#254 1 - 7 July 2005 16 pages Rs 30

Weekly Internet Poll # 255. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ..... How do you evaluate the securitysituation since 1 February?

Total votes:556

Weekly Internet Poll # 254

Q. Should there be a foreign arms embargoon Nepal?

ISSN

181

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here are signs that the feared ‘spillover’ of the NepaliMaoist insurgency across the open border into northernIndia is beginning.

The spate of coordinated assaults on three police stationsin Bihar in the past week have been so sudden and seriousthat Indian officials who were caught offguard suspectinvolvement of Nepali Maoists. Indeed, the tactics ofoverwhelming police stations and destroying governmentbuildings with human wave attacks were eerily similar tothe method rebels have used here.

Immediately after the attacks, Bihar police blamed NepaliMaoists and said there were “Nepali-looking people withMongoloid features” among the dead attackers. Maoistspokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara immediately denied hisparty’s involvement but there are fears of unprecedentedcoordination between Nepali Maoists and the MaoistCommunist Cell (MCC) in India.

Three Indian security personnel and 18 Naxalites died inthe attack on the town of Madhuban on 23 June in which sixgovernment buildings and a police station were destroyed.Three days later, the town of Bairgania 75 km south of theNepal border was attacked. That very night on 26 June, therebels moved to the town of Piparahi. Nine Naxalites, onemore soldier and a civilian were killed in the two attacks.

On Monday, reports reached here saying there was adaylong firefight at Pachpokhariya 10 km south of the border.Seven Naxalites were captured.

“There were definitely Nepali Maoists involved,”maintains Bihar Police Chief Ashish Ranjan Singh whoseinitial statements were carried widely by the Indian andNepali media. Independent analysts doubt Nepalis wereinvolved and say Indian police are just trying to coveruptheir inability to prevent the attacks.

They say it is more likely that the MCC has seen howeffective the tactics have been in Nepal and have borrowedthem in launching what looks like a monsoon offensivewhen security response is slower in Bihar due to floods.Nepali and Indian Maoists could also be using each other’sterritories to escape hot pursuit by security forces.

Last week's attacks took place in north Bihar whereNaxalite activity has not been as pronounced, and follows abig landmine attack in northern Uttar Pradesh in Novemberin which 15 policemen were killed.

India’s paramilitary Sasastra Seema Bal (SSB) has nowsealed the border immediately to the north of its base inChekana and asked for reinforcements. An official at theJayanagar base of the SSB told us there are plans to restricttravel all along the Bihar border.

SpilloverAJIT TIWARI in JANAKPUR

Even if Nepali Maoists were not involved in lastweek’s Naxalite offensive in Bihar, the tacticsused were familiar

The best Thai, Singaporeanand Malaysian food in town

ThaiSingMa

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TENSE BORDER: Indian SSB on patrol along the Indo-Nepal frontier inRautahat. Motorcyclist and bus passengers from Nepal being checked.

AJIT TIWARI

2 1 - 7 JULY 2005 #254EDITORIAL

STATE OF THE STATECK Lal

GUEST COLUMNManjushree Thapa

E

A

Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Chief Editor: Kunda DixitDesk Editor: Abha Eli Phoboo, Aarti BasnyatDesign: Kiran Maharjan Web: Bhushan ShilpakarAdvertising: Sunaina Shah advertising@himalmedia.comSubscription: Pushparaj Sharma, subscription@himalmedia.comSanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, LalitpurGPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, NepalTel: 01-5543333-6, Fax: 01-5521013Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 01-5547018editors@nepalitimes.com, www.nepalitimes.com

ny legitimacy-challenged regime,whether benign or malignant, isoppressive. It doesn’t take long for

even a benevolent dictatorship todegenerate into tyranny. Insecure andparanoid, illegitimate governmentsinevitably go about centralising authority,thereby undermining their legitimacy

further.Byusingcoercion,

repression, violence, rewards orpunishment and manufacture of consentthrough propaganda, an authoritarian ordermay be relatively stable in the short-term.But it ends up undermining itself fromwithin.

There are signs of things to come andrecent pronouncements by loyal royals areominous. Former Brig Gen Bharat KesharSimha, an honorary ADC to the king,argued recently that since the monarch wasa Bishnu incarnate he was above theconstitution. Yet another retired generaland member of the Raj Parishad, SachitShamsher, warned that politiciansdeserved to be treated as in the 1960s when

parties were proscribed and their leadersimprisoned by King Mahendra. And then,there is Donald Camp, who tells the kingwhen he meets him that going back to pre-1990 is out of the question as far theinternational community is concerned.

If these statements by people perceivedto be close to Narayanhiti are anything togo by, even tougher restrictions on politicalactivity appear to be in the cards.Hallucinators who yearn for a return toabsolute monarchy forget that it hadalready brought the country to the brink ofdisaster in 1990. If it were not for thesafety valve that democracy accorded, thestate would have crumbled under thecombined weight of people’s frustrationswith the system, an Indian economicblockade and international apathy towardsthe plight of Nepalis. But, it seems, no oneever learns anything from history. Bymaking reform impossible, the courtiers arebent upon making revolution inevitable.

The royal regime’s dismal performanceinspires even less confidence. Maoistviolence has escalated, the economy is in atailspin weighed down by stagnation andinflation. Failures on the foreign policy

front are so stark that even a routine royalvisit to Qatar is being labelled as amonumental achievement. But nowhereis the record as abysmal as in the arena offundamental freedoms. Five months afterFebruary First, political prisonerscontinue to languish in prison.

Sher Bahadur Deuba and PrakashMan Singh are victims of politicalvendetta and a selective witch-hunt.They are being unlawfully prosecuted byan extra-constitutional watchdog.Unfortunately, Deuba and Singh lack themoral fortitude to question the RCCC’sdecisions. After all, they themselvesfunctioned as loyal nominees until theking dismissed them.

But people who never acquiesced tothe post-October 2002 royal order andwere imprisoned for their beliefs can beconsidered prisoners of conscience.Ramchandra Poudel was released onTuesday but Narhari Acharya andKrishna Pahadi are still in detention.Unlike Deuba and Singh, Acharya andPahadi aren’t where they are for whatthey did or didn’t do. They are in prisonbecause they stand for certain values.

Prisoners of conscience delegitimiseregimes and draw international attentionto this state of unreason.

The press is still supressed and thebar is debarred from taking upconstitutional issues in the courts. Bothhave been forced to take their agitation tothe streets. February First loyalistsinterpret acquiescence of a repressedpeople as evidence of their consent forroyal rule and the possibility of arapprochement between constitutionalforces has never been more distant.Instead, a showdown between the forcesof autocracy and democracy is imminent.

US Ambassador James Moriartypredicted the outcome of intensificationof confrontation in his address to theEast West Centre last week: millions ofNepalis are refugees in India, and anarchyinside the country. But such a doomsdayscenario is probably scare mongeringtactics to make donors fall in line withthe royal regime. The result of politicalupheavals is unpredictable. Royalrollback is the safest course to save thecountry from unintended consequencesof catastrophic confrontation.

By making reform impossible, they’re making revolution inevitableIn an unstable state

Let’s talk about casteWhen will ‘others’ qualify to be ‘one of us’?

monarchists’ caste base is. Itlists the king’s closest friendsand advisers. These include:Prabhu Shamsher Jung BahadurRana, a childhood friend whoaccompanied the king toIndonesia and China. Hisnephew Prabhakar ShamsherJung Bahadur Rana heads theSoaltee Group and is also closeto the king. Another trustedfriend is Birendra Shah, betterknown by his nickname ‘LavaRaja.’ He was in Pokhara withthen-Prince Gyanendra duringthe 2001 royal massacre. SharadChandra Shah is Lava Raja’snephew. He heads theInformation TechnologyCommission but his informalpowers are extensive. Anotheradviser, DB Rana, used to workin the Soaltee Group. MahendraKumar Singh, married to KingTribhuban’s daughter from outof wedlock, sustained a bulletwound at the 2001 royalmassacre. Ravi Shamsher JungBahadur Rana and QueenKomal’s brother Suraj ShamsherJung Bahadur Rana are alsoadvisers to the king. Similarlyclose is Shanta Kumar Malla,former army chief, oversaw afive-person military inquisitioninto the 2001 royal massacre.Among other advisers are SachitShamsher Jung Bahadur Rana,Bharat Keshar Simha andKesharjung Rayamajhi. That’s 11Chettri men, all but one aThakuri.

It is sometimes tempting toreduce the struggle betweenabsolute monarchists anddemocrats to a struggle betweenChettris and Bahuns. Thiswould be a facile conclusion, ofcourse. Yet the non-politicalsectors that embody the presentdemocratic movement—themedia, the legal profession—are

also overwhelmingly composedof Bahun men.

And herein lies a lingeringweakness in today’s democraticmovement. Be they politicalparties, community or businessorganisations, NGOs or INGOs,or even families, the vastmajority of democraticinstitutions remain markedlysegregated—not by intention,maybe but by omission. Thereare apparently no ‘others’ whoqualify to be ‘one of us.’ Or it isnot worth the effort to reach outbeyond our comfortable circles.

There is of course adifference in the ethics ofabsolute monarchists anddemocrats: the democrats’ idealsoblige them to be inclusive.And they do sincerely intend tobe so but first, they just need torestore democracy.

Yet, which comes first–democratic values or democraticpolity? This is a question thatmany Nepalis—particularlynon-Chettri-Bahuns—are nowasking. Absolute monarchistswould say that democraticvalues must come first andactual democracy can follow.Democrats would say theopposite.

But the ground realities ofNepal are better reflected in theview of Anil Bhattarai of NepalSouth Asia Centre: “You cannotbring democracy first, thenreduce poverty, then haveawareness-building campaigns,then bring about social change.It all happens simultaneously.Look at what is happening. Thatis our reality.”

So, democrats: whileoverthrowing Nepal’s politicalanachronisms, let’s alsooverthrow our own lingeringcontradictions, shall we? Let’sstart by talking about caste.

ven as we painstakinglywrest back the right todebate openly, caste remains

a strangely under-articulatedtopic in political discoursetoday.

