#40 27 April - 3 May 2001 20 pages Rs 20

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So you want to adopt a Nepali baby? 4-5

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PRASHANT ARYALThe dusty bronze Yeti in front of the Royal Nepal Airlines building wears arather dejected look these days. Paint is peeling off what used to be thesmartest building on the corner of New Road, the insides are rundown,and the lackadaisical and grumpy faces in the corridors say it all: one ofNepal’s most successful and potentially most profitable companies is onthe verge of bankruptcy.

Royal Nepal is in a tailspin not because the business isn’t viableanymore, but because post-democracy politicians have gnawed it to itsbones. This is all that is left:

Unpaid loans and overdrafts adding up to nearly Rs 3 billion.A mortgaged fleet of Twin Otters flying on spares cannibalised fromgrounded aircraft.

Stall warning at Royal Nepal AirlinesTwo Boeing 757s,one of which hasbeen grounded fortwo monthsbecause the airlinecan’t pay for itsengine overhaul.Also mortgaged.Two leased aircraft(a 767 from LaudaAir and a 757 from China Southwest) areflying nearly empty.Land and building, which banks will acquire if airline doesn’t pay up.

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BINOD BHATTARAIepal’s elected civilians, the military andthe monarchy are tangled in atriangular tussle over who controls the

Royal Nepal Army (RNA). Matters have cometo a head because an indecisive and fractiousgovernment cornered by a virulent insurgencyhas appealed to the monarch to use the armyof which he is supreme commander. Theconstitution leaves the question of whocontrols the army deliberately fuzzy: the king isthe supreme commander but the army issupposed to obey orders from the NationalSecurity Council (NSC).

The RNA has not fought a war on Nepalisoil since the Anglo-British conflict of 1816,and the last time it tasted action was when itsuccessfully crushed a band of anti-ChineseKhampa guerrillas after hot pursuit in westernNepal in the mid-1970s. The army is clearlyreluctant to get into a guerrilla war without aclear chain of command, rules of engagementand realistic goals.

Behind all this is the larger polarisation ofthose who support parliamentary democracy,and those who feel the country is in a mess andthe time has come to restore strongman rule.This is how this latest round unfolded:2-7 April: The Maoists massacre 70policemen in several districts. The police chiefsays he can’t fight them on his own anymore.9 April: Koirala rallies his party and garnerssupport for mobilising “all” security forces totackle the Maoists. The NSC holds a series ofmeetings to assess the situation.11 April: King Birendra holds court with agroup of ministers, secretaries, the army andpolice chiefs and discusses the pros and cons ofthe government’s plan to use the army.12 April: King Birendra likes the plan topartially deploy the Army to deliver a hearts-and-minds programme in the seven districts hithardest by the insurgency. Ordinances forregional administrators and a paramilitary forceare re-promulgated.20 April: Commander-in-chief Prajwalla Ranamakes a controversial speech in Tokha sayingthe army will be involved only if there is unityamong political parties. The government is

rattled, the main oppositionUML says it doesn’t like thehearts-and-minds plan.

So this is where we stand: amilitary beholden to themonarchy is not listening toan elected government totackle an insurgency thatseeks to toppleparliamentary democracy.The government’s plan isfashioned after the USArmy’s Vietnam eracounter-insurgency strategyknown by its acronymIDAD—here it is called theIntegrated Security andDevelopment Plan (ISDP).Prime Minister Girija Koiralahas been trying to get theISDP up and running sinceDecember, and got the backingof the king only after the laststrikes by the Maoists. The Rs 400million plan would build roads,carry out development work inMaoist areas, and be protected by a10,000-strong Army deploymentheadquartered in Surkhet.

It took a long meeting on 11April at the Royal Palace ofministers, government officials and securitychiefs to convince King Birendra that theISDP was the most desirable plan. Accordingto some officials present, the king listenedattentively to the briefing, and had some toughquestions on the “total picture” before givingthe plan his official nod. A top governmentsource explained: “The basic idea is to use thearmy to defend positions and create space forgovernment, political parties and NGOs to goback and work to win back the people with

serious development work.”The army has already begun planning

deployment in six mid-western districts andGorkha, even as the skirmishes continue inKathmandu’s corridors of power. Meanwhile,the army’s top brass has been downplaying theC-in-C’s Tokha speech, calling it “mediaexaggeration” and “political over-reaction”.One senior army official told us: “All we weretrying to say was that we have to be clearabout the chain of command, we have to be

sure the people are on our side.Because bringing the army out of

the barracks is a last resort, itcannot fail.”

But the earlycontroversy does notbode well for the ISDP.The question of whois giving orders hasnot been sorted outto the army’s liking,and the oppositionUML and a coalitionof left parties has

declined to evendiscuss the ISDP . “The

Maoist problem is mainly apolitical one and maximumefforts should be made toresolve it through dialogue.The Maoists have also saidthey will come to talks, butdon’t trust the prime minister.He has failed to win the trust ofanyone,” says Madhav Nepal,UML general secretary.

The ISDP is said to detail aweek-by-week plan of action onhow the process should move.It is headed by the primeminister and has sub-

committees for political work (headed by thedeputy prime minister), security (with thearmy chief), development (the NationalPlanning Commission),and public information(the minister forcommunication).

This week, Maoistlocal commanders held open meetings inSindhupalchok’s Mankha Village, a three hourdrive east of Kathmandu, and said they wereready to take on the army if need be.Maoist leader Prachanda also told theweekly, Janadesh: “In our opinion, armymobilisation will be proof of the newheights the People’s War has reached. Itwill also practically end the political role ofthe parliament and parliamentary groups inthis country.”

Meanwhile, the army has also beenpreparing its scenarios, sprucing up its twobattalions trained in jungle warfare, andupgrading weaponry. Military sources toldus that the Maoists’ strengths and strategiesare being studied, and the army has drawnup a plan to locate hideouts and camps.Said the source: “We will not call them‘enemy’, they are Nepalis and the idea willbe to put pressure on them to give up armsand come to the negotiating table.”

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A military beholden to the monarchy isnot listening to an elected governmentto tackle an insurgency that seeks totopple parliamentary democracy.

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Editorial p2C-in-Cspeech p15

More gunsThe Royal Nepal Army is in the

market for 50,000 new assaultrifles for its troops over the

next five years. Thedeal is worth $10

million and severalmanufacturers havebeen here fordemos. Sourcessay the top brass isleaning towardsthe G36 made by

German company,Heckler & Koch. The G-36s are highlysophisticated andcome with built-in

telescopic sights, but are untested inNepali terrain and climes. Thecompetition includes US-made M16s,which the army uses on peacekeepingduties abroad, Israel’s Galils andBelgian, Korean, Indian andSingaporean makes. Last year, H&K(also owned by British Ordinance) wona Rs370 million army contract to setup a weapons repair and maintenancecentre in Nepal, and this supposedlymakes the Germans front runners.

Another awardDwarika’s Hotel has bagged yetanother prestigious heritage award inrecognition of its unique culturalconservation efforts. The IndianNational Trust for Art and CulturalHeritage (INTACH) and the SouthAsian Travel and Tourism Exchange(SATHE) presented the award toAmbica Shrestha of Dwarika’s in NewDelhi this week. In 1980 Dwarika’s hadbagged the first ever PATA HeritageAward.

G-36

THE MEDIUM IS THEMASSAGE 10 -11THE MEDIUM IS THEMASSAGE 10 -11

Nepali Times is published by Himalmedia Pvt LtdSanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, Pulchowk, LalitpurMailing address: GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, NepalPhones: (01) 543333-7 Fax: (01) 521013Editor: Kunda DixitDesk editors: Deepak Thapa, Samuel Thomas, Anagha NeelakantanEditorial: editors@nepalitimes.comMarketing, circulation and subscriptions: marketing@nepalitimes.comwww.nepalitimes.com Printed at Jagadamba Press (01) 521393

22222 EDITORIAL 27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

STATE OF THE STATE by CK LAL

The unbearablesadness of being

as dynamite gets along with fire. Throughhis Atmabrittanta, BP succeeds exceedingly wellin giving a glimpse of how the fire of ambitionin King Mahendra courted the dynamite ofconfidence in BP. The ensuing explosion setoff an inferno that smoulders to this day in theashes of dictatorship and democracy. KingMahendra read poetry and played piano forBP, but had no compunctions inincarcerating him two days after showeringhim with expensive gifts. The palace is likefire: it seems to be a dangerous friend, and adevastating enemy. Prime ministers playwith it at their own peril. Girija PrasadKoirala, please take note.

