IYM, Kathmandu isplaying host to a number of regionalmeetings. There is one on developing a

The Commission for Educational Exchange between the United States and Nepal(USEF/Nepal) announces the 2002 competition for the Fulbright and the East-WestCenter (EWC) Scholarships. Those selected would begin their studies in the USbeginning August-September, 2003. (a) The Fulbright program provides all expenses(including travel) for a Master’s degree program of up to two years at selected U.S.universities, in any field except medicine, engineering or computer science. (b) theEWC scholarships of the University of Hawaii (UH) are available for Masters or doc-toral-level study in any field offered at UH and cover all tuition and fees, but not travelexpenses. Applicants for either program may be employees in any government orsemi-government agency, private business, NGO or INGO.

General Requirements for Entering the Competition

All applicants must:1. possess Nepali citizenship;2. demonstrate in all post-intermediate degrees a minimum aggregate marks of:

56% for students in non-technical fields (humanities and social sciences), and60% for students in science and technical fields. (The minimum requirementsfor students under the semester system are: 65% in non-technical fields; 70%in technical fields; or a Cumulative GPA of 3.5/4.0 in either field.)

3. have a high level of competence in speaking, reading and writing English.(Applicants who pass the first screening will be required to sit for an Englishtest during the application process. The test requirement will be waived forthose who have a valid TOEFL score of 213 or higher and have submittedcopies of their score reports with their applications.)

4. be under 40 years of age as of the application filing deadline date (March 29,2002);

5. possess either a four years bachelor’s degree; or, if the bachelor’s degree wasof fewer than four years duration, then a masters degree is also required, suchthat the total number of years of formal education equals at least 16;

6. have at least three years (for men) or one year (for women) of post-bachelor’sdegree, full-time, professional work experience in an area directly relevant tothe applicant’s chosen field of study as of the application filing deadline date(March 29, 2002) and document this experience by letter(s) from employer(s)that verify applicant’s position(s) and years of employment;

7. be in excellent health, as evidenced by a letter from a medical doctor; and8. be eligible for a U.S. visa.Note: Individuals holding master’s degrees equivalent to a U.S. master’s degreeshould not apply, nor should individuals who have previously resided in the UnitedStates for six months or more during the preceding five years.(Applicants must submit documentary evidence for items No. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7.)

Application Forms & DeadlinesApplication forms and detailed information regarding the competition are availablefrom: the USEF/Nepal office at the American Center in Gyaneshwor; the Ministry ofEducation; the National Planning Commission; Tribhuvan University Rector’s Office;Kathmandu University Rector’s Office; and with Campus Chiefs at out of the Valleydegree campuses. Applications and information may also be accessed anddownloaded from the Commissionís website: www.fulbrightnepal.org.np. Applica-tion forms must be taken out from the USEF office or downloaded from the website by4:00 p.m. Friday, March 15th, 2002. No applications will be given out after this date.Duplicate, hardcopy, completed applications must reach the Fulbright Commission(USEF) no later than 4:00 p.m. Friday, March 29th, 2002. Incomplete applications orapplications received after this deadline will not be considered.

THE FULBRIGHT & THE EAST-WEST CENTER2002 SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION

“Mountain people are isolatedin plains contexts.”Nepali Times: ICIMODís IYM calender is extremely busy. What, inyour opinion, is the most important issue here?Gabriel Campbell: We need to develop and operationalise a long-termvision. A world in which upstream areas are reimbursed for theirservices to the millions downstream, for their provision ofrenewable energy and water for irrigation, industry andhouseholds; their safeguarding of the biologicaldiversity and places of spiritual pilgrimage andtourism, and all the other benefits provided bymountains. This could lead to both environmental and financial sustainability where poor mountain peopleand governments are no longer dependant on outside donors. Mountain people are resilient and adaptive.Given the real access to opportunities and supportive policies, they can take advantage of mountainresources to overcome the steep slopes and deep valleys which seem to be miring so many of them inpoverty, conflict and hopelessness now.

How seriously do you think mountain concerns have been taken until now?Some have been taken seriously, some haven’t. For example, ICIMOD has volunteered to take on one issueat a global scale. One of the major activities is Celebrating Mountain Women (See article). In the Hindu KushHimalaya, women are the major people involved in farming, agriculture, and livestock rearing; they are oftenthe major caretakers of natural resources. Yet policies still tend to think of farmers in terms of men, smallenterprise development in terms of men, and even mountain climbers in terms of men. Since women are socritical to mountains—and, subsequently, to the lowlands that depend on mountains—we’d like to set upregional and global networks and bring the profile of mountain women much higher, give women a space todiscuss issues important to them and reorient programs to better support them.

But most such programs this year are based in Kathmandu or in urban areas where thesepeople donít live, how will they know?That’s a valid point. We’re trying to chalk out some programs that involve more grassroots people and cancommunicate with them more effectively. There is one big grassroots program in Yuksom in Sikkim from 15-19 April. This Himalayan regional meeting of mountain populations has been initiated by the French, andSikkim will host the Asia conference where concerned people will discuss economy, culture, politics andidentify critical mountain policies. It’s a build-up to the world encounter in Quito, Ecuador in September andwill feed into the Bishkek Global Mountain Summit at the end of October in Kyrgyzstan. We’re also trying todisseminate information more in local languages and media to increase the effectiveness of our outreachwith our 120 partner institutions in the region.

Are you sure the year wonít simply end up devoted to window-dressing celebrations?Sometimes you need such celebrations to make people feel that they are not alone. And isolated. Micro-credit groups of women can take and pay back loans, that doesn’t mean they’re always successful ingrowing the economy. But they do feed a greater source of empowerment through the social mobilisationand empowerment process. Mountain people are isolated within larger plains contexts. They are part of aregional, marginalised group, and the more people who understand that their issues are different fromthose in the plains, and that they can find solutions and strengths with other mountain peoples, the morehope increases. Many donors who are not interested in the celebrations are interested in the outcome ofthese events, the follow-up programs identified by mountain people themselves.

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RAMYATA LIMBUhen some 50 scientistsgathered in France in June2000 to find an agreeable

definition for a mountain, theycouldn’t. But like their predecessors atthe World Environment Summit inRio in 1992, they agreed thatmountains were much more than aphysical mass, and integral to theworld’s environment. And so, tenyears after Rio, the UN has decided tocelebrate 2002 as the InternationalYear of the Mountain to draw theworld’s attention to the mountains,their importance and their problems,and experts will gather in Johannes-burg, South Africa this September toevaluate the outcome of the 1992meeting at the World Summit onSustainable Development.

“The most important mountainpolicy issue for all mountain regions,and particularly here, is aboutproviding better environment andresources for people living down-stream, and redressing the imbalanceof resource flows from upstream,mountain areas,” says Dr GabrielCampbell, director general of theInternational Centre for IntegratedMountain Development (ICIMOD),the first international centre with amandate to promote sustainablemountain development. (See box forinterview).

Nepal with its Himalaya iscertainly exceptional, but around 135countries in the world have mountainsand hills. Not just the home of snow-fed rivers that are a vital source ofdrinking water and critical inhydropower projects, mountains alsocontain a quarter of the world’s forests,rich hubs of biodiversity with some ofthe world’s rarest flora and fauna, anastonishing diversity of cultures, andendless spots of recreation and renewal.

“But by their very remoteness andtheir fragile and dynamic nature,which makes transport, developmentand infrastructure all cost five timesmore, they face increasingmarginalisation, economic decline,and environmental degradation,”says Campbell. ICIMOD has beenengaged in providing conceptualguidance and advice for preparationsacross the world for the InternationalYear of the Mountain, but will itselflargely focus on observing IYMactivities in the Hindu KushHimalaya.

Millions of people in this part ofthe world still don’t realise, under-stand, or have never been taught thatthe water they drink comes from theHimalaya. In the Gangetic plains ofBihar and Bangladesh—the result ofthousands of years of silt eroded bywater and weather—people still suffer

framework for regional cooperation inFlood Forecasting and InformationExchange, another on securing farmers’rights to livelihoods in the HinduKush Himalaya. There will be aregional planning meeting on improvedlabour-saving options for mountainwomen, still another on rural roadinfrastructure development andmaintenance in the Himalayan region,and finally, others on assessingmountain agricultural systems forsustainable agricultural planning anddevelopment.

ICIMOD will also work with theRoyal Nepal Academy of Science andtechnology (RONAST) to hold aninternational seminar on mountains inKathmandu in March, and with otherorganisations to hold the GIS (Geo-graphic Information Systems) ForumSouth Asia 2002 in November, and theAsia Pacific regional FAO Conferenceon Mountain Agriculture in mid-May.

Not only glossy brochuresThe celebrations have already kicked offin Nepal with the opening of thehighest botanical garden in the countryin Daman on January 1, with thepromise of at least fifteen others to beset up around the country. But, saysShrestha, “one hopes the IYM is notonly restricted to pictures in glossybrochures, but reflected in the faces ofhighland inhabitants. People have to beclear about what IYM is and what it isn’t.”

With the 2002 launch of theDestination Nepal Campaign and the50th anniversary celebrations of the firstsummit of Mt Everest next year—national events that cash on theInternational Year of the Mountain—there is concern that the accompanyinghype to promote Nepal as a tourismdestination will draw attention awayfrom the basic aims of the IYM: tohighlight mountain issues and to serveas a springboard and catalyst for longterm, sustained, and concrete action thatwill extend far beyond the year.

Says Shrestha: “Various otherevents can accompany the IYM tohighlight Nepal’s development efforts,but if by the end of the year there is nosign of a long-term plan for mountaindevelopment, for many people the year2002 will have just come and gone.”

This is why the priorities set forthby the IYM will no doubt be repeatedthroughout the year:

Ensure the present and futurewellbeing of mountain communities bypromoting conservation and sustainabledevelopment in mountain areas;

Increase awareness of and knowledgeon mountain ecosystems, theirdynamics and functioning, and theiroverriding importance in providing anumber of strategic goods and servicesessential to the well-being of both ruraland urban, highland and lowlandpeople, particularly water supply andfood security;

Promote and defend the culturalheritage of mountain communities/societies;

Pay attention to frequent conflicts inmountain areas and promote peace-making in those regions

If you thought it was the Year of the Horse, you’re wrong. The time of themoutain is here. Mountains are difficult to reach; once you get there, they’redifficult to live in, and if you stay, they’re difficult to endure. But they covermore than a quarter of the earth, are home to a tenth of the world’s fivebillion, and provide goods and services to over half the world’s population.