Many enlightened Nepalisabhor the caste system, thoughfew have broken caste taboos intheir personal lives. Still,activists have long organised‘joint feasts’ to allow people from‘high’ and ‘low’ castes to defy

segregation. The Dalits’ rightsmovement is gaining pace despiteelite resistance. Thousands ofNepalis across the country haveeven discarded their surnames toshrug off their caste identities.(Hence the proliferation ofNepalis with such surnames as‘Sorrowful’ or ‘Inspiration’).

In the 1990 to 2002 period,the political parties had all beencaptured by Bahun men—whounfortunately blocked reforms onwomen’s, Dalits’ and Janajatis’rights. Studies were showingPanchayat-era caste profiles to becomparatively more diverse. Evennow, the political parties remainthe bastions of Bahun men.

Then came the king’s October2002 takeover. Dramatically, the

Chettri caste that hadmonopolised power before

1990 returned. The headsof all the cabinetsunder KingGyanendra’s rule havebeen Chettris: Chand(a Thakuri sub-caste),Thapa, Deuba andShah (also Thakuri).

A recent cover storyin Nepal magazine further

reveals how narrow the absolute

DOES PUBLIC OPINION MATTER?Doesn’t look like it, given the way it has been disregarded by everypolitical force in the country. They all claim to stand for the peoplebut have consistently dashed all hope.

The Maoists say they are fighting a ‘people’s’ war althoughmany who supported the revolution don’t want to have anything todo with it anymore. The king says he took over to save the peoplefrom conflict but all we have seen in the past three years is asystematic plan to dismantle what remained of democraticinstitutions and surviving civil liberties. The political parties haven’tfaced their electorates in six years, their mandates have expiredand there is little public enthusiasm toward their call for restorationof parliament.

All three forces think that lack of support for the other twotranslates into support for themselves. The Maoists pose as thepeople’s genuine liberators, promising to wipe the slate clean of afeudal monarchy and malfunctioning democracy. The king thinks thelack of public support for the parties means the people back hisautocratic experiment. And the political parties take it for grantedthat most Nepalis are against February First.

What we have seen year after year in nationwide polls since2000 is a vast and overwhelming yearning for an end to violence. Ifthe three forces want to genuinely address the people’s mostimportant concern they should be making urgent moves to restartthe peace process instead of clawing at each other.

Eighty percent of Nepalis surveyed have always rejectedcommunist totalitarianism and royal authoritarianism. Extremists ofthe left and right will overlook this at their own peril. But themainstream political parties haven’t stood up convincingly for themiddle ground either.

Their leaders still don’t seem to have realised how low theyhave sunk in the public’s eye. Chanting ‘democracy’ alone will notwin people back to the cause. Our political leadership was alwaysmuch better at struggling for democracy than making it work, theynow have to prove that this time it will be different.

The underground comrades for their part should read the writingon the wall: the people may still vote you to power if you give upviolence. But they won’t if you wait any longer.

We may have forgotten it in this long detour on the road todemocracy but the only true reflection of the people’s will is whenwe allow them to choose their representatives and make them trulysovereign.

31 - 7 JULY 2005 #254

LLLLL E T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R S

BAMBOO CURTAINThanks to Ashok R Shakya(‘Bamboo Curtain’, #152) for hispoignant photos from the Bhutanirefugee camps and his emotionaltribute to those of us who werechased out of our homeland. Hehas called a spade a spade withhis sharp rebuke of the Drukregime which is ultimatelyresponsible for our tragedy.

Ganesh Lama, Jhapa

Shame on the royal regimein Bhutan for doing this to itspeople. Since they are Buddhistand believe in karma they mustknow that one day the miserythey have sowed will come backto haunt them a thousandfold.

Ina Petersen, Copenhagen

So, finally there’stalk about integrating into oursociety ethnic Nepalis who wereexpelled from Bhutan more thana decade ago. Why this hastaken so long is something onecan only speculate on. To quotean example, when famine hitEthiopia in the early 80s, Israelsent planes to rescue and bringback orthodox Jews who hadbeen living there for centuries.Up until then, the Ethiopian Jewshad not even been aware of theexistence of the state of Israel,thinking they were the only Jewsin the world. And yet, Israel didwhat it did even though thepeople it brought back weredifferent ethnically, culturally andsocially. Now the ‘Ethiopian’Jews are very much a part ofIsraeli society, having beenintegrated into the social fabricof the country. Why has this nothappened with the so-called ‘Bhutani’ refugees? Afterall, these are ethnic Nepalis whospeak the same language, sharethe same culture and havenames that sound no differentfrom ours. Why have they notbeen granted Nepali citizenship?They are no more Bhutani thanyou and I. In fact, they are moreNepali than many Nepalisthemselves. Living in isolationamong Bhutanis must have madethem more aware of who theywere and created a desire topreserve their identity andculture. Ironically, that is whatgot them expelled from Bhutan inthe first place– not being able toadapt themselves to the cultureand customs of the host country–that and their revolt againstBhutani authorities, which wasfoolishly inspired by the politicalchange taking place in Nepal atthe time. Integration canbe beneficial in more ways thanone, not least of which is: there’llbe more people to send abroadfor non-skilled jobs that, althoughlow paying, bring in dollars.

Name witheld

TYRANNY AND TERRORIn context to your editorial ‘Trialand terror’ (#252). In 1903, JohnTanner wrote in TheRevolutionist’s Handbook:‘Revolutions have never

lightened the burden of tyranny:they have only shifted it to anothershoulder.’ Hopefully, what Tannerhad written a hundred years ago isnot happening in Nepal. Arevolution to overthrow the Ranaregime and usher democracy wasneeded. It did actually overthrowthe Rana regime but the peopleonly got to see a short glimpse ofdemocracy and multiparty systembefore King Mahendra made anexecutive decision to ban partiesand become the centre of power.Thirty years later, after variousups and downs, democracy wasre-established. Once againelected governments were notsuccessful in improving thepolitical and economic situation.Ultimately, King Gyanendraassumed partial executive powersgiven to him by the ‘democraticconstitution’ in October 2002. LikeKing Mahendra, King Gyanendratoo took what he wrongfullybelieved was rightfully his. Thenext revolution is bound to be for arepublic considering howconstitutional kings have deceivedus twice.

One could safely conclude thatall the revolutions aimed atestablishing democracy havefailed. They have just shifted theburden of tyranny. Actually, if wedo want something to happen inthis country, let’s start an internalrevolution within parties andoverthrow the incompetent leadersthat they have. Who knows, wemay be third time lucky.

Himal Ghimire, Sydney

Kanak Dixit’s eyewitnessreport from Madi (‘Sorry.’, #251)graphically shows the level ofcowardice that is inherent amongMaoist ‘warriors’. Kindly send afree copy of that issue to GirijaPrasad Koirala and MadhabKumar Nepal who are now flirtingwith the terrorists.

Sri Ram Chaudhary, email

Thank you for printingRabindra Nakarmi’s article (‘Thelion king’, #253). My wife, son andI watched that movie together andall of us were very upset whenUncle Scar snatched power andwere very happy when the younglion prince was able to return tohis rightful throne. The parallelsbetween the movie and Nepal’sreality are eerie. The onlydifference– and our country’s greatmisfortune– is that we do not haveany figure such as the young lionprince.

J Aryal, email

TB-3I’d like to thank Shrestha,Clapham and Gunneberg forresponding to the issues raised inmy letter posing questions to TBcontrol activities (Letters, #252).The complex relationship betweenthe conflict, the growth of theprivate sector and their impact onstate provision of health servicesis a pressing one and one it ishoped is being both acknowledgedat policy level as well as beingfurther researched. A start toaddressing these issues would beto gather the ‘anecdotal’ and otherevidence on the conflict’s impactand begin to articulate what thequestions to research and addressmight be. Shrestha et al’s exampleof how a well run DOTS programin Lalitpur actually decreases thenumbers of those who attend theprivate sector and consequentlythe availability of anti-tuberculousdrugs from this sector, is veryencouraging. Some of us who

research on and engage with,health service issues in Nepalhave data that support our concernthat the lack of regulation ofprivate sector health services canlead to dangerously unintendedconsequences– it is thusheartening to hear evidence ofhigh-quality public health servicesreducing public demand for high-risk private services. It is hopedthat the NTP will make the resultsof such research more widelyavailable for discussion of itsbroader implications, in addition toits use to defend the DOTSprogram. There may be a need,however, for caution in interpretingthe Lalitpur research data. Lalitpuris not representative of most ofNepal, of course, and the degreeto which such findings can begeneralised should be considered.

I join ‘international TB experts’in applauding the achievements ofthe NTP. I would like to note,however, that different types ofexperts have their own areas ofexpertise and frame theirjudgements accordingly. Judging aTB control program by its ‘curerate’ is an importantepidemiological approach toprogram evaluation. There are,however, other types of expertswho in addition look beyond ‘curerates’ when they raise questionsabout a program and seek toassess its strengths andweaknesses. I hope that the NTP,DfID and the WHO, as leaders ofthe effort to control tuberculosis inNepal, will not be satisfied withbasing their own evaluation ofDOTS in Nepal solely on theverdict of those ‘experts’ that laudits epidemiological success. Iwould also further hope that therewas room for critical and publicdebate of broader issues so thatthe lessons–both positive andnegative–can be understood,debated and used to furtherstrengthen an already successfulprogram.

Ian Harper, email

STREET SMARTThose of us who live or work inand around Jawalakhel inparticular cannot have failed tonotice that there have been someimprovements recently to thesmoothness of our journeys. Buthave we considered the following:

Are we tackling the rootcauses of the rough and potholedpathways that we have becomeused to? Have suitablefoundations been laid? Has thebudget been diverted from othermore worthy causes? Is there anyeffort being made to tackle theproblems that occur wheneverseveral parties meet at a junctiononly to find that personal self-interest overrides any semblanceof cooperation or personalrestraint and compromise for thegreater good? Will we continue tobe faced with that familiarconfusion of whether the signal tothe right means ‘please pass’ or ‘Iam about to turn’? Will wecontinue to see progress beingachieved only by the large andpowerful machines at the expenseof the smaller, less visible andweaker vehicles? How aboutchildren on the frontlines? Therehave also been someimprovements in traffic manage-ment elsewhere in the capital withthe introduction of central barriers.Does this smooth the flow ofpeople or simply transfercongestion to other problemareas? Finally, despite the surfacedressing, will we see any changes

to the rules of the road or therules of the game?