Then there is India—that all-presentreality in Nepali politics. ReadingAtmabrtitanta, you realise why BP could neverbefriend the all-powerful Indian bureaucracy.While Indian officials, including theirambassadors in Kathmandu, expected to betreated like latter-day viceroys, BP accordedthem no more courtesy than his friend RamManohar Lohia would render a babu inBanaras. This infuriated the self-appointedguardians of democracy at Lainchaur no end,and they decided to ditch the Nepali Congressand hitch the wagons of India’s strategicinterest to the powerful engine of the royalpalace. Introducing Atmabrittanta to Englishreaders would be incomplete withoutmentioning the excellent translation by KanakMani Dixit. The prose flows with the easyfluidity of BP’s original spoken Nepalitranscription.

The third booktakes us back twomillennia to theKiratas andLichchhavis wholaid the foundationsof an urbancivilisation thatflowered as Newarculture duringKathmandu Valley’sMalla period. This book has grown out ofSudarshan Raj Tiwari’s doctoraldissertation, but (at least the first half)almost reads like a historical novel.Apparently Tiwari does not suffer from thewidely prevalent fallacy among Nepalischolars that intelligiblity is damaging forthe reputation of academics.

Tiwari’s thesis reminds you of whatLewis Mumford, an American planner andsocial commentator, once suggested: thatthe history of civilisation could be writtenin terms of the kinds of containers thatgiven cultures created for themselves—containers for the storage of grain, water, orwine, for the channelling of irrigationwater or the control of floods, for thecartage and movement of goods andpeople, for the containment and shelterof kings and prelates, soldiers andservants, tradesmen and artisans.

One wonders what Dr Babu RamBhattarai, the ideologue of the Nepali Maoistswould have to say about this book written byhis former friend and fellow-architect, plannerand teacher. Suffering from edifice complex inthe grand tradition of most Nepalis inpositions of power, the Maoists too erect gatesin honour of their dead comrades.

After that torturous journey over themillennia through three volumes, therealisation suddenly dawns that convulsions ofhistory can’t be wished away. Agony is aninevitable part of being, pain an inextricablestage in the process of becoming. One way toreduce the torment is to engage in creativepursuits. Read. It may help save your sanity inthese uncertain times.

he head is heavy. The eyes sting andwater. There is a lump in the throat. Theheart thuds. Muscles ache. Even nature

reflects the deep despair inside. The dismaldryness and power cuts bring on a yearning forrain to wash the gloom. It has been threeweeks, but the smoke from the funeral pyresof Rukumkot and Naumule still hangs thickover our conscience.

I had long forgotten the name of theJapanese film, or the context of the snippetthat suddenly resonated in a flashback:“When swords are shining and bullets are

flying, the need is evenmore to read, in orderto save the seed.” Theonly way to revitalisethe blood-soakedearth is to seed it withfaith, hope and effort.The source of all thatenergy lies in books.

Domestic Conflictand Crisis ofGovernability in Nepal

should help make sense of our present stateof ungovernance. In separate chapters, thebook delves into what ails our democracy,the shortcomings of our politicalinstitutions, and the fatal flaws of our elite.The book then peers at extant and possibleconflicts: insurgency, ethnicity, minoritypolitics, economic dependency, resourcerights, and geo-political compulsions of anIndia-locked state.

So, you start reading, hoping for that sparkthat will illuminate the darkness. But, as withall edited anthologies of this genre, this booktoo lacks coherence. There is nothing in thewindy verbiage of Lok Raj Baral that preparesyou for the common sense of KrishnaHachhethu. After the racy polemic of KrishnaBhattachan about possible ethnic revolution,the bland reporting of Pancha N Maharjan onthe Maoist insurgency is a bit of a let down.The commentary by Kapil Shrestha onminority politics in Nepal doesn’t psyche youfor the heavy dose of political economy in thewordily-titled “Mahakali Impasse: A FutileParadigm’s Bequested Travails” by DipakGyawali and Ajaya Dixit. This is a collection ofseminar papers, and it reads like one.

Dhruba Kumar seems to have taken hisresponsibility as the editor of the volumerather lightly, and opted to pay more attentionto writing his own two pieces. But despite itspatchiness, the book takes readers back on aroller-coaster ride ofour immediate past,and helps us makesome sense of thepredicament we arenow in.

From thecontemporaryrelevance of acollection ofcommentaries, thejourney to the soul of a man who straddledthe Nepali political scene like a colossus islike getting down from a rickety bus at thefoothills, and then commencing the journeyof self-discovery along a lonely trail up themountains. BP Koirala’s Atmabrittanta is thefirst-hand account of an epoch by itsdefining figure. The roots of many of thepolitical complexities examined in DhrubaKumar’s volume go back to the days when aclash—between traditional valuesrepresented by King Mahendra andaspirations of becoming a modern nationspearheaded by BP—resulted in threesocially stagnant decades.

It is said that geniuses get along as well

The only way to revitalise the blood-soaked earthis to seed it with faith, hope and effort.

Domestic Conflict and the Crisis ofGovernability in NepalEdited by Dhruba KumarCNAS 2000, pp323,Rs 525

The Ancient Settlements of the KathmanduValleySudarshan Raj TiwariCNAS, 2001, pp255,Rs 300

BP Koirala’s Atmabrittanta: Late LifeRecollectionsTranslated byKanak Mani DixitHimal Books, 2001,pp 304,

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SOMETHING ROTTENSomething is definitely rotten in the state of Nepal. Our erstwhilewarriors of democracy have wasted 12 precious years quibblingabout who gets to be on the top bunk, making people more andmore disenchanted with this thing called democracy, feedingfrustrations on which the Maoists have shrewdly cashed in withsome classic grassroots mobilising and periodic senselessslaughter, and with a little bit of help from like-mindedfriends from the right the Maoists are on the verge ofthrowing parliamentary democracy into the dustbin ofhistory. That is the story so far.

A year ago, this could have been termed alarmist, but notanymore. The country and people are in danger ofregressing by a decade. Meanwhile, even when they arefaced with the prospect of systemic erasure, our politicalparties haven’t stopped playing games. There they go,bickering over power which will give them the opportunity totop up their war chests for next year’s local elections. Afterthe last bout of blood-letting in Rukumkot and Rumaule,you would have thought they would have learnt theirlessons and agreed on some fundamentals. But no, itwas too much to expect from these visionless, self-centered ostriches. The Nepali Congress has shownsome signs of squirming out of its slumber, butdragged down by a year of lethargy, forward movementis slow. The majority party in Parliament has the statureand moral standing of a toothless lion.

The plot has thickened. Prime Minister GirijaPrasad Koirala brought the party into a huddle andannounced a Plan. He put it to a cabinet meeting whichthe Army and Police chiefs also attended, and approvedthe Integrated Security and Development Plan (ISDP). Hethen took the whole group over to the royal palace to meetKing Birendra. The broad outline about the rules ofenagement for this army-supervised hearts-and-mindsprogramme seemed to have been reached. But then a day laterin Tokha, the C-in-C backtracks. Now, now, he says, let’s not getcarried away here. Addressing cadets in this former sanatorium,he lectured Nepal’s civilian political bosses on the need for theunity. Without a political consensus, he said, the boys would stay intheir barracks. There has been an uproar in the media andPrajwalla Rana says his remarks were exaggerated. You judge: weprint choice excerpts of his speech on p. 15.

No one has any illusions: even if it finally gets off the ground, theISDP is just a band-aid to stop a haemmorage. And so, here we areback at the fundamental question which is what has given theMaoists such an edge: Which darbar controls the army, Raj orSingha? The Constitution is no help, its framers have left itdeliberately vague. The ambivalence also points to a larger clashbetween the forces of a discredited democratic leadership with a

discreditedautocraticleadership.The Maoistsare waiting inthe hillsbeyond theValley rim totake on thevictor, as theirleadershipmade clear inSindhupalchokthis week.

Bit ofunsolicitedadvice to the

army: the present government may be lousy, but it was elected by thepeople and it foots your bills. So if the government says go, you go.

To the government and opposition: you fellows have not beenable to inspire confidence in the army, which is the institution oflast resort. So get to it.

To the Maoist leadership: Do you want to rule over a nationfragmented and ruined by war? If not, this is the time to join themainstream and convert your bullets into ballots.

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27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES 33333NATION

L E T T E R SGOLFINGHere is a highlight of the Bagh Bazaar Masters Golf Tournamentsponsored by the UML. Study this top of the back swing position:1. Good weight transfer to right side2. Firm “right shin post”3. Full 90 degree shoulder turn with hip turn restricted to help build

torque4. High hand position, showing good wide swing arc, and with the club

pointed straight down the line5. Eye on the ball, and ready to strike—with power and precision

accuracy6. PS Note the well-behaved and knowledgeable golfing gallery looking

on and reflecting excellent crowd control as a result of goodstewarding.