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The war over pensionsIt’s happened. A retired British Gurkha, Lance Corporal Hari Thapa, has dragged the British Ministry ofDefence to an employment tribunal for racial discrimination. Echoing the call of many retired Nepali membersof the British armed forces, Thapa is demanding the same pension and other retirement facilities as hisBritish counterpart. He also claims compensation of £43,000 pounds—a figure he says makes up forreceiving an unfairly low salary for the 15 years he was in the service. Thapa is paid a monthly pension of£58, while a British soldier of the same rank and with the same years of service is entitled to £450. Thapa’sclaims are backed by the UK’s Commission of Racial Equality, which claims that under the Racial RelationsAct 1976, Thapa has the right to equal pension and retirement facilities as British nationals.

If the employment tribunal decides in favour of Thapa, there could be a slew of similar claims filed byover 30,000 ex-British Gurkhas and some 6,000 widows of British Gurkhas who live in Nepal, a move thatcould cost the British government something on the order of £2 billion. For six years now, retired BritishGurkha soldiers have been campaigning for equality in pension and retirement facilities, as well as the rightto reside in the UK after retirement. In September 2001, the Gurkha Army Ex-Servicemen’s Organisation(GAESO) filed a writ petition with the Nepali Supreme Court demanding that it issue a directive to theMinistry of Foreign Affairs to initiate diplomatic efforts to settle their dispute with British government.

British Gurkha pensions vary, depending on the years of service and rank, between £50- £90 pounds—one-fifth of what their British counterparts receive—and fluctuate with changes the currency exchangerate. The British government has claimed that since the cost of living in Nepal is much lower than that in theUK, pension parity is not needed. The claims of the British Gurkhas came to international attention when aGurkha widow was paid a death gratuity for her husband that was less than half the amount as awardedthe wife of a British soldier killed in the same de-mining incident in Kosovo. Under intense public pressure,the UK government reviewed its policy and raised the death gratuity for Gurkhas killed in service and inDecember 2000, doubled the pension of retired Gurkhas.

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Friends in high placesThe Nepal Tourism Board has a tough task in promoting Nepal as a safe tourist destination, and it is onlygetting harder. But it is getting a little help from friends. The star attraction at the Nepal Stall at the recentCaravan Motor Tourism Fair in Stuttgart, Germany, was renowned Italianclimber Reinhold Messner, who reassured scores of visitors that Nepal is,indeed, safe. Some 1,370 exhibitors from 88 countries took part in the fair,and more than 200,000 people visited. If German spending in internationaltravel increases by just 2-3 percent in 2002, as experts predict it will, wecan only hope that some of it will come our way. After all, what betterway of restoring some degree of confidence in Nepal-wary tourists thanby roping in Messner, who is also a member of the European Parliament inStrasbourg and Brussels.

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66666 NATION 8 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMES

by PUSKAR BHUSALSOMEWHERE IN NEPAL

n the weeks after the ban on politicalparties was lifted in 1990, GaneshMan Singh firmly positioned

himself as the pre-eminent speaker onthe national lecture circuit. In hiscaptivating albeit sometimesconvoluted way, the newly chris-tened “supreme leader” of Nepalcharted out his vision for the newlyemancipated nation.

As the months wore on, however,the audience’s impatience over the useof the by then watered-down“sarbamanya neta” appellation startedbecoming apparent. Singh’sfamiliarity with the fickleness of thepublic mood must have played a bigpart in nudging the state media tostart qualifying his leadershipattributes within the confines of theNepali Congress.

This sequence of events came tomind as the ruling party leadershipconverged on the cradle of Nepalidemocracy last week to induct “Pitaji”Krishna Prasad Koirala (see pictureabove) into the Hall of Martyrdom. Tobe sure, many Nepalis feel orphanedamid today’s relentless tumult. If you

really think about it, the countryprobably has never been at such a greatrisk of going astray. But Nepaliscertainly weren’t expecting a long goneDaddy to appear from out of nowhere.

A former Indian prime ministerpaid moving tributes to KP Koirala’scontributions to the Indian independ-ence movement and Nepal’s pro-democracy struggle. (In fact, asurprisingly large number of Nepalifreedom fighters came of age duringthe swaraj movement). However, thefact that Chandrashekhar is a closeKoirala family friend and the man whoinspired Nepalis to shed theirpartyless character from the hallowedpremises of Ganesh Man Singh’sChaksibari abode somewhat spoiledthe show. In retrospect, HD DeveGowda would have been a moreimpartial choice to deliver the eulogywithout breaching either protocol orideological affinity.

Legend has it that KP sentChandra Sumsher a box full of scruffyclothes and tattered footwear, ostensi-bly to show the Rana prime ministerthe sordid plight of his people. Thatact must have demanded great courageon the part of a commoner, unless hewas preparing for permanent exileacross the border. Not to belittle KP’sbravery, but, in all fairness, you haveto talk to the descendants on the otherside of the dispute to grasp the fullpicture. And they’ll tell you that theythink the real source of frictionbetween the Ranas and KP was theirfailure to reconcile the Morang bajaradda accounts. In any case, youcouldn’t expect the commoner toprevail over the assemblage ofaristocrats in full regalia.

That KP fathered three sons whowent on to become prime minister—and don’t forget that granddaughter

who served as deputy prime minis-ter—is no mean achievement. Byproducing a daughter who served, inher own graceful way, the cause ofPakistan’s foreign policy and a greatgranddaughter who held the Indianfilm industry in rapture for a decade,KP proved to be a pioneer of regionalcooperation. But I would have thoughtrecognition of these multiple featsbelonged to the record books, not onthe family tree of every Nepali.

In a political organisation wherefamily connection is a near guarantee ofwinning public office, terms ofendearment do matter. But let Pitajiand the array of aamas and dajus staywithin the party’s organisational chart.We don’t want a Bangladesh-likepredicament where the official statusof dead leaders depends on whichBegum is in power. The nice part,though, is that Kangresis, who arefurious every time someonementions Matrika Prasad in apolitical context, still consider himpart of the clan.

A radio interviewer asked thedaughter of Dharma Bhakta, one ofthe first four martyrs, how she feltabout herself. She didn’t like howeasy it had become to qualify as amartyr these days. Her concern wasthat a cheapening of martyrdomwould have a corrosive effect on thenational consciousness.

In a recent newspaper interview,the man reputed to have pulled thetrigger on Ganga Lal and DasarathChand when his subordinate wastoo scared and inebriated to carryout his orders was asked to recountthe event. After providing a graphicaccount of the day, he said his onlyregret was that the four men mighthave turned out to be better leadersthan the ones Nepalis got. I didn’t

think that was just dark humourcoming from a man enjoying hisninth decade on the planet.(Personally, I looked forward tolearning more about Nayab SubbaPurna Narayan Pradhan ofNhaykantala, who ranked fifth onJuddha Sumsher’s Magh 7, 1997execution list, unless he went onsome kind of witness protectionprogramme.)

Janakpur recalled the 38th Dayof Sacrifice of a native son. From thefifth paragraph of the newspaperstory the following morning, itemerged that this man’s act ofselflessness consisted of hurling anincendiary device at the monarch’sjeep. Pardon my ignorance, butwasn’t this man executed for acapital crime? What message are wetrying to send across a country tornby a bloody insurgency by sensingdemocratic aspirations in everydastardly act?

What was missing from theKangresi side of the week ofremembrance, though, was anyilluminating recollection of the partsplayed by people like Tej BahadurAmatya, Yogendra Man Serchan,Diwan Singh Rai and Saroj PrasadKoirala. The deaths of these men—the real second-generationKangresis—have slipped into therealm of mystery.

As for the Morang conclave, itwas interesting to see representativesof all influential lobbies of thefractious ruling party in attendance.I couldn’t help wondering, though,whether Ganesh Man Singh wouldhave consented to preside over theceremony had Pitaji been beatifiedright after the restoration ofmultiparty democracy.

In a country torn by a bloody insurgency, what is the message insensing democratic aspirations in every dastardly act?

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Bad loan swapping has now become a favourite trick private banks are usingto show profits where none exist, one auditor told us.

Banks already in business for some years agree to swap bad loans with newcomers, with the understanding that they will be taken back after the accountingperiod or several years (the more banks you own the easier it is to do this). Thenthe old bank can report higher profits because the bad loan is no longer inthe books, and does not need provisioning. The new bank also benefitsbecause it will have investments to show its shareholders and depositors.What was a bad loan to one bank therefore becomes a good loan that won’tgo bad for several years.

An even deeper problem is the influence-peddling by central bank stafferswho have relatives in private banks. The conflict of interest affects enforce-ment of regulatory regimes. One Rastra Bank source told us that seniorexecutives even double as dummy investors in some private banks. And aslong as banks thought they could get away with anything, they continued totry and stretch the limits.

Most agree that the problems are created because the Rastra Bank doesn’thave the clout to enforce rules. Till recently, the central bank used to be anappendage of the Minisry of Finance which brought it directly under thepolitical ambit.

The new Central Bank Act that became law last week will finally make theNepal Rastra Bank more independent, and hopefully more accountable. Thenew law requires the Rastra Bank’s inspection department to report tothe board of directors and not just the governor and there will bemore scrutiny of the balance sheets of private banks.With this, the current practice of seekingprovisioning waivers from the governor onlarge bad loans may end. It was a loopholeinfluential private bankers regularly used toshow non-existent profits.

Governor Tilak Rawal said two weeks agohe had stopped this practice, and the Rastra Bankhas issued nine directives to govern the conduct ofcommercial banks. However, the directives willnot change the way banking is done in Nepal aslong as the collusion between politicians andbig business persists.

Martyrdom in a timeof democratic decay

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Head in the sand77777NEPALI ECONOMY 8 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMES

INTERVIEW

“Banks can afford to foregoprofits to help industry survive.”

How is it to do business in aneconomic downturn?The overall business scenario in allsectors is very depressing—tradeis low, tourism is not doing well,exports are bad, and we can’thope to be out of it in a year, giventhe global downturn.

What can business do to ensurethe impact of the recession isminimised?It is difficult to see how one canavoid being affected by what ishappening in the country. Theimpact of external factors can beminimised by consolidating,identifying niche markets, andfocused and vigorous marketingand sales.

How have you been affected?Automobiles are one of my mainareas of business. My businesswas first hit after the tragicincident at the palace (1 June). The

Nepali Times spoke with Arun Kumar Chaudhary, president of the Nepal-IndiaChamber of Commerce and Industry, and importer of the Maruti cars, and importer of the Maruti cars, and importer of the Maruti cars, and importer of the Maruti cars, and importer of the Maruti cars, onthe outlook for business, tax collection, the trade treaty and WTO.

recent VDIS (Voluntary TaxDeclaration Scheme) has added tothe problem, as people are shyingfrom buying any capital goods.Our sales are at an all-time low.Business has to go on, but how?We are encouraging peoplesaying, ‘you don’t want to spendyour money, we will offer youcollateral-free financing at 10percent interest on diminishingbalance.’ But the overall mood isdepressed, and business is low.Vehicle prices have also goneup—by Rs 30-50,000 dependingon the model—after the new tax.