‘Z Crossing’, Jawalakhel

WEDDING BLUESKapil Tamot’s experience of beingamong 1,500 guests atKathmandu weddings is oneshared by many (‘Pre-monsoonweddings’, #253). There is a lawin Nepal which prohibits invitingmore than 51 people (excludingclose relatives) for weddingparties. The penalty for violationis a fine up to Rs 20,000 orimprisonment up to 15 days orboth. The rationale is that peopledon’t overspend and be indebtedfor the rest of their lives. So far noone has ever been convicted. In a

country where most legislation isnot enforced, this is no surprise.The wedding catering business,meanwhile, has taken off addingrevenue to the government’sdepleting coffers. If this is thereason behind non-enforcementof this particular law by thegovernment, then the rightapproach would be to repeal thelaw. Two warnings to Kapil: themonsoon wedding season is notover yet and parties are beingheld in ‘war zones’ like theMahendra Police Club and theArmy Club where you need to gothrough barbed wire and sentrieswith assault rifles behindsandbags.

Anup Raj Upreti,email

4 1 - 7 JULY 2005 #254NATION

hen the Lamosangu-Jiriroad was commissionedin 1985, it marked a

turning point in the life of thissleepy town in the middle ofnowhere.

This was the first highwaydesigned not to be just a highwaybut one that took socio-economiccosts and benefits to rural Nepalinto account. It aimed tomaximise benefits for the localpopulation by providing accesswhile reducing the impact on thevillages of being suddenly openedup to the outside world.

Technically, the highway wasa marvel of engineering. TheSwiss who helped build itbrought their experience from theAlps and aimed to reduce

landslides and erosion withinnovations that they hopedwould serve as a model for othermountain highways in Nepal.

Now, 20 years later, theimpact of the Lamosangu-JiriHighway appears to have beenpositive. The road opened upDolakha, Charikot and the remoteRamechhap districts and theintegrated rural developmenteffort that followed constructiontried to ensure that the localeconomy took advantage of access.

The Swiss invested heavily incommunity forestry, soilmanagement, trail bridgebuilding, district roads and ruralhealth activities. Agriculturalextension allowed farmers to growvalue-added crops and the roadbecame a backbone to take theproduce to market and increasefamily income.

Jiri became the roadhead forthe Everest trek and its economywas transformed by tourism.Dolakha was no more a fooddeficit area, the road opened upmarkets for the region’s producewhich included cheese, herbs,potatoes and vegetables. TheKhimti hydropower projectwouldn’t have been feasiblewithout the road, and otherpotential generation sites are nowviable because of feeder roads.Jiri’s dairies went through a boomsince the road broughtKathmandu Valley within reach.

Bitumen emulsion was usedas a binder for black-toppingwhich reduced the reliance onfirewood to melt the asphalt. Bio-engineering techniques wereapplied for the first time tostabilise slopes along thealignment. Gabion baskets filled

with boulders were used here forthe first time. Many of thesetechniques have since beenapplied successfully on otherroads in Nepal. Environmentfriendly construction has kept thehighway relatively landslide free,and blockages during themonsoon are much rarer than inother highways in Nepal. Theengineers settled for a three-metreone lane highway with widehairpins, good drainage and asystem of maintenance bylengthworkers from localcommunities.

“It’s amazing, the road is stillin good shape after 20 years eventhough the resealing whichshould have been done every fiveyears was not done,” saysDevendra Dhar Pradhananga, thehighway’s project manager. Hebelieves regular and plannedmaintenance is not a technicalissue, not even financial, but aninstitutional, political andadministrative problem. Theentire road is now beingresurfaced and the work isexpected to be finished by endJuly.

Road engineer CK Lal, agreesthe Jiri road is a model forhighway engineering in themountains but says it was tooexpensive. “The main problemwith replicating it is that itwasn’t cheap to build and isn’tcheap to maintain,” he says.

The Swiss say the road took

How does SDC perceive the attacks on aid workers bythe Maoists?Fortunately, across the country, physical attacks haveremained an exception. Both parties to the conflict andespecially the insurgents have, however, frequentlythreatened and put aid workers under pressure in orderto obtain tactical or material advantage. These areagainst our Basic Operational Guidelines and theyconstitute a major challenge for the continuation ofdevelopment work in rural Nepal as SDC and all otheragencies give the highest priority to the security of theirstaffs, who are, in their vast majority, Nepali citizens.However, we have come to the conclusion that the bestway to ensure the security of development work is to

strictly respect the principle of impartiality, be ready tospeak to all stakeholders, be accountable and transparent.The tentative enforcement of these principles has improvedthe quality of our development activities and theiracceptance by the rural population.

How has the collaboration with government evolved since1 February?The direct collaboration, as well as the security situation,has not changed much. Strengths and weaknesses of thegovernment have remained basically the same. Programsand projects have however been affected by the numerouschanges of personnel that the new government hasconducted over the last months. The major problems havearisen from the deterioration of the overall environment:censorship and restriction of media freedom have mademore difficult a serious assessment of risks andopportunities. The pressure exerted on human rightsactivists and democratic parties in the districts has mademore difficult the communication with all stakeholders andthe search for practical solution to projects’ implementationproblems. The appointment of the monitoring commissionshas weakened the local authorities further and has startedrolling back the decentralisation of state responsibilitiescrucial for peace and development in this country. We feelvery sorry to see that (February First) has divided thecountry drastically and the government is trying to sort outthe problem with military solutions, which is definitely not agood sign.

The Swiss government sponsored the human rightsresolution in Geneva in May, are you satisfied with theoutcome?We are pleased that the government renewed itscommitment to fully respect its international obligations andaccepted, in a comprehensive memorandum ofunderstanding, the presence of the international monitorsreporting to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The great green roadTwenty years later, the Jiri highwaysurvives the test of time and serves as amodel for other mountain roads

PRAGYA SHRESTHA in JIRI

We are satisfied by the positive reception given by theCommunist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to this mandate. Thework of the international observers–if really accepted byboth parties to the conflict and effectively implemented–will mean the end of impunity for the perpetrators of abusesas well as for their commanders and political masters. Webelieve that accountability to the international law willprogressively improve a situation on the ground that hasremained appalling.The Lamosangu-Jiri road built with Swiss assistance isseen as an example of well thought-out development aid.Twenty years later, what are the lessons?The road served as an example of how mountains roadsshould be built. It was a model and the road helpedimprove the economic condition of the local population tosome extent. The Khimti hydropower project and now,maybe Upper Tamakosi are possible because the roadalready exists. There may have been some negativeimpact but to mitigate the problems, the Integrated HillDevelopment Project (IHDP) was implemented toharmonise people for the road so that they could takeadvantage of the new possibilities arising from it. Since theroad was built we have been involved mainly in communityforestry, soil management, trail bridge building, districtroads, rural health and so on. And the road has played amajor role in accessing and developing the entire area.

How do you see a future commitment in road sector fromSDC?We have shifted our concerns from the expansion of thestrategic network to the construction and maintenance ofrural roads. Through the District Road Support Program(DRSP) and with SDC’s know-how and budget, theconstruction of green roads in six districts east ofKathmandu has been sustained for five years. DRSP, withits know-how will now expand to 18 additional districts andsupport the implementation of a large ADB financed ruralinfrastructure project.

“We are very sorry to see the country divided”

Jorg Frieden, the Nepal representativeof Swiss Development Cooperation(SDC) spoke to Nepali Times about thedifficulty in the delivery of donor-assisted projects post-February Firstand development priorities.

relatively long to build since itwas purposely made labour-intensive to provide localemployment, and it cost Rs 250million for the entire 110 kmstretch in1985 prices, which wasrelatively cheap.

“The most important lesson ofthe Jiri road is the change from adhoc road maintenance to theconcept of planned roadmaintenance carried out locally bylengthworkers,” says Jorg Friedenof Swiss DevelopmentCooperation in Nepal, “the otherimportant innovations were theuse of bio-engineering andenvironmental friendly roadconstruction techniques.”

LONG AND WINDING ROAD:King Birendra inaugurating thehighway in Jiri in 1985 (above) anda hairpin bend above Lamosangu.

W

MIN BAJRACHARYA

51 - 7 JULY 2005 #254BUSINESS

What better topic todiscuss now than graft,especially as the former

PM Sher Bahadur Deuba and histeam have just been acquitted ofgiving away cash to supporters atDasain. Does this mean they’vegot a clean chit?

Governments the world over,especially democratic countries,have used graft charges to nailopponents. Classic cases ofSouth Korea, Japan and of courseIndia show how showcasecorruption trials are done live ontv. Autocracies, too, it seems usecorruption charges to sidelineopponents succumbing to thetemptation of launchingpolitical witch-hunts disguisedas corruption control.

In fact, it is easier because theaccused doesn’t have the usualrecourse to rule of law whenmedia functions under statediktat. Pakistan has examples ofhow a state’s relief fund might beacceptable if it intends to use itbut is unacceptable if itsopponents do the same.

This is just drawing parallelsbetween countries wheredifferent forms of regime exist.

Surely, in a pluralisticdemocratic set up, graft is moredemocratic too as the trickledown effect reaches the villagepolitical levels. In the pastdecade-and-a-half of pluraldemocracy, we found moregrassroots level politicos in graftscandals than in earlier regimeswhen it was relegated to theupper echelons.

This Beed has always beenharping about making politicaldonations legit in order to ensurethat there is little incentive forpeople to risk getting involved incorrupt practices. Every countryperhaps has its own anti-corruption watchdog and ourown CIAA has been found to havequite a few of its teeth missing.With a larger high-level-outside-the-pyramid body in place toeven act as a watchdog on thewatchdog body, the current stateof dealing with graft is stillunpredictable. While governmentservants languish in reserve poolsanticipating some action, eitherpositive or negative against them,no one is sure about the rightdefinition of graft.