Ican ShanktooKupondol

GOVINDAThe story about Govinda (#39) istragic. The modern criminaljustice system (MCJS) givesimportance to physical evidence.The Japanese police produced aDNA test report of semen andpubic hair found at the scene ofthe crime in the District Court.The DNA test report is irrefutable,and was the evidence used to findGovinda guilty. However, as youpoint out, there is the unansweredquestion of the two other piecesof hair found at the scene ofcrime which were not Govinda’s.The murdered woman was a sexworker, and she was probablyinvolved with other clients. Onthat ground alone, the TokyoDistrict Court should have foundthe evidence circumstantial, andGovinda given the not guiltyverdict.

My concern is not whatJapanese justice system did, buthow the police investigated the

by GANESH RAJ SHARMAVIEWPOINT

CORRECTIONWe got several phone calls(including from a personclaiming to be the arsonisthimself) that the burninggovernment vehicle in thepage one pictureaccompanying the storyDEADEND (#39) was inChhetrapati and notKhichhapokhari. Above, weprint another picture in theseries of the Maruti beingbattered before it was setalight. –Ed.

veryone now agrees thatNepal’s current politicalsituation is alarmingly

complicated and getting out ofhand. What people don’t agree onis the cause for this. Some findfault with the constitution, othersblame the expensive process ofelections, still others argue for thedirect election of the primeminister with a fixed tenure, andthey blame the currentdeterioration on the lack of avisionary prime minister.

There are visible and invisiblereasons for the current politicalinstability. Nepal has had the basicinfrastructure of state, but it seemsto be non-performing. Politicianswho have been elected at enormouscost to lead the nation seem to havelost their way. They have abandonedthe job the people entrusted themwith, and they have become likecaptive agents to further destabilisethe country under the machinationof an unseen force.

The constitution envisages aprime minister with the powers toprovide a democratically stronggovernment. But by anauthoritative interpretation, hehas been turned into a shuttlecockat the mercy of players of aMachiavellian politics. The result:we have had seven prime ministersin five years. There is a crisis ofconfidence, and society’s valuesystems are at stake. Confused,the people fail to understand thestrength of the sovereignty vested inthem by the constitution. Such asituation is dangerous even for bigand powerful countries, but for acountry like Nepal, which is in thevortex of a new cold war betweentwo of its neighbours, it is evenmore so. And it is getting difficult tofigure out whether the crisis isspontaneous or manipulated.

As a landlocked countrybetween two big military powers, wehave lived through an economicblockade, sabotage of various kinds,and terrorism—all designed to bringus within the security arrangementof an advantageously locatedcountry. Without declaring war,people are being incited to violence

“The reasons behind the chronic politicalinstability in Nepal may not be solely internal.”

to overthrow the state. Thetraditional goodwill between thepeoples of Nepal and India is beingsystematically dismantled byunfounded and mischievouspropaganda. Nepal is no matchto counter it.

About a month ago, a stateminister for home affairs of Indiainformed parliament that armsconsignments were beingdelivered to terrorists in India byPakistan’s secret service throughNepal. Neither the ruling partynor the opposition in Nepal tooknotice of the matter. This wasnot the first report of its kind,nor will it be the last. It is notbecause they have space to fillthat this kind of propaganda getsplace in the Indian media. It isclear that Nepal has now becomethe target of Indian propagandaat par with Pakistan. It is logicalto infer that by spreadingprejudice among the Indianpublic, it will be easier toimplement certain designs againstNepal. Unknowingly, Nepal hasbeen engulfed in a cold war-likesituation between its neighbours.Indifference to the crisis mayprove to be very costly for us.

The historical peace whichNepal had enjoyed with both itsneighbours vanished soon afterChina’s military control overTibet in the 1950s. Consideringthis a threat, India has since triedto involve Nepal under itssecurity system. This is beingforced through various overt andcovert operations that have gonehand in hand with all-roundinstability and disorder withinNepal. Several historicaldocuments and memoirs testifythat every decision, politicalchange, upheaval and overthrowof the government, havenecessarily reflected the conflictbetween Nepal’s two bigneighbours. Both India and Chinahave pursued their policyregarding Nepal, not on theconsideration of any particularpolitical system, but theirnational interests. Communism inNepal may not be to China’s

strategic advantage. Similarly,even a self-declared pro-Indiandemocratic force in Nepal maynot be considered by India to bein its security interests.Communists can be a goodcamouflage for India’s covertoperations and, pro-Indian

elements or persons of Indianorigin may be an useful cover topromote Chinese interests.

For example, China maysupport the traditional institutionof monarchy, but may notnecessarily be for the king ofBhutan. Similarly, a democraticIndia may not give the kind ofsupport it reserves for the king ofBhutan to democratic forcesthere. Both powers competeagainst each other keeping theirnational interests topmost ontheir minds, and this includestheir policy towards Nepal. Thereasons behind the chronicpolitical instability in Nepal maynot be solely internal.

We have seen through historyand in our own region thatexcessive militarisation hurtsdemocracy. Bigger South Asiancountries have inherited armies,intelligence agencies andbureaucracies which weredesigned for protection ofcolonial rule. Preservingdemocracy has never been a partof their ethos. Democracy ispreserved when the army,intelligence and bureaucracyremain within the control of apopularly elected civil leadership.India and Pakistan, separated atbirth and raised on the animosityof partition, are paying the priceof their hostility to each other.Because of its size and strength,India has always been considereda threat to Pakistan’s survival.Excessive militarisation due tothis threat perception has putPakistan under chronic military

rule and forced the country toseek close alliance with China.

This triangular rivalry has setoff an arms race in the region.India’s extraordinarymilitarisation followed the briefIndia-China border war in 1962.A country with world’s largestnumber of poor and illiteratepeople today is the biggest buyerof conventional arms. This hasconsequences for India’s politics.If there is any serious differencebetween the army and civilianleadership, the decision of thearmy seems to prevail. Its securityperceptions pervade all otherconsiderations, and India’ssecurity agencies have the last say.

India has expanded anddiversified its secret services tofocus on various arenas of a targetcountry. A study by journalist,Salamat Ali, points out that Indiahas about a dozen intelligenceagencies active in its neighbouringcountries for dirty tricks andinformation gathering. The three

wings of the military, and each stategovernment have their own spies inneighboring countries who areunknown to each other. Despitecovert operations including the SriLankan misadventure under RajivGandhi, exporting terrorists anddestabilising regimes has not abated,and are an indication that theseactivities are beyond the reach of apopularly accountable civilleadership.

Soon after becoming primeminister in his present term,Girija Prasad Koirala complainedthat a foreign power had a hand inmaking and unmakinggovernments in Nepal. EvenIndira Gandhi once blamed herelection defeat on a conspiracy byRAW, and there have beenallegations within India that theagency has been misused to settleinternal political rivalry. Acountry with a tradition ofdemocracy in this region is in aserious stage of metamorphosisfrom a liberal democracy to an

aggressive military power. India isat the crossroads and it carries thefate of this country between itscivilian rulers and militarystrategists. Nepal cannot remainunaffected by this crisis.

Nepal has enough internalproblems trying to plant the rootsof an alien concept of democracyin adverse socio-economic soil.But our external challenges aremuch more serious, and maythwart our attempts atdevelopment and democracy. Ifthere is no hostile treatment fromits nearest neighbour, Nepalis willbe able to build democracy brickby brick. If civilians reassertcontrol over India’s securityapparatus, democracy may have afuture in the region. On the otherhand, if national security interestsprevail and the spooks are allowedto run wild, democracy in theregion doesn’t stand a chance.

Ganesh Raj Sharma is asenior advocate.

case. You quote a Japaneselawyer as saying that if Govindawas an American or European, hewas have been free to go home.The question begs an answer: whyaren’t Nepalis treated likeAmericans and Europeans?

R SunuwarBaneswor

CK LALCK Lal (“In the kingdom ofdementia”, #38) is turning out tobe bigot by mocking atintellectuals who see the Maoistproblem as a political one. So,be cautious.

Dev Raj JoshiTikapur, Kailali

CK Lal touches upon a verypertinent point. Not onlyjournalists, but even human rightsactivists are guilty of shelteringand pampering Maoists.According to their convolutedlogic, if policemen kill Maoists in

self-defence, it is an act of grosshuman rights violation to becondemned with proper show ofrighteousness. But if the oppositehappens, it is either greeted withdeafening silence by humanrights groups, or merely reportedwith the convenient journalisticobjectivity by the press.

It may be that journalists andhuman rights groups sincerelybelieve that the Maoists arechampioning the popular cause,protecting human rights andliquidating such class enemies assubsistence farmers, peasants andpetty cops, and saving poorvillagers by killing them. Or, theymight have already figured outwhich side of their future bread isbuttered, and thus ingratiatingthemselves with the Maoistleadership. Else, how to explaintheir commissar-like behaviour evenbefore the Maoists have succeededto shoot their way to power?

Heera Shresthaby email

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The traditional goodwill between the peoples ofNepal and India is being systematicallydismantled by unfounded and mischievouspropaganda. Nepal is no match to counter it.