What could government do tohelp business?The VDIS was wrongly timed. Ithas sapped the confidence ofbusiness at a time when peopleshould have been taking morerisks, making more investments. Idon’t want to get into whether thescheme is good or bad, it was

wrongly timed and should bestopped for now.

We also need a rescuepackage. One way would be toget commercial banks to reduceinterest rates. How can allbusinesses lose money and thebanks make profits? They canafford to forego profits and helpindustries survive right now.

Third, we need good PR. Ouremergency is not like thoseelsewhere, but we have beenunable to disseminate thatmessage effectively, so peopleabroad think we are in a crisis.

And political stability?That is understood, it is the firstthing I would like to see.

What about the trade treaty,due for renewal by 5 March?I would say there is no need toworry. It will be renewed, but wecannot say in what terms. Underthe treaty, anything with aCertificate of Origin can beexported to India without customsduties. The economic situation inIndia might be different now fromwhen the treaty was signed. Indiais proposing a value additionclause in the treaty, saying thatexports of a few products havesurged and injured its industry.

Value addition is not bad for thecountry—the more value added,the better it is. I understand India’slogic, it needs to consider theWTO. We too must be sensitiveabout where we will be when theWTO comes into effect.

Is Nepali officialdom thinkingseriously about these issues?Right now we aren’t talking aboutanything but renewal. We’re nottalking about the implications of theWTO, we aren’t doing ourhomework.

Leave the treaty aside for amoment. Can we isolate ourselvesfrom the changes in the world?No, so instead of being boggeddown by the treaty, why can’t wetry and define where we will be,what our core competence will be,once the WTO comes into effect?

How could we ideally adapt tothe coming changes?We should have begun accessionexercises a long time ago, and bynow completed much of thepreparatory work. It will bedifficult to face the effects ofglobalisation overnight. We need toidentify our core competence. Weshould talk to India openly. Maybewe can request them to staggervalue addition and work towards

meeting the requirements. Thisway we would only export thingsthat help the national economy.

Do you think the renewal isbeing dealt with correctly?I feel we are still bargaining over thepercentage of value addition. I don’tthink we are seeing the big picture,putting everything on the table andsaying these are our plans, that overthe next five years, when the treatyhas to be renewed again, value-addition won’t be an issue.

Do you think the Indians areright in saying some productsare doing a little too well?Let’s not get into specifics. Thereare questions about data, itsreliability and the contributionssome of the industries in questionare making to our economy, theinvestment that has been made.

How can we move on?We first have to know what wewant to achieve. The governmentshould ask what contributionsindustries are making to revenue,employment generation, andwhether they are contributingtowards building our industrialbase. We get too emotional aboutissues when business-likenegotiations are needed.

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8 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMESADVENTURE88888 ADVENTURE

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ALOK TUMBAHANGPHEYhere’s one thing from the Age of the Hippie that still has a localfan following in Nepal. And no, it isn’t a mind-altering sub-stance, but the cult of the motorcycle, specifically, the Enfield.

This weekend, the Himalayan Enfielders, a group of Enfield enthusi-asts, has brought together some 30 dedicated Enfielders for a weekendof mountain motorcycling, vrooming up to Pokhara and then back tothe capital.

Enfielders are inspired by all sorts of things—Robert Persig’sstill-bestselling book, stories of Hell’s Angels and their Harley-Davidsons or the seductiveness of just freewheeling in Easy Rider,and come in all shapes, sizes and persuasions—backpackers on acheap tour of the subcontinent, writers longing for isolation,musicians, Rastafari, people who haven’t discovered their callingyet, but just know they will on the open road, with the wind intheir hair. And in this spirit of openness—and because they really,truly want biking to catch on as an adventure sport in Nepal, they areinviting anyone with a 350 cc bike, Enfield or otherwise, to join themfor the Nepal Peace Ride 2002.

The South Asian love for the Enfield began back in 1954,when the Indian government ordered 800 Royal Enfields for itsarmy, a factory in Chennai soon began producing them and sincethen, the region has been hooked. Enfields have been around inNepal as long as anyone can remember, this is the first time thatenthusiasts have actually organised themselves to form a groupand travel out on organised rides. The Himalayan Enfielders wasset up last September with 19 riders. “The idea was to bringtogether Enfield bikers so we could have a proper club and maybepromote motorbike rides as a form of adventure tourism inNepal,” says Binod Chettri, one of the founders.

The group today has a workshop in Lazimpat speciallydedicated to Enfield and other heavy motorbikes—with affection-ate and ironic names such as Thaal and Ramesh the Reliable, eventheir best friends will tell you that these hothouse flowers of themotorcycle world need constant care and attention. The work-shop has also been serving as a clubhouse of sorts, where memberstoy with their toys, plan the next ride, or just sit there with thatglazed, ecstatic expression incomprehensible to outsiders. Overthe past few months, the group has already made several day rides,including to Kakani, Sunakoti, Phulchowki, Nagarjun,Bhakundabesi and a memorable one to The Last Resort inBarabise, on which they accompanied 22 Australian bikers andtheir 16 Enfields in the spirit of biking brotherhood.

This time around, entourage will also consist of supportvehicles with trained mechanics and spares, and a bus for friends,family and well-wishers who can’t bring themselves to sit on theback of one of these boneshakers. The group will stop for lunch atthe Kurintar Riverside Spring Resort along the TribhuvanHighway, 90 km from Kathmandu, and continue after thattowards Pokhara, a further 110 km away. On Day Two, 10February, the tour heads to Bandipur Mountain Resort, 80 kmfrom Pokhara and later back towards Kathmandu. The registra-tion fee for a 350cc or more bike is Rs 500, which buys theintrepid biker everything from food and lodging, to maintenancefor the two-day trip. The weak-willed on the bus will pay Rs1,500 for all the above.

So, if you’re already a bike enthusiast, or even just wake up onSaturday, 9 February wanting to see what the big hype is allabout, join the Enfielders and spread the message of peace, noiseand motorcyles. And remember not to, at any point, call it amotorbike rally: the organisers were told by our guardians ofpeace that under the emergency “all rallies are banned.”

Zen and the Art ofMountain MotorcyclingT

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DEEPAK THAPAt took more than 15 years for meto consummate a love I first feltas a teenager studying in India. It

took determination in the face ofmany nay-sayers, but ultimately itwas worth the effort. I am talkingabout my infatuation with theEnfield motorcycle, that classicpiece of beauty, the last word onlifestyle bikes.

The most common argumentsagainst the Enfield was the mainte-nance it would require, and itsreputation as a fuel guzzler. Butthen “Why ride a bike when you

can ride a legend” as the Enfieldslogan went to counter the entry ofthe 100 ccs into India (and Nepal)in the 80s.

I took along a friend—anEnfield fiend, and owner, for morethan 20 years—to get my 500 ccRoyal Enfield Bullet from theshowroom (yes, there used to beone such in Kathmandu). There wasno way I was going to drive it outmyself, for believe it or not, thenearest I’d ever been to handling aBullet was when someone deignedto let me kick-start theirs way backwhen. I was also aware that it

would take some time to get usedto its heft and also to the awkward-ness of the gear and brake leversbeing on the ‘wrong’ side.

Within half an hour, I was toget a taste of the famous Enfieldtemperament. Having shown off thebeauty to another Enfield lover, Ithought I’d take off on my own.Only, the machine simply refusedto start. There were two of uskicking away (one has to have donethat to appreciate the effort thatgoes into it), but we couldn’t evencoax a sputter out of the monster.As it turned out, the ignitionmechanism was dead—in a bikethat was showroom-fresh.

It was while figuring out whatmight have gone wrong with thebike that my friend passed onCanon No 1 of Enfield Ownership.“TLC,” he said enigmatically.

“TLC?”“Tender, loving care.”It was a rule I stuck by

zealously. The bike was at theworkshop every month. Since I hadcarted over spares from India on aseries of trips, any worn part wasimmediately replaced. No one evergot to ride my Enfield, apart forshort spins when I just couldn’t sayno. And I was being generous, for it

is not just done to lend your Bullet,which also explains why the firstone I rode happened to be my own.

Anyway, so there I was with mydream bike, complete with itssteady 22 bhp engine, and nowhereto go other than the crowdedKathmandu streets. I was just raring

Whenever I hear thethud-thud of a Bullet, Iseek out the sound and

look wistfully at thebeauty that is the Enfield.

to burn the tyres, do the ‘born tobe wild’ thing. But the ‘breaking-in’of an Enfield takes a tedious 2,000km (compared to the usual 500 kmin most bikes), and one can onlyputter along at a measly 50 kmphuntil then.

When I did manage to venture

out, itwas with alot of caution.You certainlydon’t want to have adead 165-kg Enfield on your handson the highway, which eventualityI was thankfully spared on all mylong-distance trips. That probablyhad to do with being lucky,though the monthly check-ups mybike had to undergo could havebeen a factor as well. I did carryalong all the necessary tools foremergencies, but with only theowner’s manual to guide me, itwas more as a reassurance than anyability of mine to tinker with theengine.

Steering around the twists andturns of our mountain highways isnot the safest thing to do on aBullet. The narrow tyre width andthe fact that the double stand isslung very low can be dicey whentaking the steep corners at highspeed. But the bike comes to lifein the tarai. You can’t help butsqueeze the accelerator. Zippingat 115+ kmph (I couldn’t darelook at the speedometer after that,since the eyes had to be constantlypeeled for any sign of animal orhuman life that might pop up onthe road), watching slowervehicles diminish in the mirror asyou urge the bike to go faster, andfeeling smug that the bike canhandle such speeds without a hintof a wobble, it was indeed anexperience. Even though I wasconscious all along that a crashwould be, not to mincewords, fatal.

The Enfield is stable. All youneed to do is start the bike (a one-kick-start Bullet is much ad-mired), roll it out of its stand,begin moving and it seems tobalance all on its own. Especiallyuseful for those quick zig-zagmanoeuvres in the city, andemergency brakings.