In times of conflict, graftbecomes even more difficult tounderstand as securityexpenditure and actionsnecessitate decisions in closed

Corruption control as an excuse for political witch-huntsGraft busters

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Lukla suffers another mishapSix months after a Sita Air Dornier suffered an undercarriage failurewhile landing at Lukla airport, (pictured) a Gorkha Airlines Dornier

skidded off the runway onThursday morning. None ofthe eight Nepali passengersand three crew were hurt.Lukla’s famous inclinedrunway was tarmaced threeyears ago and has since seena big jump in landings andtakeoffs. There have beeneight mishaps here in the past10 years, although none of

them resulted in fatalities. Pilots regard landing in Lukla as one ofthe most challenging in Nepal because of the terrain and weather.

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The World Bank’s confidenceWASHINGTON—The World Bank approved a $3 million grant thisweek to help finance technical assistance needs of its reformagenda. The Economic Reform Technical Assistance Projectintends to strengthen home-grown reforms in the areas of publicsector capacity, service delivery, social inclusion, governance andreducing unproductive public sector intervention in the economy, allof which will be critical to placing Nepal on a higher growth path.“Key policymakers in Nepal are keenly aware that theseimprovements are central to promoting social equity and buildinglasting peace,” says World Bank Country Director for Nepal,Kenichi Ohashi. The project is structured to provide flexibility in theuse of the funds, which can finance the hiring of skilledprofessionals, consultants and training.

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Another ATMStandard Chartered Bank Nepalhas installed another 24-hourAutomated Teller Machine(ATM) at its branch in Lalitpurwhich was inaugurated by CEOSujit Mundul on 28 June(pictured). StanChart now has10 ATM sites in the countrywhich also serve Visa,MasterCard, Cirrus and Maestrocardholders.

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Qatar adds AlexandriaQatar Airways has added the Egyptian port city of Alexandria on itsroute map with a non-stop three-times-a-week from Qatar Airways’operational hub of Doha using Airbus A320s. This is the 64th

destination on the airline’s rapidly growing global network.

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Linking upWorld Link Communications has received an ISO 9001:2000certificate from the Norwegian company, Det Norske Veritas. It isthe first Nepali communication services provider to get an ISOcertificate.

LIANA: Arun Intercontinental Traders,authorised distributor for SuzukiMotor Corporation, has launchedLiana, its new 1300 cc family carpriced at just over Rs 2.1 million.

NEW PRODUCT

ECONOMIC SENSEArtha Beed

rooms that are immediatelyeffectuated. This makes analysingthe expenditure of the state orvarious governmental and non-governmental organisations thatproclaim to be helping conflictmitigation, management andelimination rather difficult. Withthe media cautiously on tiptoe,journalists have to be carefulabout what they report so thedebate on graft cannot fullysurface either.

There is a very thin dividingline in developing societies likeours between legit activities andgraft. The onus lies with the statewhose responsibility it is todevise a mechanism where graftpolicies are equitable and notbiased towards a certain section ofthe society. The ruling elitealways have more opportunitiesfor corruption than theopposition, that is why selfregulation must be strongly inplace. Lee Kwan Yew has setmany examples and there arelessons to be learnt from hisexperiences in dealing with graftin Singapore. But let’s not use theSingapore model of autocracy asan excuse for corruption control.You can never replace rule of lawwith rule of Lee.

www.arthabeed.com

NEPALNEWS.COM

6 1 - 7 JULY 2005 #254FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Samaya, 22 June

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State injusticeJana Aastha, 15 June

BHOJPUR—It was dangerous for17-year-old Bidya Chauhan to fallin love. Despite protests from herparents, she eloped with a localman. Eventually, her parentssought help from the Maoists tobreak up the couple. In return,they agreed to force their daughterto join the rebels. Against her ownwill, Bidya became a full timeMaoist worker. In June, she waskilled in an encounter with thearmy, she was carrying a bag fullof plastic grenades, socket bombsand other ammunition. The nextday, Bidya was reported in thenews as a terrorist killed inaction. Villagers knew how shehad been forced to become aMaoist. This should teach thesecurity forces a lesson, noteveryone becomes a Maoist out oftheir own free will. They shot herdead in cold blood, defencelessand while she was not attackinganyone. “What can be worse thanthe government declaring an

UML Leader Bam Deb Gautam inDishanirdesh, 26 June

I had long conversations on the telephonewith Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai,separately, while I was in New Delhi. But Idid not contact them, they had somehowlocated my hotel and called me there.

once in the morning and once inthe evening. My ears are bleedingeven now, my memory is growingweak and my teeth, which wereok before are all deformed.Whenever I had to go to the toiletI would get pushed against thewall, abused and beaten up againon my way back. Food was givenonce a day but it was with awatery soup that I could hardlyeat. They neither let me bathe norwash my face. I could hearscreams from another room. Oneweek later, Kulbindra Funyalfrom Dolakha, AnantaramGhimire from Mahottari and Iwere transferred to Singha Darbarbarrack at nine in the evening.Funyal and Ghimire had alsobeen charged with contacting theMaoists. At round 10PM, a majorshouted, “Who is that journalist?Bring him here.”

I was made to jump and runfor a while, then the torturingbegan again. They kicked and beatme with a rubber pipe until Ifainted. I regained consciousnesswhen they splashed water on meand found myself in a sewer. Iwas made to stand up and a gunwas pointed to my head. “What isyour last wish?” they asked. “Toreport,” answered I. I was keptthis way in Singha Darbar barrackfor another 14 days.

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BargainingJana Aastha, 22 June

The Maoist-affiliated KirantNational Front (KNF) has beenholding secret face-to-face talkswith the representatives of thegovernment. The Maoists,however, have not been officiallyinformed about the talks. “TheKirant National Front is anindependent party, it is not asister organisation of theMaoists,” the leaders of the frontsaid. Last month, the governmentheld two phases of talks with theKNF. The king’s representativesare said to have told KNF leadersthat it should support the king.In reply, the KNF reportedlyreplied that it had supported theMaoists so certain demands werefulfilled, and they would supportwhoever meets those demands.

The Kirants demanded federalrule, secular religion and specialpolitical rights for 18 districtseast of Ramechhap. Thegovernment did not comment onthe demands. Prachanda andBaburam had taken part in theceremony that marked theformation of KNF some years agoafter which it decided to supportthe Maoist people’s war. KNFleader Gopal Khambu is apolitburo member of the Maoistsand he is also the chief of theeastern regional front of theMaoists. Another leader,Bhaktaraj Kandangwa is a central-level adviser for the Maoists.Interestingly, only secondechelon leaders have taken partin the talks with the palacewhich if successful will be asetback for the Maoists.

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Pokhara’s turnHimal Khabarpatrika, 1 July

What do you do when touristnumbers fall? You start taxingthe few who still come. That isthe mindset of the Pokhara sub-metropolitan office which hasdecided to charge tourists $10 toenter the fair city. While touristoperators are struggling to luremore international visitors intothe resort town, the governmentis all set to scare them away withthis new tax. The decision hasprovoked a huge outcry amongtravel agents already in deepdepression because of the slump.The municipality has not made asingle contribution to promoteinternational tourism and is nowtrying to squeeze every cent outof the few tourists who venturehere. In 1998, Pokhara saw100,000 tourists and that didn’teven include Indians. Thenumber has now plummeted to87,000 counting Indians. Andeven the visitors who come arebudget tourists who stay at thecheapest hotels, prefer bakeryfood and ride bicycles. “How canthe fee be justified when allPokhara has to offer is pollutedFewa Lake, empty hotels andrestaurants?” asks GaneshBahadur Bhattarai of PokharaTourist Council.

“Not until they give up violence”

I didn’t say I wouldn’t give you government ads, just get down on yourknees and take them.

“We won’t brook any interference from our neighbours, why don’t they learn from China?”

Government Spokesperson Tanka Dhakal in Kantipur, 28 June.

The conversation I had with Prachandadwelt on issues ranging from the democraticmovement in Nepal to the end of the king’sautocracy and from peaceful movement tothe violence of the Maoists. Prachanda toldme that his party was willing to participatein the joint movement of the seven parties.He stressed that his party wanted to form a

common slogan of ‘multiparty democraticrepublic’ with the parties. I explained that itwas not possible right now. As long as theMaoists continued their violent and chaoticways, parties could not respond to theircall for unity.

Baburam repeated what Prachanda hadsaid. He tried to assure me that there wasno rift between them and that their strengthhad increased. He also added that his partywas willing to forge unity with the partiesand move ahead in a new way underchanged circumstances. I noticed a slightdifference in the way the Maoist leadersused to speak before and the way theyspeak now. Earlier, they used to ask us tojoin their armed struggle and support theirdemand for the election of the constituentassembly and republican system. Now,they say that we (the parties) need toinclude them in our struggle againstautocracy.

It is wrong to say that the politicalleaders run to Delhi whenever a politicalcrisis arises in Nepal. We must not forgetthat there are around eight million Nepalisin India, the UML has a strong base among

them. Nepalis have fought in India’sstruggle for freedom and Indian leadershave expressed their solidarity in thedemocratic movement of Nepal. This hasbeen a cultural tradition between the twocountries.

It is not the political parties but thesupporters of monarchy and autocracywho often reach Delhi and try to appeasethe Indian authorities. The stories of theirsycophancy are unbelieveable. There aremany of them in New Delhi, peopleassociated with institutions like the WorldHindu Federation lobbying for theirinterest. During our stay in India, we cameto know that the king himself soughtsupport from Indian leaders, whether itwas during the meeting in Jakarta orelsewhere. We also came to know that theking has been sending messages to theIndian establishment throughintermediaries repeatedly. Pro-monarchists have been meetingextremists in India requesting them toquell our movement. So it doesn’t behovethem to say that the political parties’leaders are India-dependent.

innocent person a terrorist,” sayshuman rights activist TulsiramRai. CDO Sudhir Kumar Shah dideverything to cover up the truthwhen a team of human rightsworkers visited the site. Injusticeagainst innocent civilianssuspected of being Maoists isincreasing. Three youths in BoyaVDC have been in jail after theywere accused of being Maoists.Among them is a nine-year-oldboy.