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44444 NATION 27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

friend from abroad returned from a trek recently with a smirkon her face. “I met someone who knows you,” she said, thesmile broadening. I preened, ever the alpha male, and prepared

to acknowledge my fame and bask in my visitor’s admiration. “But Idon’t think he liked you much,” she said, pricking my egotisticalbubble as effectively as any needle.

My friend, as it turned out, was walking along the Kali Gandaki withsomeone from Kathmandu’s aid community. It emerged that she was stayingwith friends in the capital, and when asked who her hosts were, she gave myname. Apparently, the local aid worker looked as if he’d swallowedsomething unpleasant, then made one of those obvious and artificialchanges in subject. “I don’t think he liked what you write about aid,” sheconcluded. Luckily she’s a very dear friend, one who is allowed to make funof me and enjoy my discomfort.

I immediately thought of Oscar Wilde and his line that not being talkedabout was worse than people saying bad things about you. I also believe thisillustrates one of the development world’s great weaknesses, especially herein Nepal. A conversation at a party recently confirmed my feelings. I waspressing an official of a big international agency for information, not just onachievements but also failures. And I was asking how much things cost, justgenerally being a pesky journalist.

“You people,” I was told, “you’re always so negative, why don’t youemphasise some good things about our work.” On the one hand, it’s a validpoint. Success stories should be reported and given as much prominence asdisaster. On the other, the development business is—I submit—murky,opaque and oversensitive to criticism. Try mentioning the seminal work byjournalist Graham Hancock Lords of Poverty around anyone who works forthe IMF, the World Bank or a UN agency, and you’ll see them wince.

They’ll tell you emphatically, and correctly, that things have improvedvastly since the late ‘80s when Hancock uncovered tawdry tales of cynicism,corruption and incompetence in the multilateral agencies.

The World Bank, for example, is doing great work in the fieldof public health, and, thanks to the campaign against the Arun III project inNepal, steering clear of large dams. The Asian Development Bank is findingways to fund infrastructure that involve locals and give them services they

need quickly. However, in a country like Nepal, where aid and loans are socrucial to the economy, there is still far too much unaccountability and lackof transparency. Much development money now goes towards encouraginggood governance and peoples’ awareness of their rights and responsibilities.

But are similar standards applied to the internal activities of theagencies, and more crucially, are local people—and not just their elites—given the right to inspect budgets, assess impacts and choose what they wantfrom foreign-funded development? If overseas agencies encourage localpeople to hold their elites to account, then they should offer themselves upfor similar scrutiny. Too often, those with the money or the expertise callthe shots. This is no longer viable. The position of the Maoists on foreignaid and assistance should be a wake up call to anyone working in thatsector. It’s not just the Nepali government that has to win heartsand minds, and make itself more accountable.

And yes, I agree, we in the media need to follow the same rules too. Weneed to write and broadcast what people want and what is most useful tothem. I suggest that we largely do. If we don’t, we go unheard, unwatched,unread. We think about Wilde’s words in a lonely place where no one caresabout us. I wish I had joined my friend and her colleague from Kathmanduin the Kali Gandaki for that trek. I’m sure I would have learned a lot fromlistening to the fellow who made the face when my name came up. Equally, Iwould advise him to take criticism and the input of his clients, the people,seriously. From one Alpha Male to another...

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a The development business is murky, opaque andoversensitive to criticism.

by DANIEL LAKHERE AND THERE

From one Alpha Male to another

Babies in the labyrinth○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

RAMYATA LIMBUver since Tania and Sergiodecided to adopt a Nepalichild three years ago, the

Italian couple has been on anemotional roller coaster. They’vejoined an adoption association inItaly, been through a thoroughscreening at home, attendedcounselling sessions, been subjectedto examinations by psychologists,and pursued an extensive paperchase in two continents. “At timesit was extremely frustrating andhumiliating,” says Sergio. A doctorworking in an Intensive Care Unitnear Milan, Sergio is unable tofather children because of a medicalcondition. “You have psychologists,people who had never adopted achild, putting a microscope to yourlife. It was very difficult.”

All that was forgotten lastweek, though, when the anxiouscouple first set eyes on Sunita—thethree-year-old girl they are adoptingwith the help of an Italian adoptionassociation recognised by theirgovernment, and Nepal’s largestchildren’s non-profit organisationand orphanage, Bal Mandir. “Whenyou first see the baby you forgeteverything,” says Sergio, watchinghis wife Tania mouth the words“mama” and “papa” to a bashfulSunita on the sunlit grounds of BalMandir. “They say children pick up

Foreign parents often battle bureaucracy, corruption andhumiliation to adopt Nepali babies.words in four months and that by sixmonths, they’re speaking the language.”

Still, the anxiety hasn’t ceased.Everyday, Sergio monitors the localpapers. He’s concerned a change ingovernment might affect Nepal’s

adoption regulations—subjecting thecouple to another round of uncertaintyand heartache.

So far, nearly 1,000 Nepali childrenhave found homes around the world.Since the Ministry of Women,Children and Social Welfare took over,69 children have been adopted, two-thirds from Bal Mandir. “The familieswe’ve met during our monitoring tripsabroad are well settled,” says PrachandaPradhan, a member of the ExecutiveBoard of Bal Mandir. Adoptive parentsare required to pay $300 as amonitoring fee. Bal Mandir has sevenhomes or branches around the countrywith about 400 plus children.

Roughly, the procedure to adopt aNepali child is this: Orphans orabandoned children are taken in atorphanages after the Chief DistrictOfficer’s office has looked into theircase. If they are not claimed within 21

days of issuing a public notice, thehomes can put them up foradoption. Bal Mandir, which has byfar the most streamlined operation,requires prospective parents tosubmit 21 different documents,translated in English and validated.Private adoption is also possible ifyou deal directly with the child’sfamily. Once processed, the files gothrough the Central District Officerand from there to the Ministry forWomen, Children and SocialWelfare where the documents arethen reviewed by a five-memberadoption committee that includesrepresentatives of the Ministries ofHome, Law, and Women, Childrenand Social Welfare, and theFederation of Child Welfare NGOs.

Having representatives fromvarious ministries on the committeemight make it easy to spread the

blame in case of a controversy, but itdoes result in delay. Viola and JanHahn, who adopted a Nepali childactually featured in a documentaryGermany—A Journey to ForeignParents, so prospective adoptiveparents would be better informedabout the process. “Only people withan enormous amount of patience cansurvive the lengthy process,” saysViola, who felt the anxiety and worryshe experienced was comparable to afull-term pregnancy. Ellie Skeele, whohas adopted two Nepali children, thefirst through the Home Ministry andthe second last year after the authorityhad been shifted to the Ministry forWomen, Children and Social Welfare,says the process has become lesspainful under the new jurisdiction.“After the initial familiarisationprocess, they’ve become systematicand organised. As long as thedocuments are legal and in order,there’s no hassle. Probably somedelays,” says Uttar Tamata, presidentof Bal Griha, an orphanage alsoauthorised by the government to putchildren up for adoption. Since theestablishment of the orphanage in1989, Tamata has become adept atshepherding files around theconcerned offices.

Krishna Prasad Sharma Bhandari,joint secretary at the Ministry ofWomen, Children and Social Welfareand coordinator of the five-memberadoption committee which gives thefinal stamp of approval, admits thereare problems: “Sometimes it isdifficult to get hold of all thecommittee members as they’re withvarious ministries. Each file has to bescreened carefully. Any oversight onthe committee’s part may result in asummons by the Commission forInvestigation of Abuse of Authority,”says a candid Bhandari.

Another bottleneck forprospective adoptive parents, is a“guarantee letter” the Nepaligovernment requires. In January 1999,the government suspended approval ofall adoptions of Nepali orphans by

foreigners. When it resumed foreignadoptions in March the same year, itimposed new requirements—like theneed for a guarantee letter from theadoptive parents’ embassy. Observersregard the regulation as a face-savinggesture on the part of Govinda RajJoshi, then the Home Minister. Joshi,speaking at a public forum onadoption, made it clear he wasn’thappy about Nepali children beingadopted. “The pronouncementcaused a tremor in adoption circles.As an individual Joshi has a right to aprivate opinion. But he was speakingas an official at a public forum. Therewere tears, outbursts,” recalls Tamata.

Nepal’s Civil Code says theconcerned authority for adoptioncan change the criteria as and whenit sees fit. While other consularsections accepted a revised editionof the guarantee letter, the Britishand Americans both submittedalternative wording, outlining theexhaustive screening parents gothrough in their home countries.“As America is a very litigioussociety, they probably had moreproblems with the phrasing of theletter. But it is unusual for thereferring country to ask for aguarantee letter after the stringentscreening process parents have beenthrough,” says Skeele, who isoptimistic that the matter will soonbe sorted out. Until it is, a USState Department flier stronglyadvises US citizens to not pursueadoptions in Nepal until furthernotice. Says a prospective Americanadoptive parent: “We visited BalMandir the summer before last.There are plenty of people who wantto adopt kids from Bal Mandir.However, bureaucratic foul ups andpettiness on the part of both the USand Nepali governments haseffectively prevented these childrenfrom being adopted by Americans.”