More than its performance,however, the Enfield is betterloved for two things. The classicold British bike look that hasremained unchanged in style sinceit started being manufactured inIndia in 1955, and is now the onlyone in the world with such looks.The second is its distinctivesound, although for some reason itdoes not sound the same when youare riding it yourself. (The termused for motorcycles in easternNepal and Darjeeling, bhat-bhatay, must have been coinedbecause of onomatopoeic repre-sentation of the Enfield sound.)

But the Enfield does have its

Why ride a bikewhen you canride a Bullet?

8 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMES 99999

drawbacks. Amajor one is

the need for regulartune-ups. While talking

about the Enfield anAustralian once told me with thedisdain only those from DownUnder can feel for their mothercountry: “The Brits don’t have arespect for mechanics.” He wasreferring to the design of the bike’sengine (not the grease-smearedindividuals in garages), implyingthat had more attention beengiven to the science of mechanics,the Enfield wouldn’t be such aheadache to own.

I don’t know much aboutthat, but what I do know is thatfor all its power, the Enfield doesnot provide that extra burst ofspeed sometimes required in citydriving. This was something I wasto learn from near-death incidentsin the early days of Enfieldownership when the bike simplyrefused to generate the powerneeded to avoid head-on collisionas I tried to overtake, and showoff to also I guess, slow pokes onthe road.

Neither does the bike take sokindly to uphill climbs. It seemsall that power is good only as longas the road is flat. Start up a hill,and you begin to wish your Enfieldhad the pull of a BMW.

The gear shift is generallyquite unresponsive, and theneutral seems to appear at allplaces. The clutch is tough on theforearms, and in slow movingtraffic where constant gear shiftsbecome necessary, one can only bethankful that those long after-noons at the gym doing wrist curlsare finally coming in handy. And,it’s a veritable bone-shaker—thesuspension system probably alsodates back to 1955.

In the end, I just could notlive up to my initial resolve tobecome a bike freak like mostlong-time Enfield owners are, i.e.,do a little bit of pottering aroundon the bike on holidays. Workpressure, and perhaps a dash ofnatural disinclination meant eitherthe bike had to visit the workshopwith more frequency, or I had topart with it.

It was a cold morning that dayas I watched this Dutch guy roaraway into the dust, and I stoodstaring into the void that had beenmy Enfield. The love is not yetdead. I still feel it stirring deepwithin whenever I hear the thud-thud of a Bullet, and I seek outthe sound and look—wistfully atthe beauty that is the Enfield.

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MARLON SALDINepal = pilgrimage. For theaverage Sri Lankan, that is.But some of us look

beyond Lumbini, with ratherstartling consequences, likemaking a 1,165 km motorcyclejourney through western Nepal,from Pokhara to Bardiya NationalPark.

Things seemed to start offwell—my guesthouse in Pokhara,on learning that I was lookingforward to some biking aroundthe country, produced a Kawasaki4S Champion. Whether it was thesight of a much-coveted machine,apparently in decent shape, or thefact that the rental soundedreasonable, I was sold inan instant.

Together with a couple ofDutch friends, I left on a gloomyPokhara morning in November,planning to reach Butwal in timefor dinner. We breezed pastSyangja, which showed little signof the Maoist action we laterheard had rocked it the previousnight. No matter, my own actionwas to start pretty soon. The roadwas getting worse with everypassing kilometre. Suddenly,around where the road movestowards the dam on the KaliGandaki, it came to us with a joltthat there was simply no road left.Not even a trace of it. All we sawwas a wide, open landscape filledwith dust, pebbles, stone and rock.

And this, naturally, wasprecisely the point at which my

choice of bike started to seem alittle unwise. The front shockswere in a shocking state, withthe result that every time Ibraked or hit an unseen objectconcealed under all that dust,the bike bucked dangerouslyand took over the handling fromme. It was a dangerous battle—all that lay between the loserand very painful end was ashort, untimely swerve and theKali Gandaki 80 m below us.We managed to get throughthis long and rough patch, but ablown tyre shortly thereaftermade it amply clear that wecould forget about exploringthe dining options in Butwalthat night.

I crawled into Tansen townin Palpa district in darkness,aided by the headlights of myfriends’ bike. Ignoring the wisecounsel of everyone around, Igritted my teeth through afreezing bath. The reward wasworth it, my girth reduced by agood five or six kilos of dust.Entertainment in Tansen waseclectic and family-style—wecould hang around the humblerestaurant owned by Maya’sparents, Mina’s dress boutiqueowned, curiously, by Mina’smother, and a spare-parts outletowned by Sunil’s father. I mayhave laughed hollowly at this last,cruel option, but soldiered on,and with the Dutch duo, partiedfor hours—until a pair ofmoustachioed policemen repri-

manded us: “Don’t you knowthere’s a war on.” On our wayback, we made it a point to stopin Tansen again, and tried tocontinue the revelry where wehad left off, with the same results.

Tansen is a lovely little townperched high above the Pokhara-Butwal highway, a four km uphillride off the main highway.Another four km from Tansentakes you to Sreenagar, amountain-top vantage point thathas spectacular, panoramic viewsof the surrounding countryside. Iwill go back to Tansen sometime, for leisurely ambles anddoing sweet nothing.

As for the road after this, it isa delight—smooth, with theoccasional bad patch, which ispeanuts compared with theprevious day. The highway windsits way mostly downhill toButwal through passes, roadsidevillages clinging dangerously closeto precipicious cliffsides, andvegetable and fruit fields. On abike, the fresh air and sunshinedo wonders for the senses, until arocky overhang blocks the outthe sun causing the temperatureto drop by more than a fewdegrees.

Approach-

ing bustlingButwal andentering the tarai feelslike a crash course inVery Careful Driving—notjust vehicles, animals, pedestri-ans and street hawkers all seem toconduct their business smack inthe middle of the road. Neverthe-less, the scenery is stunning andas far as the eye can see are fieldsof rice and vegetables in varyingshades of green, enlivened by theoccasional splashes of yellowmustard and sunflower crops.Driving by Lamahi and Amile,with time for a little break besidethe Rapti River, we arrived atKoholpur for the night. Therewas no amusement to be hadhere, which was just as well—we’d ridden 200 kms and couldnot have answered for the effectsof any stimulants at that point.

Moving along, we decided tovisit Nepalgunj. Why? Because itwas there. A flying visit to thistown convinced us that flat tyresand non-existent shock absorbersand all aside, our mode oftransport was swifter, if nothingelse, than the horse buggiesNepalgunj prides itself on. Onepiece of advice to anyone goingfrom this border town toBardiya—just before the roadenters the park is a little village

with a small roadside restaurant.Eat there. You will not findbetter food in the country, andNirmala, the owner, will makesure you eat more than you everthought possible.

On entering the RoyalBardiya National Park, you willbe stopped by the army corpsthat guards it for a question andanswer session. It is a dry sort ofaffair, with any hint of humourstudiously and severly ignored. Theriding after that is blissful. The roadruns through the park’s tall, lushjungle. The maximum speed limit is40 km, and the army allowed us

on only onthe condition thatwe allow ourselves to besandwiched between a couple oflorries. A tiger had killed a coupleof motorcyclists, and the men ingreen were taking no chances.

Faking a bike problem andallowing the convoy—and mypetrified Dutch friends—toproceed, I leisurely rode on inanticipation of whatever came outof wherever. No tiger challengedmy bike’s 60 km upper limit, but afew monkeys eventually obliged, aswe turned to the other entrance ofthe park, with its numerous lodgesand guesthouses. This area isentirely rural, the coming and goingof tourists seems to have had littleimpact on the lives of the villagers.As the road is gravel and difficult tonegotiate, there is ample time totake in your surroundings evenwhen on the go.

The funny thing about self-directed motorised travel, even if itis kind of slow, is it makes thingsseem easy. Like when my compan-

ions picked a guidebook-recom-mended lodge that was, really, nobetter or worse than the numerousothers around it, I decided therehad to be something else and wentexploring. Sure enough, as I rodeon a pathway by the park boundary,across a stream, and through apaddy field amongst farmers andtheir livestock, I came upon a verypleasant place called the BardiyaVillage Wildlife Camp. This is theperfect place to stay for the budgettraveller. Removed from the hodge-podge of guesthouses that mostvisitors will likely make their way

to, this wonderfullittle place is

well designed,

integratedwith the

surrounding paddyfields, with no fences,

no clutter of uglybuildings, there are just 12

rooms with a central loungecum dining room.After a few experiences, my

friends trusted me blindly on thematter of food and accommodation,and we decided to saddle up andride off to our new hideaway. Ofcourse, my bike wouldn’t start.Many a mechanic dismantledvirtually the entire engine andrefitted it, and then, with muchcoaxing, it came to life, but notbefore further scarring my alreadyscarred legs. It didn’t matter, wewere soon established in a placethat seemed custom-made foran independent touring groupsuch as ours.

A walk inside Bardiya—preferably with a guide, we weretold—is rife with opportunity. The968 sq km park with the Karnalilapping along its western edge ishome to tigers, leopards, elephants,rhinoceros, a variety of deer, marshand gharial crocodiles, a variety ofsnakes, birds and insects. And,although none of us saw it, what isreputed to be the largest elephantin Asia.

Back home in Sri Lanka, one

A Sri Lankan visitor finds a new adventure inNepal—Bardiya by bike.

cannot walk inside a wildlifereserve, forget even getting downfrom your vehicle, so this was anexperience to die for, not leastbecause of the possibility ofencountering the odd tiger orrhino, which Sri Lanka does nothave. But it takes patience, for thelongest time the most exotic itemwe saw was a herd of spotted deer.Suddenly, around 5.30PM, myguide hissed “Rhino!”. Sureenough, there was a majesticspecimen a mere 100 m away fromus. Clutching me with sweatypalms, my guide seemed convinceda rhino attack was imminent, andlaunched into a litany of “Whatnot do if a rhino…”. The poorbeast obviously couldn’t care less,and simply, quite anticlimactically,wandered off into the under-growth. And yet, it was thrilling—they always seem smaller ontelevision, I remember thinking ina happy daze.

Inspired, we decided the nextmorning to meet at the main gateof the park, to explore all theplaces likely to show us the bigfive—rhino, tiger, leopard,elephant and bear. Our hopeswere dashed, though, perhapsbecause of the very noisy efforts ofour guard to position himself on atree “for a better view.” Liar. Hewas just scared. The birds, fortheir part, did not disappoint. Ithink, for my knowledge of thefeathered world is limited and all Ican say is there were many, and allwere pretty. As we were revving upto leave the park, we werepresented with a guest book Iwanted to hurl at our guide—every visitor but us seemed to havehad “tiger” and “rhino and baby”sightings.