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22 days in jailChandra Lal Giri in Jana Aastha,29 June

I am the chief correspondent ofShram Saptahik. Plainclothessecurity personnel arrested me on31 December 2004 near theSamaya office while I was on myway to inform human rightsactivists and the media about thearrest of Sitaram Parajuli, oureditor. They shoved me into apickup, gagged me and made melie on the floor while five or sixpeople sat on my back. Every few

minutes, they would feel myneck to check if I was stillbreathing. For half-an-hour, untilwe reached an army barrack, theyverbally abused me. In thebarrack, I was made to sit on acold cement floor and frisked. AllI had was a press pass from theDepartment of Information and afew documents related to humanrights. They tied me up, joinedelectrical wires to my ears andstarted electrocuting me. An hourlater, I was bleeding from mytongue and teeth because I wasbiting them too hard. The barrackmust have been Chhauni becausefrom time to time I heardhelicopters landing. But since myhead was covered with a sack Icouldn’t see anything. Then theytook me to a toilet and pushedmy head into a bucket of coldwater. I couldn’t breathe andthought I would drown.

For a week I was tortured. Theminute I moved or stood up, I’dget punched and kicked. Theywould wake me up when I wasasleep and start beating me. Somedays, I was electrocuted twice—

UML STRONGMAN:Bam Deb Gautam assists party

workers in paddy planting inKathmandu on Wednesday.

SUNDAR SHRESTHA/NEPAL SAMACHARPATRA

71 - 7 JULY 2005 #254FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Nepal, 1 July

ROLPA—The Maoists are holding their local elections here and havebrought in the media as ‘election observers’. Maoist elections aredifferent in many ways but the paraphernalia is similar to thegovernment’s elections. Instead of the swastika rubber stamp, theMaoist stamp has a red star. While the state deploys governmentofficials as election officials, the Maoists use their own party members.The rebels had 14 signs for different candidates on the voting ballot.They had put their party symbol—hammer and sickle—as number onefollowed by a house, watch, oil lamp, glass, leaf, umbrella, fish, radio,madal, jug, pen and key. The process employed was government-style,complete with witness, representatives, stamping, signing and counting.The turnout at the Maoist elections was the same as the turnout of thegovernment elections of 1997 in Rolpa. The Maoists had 11 electionbooths in Thabang instead of the nine that were put up by the state. In ashow of inclusiveness, they made it compulsory to have 40 percent ofcandidates female and 20 percent dalits.

Independent candidates have to submit to the party’s ideology,objective and declarations. The Maoist directive states that if thecandidate does not get 10 percent of the total votes, his deposit will berevoked. Constitutionally, a candidate must be over 18 years but 16-21is the age requirement among the Maoists. The name of the candidateswere finalised and they went campaigning door-to-door. Black plasticdrums served as ballot boxes, covered in white cloth with a hole in themiddle. Pictured, above: vote counting in progress.

Maoist polls

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RoyalistsDeshantar, 27 June

The royalists are doing everythingto tighten state control over therights of citizens by putting theking above the constitution.Almost six months have elapsedsince the king assumed direct rulein the country, yet he has beenunable to convince theinternational community abouthis move. He has remainedunsuccessful in his attempts toreassure the world despite goingabroad himself to attendinternational forums. Whileintellectuals are advising the kingto work within constitutionallimits and hold talks with the

parties, his men are on their wayto jeopardise the monarchy byencouraging the king to be evenmore authoritarian. They arenow trying to coax the king todeclare political parties anti-national. Sachit Shamsher isespecially active these days inadvising the king to do this. Theroyalists are clearly notinterested in restoringdemocracy. The consequenceswill be dangerous. Already, thereare signs of the governmenttrying to undermine the justicesystem by lying to the court. TheNHRC has serious legitimacyproblems. Some of its membershave confessed that they supportthe king’s move. What is theking up to?

FOOD8

uddy, damp, wet, rainy daysare here again and what betterway to celebrate the monsoonthan to track down southeastAsian food in the Valley.

Gastronomists have long debated whyThai, Vietnamese and Malay food is sopopular around the world. Part of thereason is their distinctive taste. Spicy,saucy and hot with a fiery mix of salty,sour, sweet and bitter.

Whenever you say ‘Asian’ food, manythink of Indian and Chinese cuisine. Butnothing compares to the varieties offeredby the Singaporeans, Thai and especially

Truly yummy AsiaSuddenly, Kathmandu can’tget enough of lip-smackingThai, Singaporean andMalaysian cuisine

NARESH NEWAR and AARTI BASNYAT

Malaysians. “You would have to spenda whole lifetime tasting all the Malayfood,” says Josephine Lee from theSingaporean and Malaysian restaurant,Sing-Ma, in Jawalakhel.

And there is a nuanced tastedifference: Malay food is rich in saucesand spices, Thai food is hot and spicywith abundant use of coriander andlemon grass, Singaporean Chinese foodretains the noodles and styles of themother country. Whether it is satay,seafood curries, aromatic soups orChinese food from the south seas theyare all in Kathmandu.

M

PICS: NARESH NEWAR, MIN BAJRACHARYA, KIRAN PANDAY

1 - 7 JULY 2005 #254 9

Jalan JalanEver since Jalan Jalan opened six months ago,it has been known for it’s fine and variedMalaysian cuisine. Proprietor Sailesh Bhattasays, “Most of our customers come back againand again.” More dishes have been recentlyadded with the Penang special, Panggan,

which is alunch setthat is atreat forthe tastebuds. TheNasiAyam onthe other

hand is a simple dish in which the taste ofchicken comes through without any distractingspices. Jalan Jalan now also offers cuttlefishdishes and is introducing a western menusection for those who can’t handle spices.4410438

Ying YangYing Yang restaurant is in the heart of Thamel. AThai restaurant with a Chinese name that servesNepali and continental food, it is housed in arestored Ranaesque building. It has a Swissowner, Martin Kromer and Thai cook, Daeng.“We got the name from the Ying Yang inBasantapurduring the hippieera which was avery popularrestaurant,” saysMartin. Thoughtourism businesshas been downsince 2000, thelocals keep the place busy. Daeng is not onlywilling to cook for you but also recommenddishes according to your tastes. The phrase thatcomes to ones mind as one samples the dishesis “ assault of the senses” as the spices ofThailand tingle your palate. 4267381,4425510

Sing-MaPerhaps the only Singaporean restaurant in thecountry, Sing-Ma offers authentic Singaporeancuisine with a mix of Malaysian. Among the mostsought after dishes are chomp chomp noodles,Yeo’s chicken rice, Hok’s Yok, Kampung Kitchenand for snacks the bestseller is the satay.

Singaporean cuisineis a total mixture ofinfluences from theMalays, Indians,Indonesians, Chineseand Europeans whosettled in the country andis also packed with acuisine that is rich inherbs and spices. To pullin more Nepalis, the restaurant also gives a mixof Nepali flavour by introducing rotis andparathas served with mixed vegetables, plainyogurt, salad made of cucumber and onions,curry, dal and rasam. 5520004

Royal ThaiLocated at heart of the city in Darbar Marg,just above Kasthamandap Departmentalstore, this restaurant offers hot and spicyauthentic Thai cuisine. Thai food is usuallyconsidered the spiciest and oil free, makingit healthier, nutritious and almost medicinal.Paste isused insteadof oil in mostvarieties andall the spicesare naturaland herbal.Among themost popular are Tom Yam soup, Pla NungManac, Pad Thai, satay kai and papaysalad. Thai cuisine can be broken into fivedifferent categories: gaeng, yam, dip orsauce, pad or fry and ar-harn jarn ormiscellaneous food. 2066152

Krua ThaiKrua Thai has been around for seven years nowand is known as one of the finer Thairestaurants. Manager Nirajan Shrestha says thetest that it is genuine is the number of Thais whodine here. Chef Wichai, is from Phuket and hasworked for the past 13 years in Thai restaurants

in Kathmandu.His KangKien WanKoong greencurry and TomYang Koongor Thai clearsoup are verypopular. Buthe is

renowned for his Som Tam Thai or papayasalad. The restaurant is changing ownership andis going to be called Krua Thai Nepal but theyassure that us the food won’t be any less Thai.4414291

Royal LotusOne year old, Royal Lotus in Kopundole importsall its products directly from Thailand when theshareholder and chef, Tana Korn Saythont,makes regular trips. “We had to make four tripsthis year just to be well-stocked,” says Saythontwho has worked in five star hotels in Thailand.

His Pat PoTak or spicyseafood is themost popularwith regularguests and thespecialty ofthe house is

Kao Tant Na Tant which is based on the chef’snickname ‘Tant’: rice cakes which are deep friedwith a special meat sauce on top and though noton the menu the chef will happily create thisspecial dish for you and any other dishes thatmay not be on the menu. 5521231

10 REVIEW

hen Ashmina Ranjit organises ashow, you can bet it’ll be quite ashow. Nothing is ever ordinary in

Ashmina’s works. But when the lightsfaded out at the performance of Tamas: TheDarkness in Gurukul’s Sama Theatre, whatthe audience didn’t expect was for thedarkness to stay.

Sounds of sobbing, screaming, cryingand grating of chains filled the murkyvelvety darkness. The audience sat (somewith goosebumps) waiting, wishing forsomething to happen, for the horrible noiseto end, for the darkness to go away. But itjust went on and on.

After an eternity, the darkness gave wayto the filmed figure of Ashmina chained tomany chains, sobbing, screaming, cryingand dragging the chains as she moved like acaged animal pacing its enclosure. Hershadows played on the background as shestepped on stage, dressed in black, pacingback and forth, reading from papers.

“Gai ko char ota khutta hunchha,” shebegan. The audience teetered on the edge ofbursting into laughter. “…duita sing, duitaankha ra euta puchhar.” The ode to the cowis a national ditty and like the nationalanthem, all Nepali school students arerequired to memorise it by heart as anexample of good essay writing. That is asfar as the Nepali school system goes withcreative writing.

But Ashmina is just warming up.“Some cows are tall and some cows areshort… some cows have big eyes and somehave small ones.” Wait a minute, that was

Ashmina Ranjit’s ode to the cow is a metaphor for theabsurdities of the times

Into the heart of darkness

never a part of Mahendra Mala, where didthat come from? “Cows are simple and calmanimals. Cows do not usuallyattack…Because of their importance, Nepalrecognises cows…The law sentences a cow-killer for life…In this way, cows are treatedas Nepali subjects. They are simple, docileand useful. Simple, docile and useful.Cows…subjects… Cows…subjects… Heyaunsibaro gai tiharo bhailo.”