The procedure is alreadycomplicated, and controversialdemands like this one make people—particularly those who’ve had really

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e

ALL

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Babies awaiting adoption at Bal Mandir.

Pictures of children already adopted on the Bal Mandir walls

55555NATION 27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

V i l l a g e R e s o r tOwned by: Greenwich Village Resort Hotel (P) Ltd.

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Missing the forest?A row is brewing at the Ministry for Forest and Soil Conservation.Senior ministry officials say that state minster Shiva KumarBasnet has unjustly accused them of indulging in corruption,essentially involving financial irregularities in the sale andallotment of timber. The accusations are totally false, unfoundedand baseless, says Secretary at the ministry Rabi B Bista.Although Basnet did not mention Bista’s name during a recentpress conference, he did implicate several high-ranking forestryofficials as he read out a fact-finding report. Officials maintainthe report is “wrong, wrong and wrong,” and akin to characterassassination, and have challenged the minister to find themguilty of felling a single tree. Angry officials also accuse theminister of trying to influence the report.

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Himalayan outburstsAbout 100 cycles, 65 rickshaws and activists representingvarious environmental organisations went through the streets ofKathmandu 19 April calling for a cleaner environment. But theironce-a-year sloganeering may not be enough to save theHimalaya and the people of Nepal.

Experts warn that the temperature in the Nepal Himalaya isrising at an alarming rate, heightening the danger that glaciallakes may experience flood outbursts that could devastate entirevillages. According to the inventory prepared by the InternationalCentre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), there areover 7,000 glacial lakes in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan region,3,000 of which are located in Nepal. What is more alarming isthat 26 of these glacial lakes are continuing to grow in size,fuelling the possibilities of outbursts and flooding.

Studies by the Department of Hydrology and Meteorologyshow that the temperature in the mountains is rising at 0.03degree Celsius per year, meaning there will be a temperaturerise of 12 degree Celsius in the Himalaya in the next century.The rate of warming is more than double the global average—anywhere between 1.4 degrees and 5.8 degrees Celsius overthe next 100 years—calculated by the United Nations. The rate oftemperature rise calculated for the mid-hills and the tarai is 0.03degree and 0.06 degree Celsius per year, respectively.

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Dangerous studySuperintendent of Police Chuda Bahadur Shrestha ran intotrouble when he chose the subject for his doctoral dissertation.For the last two years, SP Shrestha has been working on athesis that analyses how the“People’s War” waged by the Maoistscan be managed by mobilisingcommunities. The police officer, whoin the past has won public applausefor his work towards curbing thetrafficking of women, has alreadybeen summoned twice to theheadquarters of Nepal’s police forceregarding his thesis entitledManaging Emergency throughCommunity Approach. And now he fears that the office mightunjustly relieve him of his duties.

Shrestha was called up on 30 January and again on 18 Aprilto explain in detail why he chose to conduct research on theMaoist movement, how he would find the time to conductresearch without taking a sabbatical from police work thatrequires officers to be on call around the clock, who is helpinghim to make contact with the group he is studying, and who isfinancing his research, among others.

On 20 April, Shrestha filed a writ with the Patan AppellateCourt petitioning that his right to remain on the force might bebreached by his superiors. A single bench of Judge Bodhari RajPande issued a stay order preventing the police HQ from takingdepartmental action against Shrestha until the court rules on hiswrit petition.

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Irrigation stalemateTrouble is brewing between the Agricultural Development Bank(ADB-N) and Nepal’s planners and policy makers over irrigationsubsidies. While the Planning Commission has made up itsmind to reintroduce subsidies on shallow tube wells (STWs) inan effort to boost agriculture in the tarai, Nepal’s principal foreignlender in the agricultural sector feels granting subsidies withoutadequate resources will force a fiscal crisis.

The government scrapped subsidy on STWs in 1999/2000—a major precondition of the Second Agricultural Program Loanthat it obtained from ADB-N. Contrary to expectations that supplywould create its own demand, the installation of STWs shrankdrastically after the subsidy revocation. STWs are a major thrustarea of the 20-year Agricultural Perspective Plan for achievingrapid irrigation, but less than 20 percent of the target 8,800shallow tube wells were installed last year. And it looks like thisyear’s target of 4,300 STWs will also be hard to meet—only 20wells have been installed as yet.

There is a growing reluctance among farmers to installunsubsidised STWs, because they cost Rs 50,000. A well with80 percent subsidy costs Rs 10,000.

infocom

bad experiences—refuse to speak onrecord. Unlike many adoptivefamilies, Skeele wants to share herexperiences. “I want to see theadoptive process becomestraightforward, ethical andtransparent, to reduce the paperworkand to extend the safety net forchildren who need families,” saysSkeele, who runs n child, an emailgroup. Members are familiesinterested in adoption in Nepal, haveadopted Nepali children, or arethinking of adopting.

Skeele, a single parent,adopted Mimi privately four yearsago when the child was fourteenmonths old. She adopted hersecond child, three-year oldTsering, through Bal Griha lastyear. “To be approved as adoptiveparents in the home country yougo through hell. It’s a verystringent process,” she says. “It isalways more emotional for parentswho opt for adoption after trying tohave their own kids.” Skeele, whoowns and manages a softwaredevelopment company in Nepal, isintent on dispelling misconceptionsabout foreign families adopting Nepalibabies. “Sometimes adoption ismisunderstood. Adoptive families aregiving a child a home and not takingthem to be servants as can oftenhappen when a Nepali family takes ina child. People shouldn’t apply theirworldview to us,” says Skeele. “Ofcourse sensational horror stories andthe occasional story of molestationhaven’t helped.”

Both Mimi and Tsering callSkeele “mummy”. Mimi is in contactwith her birth family. “I prefer privateadoption—maintaining direct contactwith the birth family—because I wantmy children to know their birth

families. It is in the best interests of thechild. Sometimes it is difficult tracingthem through a home,” says Skeele asshe and Mimi look at pictures ofMimi’s siblings and birth mother.They’re sorting them out for a schoolproject that Mimi has decided topresent to her class. Says Skeele:“There are many families who loveNepal, who have a bond with thecountry and given a choice wouldrather adopt from Nepal than China,

Eastern Europe or Vietnam. Ofcourse it would be ideal if thechildren were adopted by Nepaliparents, but given Nepal’seconomic situation and the stronginfluence of the caste system, Idon’t see that happening.”

Skeele probably holds the recordfor getting her adoption papersfinalised in the shortest time in thelabyrinthine circle of Nepalibureaucracy where it’s common to sit

on files. “The first adoption, at leastthe process at the ministry, took fivedays. People did seek gifts and try tofind fault with every detail. But mypapers were in perfect order.Everything was clear, legitimate.”She made it clear that Americansdidn’t give gifts.

She was lucky, as were theHahns and Sergio and Tania. Noteveryone is, and they most oftenwill not speak out. A child walks out of Bal Mandir

with her new family.

66666 NATION 27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

by BARBARA ADAMSBARBS

by PUSKAR BHUSALSOMEWHERE IN NEPAL

ari Roka’s diagnosis of whatails Nepal’s democracyshould open the way to a

healthier debate on national politics(“Why is democracy in danger?”#39). I would like to take theliberty of narrowing the focus of thediscussions. The failure of theNepali Congress—the “guardianangel” of Nepali democracy in Roka’sglorified words—to spread its wingsand its success in monopolising thehalo of democratic legitimacy is at theroot of the rot.

In all honesty, you have toadmit that the founders of theNepali Congress earned theirparty’s democratic credentials thehard way. In terms of people-oriented vision, the boys inCalcutta and Banaras in the 1940swere way ahead of their times. Theyrealised that in order to usher indemocracy in Nepal they wouldfirst have to boot out the Britishcolonialists from India. Today manyKangressis—living and dead—arerecognised as freedom fighters inboth countries. (And we alwaysthought only the South Americans,with their Simon Bolivars and CheGuevaras, had a history of regionalcooperation in the struggle fornational liberation.)

If the Nepali Congress todayfinds itself the sole custodian ofdemocracy in Nepal, you cannotblame the ruling party alone. Theastigmatic vision of our otherpolitical parties is no lessresponsible. Look at the CPN-UML. It has the audacity to assertits democratic credentials withouteven caring to drop “communist”from its formal name. It’s not as ifthe organisation so badly needs thecommunism tag. Almost everybodyrefers to it by the last part of itshyphenated appellation, both inEnglish and Nepali.