Leaving Bardiya, we decidedto take a little detour to theKarnali Bridge. Quite a master-piece, but scary to cross on a bikein a strong breeze. We soldieredacross, wondering how in heavenwe were going to cross back, butthe return passage was alsouneventful. Some very risky ridingbrought us to Gorusinge, just intime to beat the curfew. Thenext morning, I said phooey tomy national aspirations—myfriends went to Lumbini, Ireturned to my beloved Tansen.And then it was back toPokhara, with happy memoriesof the freedom possible only ona motorbike—even one thatbreaks down regularly andpresents you with fourflat tyres.

(Marlon Saldin runs anadventure sports company inMoratuwa, Sri Lanka.)

Westward ho!

The bridge across the karnali

Maustard fields near Bardiya National Park

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SATYA SIVARAMANPORTO ALEGRE, Brazil - TheTobin Tax is a novel instrumentwhose time may have finally come,and one that many in the “anti-globalisation movement”—many ofwhose advocates met last week at the“alternative Davos”, the second WorldSocial Forum (WSF) in this southernBrazilian city—swear by. Yet, whilesome believe the Tobin Tax, whichwould be levied in global financialtransactions, has the best chance ofwidespread approval and earlyimplementation to help curb the illsassociated with globalisation, othersfeel portraying the tax as a “magicbullet” neglects other measures neededto curb speculative capital.

Dominique Plihon, a Frencheconomist and member of theAssociation for the Taxation ofFinancial Transactions for the Aid of

Citizens (ATTAC), pointed to theway the Tobin Tax has in just a fewyears made strong inroads into theFrench and European politicaldebate. He said the tax was “not apanacea”, but that implementing itwould be a vital first step incombating the problems created byneo-liberal economic policies.

The Tobin Tax is named afterNobel Prize-winning economist JamesTobin, who in 1972 proposed that asmall global tariff of less than half ofone percent, be levied by all majorcountries on foreign-exchangetransactions to “throw some sand inthe wheels” of speculative capital flows.Investors play the bond and currencymarkets, profiting from the minute-to-minute, hourly or daily fluctuations inprices around the world. Over $1.5trillion is traded every day, 95 percentof which is bet on whether currency

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Is it safe to eat?MARRAKESH - A global forum on food safety has called for aplanetary strategy to avert food-borne hazards. Some 300 expertsfrom 150 countries propose creating international bodies to followissues pertaining to food safety, and encourage countries to devisea global strategy involving consumer associations for efficient foodsafety. Organised last week by the FAO and the WHO following arequest by the 2000 Okinawa G-8 summit, and themed “ImprovingEfficiency and Transparency in Food Safety Systems—SharingExperience,” the Forum sought to promote information exchange onapproaches acquired by safety regulators, advance the process of

science-based publicconsultations andfacilitate capacitybuilding in developingcountries. The Marra-kesh Forum paid specialattention to the needs ofdeveloping nations interms of training andtechnological equipment

to ensure better protection of their citizens and Jacques Diouf,Director General of the FAO, urged rich countries to extend thenecessary assistance to developing ones to help them reinforcetheir ability to guarantee food safety. He also called for securingfood to thousands of people suffering from malnutrition and food-borne diseases. New challenges in food safety have arisen as aresult of changes in microbiological and chemical hazards, shifts inproduction methods, modern technology and increases in interna-tional trade and travel. According to an FAO document, in theUnited States alone, about 76 million people got sick from food-borne illnesses in 1999 and 5,000 died. Worldwide, the incidence offood-borne diseases may be 300 to 350 times higher than thenumber of reported cases. WHO Director General, Gro HarlemBruntland deplored that 2.1 million people die annually in developingnations because of diarrhoea and food-related diseases, andcalled for a global strategy to reduce microbial diseases and food-borne illnesses. (IPS)

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The new look of Japanese aidTOKYO - As its mammoth aid budget heads for another cut, Japan istrying to find ways to sharpen the use of overseas development aid(ODA) as the country’s most powerful diplomatic tool, since itsconstitution prevents it from assuming a large military role abroad.Officials and experts say the need to streamline aid policy and usehas become greater because of the recession in the world’s largestaid donor, whose budget is being cut by 10 percent down to $7billion in the fiscal year 2002 beginning April. This will be the thirdstraight year Japan’s ODA declines, and is the first time the amounthas fallen below the $7.7 billion since 1992. Yasuko Hayase, apopulation expert at the quasi-governmental Institute of DevelopingEconomies here says ODA will be increasingly divided on the basisof the needs of the recipient countries and on themes, such asenvironment or conflict resolution, that are Japan’s prioritiesespecially after 11 September. Experts point out that changes inapproach are already clear—despite the drop in its next aid budget,in January Japan pledged $500 million for Afghanistan over the nextthree years, and announced a $92.3 million package for conflictprevention. Trying to show commitment to humanitarian aid, Tokyoalso pledged $1.8 million dollars in emergency aid to Tajikistan fromnext year, and $120 million for the UN High Commissioner forRefugees. Last week’s feud between former Foreign MinisterMakiko Tanaka and a ruling-party politician, Muneo Suzuki, accusedof barring NGOs from the Afghanistan reconstruction conferencehere in January, points to the uphill struggle civil society faces intrying to be a partner in Japanese aid. But, says Hayase, “thegovernment must make the best of a smaller budget, which meansrelying more on NGOs.” Analysts see no change in the tradition ofJapanese aid leaning heavily toward Asia, which gets 60 percent ofits aid pie. But China, until now the biggest recipient of Japanesesoft loans, which dominate the $200 million it receives from Tokyoannually, will be one of the ‘losers’. Critics often fault Japanese aidfor being more a tool to promote Japanese interests, such aslucrative contracts for its firms in developing countries, andJapanese firms, especially those in the vital construction sector,which traditionally receive contracts related to the country’soverseas aid projects, will also feel the pinch. (IPS)

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Four reasons to go nuclearISLAMABAD - Pakistan has laid down scenarios under which it mayuse nuclear weapons as a last resort—if its survival is threatenedby India not only militarily but by strangling its economy or stoppingaccess to shared water resources, says a new report by Italiannuclear physicists who visited the country recently. Quoting the topLt Gen Khalid Kidwai of the nuclear Strategic Plan Division (SPD), thereport outlined Pakistan’s four nuclear thresholds, adding that “thenuclear weapons are aimed solely at India.” It says nuclear weaponswould be used if India crosses the “space threshold”—if New Delhiattacks Pakistan and conquers a large part of its territory—or the“military threshold”, if India destroys a large part of its land or airforces. It also says Islamabad would resort to nuclear methods ifIndia pursues the economic strangulation of Pakistan, or if it pushesPakistan into “political destabilisation or creates a large scale internalsubversion.” The SPD acts as a secretariat for the National Com-mand Authority(NCA), set upunder Pakistan’sPresident GenPervez Musharrafin 2000 to dealwith nuclearweapons. UnlikeIndia, Pakistandoes not have a‘no first use’ policy, which its officials believe makes up for its smallerconventional forces. The authors of the report, Paolo Cotta-Ramusinoand Maurizio Martellini of the Italian Landau Network, an arms controlinstitution regularly consulted by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs,were in Pakistan in early December. That was before the escalationof tensions between India and Pakistan following the 13 Decemberattacks on the Indian parliament that India blames on Pakistan-basedgroups. The study’s aim was to assess the impact of the Afghanwar on the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons and continuedtensions with India.

The report, released last month, comes at a time when India hassevered road and air links with Pakistan and many hawks in India aredemanding that New Delhi withdraw from the Indus Waters Treatysigned in 1960 by India, Pakistan and World Bank. Six rivers—theIndus, Ravi, Jehlum, Beas, Sutlej and Chenab, flow into Pakistan fromIndia. A dispute over water emerged between the two countriessoon after independence in 1948, when India cut off the water. Therow continued until the treaty was signed, giving rights of exclusiveuse of the waters of three rivers, the Indus, Jehlum and Chenab toPakistan, and the remaining ones to India. (IPS)

values and interest rates will rise orfall. Traders make money either wayand thrive when markets are highlyunstable, as in Southeast Asia in 1997and most recently in Argentina.

The Tobin Tax is expected toreduce or eliminate the incentive tospeculate and help stabilise exchangerates by reducing the volume ofspeculation. And it is set low so as notto adversely affect the trade in goodsand services or long-term invest-ments. “The real challenge is toexplain the Tobin Tax to workersand ordinary people and point outthe benefits to them of regulatingfinancial capital flows,” said JayatiGhosh, an Indian developmenteconomist at the WSF’s seminar onFinancial Capital Controls.

However, says Ghosh, the TobinTax should not be seen as the onlypossible or desirable measure to curb

speculative money flowing out ofdevastated economies. Other measuresdiscussed at the seminar were a flat taxof up to 20 percent on multinationalprofits to be diverted for povertyalleviation, a tax as well as a minimumlock-in period for foreign capital, andtighter controls over bank credit tocompanies and outflow of foreignexchange from national economies.

While many of these, like thelock-in period for foreign investment,are already being implemented incountries such as Chile and Malaysia,Ghosh pointed out that there areconsiderable obstacles still in the wayof making speculative capital flowsaccountable to the individualeconomies they operate in. Among thebiggest problems is the wayinternational financial institutionssuch as the IMF and World Bankhave pushed neo-liberal policies,favouring free movement of capital,onto the backs of numerousdeveloping countries, said GigiFrancisco, of the DevelopmentAlternatives with Women for a NewEra (DAWN). She believesregulating global capital will remaindifficult because developing countrygovernments are under tremendouspressure to keep the doors of theireconomies open. And, adds Ghosh,ultimately the biggest problem isnot economic, but political, becausecurrently global power relations areskewed in favour of a few richcountries that push neo-liberalpolicies worldwide. Tinkering withthe global financial system, shesays, cannot be a substitute for areal redistribution of global wealthand power. (IPS)

Activists are divided on whether taxing international financialtransactions will prevent speculation, and another Argentina.

Tobin ornot Tobin?Tobin ornot Tobin?Riots in Argentina, following the December 2001 financial meltdown.

1212121212 8 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMESFROM THE NEPALI PRESS THIS PAGE CONTAINS MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

“….I swear….I haven’t misused any of your aid…. !”

Drishti Weekly, 5 February

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The 41-member cabinet is not the cause of all ills. The state may have to spend an additional Rs 20-30million annually for four or five members more. But the same cabinet can create billions of rupees by theiractivities.

—Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, Prime Minister’s advisor in Tarun, 4 February.