The bewildered audience filed out.Even the applause after the performance

had been thoughtful, muted. To say “Youare a cow” in Nepal is a compliment thatmeans you are reliable, dependable,unquestioning, docile, simple and useful.To say “You are a cow” in English is aninsult. To box the whole situation andNepali society into one hackneyed essaymight seem too simplistic but it ispowerful, easy to relate to and as absurd asthe times we live in.

“Nothing after February First made anysense to me,” Ashimina told us after the

rtists, poets andphotographers have allmarvelled at it: the golden

monsoon light of the slantingafternoon sun at Hanuman Dhoka.

It is a magical light thatbathes the ancient heart ofKathmandu in a holy glow—anoasis of calm amidst the busystreets, honking impatientvehicles and the blinding neonsof New Road.

On the fringes of the square,opposite the Hanuman Dhoka isthe two-storey figure of KalBhairab, god of destruction andjustice. For centuries, thearresting god has looked down atpassers-by with his terrifying gazeand ferocious dance.

Legend has it that the granitefigure was not built butdiscovered near a water reservoiroutside Kathmandu during KingPratap Malla’s reign, which makesit at least four centuries old. Eversince it was put up at its presentplace, buffalo calves have beensacrificed here to appease thedeity. And in the evening,devotees come by to offer flowersand oil lamps.

The Kal Bhairab has been‘modernised’ by a succession ofpatrons, someone constructed amarble awning above it andanother tried to make the godeven more fearsome by painting itgaudy blue, red and yellow. Atfirst it must have lookedappalling but even the enamelnow seems to be a part of our

heritage. The Kathmandu ValleyPreservation Trust (KVPT) hasjust finished restoring the 17th

century figure and has decidedto let the colours be.

On 1 July, KVPT will becelebrating the completion of therestoration with a traditionalKshama Puja. “It is a puja wherewe ask for forgiveness for thesins we might have unknowinglycommitted while working on therestoration,” says Gautam Rana,director of KVPT.

The resident priest, SatyotaraBajracharya, 86, will perform theritual and he reluctantly agreesthat the restored façade is betterbut is none too pleased abouthaving lost the marble awningthat sheltered the god, priest anddevotees from the heat and rain.

There were other elements ofthe Kal Bhairab that needed to berestored, like the toran over thegod’s head. Historians dug upphotographs from 1910 to seehow it looked and have broughtit back. With support from theUS Ambassador’s Fund forCultural Preservation, NepalInvestment Bank, the SoalteeGroup and other donors, KVPTwas able to finish the restorationin one year.

“It was a lot more work thanwe thought. We had assumedthat the original stone would bereusable but it wasn’t and therewere many things that had to beworked on from scratch,” says

Raju Roka of KVPT.The project has employed

craftsmen from Patan to work onthe designs and architecture. “Weare lucky to still have craftsmenwho have the skills and canreplicate them,” says Rana, “KVPT

is serving as a training groundfor apprenticeship. Once wehand over the restoredmonuments, they will continueto exist for as many centuries ifpeople don’t tamper with them.”

Most locals who live aroundthe square are happy with theproject and often stopped by toworship Kal Bhairab even whilethe restoration was going on.They believe the deity can heal

Restoring the god of The shrine of Kal Bhairab at Kathmandu Darbar Square

Trust in preservationOver the last 13 years, Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust(KVPT) has restored more than 25 significant monuments such asthe Patan Darbar, Chobar Ganesh, Keshar Mahal’s Garden ofDreams, Baber Mahal Revisited and Yetkha Bahal. With the purposeof safeguarding threatened architectural heritage sites in the Valley, ithas initiated projects that rescue historical buildings that mightotherwise be lost to modernisation and increasing urbanencroachment. KVPT has also started repair and restorationoperations with training and research programs for its Nepali team.The Trust is based in the United States, but its office in Patan hasbecome a training centre and clearinghouse for information abouthistoric preservation in Nepal. Most notably, it has rallied Nepalibusinesses and individuals to contribute to preservation of ourancient monuments.www.kvptnepal.orginfo@kvptnepal.org

ABHA ELI PHOBOO

(L-R) Arresting Kal Bhairab in 1910, 2003 and 2005.

show, “as much as the nonsensicaleditorials and news published in thepapers afterward. I was in New York on 1February. The initial sense of shock gaveway to tears of anger and frustration whenall connection with home was cut off.Nothing has pained me as much as the painI felt then.”

Suffocating in America where she wason a Fulbright scholarship, Ashmina wasunable to concentrate. She needed toexpress her alienation and that was howTamas: The Darkness came about. “Freedomof expression is so important,” she adds, “Ineeded to take that pain and use it to freemyself from it. Using the essay on the cowseemed only too obvious because it is theparadox within which our understandingof the east and west is strung, finelybalanced.”

Her conviction grew stronger asdifferences in viewpoints raged when shetalked to Nepalis in America or Americanswho knew Nepal. By the end of April, shehad staged the play at New SchoolUniversity and Bard University. Bringing ithome achieved her next objective—to letdarkness merge with itself. She plans toperform it once again in a public space. Abha Eli Phoboo

ashmina@gmail.com

A

KIRAN PANDAY

W

111 - 7 JULY 2005 #254

n classical languages, every word has a melodyof its own. Pronounced correctly, each word of aSanskrit stanza stimulates a different point of

human emotion. Sloks have to be repeated in aprescribed manner to reawaken the soul. This isn’tjust new age mumbo jumbo, listen in solitude to thechants of Buddhist monks, Hindu priests or eventhe Gregorian brothers. The vibrations of a chantedmantra are designed to resonate with one’s soul,and transport the listener into a trance-like state.

If visiting a monastery or a temple is anindulgence that you can’t fit into your busyschedule, do yourself a favour–go get an AniChoying CD. This singing nun has the power tomake an atheist believe in god. Nothing explainsthe moving melody of Ani’s songs more than herown admission that singing is a form of prayer.

A day after Ani released her new album Smileat an exclusive gathering at Soaltee Crowne Plaza,she sang at a charity concert in Pragya Bhaban on25 June to an enthusiastic audience. The concertwas labelled ‘Smile with Ani Choying’ and theperformance lived up to its promise.

Ani’s hymns and chants are not as well knownto the Nepali audience as her hit Phool ko ankhama phoolai sansara from her first popular album

Moments of Bliss. The compositions in Smile havethe same team as Moments of Bliss—lyrics byDurga Lal Shrestha and music by NhyooBajracharya. True to his self, poet Durga Lal hasstuck to his choice of purer words rather than pickup colloquial terms common to popular Nepalisongs. Ani has succeeded in giving depth to wordsof Sanskrit and Persian origin by her cultureddiction.

Bajracharya makes his own musical strengthshine by limiting the use of percussion. With windand string musical instruments, primarily flute andguitar, as her accompaniment, Ani lets words waftacross the ether and envelop you like a balm.

Smile has 10 songs, the last one a newrendition of Phool ko ankha ma. Each song iscapable of soothing frayed nerves but Muskanmakes your worries dissolve completely. Momentsof Bliss and Smile assist in reflection,contemplation or pure relaxation. These songsaren’t for people who need decibels as they run.Ani’s voice and each of her words need to besavoured so they soothe. CK Lal

Moments of Bliss Rs 250, Smile Rs 250 at music stores.

Awakening with Ani Choying

aches in their joints if they applyoil to the exact joint on the KalBhairab figure. The ungainlypolice station opposite the shrinewas apparently located therebecause criminals would morewillingly confess to their crimesif they swore by Kal Bhairab.

“That is the beauty of our

temples,” says Rana, “they aremore than just a part of history,they are still alive.”

KVPT used to concentratemost of its restoration work inPatan till 1999 and is nowmoving some its activities toKathmandu. It is working onrestoring all the other temples inthe Darbar Square.

destruction gets back its old look

IKIRAN PANDAY

12 1 - 7 JULY 2005 #254INTERNATIONAL

Sagacity is what Nepalis also need today from their rulersLTTE, JVP and the Maoists

SOUTHASIA BEATKanak Mani Dixit

he rise, fall and conversionof the Janatha VimukthiPeramuna (JVP) Sri Lanka’s

Marxist radicals of the 1970s and1980s turned Buddhist-nationalist parliamentarians hasparallels with Nepal’s Maoists.

The JVP, too, was into a classwar but unlike the Maobadi,preferred not to fight in the bush.They had some active supportamong the Lankan urban elite butNepal’s rebels are mostly a ruralphenomenon having more incommon with the insurgencies inBihar, Jharkhand and Andhra.

The state’s response to the JVPwas to crush it with the samebrutality shown by the rebelsthemselves, killing five of theirsenior-most leaders includingRohana Wijeweera. Thenationalism and anti-Indianismof the JVP is akin to thechauvinism of Nepal’s Maoists,which ironically take after thenationalism created by KingMahendra to buttress hisautocratic Panchayat system.

However, the separatist Tamilwar in Sri Lanka is quite differentfrom our insurgency. The onlypointers Nepal may take is fromthe ceasefire and rapprochementthat is underway there. (See also,Editorial, ‘From warfare towelfare’, #253)

In Sri Lanka, the LiberationTigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ledan identity-led war, which makestheir battle that much moreheartfelt, longlasting and angry.This is why you had suicidebombers in Sri Lanka but not (yet)in Nepal. The Maoists, thoughthey have tried to exploit ethnic

discontent, propose a class war.The LTTE has total command ofthe area that it would like toliberate and are a kind of externalenemy that a national army isgroomed to battle.

In Nepal, the Maoists havethe run of the countrysidebecause they are filling a vacuumevacuated by the government.But they do not control any partof the country in the sense thatthey can prevent the statesecurity apparatus from entering.All 75 district headquartersremain under governmentcontrol and the Maoists at bestare able to attack during the nightand torch some buildings andcreate some mayhem before theyevacuate.

The LTTE wants just a part ofSri Lanka, but the Maoists, intheory, want the whole of Nepal.Even though the Maoists haveseen rapid spread in the ruralhinterland, the fact is that theMaoists do not have the abilityto combat the Royal Nepali Armyin conventional warfare, whichshould give pause to thoseKathmandu-based ambassadorswho panic at the prospect of aMaoist takeover of KathmanduValley and the state. This is viewof Maobadi takeover is one theKathmandu regime would like topropagate, and the Maoistswould welcome such anexaggerated view of theircapabilities.