One party, two systemsOur communists should have

long ago emulated the pragmatismof their counterparts in theerstwhile eastern bloc. Once theEuro-communists felt the windblowing in the other direction, allthey had to do was rechristenthemselves by dropping the much-maligned C word. In places likeRomania, they actually engineeredthe fall of communism and managedto keep much of their power andprivilege intact. At the other end,look at poor Gennady Zyuganovin Russia. His party is stillformidable, but he stubbornlyrefuses to consider renaming it inkeeping with the politicalcorrectness of the times.

A communist past does notpreclude a democratic future.When ex-communist Boris Yeltsinused tanks to silence hisparliamentary critics in 1993, therewasn’t a murmur of protest fromWestern capitals. Yeltsin may haveclimbed up the Marxist-Leninistladder for decades, but his ultimatedestination was the presidency ofdemocratic Russia. How far canyou expect elderly pensioners’nostalgia for the Soviet Union totake Zyuganov’s communist party?

All this makes you wonderwhether Nepal’s comrades evendeserve to be treated with thedemocratic respect they demandwhen they fail to acknowledge thatcommunist internationalism haslong given way to capitalism-drivenglobalisation. The RastriyaPrajatantra Party (RPP) is not inbetter situation. First, it is full ofthe same panchas who weresupposed to have been punched outof the political ring by the JanaAndolan. Moreover, how manyRPP leaders really believe that theyhave transformed themselvesenough to resist the temptation to

vault to the reactionary past,should the occasion arise? In anycase, if using “prajatantra” asyour middle name were to beaccepted as proof of yourdemocratic commitment, theGerman Democratic Republicwouldn’t have been relegated to thehistory books.

The smaller parties inparliament are either too small orstill too wedded to the principles ofclass struggle—despite theiragreeable names—that they cannotbe classified as democrats. As forthe parties outside parliament, let’swait for the next election to see ifthey are worthy of notice.

So, is it the end of the road forthe non-Congress parties? Certainlynot. If you can’t beat them, jointhem—literally. Let all the other

parties merge with the NepaliCongress. I don’t think theCongress Central WorkingCommittee would have a problemwith that. The party was born inMarch 1950 of a holy unionbetween the Nepali NationalCongress and the NepaliDemocratic Congress. After theroyal take-over of December 1960,the main opposition party in thedissolved parliament, the GorkhaParishad (which everyone thoughtwas the party of those same RanasBP Koirala and Co. ousted in thefirst place) merged with theNepali Congress.

The ideological complicationsarising from such a union todaywould not be too difficult to ironout. After all, the manifestos of allthe parties in question are already

mirror images of one another. Sowhat if the UML has extended onlycritical support to the constitutionit had a part in drafting? Once inthe Congress fold, our comrades canretain their right to criticise—itcomes with the sovereignty theyhelped vest in the people.

For their part, RPP leadersdon’t need to be afraid of theconsequences of moving from theright to the centre. Two top leadersof the party have alreadyproved their political dexterity byheading governments under thepartyless and multiparty systems.Leaders of the smaller parties andalliances, who tend to be morepersonality conscious, shouldn’thave reason to worry either. Theycan find their own space within theNepali Congress. It’s not just former

prime ministers like Krishna PrasadBhattarai or Sher Bahadur Deubawho are herding their own flockwithin the fold. At a lower rung,you can see people like KhumBahadur Khadka and Govind RajJoshi busy building their own base.Moreover, if you want to go italone, people like Ram ChandraPoudel and Shailaja Acharya havemanaged to thrive on anindependent image.

If this scenario sounds too goodto be true, then take a close look atthe Liberal Democratic Party(LDP) in Japan. It has been able toprosper for 50 years amid difficultcompromises and shady backroomdeals. But nobody questions theLDP’s commitment to pluralisticprinciples. In fact, every timethere’s a leadership contest in theLDP, it looks like the country is inthe midst of a general election. Youdon’t have to be a Soviet Union forthe party to tower over the system.

The Nepali Congress is anequal-opportunity party.Conservative, liberal, reformist,maverick politicians of everypersuasion have an equal chance topursue a career. And in keepingwith the South Asian tradition, oneparticular surname has a distinctadvantage. The good news is thatthe leadership issue is no longersettled solely on the basis ofseptuagenarian consensus. For acountry that has had decades ofbitter experience with multipartyand partyless politics, an evolutionto a one-party system might turnout to be just what we need.

To be sure, our western friendsand well wishers who retain theexclusive rights to certifying ourposition on the internationalpluralism index might initiallyfind it difficult to accept a one-party system as democratic. Aslong as the party’s name is NepaliCongress, however, I don’t thinkAmbassador Ralph Frank or thepresiding chairman of theEuropean Union would haveobjections.

For a country that has had decades of bitter experiencewith multiparty and partyless politics, an evolution to aone-party system might turn out to be just what we need.

Red star over Mt Everest?

he massacres of police inRukumkot and Dailekh seemto have sent many in

Kathmandu (especially expats)into an uncontrolled tailspin.Even those who earlier used toclearly state that in view of thecorruption, nepotism andinefficiency in every corner ofgovernment, there was no

alternative to the Maoists, arenow mumbling about democracy,unconstitutional opposition to ademocratically elected primeminister and so forth.

The PM is being described asexuberant and self-confident,although his blast at Kantipurwhile in Biratnagar indicates thecontrary. Clearly, the shockingpictorial coverage on TV and inthe press of the slain policemenand their grieving wives andrelatives gave a brutally humandimension to what has tendedto be reported simply as abody count.

The joint statement shortlyafterwards of the EU backed bythe US, seems to have tilted theopinion of Kathmandu’s eliteback towards more predictablethoughts and utterances. ACongresswallah who obviouslybelieves the current wisdom that Iam a CIA agent told me how

much he and the Congress Partyhad appreciated US AmbassadorRalph Frank’s intervention. Hesaid Frank had helped theCongress Party a lot, and would Ibe able to help get green cards forhis sons who are studying inAmerica. It never ceases to amazeme how so many people interprethistory according to their ownpersonal interests, and how fewpeople, until very recently, haveany understanding of the rootscauses or the ramifications of the“People’s War”. It was simplytoo far from most comfortableKathmandu lives. It was beingwaged by people whoseaspirations elicited littleinterest or sympathy from theKathmandu elite.

The other night we watched adocumentary film, made forAustralian television three yearsago, The Maoist Problem inNepal. It gave a balanced view of

There are two Nepals: the Nepal of glistening mountainsand temples and wide-eyed tourists, and the Nepal thathas never seen a doctor never known a full stomach.

the situation then, which issimilar to the situation today,except that today it is all over thecountry. Nevertheless, this three-year-old film shockedintellectuals and politicians. Oneex-foreign ministry VIP said: “Ihad no idea the problem was soserious.” If this film had beenshown on Nepal Television and asa trailer in local cinema housesthree years ago, it might havecreated the awareness and theclamour for peace which havefinally been hearing in Kathmanduover the last few weeks.

The film was shot while theinfamous Operation Kilo Sierra IIwas in full swing, and humanrights abuses were at their height.It is an intelligent documentarythat tries its best to be impartial.It shows the tragedies endured byordinary people from both sides,and the audience was shocked athow serious the situation already

was at the time the film was made.Had the Nepali public

participated in spirited mediadiscussions and analyses of thecontent and points of view,valuable public opinion mighthave been created for earlydialogue to resolve the economicand social problems at the root ofthe Maoist problem. Thiscolumnist had tried to write aboutthe situation so graphicallydescribed in the Australian film,and was kicked back to India forher efforts. Gopal SiwakotiChintan tried to create publicawareness of the problems withhis Sunday Forum and was thrownin jail for two weeks. We haveseen what an effect TV coverageof the recent massacres of youngpolice had on the Nepali public.Children all over Kathmandu sawthe piles of dead bodies on primetime television. These days whenchildren misbehave, their parentsthreaten them with: “We’ll sendthe Maoists after you.”

If we are to have peace,understanding and a meaningfuldialogue with these youngwarriors who call themselvesMaoist, we first have to demystify,and de-demonise the history ofthe “People’s War”. We have toanalyse and understand theproblems which led idealistic

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young teachersand work-hardened farmersto risk their livesand the lives of their family andfriends, to take up arms andchoose the risky path ofrevolution. We have to under-stand the movement’s roots, itsdeviations its justification andcompulsions, and the horror, thepain and also the humanityinvolved in the process ofbringing change to the lives ofthe suffering masses.

This modest Australiandocumentary, which introducesits subject as “Red Star OverMount Everest” would eventoday be worth showing in smallclubs and cinemas inKathmandu. Like recent TVcoverage of Rukumkot andDailekh it would portray humansuffering, but of both sides. Itwould show there are twoNepals: the Nepal of glisteningmountains and temples andwide-eyed tourists, and theNepal that has never seen adoctor never known a fullstomach. The Nepal that hasnever got to drink a glass ofclean water. We must keep thisother Nepal firmly in mind whenwe so easily condemn theMaoists.