The road to Lo ManthangRamchandra Pokhrel in Himal Khabarpatrika 14-28 January

Here in the Himalayan rainshadow, the landis arid and surrounded by rugged moun-tains. This is also a place rich in historyand culture, which have combined to makethis a part of modern Nepal’s diversity. Thewalled town of Lo Manthang is the capitalof Mustang and houses the monastery andthe king’s palace. Five hundred years ago,the monastery was moved to the valleyfrom a nearby hilltop to make it easier forcitizens to travel.

Today, a road from the Tibetan borderto Lo Manthang will also make it easier fortrade and commerce. But the road hastriggered a controversy. The Annapurna Conservation Area Project, the District Development Committeeand the Village Development Committees are all looking for alternatives to the road. King Jigme PrabalBista has also appealed for the conservation of his walled capital.

But locals are happy with the road because it makes daily necessities and food easier and cheaper.After democracy, candidates for elections have all promised a road. But it was only in the last two yearsthat the DDC and the local people completed a 20 km road from the Chinese border at Korala Pass to LoManthang. Chinese lorries now regularly ply back and forth. Each of the six VDCs in the area contributedRs 352,000 each and the road has been gravelled. Local elected representatives and businessmen are allhappy, and encouraged that there will now be a boom in trade between Nepal and China. They evenwant to extend the road down south to Thak Khola to meet the road coming from Beni up the Kali Gandaki.

Every week up to five big Chinese trucks leave Tudum Bazar in Tibet, cross the Tsang Po(Brahmaputra) and enter Nepal with goods for sale here. The Chinese traders who bring the trucks campoutside Lo Manthang for a week and conduct up to Rs 6 million worth of business. What they bring ismostly cement, but also, sadly, Nepali timber is smuggled from Manang and Larkya into Tibet and re-exported into Nepal. This sudden availability of timber and cement means that there is now a constructionboom outside the walled city. However, the trucks go back to China empty—there is nothing much toexport from the Nepali side. Trade here is one-sided.

All along the road from Lo Manthang to the border, there is no sign anywhere of the presence of HisMajesty’s Government of Nepal. There are two customs sheds in Nechung, but there is no one insidethem. In a way you could say this is what “free trade” means—no interference at all from government.The only tax the trucks will pay is the road toll that the DDC may soon introduce with powers from theLocal Self-Governance Act.

There is also concern about what the road will do to Mustang’s tourism industry. So far the ACAP hasbeen using a model of “low volume, high spending” tourism for Mustang. The road could change all that:there could be large numbers of tourists driving up to Mustang from the Tibet side or from Jomsom, oncethe southern road is completed. Trekkers who presently need two weeks to walk through Mustang fromJomsom and back will be able to do it in a few days. Businessmen from lower Mustang would use theroad and drive local traders in Lo Manthang out of business.

There is another proposal to build an airport at Charang to connect the road from the Chinese border,and connect the airport to Lo Manthang by cable car. This would minimise the negative environmental andcultural impact of the road.

Tourists interviewed in Lo Manthang all agreed that the road would destroy the fragile environmentand culture of Mustang. They felt a sustainable long-term tourism strategy was what was needed, not aroad. Most foreign visitors agree.

The future of the unique heritage of Lo Manthang, it seems, is a concern of not just the Mustangis, butof the rest of Nepal, as well as the world. If Kathmandu looks at Mustang as just another of the 75districts in Nepal, then the cultural and natural heritage of this region could be destroyed by the over-development that comes with the arrival of a highway. That is why before any decision is made on takingthe Lo Manthang road southwards to join up with the road from Beni, a detailed masterplan needs to bemapped out. We need to do it right away before we lose more of Mustang’s precious heritage.

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Docs for districtsDeshantar, 3 February

The Ministry of Health is planning tohire a large number of temporarydoctors to fill up vacant positions indistrict hospitals. Because there are notenough doctors in the hill districts,people are forced to carry the sick tohospitals in the plains. Elsewhere, theyare forced to rely on the peons at thehospitals for advice. The ministry hasalready advertised for additional healthworkers and nurses for this purpose.The plan is to hire more than 125doctors once the Ministry of Health getsthe necessary approval from the PublicService Commission. Generally, doctorsassigned to district hospitals need tohave worked for at least for a year in acentral or regional level hospital, butthe government has found a wayaround the rule. The idea is to hirethem as central employees and sendthem to the districts on deputation.However, because the law says that nodoctor can be deputed to any one postfor over a month, the government alsowants to amend that legislation. Therule, which was made to ensure thatfresh, inexperienced doctors were notsent to the districts, is now hauntingthe government, since it finds it isunable to staff district hospitalsotherwise. Biswanath Dhakal, JointSecretary at the health ministry says theclause in the law has made it impracticalto staff the hospitals. In the districts,the hospitals have only administrativelevel staff and some health workersbecause most permanent doctors havefled, particularly in districts affectedby the Maoist insurgency. Even thosedoctors posted to the districts haveremained in the capital for one reasonor another.

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Security concernsDeshantar, 3 February

The Royal Nepal Army personneldeployed in different parts of thecountry have sent complaints to thecentral administration to the effect thatthe Home Administration is notcooperating with them completely. Thearmy, which has been fairly successfulin its ‘cordon and search’ and ‘searchand destroy’ operations, has not beenable to hand over the secured areas tothe local administrations in manyplaces. The government has not begunre-establishing the police stations thatwere closed after Maoist attacks, eventhough the army is now backing themup. Police had been taken to some ofthe areas secured by the army, but theycould not stay there for long because oftheir past image, according to securitysources. Also, no political party workeror leader has been able to take political

programs to areas that have been“cleaned up” by the army. ThoseNepali Congress workers not heedingthe Maoists’ warnings are still beingkilled as they were in the past, and theworkers of the UML and the RastriyaPrajantantra Party are taking note ofthe Maoists’ threats. The army is alsounhappy because the police and localadministration have freed many“terrorists” it had rounded up,sometimes even accepting bribes fortheir release. Our sources tell that usthe Maoists have money and pay incash. There are also reports that thelocal administration offices may havereleased eight to ten Maoist districtcommanders in this manner. Thearmy is also angry that the govern-ment has not taken any steps to seekthe arrest of Bharat Yogi, now inDelhi, who made vehicles available tothe Maoists for the attacks in Dang inNovember. The army feels that if Yogiwere arrested, he could be a valuablesource of information. There are alsocharges that the Chief DistrictOfficers in Sindhupalchowk,Sankhuwasabha and Kavre have freedMaoists after accepting bribes. Thearmy also thinks that the Maoists maybe heading abroad through manpowercompanies handling overseasemployment. … Until now the armyhas arrested one politburo level leaderof the Maoists and seven or eightleaders of central standing, but hasnot made public their names yet. Itis said that three rebel leaderscoordinate the Maoists’ activitieshere and that the rest of theleadership is hiding in India…

The road to○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

MelamchiDrishti, 5 February

There is a controversy brewing at theMinistry of Finance over theconstruction of the 26 km access roadto the Melamchi Drinking WaterProject. Even as ministry officialsremain divided over which companyshould be awarded the contract tobuild the road, it is doubtful whetherthe project itself will be completed onschedule. Eleven companies had bidfor the $463 million contract. Whilesome finance ministry officials want toaward the contract to Koneko, a SouthKorean company, others say it shouldgo to Marusin Cita, a Japanese firm.But technicians at the project say itwould be ‘unfortunate’ for Nepal ifeither of the companies got thecontract. “It is clear,” they say, “fromthe past working style of bothcompanies.” The Korean company,which is trying hard to get thecontract, was involved in the bigscandal related to the Mahakali

Irrigation Plan. Once the case ofcorruption was established, the PublicAccounts Committee of the LowerHouse directed the Council ofMinisters on 13 July, 2000 to takestern action against the company. Itis regretful that the government hasignored the parliamentary commit-tee’s directions and is preparing tohand over such a big project to thesame company.

The status of the Japanesecompany, which is also going out of itsway to get the contract, is even stranger.The company, which doesn’t even havean office in Nepal, has already soldthe technical equipment required tocomplete such a project to thePashupati Construction Companyfor Rs 40 million. If such acompany were to get the contract, it’snot difficult to imagine what willhappen to the project.

Singer’s fake

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certificateRajdhani, 5 February

There’s another addition to the longlist of people who have lied about theireducational qualifications to get a job.Popular singer Ram Krishna Dhakal,an assistant fourth class officer at RadioNepal, had submitted a certificateclaiming that he had passed out from aSanskrit school in Bihar. The singerresigned from Radio Nepal after helearnt that the Centre for Investigationof Abuse of Authority (CIAA) was

preparing to file a case against him. Inaccordance with a CIAA directive,Radio Nepal has not accepted Dhakal’sresignation. Dhakal submitted acertificate from the Bihar-based SharadaSadan Sanskrit Secondary School, butaccording to a CIAA source, the BiharSanskrit Education Board has certifiedthat Dhakal’s papers are false. Once thecertificate was established as fake, theCIAA directed Dhakal, under theCorruption Control Act, to pay bail ofRs 60,000, the sum equivalent to apossible six-year imprisonment.Despite a CIAA summons last month,the singer has not presented himself atthe centre.

Chinese traders camp with their trucks on theoutskirts of Lo Manthang.

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Live band, Latin music,Live band, Latin music,Live band, Latin music,Live band, Latin music,Live band, Latin music,fabulous prizes, buffet dinnerfabulous prizes, buffet dinnerfabulous prizes, buffet dinnerfabulous prizes, buffet dinnerfabulous prizes, buffet dinnerand welcome drinkand welcome drinkand welcome drinkand welcome drinkand welcome drinkRs. 800 nett per personRs. 800 nett per personRs. 800 nett per personRs. 800 nett per personRs. 800 nett per person

Dance coaching forDance coaching forDance coaching forDance coaching forDance coaching forSamba, MerengueSamba, MerengueSamba, MerengueSamba, MerengueSamba, Merengueand Salsaand Salsaand Salsaand Salsaand Salsaby Dance Master Andreasby Dance Master Andreasby Dance Master Andreasby Dance Master Andreasby Dance Master Andreason the 5th, 6th and 7th Februaryon the 5th, 6th and 7th Februaryon the 5th, 6th and 7th Februaryon the 5th, 6th and 7th Februaryon the 5th, 6th and 7th February

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13131313138 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMESHISTORY

5th January, 1977My mind is a little composedtoday, the turbulence in myheart is subsiding. It perhapstakes between three and fivedays for even the most agonis-ing crisis to level off. On thefirst day the impact is toosudden and stunning forexperience. The second, thirdand fourth are the criticalperiods. In 1949 when I wason a long hunger strike, thereal agony began on thesecond day which continuedfor three more days. Thereaf-ter, the crisis stabilised. Itceases like a physical pain, itbecame psychological andultimately moral.