Even in the worst days of thecivil war in Sri Lanka, the armywas very much under the controlof the parliamentary system,whether the prime minister orlately the executive president. InNepal, while the 1990Constitution places the armywithin civilian control thereality is that the royal palace

and the king as ‘supremecommander-in-chief’ call theshots. The complete capture ofstate power by the palace on 1February was carried out with thehelp of the military, which wasalready deployed throughout tobattle the Maoists.

Today, as a matter of course,military officers have become defacto administrators, with thecivilian and policeadministration deferring to them.This, unlike in Sri Lanka, takesthe country in the direction ofarmy-ruled Pakistan, a trendwhich worries those who hadhoped to see the RNA evolve intoa professional fighting force.

The full economic cost of theSri Lankan civil war, includingmilitary expenditure, damage ofphysical assets, tourism andcommercial losses, andexpenditure on displacedpersons, is estimated at $4.7billion. The total including thecost of foregone economicpossibilities comes to $14 billion.No comparative count is availablefor Nepal’s nearly ten years ofinsurgency, and when we finallyhave the tabulated figure it willno doubt be horrendous. And nokind of methodology couldtabulate the cumulative pain ofthe rural populace over the years.

Even in the worst days of theLankan civil war, the democraticstate held ground. Today,Executive President ChandrikaKumaratunga, opposition leaderRanil Wickremasinghe, and evenPrabhakaran of the LTTE, aredisplaying forbearance andsagacity. Which is why theceasefire holds even though thepeace process is stuck. Sagacity iswhat the Nepali people also needfrom those who would rule overthem.

Jaffna 1998 Kathmandu 2002

T

Visitwww.nepalitimes.com//archive.htm and vote

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from the last fiveyears. Articles that getthe most votes will befeatured in our fifthanniversary specialissue on 29 July.

Big 5

MIN BAJRACHARYA

131 - 7 JULY 2005 #254SPORTS

TEE BREAKDeepak Acharya

So often we know our mistakes yet just can’t seem to correct them.Ever wondered why? It’s great fun hitting hundreds of balls on thepractice range. How much it helps your golf is something else alltogether. It all depends on if you are practicing the right swing.

If you’ve been faithfully following this column, by now you wouldhave appreciated and accepted the importance of shoulder and hipturn in generating the power needed to hit further. Once you ingrainthe swing’s rhythm and the muscle’s memory of motion, it is verydifficult to change incorrect movements and the feel of the swing

plane. The only way to remedythis is to use drills that breakdown bad old habits and re-teachthe muscles. It is at these timesthat it can be more useful to

practice free hand without actually hitting a ball.The following drillscan help produce good results.

Drill 1 (turn)a) Assume your set-up position, feet shoulder-width apart as for anine iron and your spine tilted, as you would address the ball. Rest aclub horizontally against the upper part of your chest, parallel to yourshoulders. From here, rotate your shoulders 90 degrees away fromyour target.b) As you turn, your weight will shift to your right leg. You should feelsome pulling in your left hip as you do this. Your weight shouldremain on the inside of your right foot. If you feel your weight on theoutside of that foot, it means you have swayed instead of turned.c) Now begin to turn towards the target leading with your hips andlegs. Your shoulders will follow in the same rotational manner.d) Always finish with your weight on your left leg with your beltbuckle and the centre of your chest facing the target. You must useyour upper and lower torso to generate speed and power!

Another great powersource is using theangles you createbetween your body andyour golf club,otherwise known asleverage. You mustmake a good extensionas you turn by ‘pushing’the club back with yourleft side. Many peoplemake the mistake ofpicking the club up, in

this there is no extension. By making a good extension you will beable to generate power as you swing through the ball and see greaterdistances with each club.

Drill 2 (leverage)a) Assume your set-up position. Begin by ‘pushing’ the club backwith your left side as opposed to pulling it back with your right. Makea quarter swing with your arms fully extended. The shaft should beparallel to the ground and the toe of the club-head pointing straight upto the sky.b) Continue your backswing by extending your left arm as you hingeyour wrists. Do not lock your left elbow or you will not be able toswing through the ball. Your right arm will fold naturally so the rightelbow points to the ground.c) Now that you are ‘wound up’, pull down as if you are pulling achain from the sky. Release at the ball and keep swinging your armsout to the target, finishing with arms over your left shoulder, your beltbuckle and the centre of your chest facing the target.

Practice ‘the turn’ and ‘using leverage’ separately, then put themtogether. Remember you don’t have to hit balls to practice thesemoves. Practicing in front of a mirror always helps.

TG Shrestha has one of the most powerful amateur golf swings inNepal, often hitting his drives over 300 yards. He used this to hisadvantage last weekend winning himself the magnificent GokarnaOpen trophy and a Star Cruise Holiday for two to Singapore. Finally,not forgetting last Friday’s promise, TG Shrestha chose aninteresting mix of golf balls to compliment his strengths—Titliest ProV 1x on short holes, Srixon on par fours and Pinnacle on parfives.

Deepak Acharya is a golf instructor and Golf Director atGokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa, Kathmandu.

prodeepak@hotmail.com

Hit and turnPower play and leverage can drill many holes

hat Nepali basketballplayers lack in the heightdepartment, they more

than make up for on the agilityfront.

That is the impressionspectators get watching theprelims of the 2 nd Fr WatrinBasketball Championship at theGodavari Alumni Association(GAA). Basketball is gainingpopularity in schools and manyof the players at the GAA indoorcourt appear to have honed theirball-passing skills, displayingwell-placed lay-ups and long-distance dunks.

As the prelims of theChampionship draws to an end,the excitement is mounting. Thecurrent champions Gyan Clubwere unable to compete this yearbecause most of the team arenational level players nowtraining in India. HimalayanWhitehouse, runners-up lastyear, are therefore having a fieldday. This tournament is namedafter American Jesuit Fr EugeneWatrin who died last year, he wasan avid sportsperson and workedwith GAA for 30 years.

The tournament, which

started on 25 June has 16participating teams—up from 12last year. The league matchescontinue till 2 July withquarterfinals scheduled 4-5 July,semi-finals on 7 July and thefinals on 9 July.As the leaguematches progressed, EverestSouthsiders from Pool A, RIBS andKAB4 from Pool B, HimalayanWhitehouse and Galaxian fromPool C and Kathmandudes andIdeal Model from Pool D emergedas frontrunners with the highestscoring team in the tournament sofar being RIBS – 122 points. Teamswith players from schools likeLincoln were doing a lot betterthan the others. In fact, it seemsthat a lot of the teams preferredhaving players from internationalschools, not just for their addedheight advantage (which isn’talways the case, it must be said)but because they seemed to be morededicated and experienced players.

Says head of GAA’s StudentOrganising Committee, AnkitRimal, “There is a lot ofdependency on players ofinternational origin or schools andthey also seem to have a lot moreteamwork.” Everest Southsiders

have one player from aninternational school while RIBSand Kathmandudes have quite afew. Says Niraj Singh HimalayanWhitehouse skipper, who has noplayers from internationalschools, “Having players frominternational schools can be bothan advantage and adisadvantage—you get to learnnew techniques and theirstandards are high but theydominate the game and otherplayers barely get to play.”

Lincolnite, Rishi Robertson,highest scorer so far with 43points says, “We had bettercoaches in school and wereregular with our practice. This iswhy our fundamentals are betterdeveloped, other playersnormally start playing basketballas recreation and never reallywork on their technique.”

The heat is on and as the endof the league draws near, theplayers seem pretty confident ofthemselves. Says Singh ofWhitehouse, “Reaching the finalsdepends on other teams as wellbut we definitely have a place inthe semifinals.” Aarti Basnyat

Slam dunk at GAAW

KIRAN PANDAY

14 1 - 7 JULY 2005 #254CITY

ABOUT TOWN

KATHMANDU AIR QUALITY

KATHMANDU VALLEY

by MAUSAM BEEDNEPALI WEATHER

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue

29-20 28-20 27-19 27-18 29-21

With the initial big bang of themonsoon, there is a certain slaggingoff. Rice farmers are still waiting forthe saturation downpours they needfor the paddy terraces to be readyfor planting. But they don’t have longto wait. The monsoon is getting itssecond wind, as it were, thisweekend with a huge low pressurecirculation over Orissa and WestBengal (seen in this satellite picturetaken on Thursday morning) that willdrench the Nepali mid hills as well.With the support from thismonsoonal trough Nepal will beovercast into next week with mostof the rain falling at night.

Air quality in Kathmandu Valley improved significantly last week, thanks to therefreshing rains and Lord Machendranath. Even along the busy streets of PutaliSadak and Patan Hospital, the concentration of PM10 particles that are smallenough to enter the human body, were within national standards on Tuesday andWednesday. Even in Thamel the PM10 level was well within the national standardsix out of seven days. Pray for more rains to come pouring down so we can finallybreathe easy.

FESTIVAL AND EXHIBITIONSPaintings in my eyes by Sagar Manandhar at Buddha Gallery, Thamel,until 7 July. 4441689Light and Life Photos by Kishor Kayastha, until 9 July at Lajimpat GalleryCafé. 4428549Raku Pottery by Gopal Kalapremi for sale at Lajimpat Gallery Shop, Rs2,000-Rs 3,000. 4428549Mysterious and Inexplicable Phenomena of Lightballs Photos byHirokazu Kobayashi at Siddhartha Art Gallery, until 8 July. 4218048Quien Sabe Paintings by Max Miller at The Art Shop, Darbar Marg, until15 July. 4267063

EVENTSDear Liar ASMAN’s Supper theatre starring Naseeruddin Shah and RatnaPathak Shah, 1-2 July at Soaltee Crowne Plaza. 9851023958Yoga and Didgeridoo Healing Weekend 1-3 July at Wild Earth, TangalDarbar. 4436040 or info@wildearthnepal.comTwo-day Dharma Talk by Ivy ver Eer 2-3 July, 10AM-4PM at HBMC,Thamel. 44148437 July King Gyanendra’s birthday.Photography WorkshopSeven days with Nepal’sexperts, 21 July at TheBakery Cafe, Sundhara, 7AM-9AM. 4289818, ,www.photoconcern.comCall for entries Film SouthAsia ’05, submission deadline31 July.Intercultural ExchangeProgram Every Wednesdayat Goethe Zentrum,Thapathali, 4.15 PM. 4250871Tai Chi Demonstration andgroup meditation at Swayambhu. 42566181905 Sundays Garage sale, pet practices and more. 4215068Fun in the Sun at Club Sundhara, Hotel Shangri-la. 4412999Art workshop for kids at Buddha Gallery. 4441689Rugby Practice Saturdays. 4435939, citygymktm@hotmail.comSanibar Mela Saturdays at Bakery Café, Dharara, 2PM and Chuchepati,Boudha, 3PM.