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BINOD BHATTARAIuture mega-projects that make allheadlines: Arun, Chisapani,Pancheswor, or Kosi High Dam.

But quietly, away from the mediaspotlight, villages all over Nepal arelighting up with power from locally-crafted, locally-funded, locally-runmicro hydropower. The people, itseems, have got tired of waiting forelectricity to come to them, and theyare now going to the electricity. Theyare getting together to get soft loans,even pooling savings, to build micro(below 100 kW) and pico (below 3kW) hydro power plants.

Nepal’s first micro hydro plantwas installed about 20 years ago. Agifted and dedicated engineer namedAkal Man Nakarmi first managed tocouple a generator to a food-processing mill near Malekhu toproduce power. Next came his turbineand generator compact, known as thePeltric set. Akal Man’s pelton turbineand induction generator combo wasan instant hit. Nepal had its firstlocally fabricated system that wassmall, tested, and affordable forgrassroots communities who couldfinance, build and operate the systemthemselves. The modest and soft-spoken Akal Man went on to win theRolex Award, and today he is still inhis workshop in Chhetrapati bangingaway at yet another Peltric turbine.“This is the future of energy in Nepal,”he tells you. “Not another megaproject costing a billion dollars.”

Alongside Akal Man’s successfultests of the prototype Peltric set, camea government decision to subsidiserural electrification through the use ofmicro hydro. The Agricultural

Development Bank Nepal (ADB/N)that used to provide loans to set upturbine-powered food processorsbegan to include micro hydro in itsportfolio. Many traditional ghattas(water mills) were upgraded to multi-purpose power units that groundgrain more efficiently by day andgenerated electricity by night.

Fifteen years later, Nepal has anestimated 1,000 micro hydros thatuse the falling water of small brooksand streams all over the country toproduce electricity. And another 900or so turbines are used for millingonly. The micros are not all problem-free—age and disrepair, ownershipand management problems haveturned some into rusty hulks. Still, amajority are whirring away, bringingthe light of development to unlikelyremote villages of the country andquite literally empowering people.

And if small was not beautifulenough, many Nepali villages aregoing for even tinier power plants:pico hydro. These provide electricityto light up 20-60 homes for severalhours in the evenings and at dawn.During “off-peak” daytime hours theysell power to recharge car-batteriesthat villagers use to replace traditionalkerosene-wick lamps and to watchsatellite television. Pico promoters tellus that the system is catching up sofast in some districts (Ilam is one)that it may not be long before everysettlement there has its own localpower “utility”.

“People have seen bright lights in

neighbouring villages and want tobuild their own systems,” says BholaShrestha, of Energy Systems. “Anyonewould want to do the same afterlearning that many villagers useelectricity by spending only a littlemore than what they spend onkerosene or candles.”

With over 6,000 major and minorrivers and countless other fast-flowingstreams all cascading down atunbelievable gradients, Nepal couldbe a hydropower superpower. Butlarge power projects are expensive,need large investments and loans,service mainly urban areas, and despitemajor investments in the past ten yearsthe proportion of Nepalis with accesstop electricity remains at a low 15percent. As an alternative source ofenergy, Nepal’s economy and terrainseems to be ideally suited for microand pico hydro.

All you need for pico hydro is awater source with about five litres persecond of water flow—less than whatmost irrigation channels in the hillshave. (For example, a traditional watermill runs on about 30 litres of waterper second). You need to divert thiswater through a 2.5 in polythene pipedown a drop of at least 20 m into apelton turbine to produce electriccurrent. The average per kilowatt costof electricity generated is about Rs100,000-120,000 and a one kWsystem can supply to up to 10households using 100 watts each.There are about 700 such systems nowoperating in Nepal.

A 1997 study on pico hydros bySubarna Prasad Kapali found that thecost, after subsidies, was between Rs6,000-15,000 per household. Thepower producers are co-operatives,individuals and farmer groups whocharge flat tariffs based on theelectricity used. “Usually villagers payabout Rs 25 a month for a 25 wattlamp, which is what they pay forkerosene for their tukis,” addsShrestha. But there are problemsslowing the march of the pico:unavailability of start-up capital andinadequate support personnel forrepair and maintenance, for example.“Another major issue is the quality ofthe systems,” says Devendra Adhikary,coordinator of the Energy SectorAssistance Programme, funded by theDanish Development Agency(DANIDA). “After 25 years of doingmicro hydro we think we need to havecertain quality standards in place.”

Also isn’t it true that pico hydrosare good only for lighting, and thatthey don’t have the “economies ofscale”? “This is a something that we’realso concerned about,” admits BholaShresta, whose company EnergySystems. The UK’s TrentUniversity is now training Asianpico power manufacturers toaddress to some of these issues.

Nepali peltrics come in the 0.6-5kW range and the most-popular onekW unit weighs just 35 kg. Picopromoters say the plants are so simplethat Nepali villagers have, with sometraining in peltrics, installed their ownsystems. In his workshop, Akal ManNakarmi has Peltrics to suit differentsituations: low head (20 m), medium(40 m) and high head (200 m). Thereare now over a dozen local turbinemakers in Nepal who are pre-qualifiedby different agencies to do surveys,manufacture and install micro hydrosystems. Akal Man’s KathmanduMetal Industries and the Biratnagar-based Krishna Grill and EngineeringWorks are the market leaders.

With the Danish Development

Tiny is even more beautifulVery small, locally-made hydro units are lighting up villages.People power seems to be driving micro hydropower.○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Agency (DANIDA) offering newsubsidies, the number of village co-operatives or individuals setting uptheir own pico hydro units is expectedto grow. A subsidy of Rs 55,000 perkW is to be provided to those willingto build micro hydros less than threekW. Projects larger than this and upto 100 kW get Rs 70,000 per kW.There are also subsidies of Rs 27,000per kW to add-ons for generatingelectricity from improved ghattas orwater mills. Besides, there are alsosubsidies for the transport ofelectromechanical equipment andconstruction materials and forrehabilitation of existing systems.

“There has been an overwhelmingresponse to the subsidy, about 300individuals and groups have appliedfor support,” says Adhikary. As thefirst step toward quality control,ESAP has managed to get equipment

f

manufacturers and builders to agree toensure that the systems deliver thepower they are installed to produce andthat they are provided one-yearwarranty. “Within a year we maydevelop other quality and safetystandards,” he adds.

The growth of pico hydro in Nepalhas been largely a result of privateinitiative. The initiative hopes to repeatthe success of Nepal’s vastly successfuland sustainable biogas programme byintroducing catalytic subsidies.

There are grey areas that pico hasto address for its own sustainability.For now, when even major systemsare failing to deliver electricity theywere supposed to, no one iscomplaining. Says Bikas Pandey, anexpert on micro hydro: “It is smallbut the beauty of that is that anyindividual or a group of, say, fivepeople can have a system.”

Pelton turbine andgenerator

Head = 20m

Dipendra Purush Dhakal is perhaps shortest-serving governor of the Nepal Rastra Bank.But in seven months, Dhakal says, he has done everything possible and is satisfied. Wespoke with Dhakal to find out how far he had taken the financial sector reforms, and to geta glimpse of the working of the central bank. Excerpts.

Economy and financial sector reforms:With about six percent growth, good foreign exchange reserves, low inflation and

fairly good revenue collection, our economy is capable of withstanding any short-termshocks—a good time to undertake structural reforms. I approved the Financial SectorReform Strategy, especially banking sector reforms. We could either introduce reforms orwatch the banks die. I would have signed management contracts for both in threemonths.

The opposition to reforms:The opposition to reforms seems to have eased. The negative net worth as a percentage of the total assets

of the Nepal Bank and and the Rastriya Banijya Bank is said to be as high as negative 40 percent. The Asiancrisis occurred when that was negative 30 percent. The value of the deposits has deteriorated.

The Public Accounts Committee decision:They agreed that reforms were needed, but said the process wasn’t legal. They said all future actions

should be transparent, accountability ensured, and that targets should be quantified.New central bank act and independence:First the law was translated into Nepali and finalised after consultation with stakeholders. It was approved by

our board, the ministries of finance and law, and was to be tabled in parliament’s winter session. It will ensurereal autonomy. The government won’t issue directives. Shortcomings in foreign exchange regulations are alsoaddressed. There will be limits to the authority of the board and the governor.

Internal management:The governor’s powers have been defined, everything will be decided by the board. There are over 300

contract employees at NRB, hired by previous governors (not Mr Rawal). We decided to select those actuallyneeded through exams on 21 April (that has been postponed indefinitely). We have a system to select staff forcareer development and a new scheme to allow staff to obtain interest-free loans for further studies.

Self-evaluation:I am fully satisfied with what I managed to do. I’m not going to seek a decision review because a decision

relating to an important official like the central bank governor has to end somewhere.