Anyway I am today mentallymore composed. After a fewmore days, I hope to besufficiently composed to beable to do serious studies andwriting. That may ultimatelybe my solace in the presentcrisis.

How do I characterise thepresent disturbed and rest-less state of my mind, thisagitation this emotionalsoftness, chokinglachrymation [sic]. Is it weak-ness of character, is it lack ofcourage? What is courage?Are tears foreign to a coura-geous man? Sentiments andemotions—are they incompat-ible with courage? Suchquestions have occurredwhenever I have been in aserious crisis. I haven’tsuccumbed, I have not yieldedto external challenges orforces, but deep inside me, Ihave always trembled withapprehension. What is this?Perhaps courage is moral, itis akin to stubbornness bornout of either some convictionor sense of honour. If I suffer,weep, agonised, disturbedand distressed—these areemotional reactions to crisis. Itis a matter of the heart.Courage arises when we can’tescape. The present crisis ismade by my decision. Iadhere to my decision, comewhat may.

I remember Shailajaconstantly. GM [Ganesh Man

Back at Sundarijal >4

In Back at Sundarijal >3, BP Koiralain his fourth day in Sundarijal Jailwas trying to get over hisdepression, loneliness and hisremorse at not saying properfarewell to his wife, Sushila. In thisinstalment, BP tries to come togrips with his loneliness, andruminates on what defines couragein a person. Every fortnight in thisspace, Nepali Times brings readersinstalments from the unpublisheddiary of BP Koirala written in Englishthat covers the period immediatelyfollowing his return to Nepal fromexile in India in 1977. The diary isavailable on microfilm at the MadanPuraskar Library in Patan and wasdonated by senior advocateGanesh Raj Sharma.

“What is courage?”

Singh] also talks about her.She is extremely temperamen-tal and excitable, given toeither depression and moods,or worship activities. GMthinks she is lazy but she isn’tlazy. What appears to belaziness is the moods ofdepression she has falleninto. She is an adorablewoman. I will have occasionsto write about her by and by astime passes and as sheflashes into my vacant mind.

GM tells us that ours is aremarkable family—which hashoned the art of living. Sushilais a most gracious lady.“Where else can you find suchgathering of people who knowhow to live?” GM says. In orderto compose my mind I want todo such work as would notrequire mental effort. I countedthe number of steps thatcompletes the circle of myweek. It takes 200 steps tocomplete one circle of walk

around the compound. In termsof time it takes one minute and40 seconds to complete it. At therate of two steps per second. Ialso started study of the Cham-bers dictionary.

6th January, 1977Got up at 4:30AM. Wanted todo some concentration as peryoga. I found that even foryogic practice, you have totrain basic—modicum of—peace of mind even as alearner. It is not that you canlearn or practice it whatever bethe state of your mind. For anadept, perhaps, he can restorepeace of mind at will. Yoga istherefore not a matter ofpractice, not anybody can be ayogi. First of all he must beborn with proper aptitude andcircumstances of your lifemust also be conducive or atleast unhindered.

Sometimes I becomefrustrated and term yoga as auseless practice, at least it isredundant like god in actuallife. Like god, it is not availableto one who needs it most andis redundant to one whodoesn’t need it. A happy mandoesn’t need god, and anunhappy man doesn’t get it.Yoga is also like that. You can’tpractice unless you havepeace of mind, and if you have

peace of mind you don’t soneed it. In the morning aftertea and exercise, I touch myforehead to the locket whichcontains a lock of my moth-er’s hair, look fondly at thesmall photo of Sushila, eatbits of prasad of Kali (Cal-cutta) and Golden Temple(Amritsar) given to me byKamal and Nanu respectively,and closed eyes try to visual-ise Shailaja at the point in theforehead where both eyesmeet the root of the nose.This is all superstition,spiritualism, sentimentalism,love and hope combined—noelement in it isfake or forced, each genuineand intense.

At about 1PM, Mangalaji[Ganesh Man’s wife] came atthe gate. We heard her voiceacross the closed gate andsaw her through a smallchink in the gate. She wasn’tpermitted to see us. She hadbrought chicken tandoori andnaan which were broughtinside in the evening for our

dinner. I tried to discern theexpression on Mangalaji’sface—from such a longdistance I could only see herbland face, which shone inthe sun, indicating that shewas in good health, but Icouldn’t read any messagefor us. GM said that her voicedidn’t sound sad, or dis-tressed, or anxious. Theneverything was all right.

To be kept in strict isola-tion without any communica-tion with the outside world iswhat is extremely oppressive.GM feels that it indicates thatthe king would meet usbefore he makes up his mind.

We have converted theroom adjacent to GM’sbedroom into the diningroom. GM has a cluster ofthree rooms at his disposaland the bathroom. I have tworooms for myself and abathroom. I got shavingmaterials and writing paperfrom the market which cost usRs 30. I shall send laundryclothes home for washing.

It’s never been easier to subscribe toNepali Times.

Just dial this number and leave your address.

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For insertions ring NT Marketing at 543333-36.

CLASSIFIED

A powerful cyclone in the southern Arabian Sea istriggering a low pressure zone that is pulling in somemore westerlies from over the Pamirs. Part of thisfront moved over central Nepal Thursday (seen inpicture at left) and we will get some lingering effect ofthis over the weekend. Although most of the rain willhave been spent, we can expect precipitation in thehigher Himalayan belt into early next week. Expectclear mild sunshine between cloudy spells. Earlymorning fog will resume, and maximum temperaturewill be down and the minimum hover above zero.

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Radio SagarmathaP.O. Box 6958, Bakhundole, Lalitpur, NepalTel: ++977-1-545680, 545681 Fax: ++ 977-1- 530227E-mail: radio@radiosagarmatha.orgwww.radiosagarmatha.org

Mon-Fri 0615-0645 BBC World TodaySat 0615-0645 BBC Science in ActionSun 0615-0645 BBC AgendaDaily 2045-2115 BBC g]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfDaily 2245-2300 BBC g]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jfg]kfnL ;]jf

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Stupa View and Restaurant & Terrace atBaudhanath Stupa. Well-appointed restaurant andterraces with views of stupa and Himalayas.International vegetarian specialties, pizza from clayoven, ice cream, soft guitar tunes on Fridays,Saturdays, Sundays from 5PM on. Special events onfull moon. Open daily 11AM-8.30PM. 480262.

K-Too! Beer and Steakhouse not the “longest”,“highest”, “first” or any other superlative. Just a

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HMB Mountain Biking Have your bike serviced orrepaired by HMB’s Professional Mechanics at theHMB Workshop. Riding gear, accessories and partsavailable. Second hand bikes bought/sold/hired. Newand reconditioned mountain bikes for sale. HimalayanMountain Bikes—Tours and Expeditions. 437437.

Nagarkot Valentine’s Special Bed & breakfast,three courses Valentine dinner with lovely song andmusic. Naked Chef, Nagarkot. Rs 1,440 or $19. tel:441494 or 680115.

Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations Josh Bartok, edWisdom Publications, Somerville, USA, 2001Rs 1,365Encouragement and quiet counsel from Buddhist sages and contemporary meditationmasters, in the form of spacious poetry and lucid prose. Whether for morning inspirationor to help keep a difficult day in perspective, this volume offers observations on love andliving wisely, on meditation and mindfulness, on the pitfalls of anger and the necessity ofcompassion.

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Celestial Gallery paintings by Romio Shrestha, text by Ian A BakerCallaway, New York, 2000Rs 9,500Twnety-six mandalas in the Newari style by Kathmandu artist Romio Shrestha,with explanatory text by Ian A Baker, foreword by Deepak Chopra and afterwordby Robert Thurman. Plates include: The Cosmos of Enlightened Vision, BuddhaSakyamuni, Dakini Mandala, White Tara: The Divine Mother, Green Tara: TheProtectress, Palden Lhamo: The Dark Goddess, The Cosmos of Compassion,Avalokiteshwara: The Vision of Selflessness, The Thousand Arms of Compassion,A Vision of Inseparability, Chakrasamvara: The Wheel of Bliss, The Wheel ofDeluded Existence, The Chakras: Vortices of Energy, The Cosmos of Healing,Amitayus: The Buddha of Boundless Life, The Paradise of the Medicine Buddha,The Healing Buddha, Cosmic Fire: The Vision of Rahula, Vajrayogini: Enlight-ened Female Energy, Chintamani: The Jewel of Abundance, Visions of

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MOVIESMOVIESMOVIESMOVIESMOVIES Chinese film festival 8 February, 4PM, Shadow Magic. 8 February, 5.30PM, The Birth of a

Shooting Star. 9 February, 3PM, Postmen in the Mountains. 9 February, 5.30PM, Shower. Allscreenings at the Russian Cultural Centre, Kamal Pokhari, free passes at venue. Supported bythe Chinese Embassy, sponsored by Nepal Himalaya Border Trans Trade Association. Organ-ised by World Cultural Net and The Kathmandu Film Archives.

EXHIBITIONEXHIBITIONEXHIBITIONEXHIBITIONEXHIBITION Discover Japan through contemporary posters Nepal Art Council, 15-22

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EATING OUTEATING OUTEATING OUTEATING OUTEATING OUT Tibetan Lhosar 13-15 February, Stupa View Restaurant, Baudhanath Stupa. 480262 Hawkers Centre Street food cooked right before you, including kathi rolls, fish amritsari, nasi

goreng, pav bhaji, noodle soup, desserts. The Café at Hyatt Regency Kathmandu. 491234 Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Special Street market with organic vegetables, food, tea,

8-12 February, 11AM-3PM at the Waterfall Garden. Dinner, complimentary cocktail for two andheart-shaped strawberry surprise at the Olive Garden. 14 February Radisson Hotel. 411818 Valentine’s dinner Special dinner menu and complimentary glass of wine. Rs 650 plus taxes

per head, 15 percent discount for Standard Chartered credit card holders, privilege card holdersand students and faculty of Manipal Teaching College and Hospital. 13, 14 February, Shangri-LaVillage, Pokhara. 061-22122 Valentine’s Eve and Mardi Gras Party with Kantipur FM, 13 February, 6PM onwards with

dinner, disco, DJ, door prizes, Rs 600 each. Children’s party with magic show, French pancakes,soft drink, Rs 200 per head. Le Cafe des Trekkers, Jyatha, Thamel opposite Hotel Blue Diamond. Year of the Horse and Valentine’s Ball 7-13 February, Oriental specials at Tien-Shan. 14

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GETAWAYSGETAWAYSGETAWAYSGETAWAYSGETAWAYS Muktinath Darshan Two nights/three days on B&B basis with Pokhara/Jomsom/Pokhara

flights and airport, resort transfers. Indian nationals Rs 6,999 per head, expats $250 per head.Jomsom Mountain Resort, salesjom@mail.com.np or jmr@soi.wlink.com.np. 496110 Destination Bardia Four days/three nights at Jungle Base Camp in Bardia National Park,

one-way Kathmandu/Bardia flight, $195 per head. junglebasecamp@yahoo.com. 251400,252555 Heritage Package Two-night package with six-course Nepali dinner, massage, breakfast,

$155 per couple, Dwarika’s Hotel. 479488 Pokhara Packages with a difference Bows and Arrows, with archery contest. Or Pimms,

Pathways and Picnics with easy guided trek to The Peace Pagoda. 15 percent discount on F & B.Shangri-La Village, Pokhara. 435741

15151515158 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMESMUSIC

ALL THAT AZZWhere? Kathmandu and Pokhara. When? March.