MUSICJCS Trio Saturdays, 8PM at 1905, Kantipath, free entrance.Live The Duo at the Jazz Bar, Hotel Shangrila, Lajimpat.The Good Time Blues Band at Rum Doodle, Thamel, 7PM. 4701208Ladies Nights Wednesdays at Jatra, Thamel, with live acoustic music,one free drink. 4256622Fusion Time Mondays at Jalan Jalan Restaurant, Lajimpat, 7PM. 4410438Live Music Everyday at Hotel de l’Annapurna, Darbar Marg. 4221711Jukebox experience Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at Rox Bar.4491234Jazz at Upstairs Jazz Bar, Lajimpat, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 7.45 PM.

FOODGreat Dining Experiences with exclusive menus at Hotel Yak and Yeti.4248999Mango Masti Tempting tropical treats at Soaltee Crowne Plaza. 4273999Daily Delite Lunch at Shambala Garden Café, Hotel Shangri-La, Lajimpat,Rs 399 on weekdays, Rs 499 on weekends. 4412999Crosskitchen European and Indian cuisine at Lajimpat. 9851083806Boire and Manger at Vineyard, Baber Mahal Revisited.Bawarchi The Restro Bar for Nawabi cuisine at Lajimpat. 4436673BBQ Lunch at Le Meridien, Gokarna Forest Golf Resort. 4445550Barbeque lunch Saturdays at Club Himalaya, Nagarkot. 6680080Special Combo Burmese and Thai Menu at 1905, Kantipath.Momo Revolution Saturdays at the Tea House Inn, Nagarkot. 6680048Arniko Special Lunch Everyday at Hotel de l’Annapurna, Darbar Marg.4221711Krishnarpan Nepali specialty restaurant at Dwarika’s Hotel. 4479488Barbecue Dinner Every Friday at the Summit Hotel. 5521810Exotic Seafood at Rox Restaurant, Hyatt Regency. 4491234Delicacies Pastas and snacks at Roadhouse Café, Jawalakhel. 5521755Earth Watch Restaurant at Park Village, dine with nature. 4375280Café Bahal Newari cuisine at Kathmandu Guest House, Thamel. 4700632The Beer Garden at Vaijayantha, Godavari Village Resort. 5560675The Tharu Kitchen at Jungle Base Camp. Junglebasecamp@yahoo.com

GETAWAYSIndependence Day Weekend rates from 3-8 July at Hotel Yak and Yeti.4248999Overnight Stay Breakfast and swimming for Rs 999 per person atGodavari Village Resort. 5560675, 5560775Malaysia Dream Holidays Special offers. 2012345,malaysiaholidays_marco@polo.com.npStar Cruises Available in Nepal. 2012345,starcruises_marco@polo.com.npFun Free Stay one night get one Night at Shangri-la Village, Pokhara.4435742Jungle Base Camp Lodge, Bardia, special package and prices.junglebasecamp@yahoo.comShivapuri Heights Cottage Best time to be in Shivapuri.steve@escape2nepal.com

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John and Jane Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) are an ordinarysuburban couple with an ordinary, lifeless suburban marriage.But each is hiding something the other would kill to know—Mr and Mrs Smith are actually highly paid, incredibly efficientassassins—and they work for competing organisations. Mr andMrs Smith both discover a new source of excitement in theirmarriage when they are hired to assassinate each other—andthat’s when the real fun starts. The result is a total action spectacleas Mr and Mrs Smith put their formidable skills to work and theirmarriage to the ultimate test.

Hazardous >425

Harmful 351 to 425

Unhealthy 121 to 350

O k 61 to 120

G o o d < 60

Putalisadak Patan H Thamel Kirtipur Bhaktapur Matsyagaun

19-26 June 2005 in micrograms per cubic meter.Source: www.mope.gov.np

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151 - 7 JULY 2005 #254

CHECK UP: An Armed Police Force contingent escorting NC centralcommittee member Narhari Acharya for treatment at HAMS on Monday.

NEPALNEWS.COM

KIRAN PANDAY

HEALTHY DANCING: The Panchabuddha dance at Chaksibari during ahealing session on Tuesday. Novelist Diamond Shamsher Rana and KPBhattarai witnessed the event.

DO NOT DISTURB: US Assistant Secretary of State for South AsianAffairs Donald Camp and US Ambassador James Moriarty, at a pressconference at the American Library in Kathmandu on Tuesday in whichCamp said the US would “find unacceptable a return to pre-1990Nepal”.

I

SCRUMMING IN KATHMANDU: A friendly rugby match between CityGym family and the British Gurkhas at the American Club (PhohraDarbar) on Saturday.

KIRAN PANDAY

BIG SKY: Dharara stands tall against a stunningly azure sky during abreak in the monsoon on Tuesday afternoon.

KIRAN PANDAY

t’s difficult to figure out whyNareko Sekuwa Ghar is such apopular eatery in Biratnagar.

The two-storey restaurant wouldfail just about every hygieneinspection, it has dozens ofcubicles for private dining thatgive it a slightly uncouth look andthe ambience is not what you maycall haute cuisine.

Still, it is difficult to find atable because Nareko is aserious eating place with no frills,and there is a carnivorouscarnival here every evening.Located just off Mahendra Chokon College Road Nareko’sclientele is all of Biratnagar’smovers and shakers– civilservants, businessmen, youngmen and women from Dharanenjoying a night out, a couple offemale Japanese volunteers andeven a group of boisterous Indianshopkeepers from across theborder.

So, what is it that brings themhere? The news has spreadliterally through word of mouththat Nareko serves the mostmouth-watering barbecues,sekuwas and goat roast east ofNijgad. They believe in keepingthings simple here: no rice, notarkari, no desserts and otherdistractions. Just goat, goat and

more goat. Goat innards fried,grilled goat, goat braised, goatboiled, goat liver fried, coagu-lated goat blood, goat brains, goattripe, goat momos.

Nareko is not for the faint-hearted, yet we are surprised tohear that quite a few of the clientsare vegetarian. Maybe the sight ofso much meat got their goat. As amajor concession to leaf eaters,management recently decided tointroduce a potato dish.

“It’s hard work feeding 400people every day but service isquick and we have rapid turna-

round,” explains Shyam BahadurGautam (pictured), whose fatherNare started the sekuwa shop 35years ago when he migrated herefrom Kabhre.

Shyam employs 15 people, andthe restaurant is open from 2-9PM.On an average day three goats aremartyred, four on weekends. Noother animals are served. If youwant to decisively turn vegetarian,Nareko is a place to start. But ifyou just want to be made into ascapegoat, this is the place foryou. Kunda Dixit

Carnivorous carnival

MIN BAJRACHARYA

KUNDA DIXIT

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

1 - 7 JULY 2005 #25416

UNDER MY HATKunda Dixit

T he first of July will mark five months sincethat fateful winter morning in Februarywhen suddenly without warning, like a bolt

out of the blue, we were told of the happy newsthat Nepal and North Korea would not try tooutdo each other and sign a non-aggression pact.

Ever since, things in Nepal suddenly startedtaking a dramatic turn for the better. And theyhaven’t stopped getting any better. Every day andin every way, things are getting better and betterand we can say with confidence that everything is

so vastlyimprovedand we havereached such

a pinnacle of progress that things just can’t getany better anymore. In fact, from here on, it isgoing to be downhill all the way.

Still, we have naysaying nabobs in the mediawho only see things taking a turn for the worseeven though there is ample evidence to thecontrary all around them. All they to do is lookunder every nook and behind every cranny andthe place is absolutely crawling with signs ofpositive change since February First. But themedia ignores them because Good News Doesn’tSell. So, in the interest of the public’s right toknow and feel happy, we are duty bound topublish the following bits of inspirational newsfrom the Uprising Nepal:

Five potholes patched in JawalakhelFive meteorite impact craters in Ekantakuna thathad been bedeviling motorists and pedestriansalike since the reign of King Pratap Malla andwere totally ignored by successive democraticgovernments after 1990 were filled in this week.

In a dramatic illustration of the can-doattitude of the post-February order, the potholeswere all turned into speed breakers overnight.Three of them immediately reverted into large

Things are a lot better: govtcavities again with the onset of monsoon, but hey,look at the bright side: five minus three is twoand that still leaves us with two fewer potholesin Patan.

The pessimists will, of course, point out thatthere are other 3.2 million potholes just in thePatan area, but the municipality is on the righttrack after it decided to kill two birds with onestone and turn potholes into landfill sites forgarbage.

Tourists to pay to enter PokharaEncouraged by a three-fold increase in touristarrivals this month after 12 Japanese werehoodwinked into visiting Nepal, Pokharamunicipality has decided to cash in on the boomby announcing that it will charge all 12 of them afee to enter the city.

The new fee will be in addition to the Visa-on-Arrival Fee, Tourist Tax, Domestic Airport Tax,Highway Toll, Phewa Cleanup Levy, Davis FallsExcise, Prithbi Highway Octroi, CustomsBaksheesh, ACAP Tax, Compulsory TrekkingExtortion and TIA Departure Fee.

“Bhaktapur did it, Patan did it, there is noreason why we can’t do it,” said an official, “atthis rate, it won’t matter if there are fewer touristsbecause the ones who come will be forced tospend everything they have.”

Government thinking about water supplyThe government says it is not true that it hasignored the severe water crisis in Kathmandu andis giving it some serious thought.

“We’re thinking about it all the time,” said thespokesman for the Ministry of Hot Air andObfuscation, “in fact there isn’t a moment thatgoes by when we are not thinking about it. Butthank god the monsoon got here in the nick oftime, now we can think about other things untilnext year.”