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oon, there will be one morereason to come to Nepal. Notmountains or adventure sport,

not architecture or Buddhism. Music.The Kathmandu Jazz Festival.

Almost single-handedly responsi-ble for this is Kathmandu’s very ownCadenza. Who’d have thought aquartet that began playing jazz just six

S

years ago would become so good,they’d be invited to play at a jazzfestival in Australia in 2000. And thatonce there, they’d create such a buzzthat on the strength of theirperformance and reputation theycould lure some of the best jazzmusicians from Australia and theUK to play at Kathmandu’s firstever jazz festival this March.

Over a year after they firstappeared in these pages (“The Cadenzaboys are back in town,” #17, “Jazz inthe Valley,” #64), Cadenza now needno introduction. Their Saturday nightgigs at the Upstairs Jazz Bar are packedand their sold-out concert withHindustani classical musicians at thePatan Museum Square in Octobershowcased their talent for meldingdifferent kinds of music and expand-ing their—and our—horizons in away few bands can do.

The idea of the Kathmandu JazzFestival 2002 was born in July 2000,when Cadenza were in Australia forthe Palmer Street Jazz Festival. Peoplewere thronging their gigs and bands

were lining up to jam with them. Andthen a casual conversation withassistant coordinator Susan Sellars gotthings going. Sellers, whose day job isworking as a travel agent specialisingin South Asia and who was responsi-ble for the band’s Australian debut,was discussing with Cadenza thetrouble they had actually making it tothe festival. And then the little groupchatting wondered: what aboutgiving Nepal its own festival, soeven if musicians from here cannotgo abroad, they can still be exposedto and interact with their peers fromother countries.

It helped things that Cadenzawere so popular, everyone from thegrand old man of Australian jazz, DonBurrows, to the popular fusion bandAfro Dizzi Act, was asking abouthaving dinner with the band, andarranging to play gigs together evenoutside the festival, in Brisbane. Theyall found the prospect of playing inKathmandu exciting and intriguing.Susan Sellers became a promoter forCadenza and with the band’s

Kathmandu manager, ChhedupBomzan, has brought togethermusicians from Australia, the UK,Mumbai and Dubai for a week of gigsat venues large and small, formal andcasual, in Kathmandu and Pokhara.

The line-up—in addition toCadenza, of course—includes AfroDizzi Act from Brisbane, Bernie’sLondon Jazz Groove from London,Groove Suppa from Mumbai and ThePerry Brothers from Dubai. Otherlocal musicians include the classicalmusician Prastar Homnath, LocalGandharva (See “Music of the gods,”#79), and the orchestra from the EliteCo-ed School, where Cadenzafounder and percussionist NabinChhetri teaches music. They’re allgreat musicians, with devoted fanfollowings and a real taste for liveperformances. But the biggest nameof all is Don Burrows himself.

At 74, Burrows might have beenexcused if he had merely sent over hisbest wishes. Instead, the Don, whofondly remembers the social eveninghe spent with Cadenza, has just agreedto perform here for little more than atoken fee and a business class flightover on Singapore Airlines. Burrows,who has been conferred the MBE aswell as the Order of Australia, hasbeen at the forefront of the jazz worldfor close to half-a-century. He’s ahousehold name in Australia, andhighly respected internationally. Asuperb multi-instrumentalist, whoplays flute, clarinet and all the

saxophones from alto to baritone,Burrows is also a composer andarranger of great note. He hasperformed and recorded tracks witheveryone from Oscar Peterson, DizzyGillespie, Nat King Cole, Mel Tormeand Stephane Grappelli to TonyBennett, Frank Sinatra, Kate Ceberanoand the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.Burrows has cut almost forty albums,and toured in South and NorthAmerica, Europe, the Middle East andAsia.

There’s a pretty simple equationhere—Burrows is playing here becauseof Cadenza. He was so impressed bythe quality of their music and the factthat they’d hardly ever seen live jazz,learning to play off instructionalvideos and tapes, he even asked themto sit on the sidelines for his showwith the All-Stars at the Palmer StreetFestival in 2000—to soak in some oftheir energy. Cadenza and Burowsshare more here than just touchy-feelygood vibes. Like Burrows, who wasthe first chair of a Jazz Studiesprogram in Australia, Nabin andother members of Cadenza arealso music educators. BothBurrows and Cadenza arenothing if not versatile—in asingle show Burrows can gofrom classic swing to bossanova to experimentalmodern jazz; Cadenza havebeen known to switch inone evening from bop tofunked-up jazz to Latin-

tinged original compositions to awonderful higher species of fusionwith Nepali classical musicians.

The Kathmandu Jazz Festival willrun from 12-23 March and has avariety of shows lined up, from aShivaratri gig at the Gokarna ForestGolf Reserve to a fusion evening atPatan Museum, to Jazz by the Lake inPokhara, to the Jazzmandu All-StarsSupper Club at Kathmandu’sShangri-La Hotel. If successful, thefestival will be an annual event, and amuch-needed diversification of thecountry’s travel “product”. Nepal

could soon be a premierAsian destination for

music. Watch thisspace.

Don Burrows

Nabin Chhetri

1616161616 8 - 14 FEBRUARY 2002 NEPALI TIMES

CDO Regd No. 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No. 04/058/59

by Kunda Dixit

Under My Hat

NEPALI SOCIETY

Sherpa Museumesides the world’s highestbar, the Saturday marketand the full-frontal view of

Thamserku, there is now onemore must-see in NamcheBazar: the Sherpa museum. Andit’s all thanks to Lhakpa SonamSherpa, the self-confessedmountain maniac. Lhakpa’s questfor Sherpa memorabilia wastriggered by a Britishphoto-jouranlist whocame inquiring abouthis father, notedclimber SonamGirmi

Sherpa, who had taken partin 37 mountaineeringexpeditions. “I got reallyinterested and startedcollecting oral testimo-nies and artefacts andreading referencebooks,” Lhakpa told us.The Sherwi Khangba

Centre in Namche wasinaugurated by Sir

Edmund Hillary in April1994. It has a Sherpa

Culture Museum, a Mt EverestDocumentation Centre, and

an expanding library withover 118 valuableresearch books. The 40-

year-old spends hoursin libraries while

travellingabroad.

Lhakpasees hisfather as

part of theclimbing generation that contrib-uted to the growth of Khumbu,and he is proud to document theSherpa community’s role in

modern Nepal for scholars and,importantly, Khumbu’s youth. “Isuffer from not having a goodeducation,” says Lhakpa. “I wantto invest in education. Childrenhere have little access to suchresources.”

As a student at Hillary’sKhumjung school and later aHillary Trust Scholar, Lhakpa didwell in his studies, but plans tobecome an engineer wereshattered when he lost hishearing to a bout of meningitis.Lhakpa turned to his truepassion, and though he did go ona few small climbs, his heartremained in the library. Thencame the centre, the hotel andmuseum, which he designed andruns with his wife Ang Kanchi.

“Initially, locals thought I wasmad,” he recalls. Trekkingcompanies have added themuseum to their Khumbuitinerary, while groups oftrekkers huddled up atKalapathar tell everyone up anddown the trail about the SherwiKhangba Centre.

Stupid cupidt is indeed a matter of greatexultation and jubilation for allpeace-loving Nepalis that the

government has constituted a 234-member National OrganisationMain Committee chaired by noneother than the prime ministerhimself to mark the forthcomingValentine’s Day (known in someparts of the world as the UnitedNations’ International Day ofSustainable Human Love) andcelebrate it for three whole days in agrand nationwide manner next week.

Till the moment of going topress, according to the Valentine’sDay Information System (VDIS) themain committee had alreadyconstituted 15 sub-committees,including the Publicity Sub-Committee headed by theMinister of Sex, Lies and Television; the InfrastructureSub-committee headed by the Minister of Slash and Burn;and the Demographic Sub-committee headed by theDirector General of the Department of Copulation andFamily Planning.

According to the provisions of the VDIS MainCommittee, the deadline for all Nepalis to disclose theidentities of their boy and/or girl friends has been extendedtill midnight of 14 February, and failure to do so willresult in the confiscation by the authorities of the said boyand/or girl friend and a Rs 1 million fine, or all three.

Having been dragged kicking and screaming tovoluntarily disclose their secret Valentine partners andcelebrate the festival in a grand manner nationwide for threedays, lovers throughout Nepal are said to have either goneunderground or fled to India for the duration of the

festivities. Although he recently madepublic his deep respect and affectionfor Karisma Manandhar in anewspaper interview, ComradeAwesome now risks having herconfiscated by the security forces in acordon and search operationsomewhere in the mid-western sector.

Valentine’s Day is a celebrationof love and lust: depending onwhether the person in question is awoman or a man. There are somefundamental differences between galsand guys which may not be readilyapparent to a casual observer with anaked eye. Us guys, for example,don’t like mushy stuff, we don’t likebeating around the bush, we like toget straight to the point. (Guy on

Valentine’s Day: “Your place or mine?” Gal: “You go toyour place. I go to mine.”)

See what I mean? Gals are programmed to play hard-to-get. And it is up to us guys to show perseverance and, yes,resolve. One sure fire way to persevere is to buy yoursweetheart flowers. What you are really saying when yougive her a red rose is: “I hereby bequeath to you this floraltribute, which is actually the castrated reproductive organ ofa rose plant (Latin name: Rosa coronaria) as a symbol of mydeep lust for you. Am I making myself perfectly clear here?”The gal can respond in at least three ways:a) take the rose and run like hellb) tell the male perpetrator in question to wait and call thesecurity forcesc) ask him if first if he has completed his VDIS forms andthen go to his place.

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