–Dipendra Purush Dhakal“I’m satisfied with what has happened”

88888 NEPALI ECONOMY

ECONOMIC SENSE by ARTHA BEED

27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

BIZ NEWS

Shocking pestilence

very year, when spring is in theair and summer is a mere whiffof the Bagmati away, your

columnist takes out the family fanswrapped, jewel-like, in plastic bags

with a sinkingfeeling: that therewill be no electricityto run the wretchedthings. Last week Isaw a group oftwenty-odd touristsreturning from thePatan Museum afterreading signs thatsaid loudly, clearlyand in wonderfullyexpressive English,“NO

ELECTRICITY”.It is hard to gauge and quantify

the impact of these interminableblackouts, but this Beed suspects we’dbe horrified by the scale of damage.Unlike in California, this has beengoing on for years, and there’s littlehere to justify “You deserve it” looksfrom Luddites. In fact, given howlittle we’ve managed to do to afteryears of dry season power-cuts,people might be forgiven forthinking we were the Luddites.

Because, you see, the problem ofblackouts dates to before theKulekhani era. There are talks,seminars and conferences galore, butwe’re nowhere near finding a solution.The nub of the problem is planning—

The bottom line is consistent, adequate power for consumerscharged one of the highest tariffs in South and East Asia.

or lack thereof. Forecasting bothdemand and supply, and learning theageless wisdom of the changingseasons, is the first order of business.

The issue is getting into the habitof setting both quantitative andqualitative targets. Here is what wedo: look at the total megawattsrequired, taking into consideration theyearly demand and supply. Here iswhat we should do: Figure out whatthe peaks and nadirs of those curvesare, and plan around them. We needto get creative with numbers, not justsee if the totals add up. Numbers areimportant, but so is quality.

Power is a consumer item andconsumers pay for quality power.There has to be continuous supplyof a certain frequency and voltage.If one has to invest in other back-up devices and rely on them for asignificant part of the year, what’sthe point in spending money on aminimum fee and meter rental? Thetariff a utility company like theNepal Electricity Authority (NEA)charges is based on the assumptionthat there will be uninterruptedpower supply. If the company can’tdeliver, there should be a penalty.The costs to the consumer fromerratic supply and blackouts shouldbe factored into the bills. NEA isproposing a hike in tariffs; while itought to consider payments toconsumers on account of disruptedpower supply. Activist consumer

forums must look at this closely.Businesses only seems to wake up

only in times of crisis instead ofengaging in constructive efforts at alltimes to help the government comeup with a rational power policy. Thecost to the nation due to investmentsin alternative arrangements for powerand the impact on productivity andefficiency is immense—businesseswould do well to realise this.

An obvious answer is increasingthe efficiency of the NEA. This couldbe best done by unbundling the utilityinto separate generation, transmissionand distribution units. We keepharping on this, but it needs to bedone. Reducing transmission anddistribution losses alone can provide agood amount of additional power tocombat the dry season shortage.

At the risk of sounding like arepetitive drone, I will say in this casealso that we need to work out a long-term strategy. We’ve seen two bigprivate sector projects up andrunning—definitely more arerequired. The time has come to seewhether, experimentally at first, to besure, distribution could not beoutsourced to private sectornetworks. The bottom line is:adequate quality power for consumerscharged one of the highest tariffs inSouth and East Asia.

Readers can post their views atarthabeed@yahoo.com

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Industry lossesFrom the initial three-hour daytime power cuts, it is now up to six. We have been told that blackoutscould stretch further if it does not rain soon or if the Himalayan snows don’t melt fast enough. TheNepal Electricity Authority (NEA) says that while daytime powercuts are inconvenient, they arepreferable to load-shedding at night for security reasons.

There was no other option, but what is the fallout? NEA says it has been unable to supply over600,000 units of electricity, but that on the other hand it has to make “take or pay” payments toIndependent Power Producers, whose bills will soar once it begins to rain and their productionpeaks. On the other extreme, some of NEA’s buyers of bulk supply, mainly large industries andmom-and-pop stores and factories, are facing new cash flow problems because of work stoppagecaused by power cuts. Losses may add up to billions of rupees.

What kind of losses are we talking about? Here’s an example: Between 26 March and 11 April,the Udayapur Cement Factory had to shut down production for 28 hours, leading to lossesestimated at Rs 11 million. That means that for every hour without power supply, thefactory lost Rs 411,000. The cement factory wrote to the NEA imploring that supply berestored to previous levels to allow it to operate without disruptions. The factory’sworries were not limited to lowered production but also over the safety of electronicequipment whose replacements, it said, are not available even in India and China. TheNEA has made new arrangements to supply power in industrial districts and areas withindustrial clusters from 8am to 5pm, but that will not solve problems facing industrieslocated in cities and using power from the supply for households. The NEA has alsoasked industries with captive power supply and back-up systems to help it meet thepresent shortage by running their power supply systems from 6pm to 10pm.

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ADB’s outlookThe Asian Development Bank says Nepal’s economic growth rate this year could be inthe range of 5 to 5.5 percent, lower than the 6.4 percent achieved last year. The forecasthinges on continued growth in agricultural production that grew by 5 percent, due mainlyto a favourable monsoon and increased use of fertilisers. The Asian Development Outlook of theADB also projects continued growth—albeit slow—for Asia as a whole, and faster growth in SouthAsia (5.8 percent). The ADB expects a slowdown in Nepal’s agricultural production andindustrial production compared with last year, but maintains there is potential to achieve a fivepercent growth rate with “appropriate economic policies”, especially the reforms that thegovernment has initiated. The bank expects agriculture to grow by four percent and industry byseven to eight percent during 2001.

Inflation, which remained at a low 3.5 percent in 2000, is expectedto rise and reach 5.5 percent in 2001. This is because decline infood prices, mainly rice, would be offset by the price of non-fooditems that would reflect higher fuel costs. The bank also thinks thegovernment’s “ambitious” development expenditure and revenuetargets in 2001 will be difficult to achieve. Development spendingis projected to grow by 45 percent and revenue by just 21 percent.Much of the revenue collection, however, will depend on howeffectively the value added tax (VAT) will be enforced, and if thegovernment’s recent initiatives—getting the army to man theborder posts—to raise customs receipts and increaseincome tax revenues—will produce results. The shortfall indomestic revenues compared to spending is expected toincrease fiscal deficit to 4.5 percent of the GDP, up from the3.5 percent in 2000.

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Ad war dogfightsThe Airline Operators Association of Nepal announced this week that it was suspending themembership of Buddha Airlines for putting out misleading information regarding their flightsand services. The action follows a prolonged media campaign by Buddha Airlines that saidthat their aircraft were the only ones that did not make it to a list of ageing aircraft put out byFlight International in their Ageing Airliner Census 2000. The campaign was met with adisclaimer by Necon Airlines, which said their aircraft did not figure in the list either and urgedcustomers not to be “led astray”.

27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES 99999

pepsi

oyal Nepal has one of theregion’s best trained andexperienced pilots, engineers

and managers. In its nearly 45-yearhistory, the airline has grown from asmall domestic airline into aninternational carrier. And for a briefperiod in the 1980s Royal Nepalenjoyed a reputation in the region forreliability and courteous in-flightservice. Today, staff are demoralisedand disgusted with the politicians whohave interfered and bled the airlinedry. Many we spoke to did not wantto be identified, but their anger spilledover. “We’re going through the worsttimes in our history,” one employee,with the airline for 30 years now, said.“We would have been a very viablecorporation, if only the politicians hadnot been so greedy and vision-less.”

It’s not that there wasn’tinterference and corruption before1990. Large and murky kickbacksallegedly accompanied the purchase ofthe 757s in 1987. But it was afterdemocracy that corruption in RoyalNepal also got democratised. Forproof, just look at the turnover in topmanagement (see box). There is a newexecutive chairman or managingdirector with every change ofgovernment. In a country whereopportunities for large kickbacks areconfined to infrastructure or airline, itis not surprising that successivepoliticians have treated the airline likea cash cow on jet leases, equipmentpurchases and maintenance contracts.And when political appointees withvested interests plunder theairline openly, staff right downthe line just took the cue.

The real irony is that the airline isgoing bankrupt at a time when it hadpaid up on the loans that financed the757 purchases, and for the first time ina decade it was hoping to earn Rs12.9 million in 1999-2000. Theairline was getting ready for take-off,to expand its fleet with the purchaseof a much-needed widebody jet forlong-haul destinations and toupgrade the ageing domestic fleet ofTwin Otters.

But things did not quite work out

that way. In late October thecorporation’s top brass decided tolease its 18th aircraft. Royal NepalAirlines had started being derisivelycalled a “Rent-a-Jet” operator becauseit has hired every make of jet from justabout everybody: Hapag Llyod,Yugoslav Airlines, TurkmenistanAirways, China Southwest, and lastbut not least, Lauda Air. Every one ofthe leases has been dogged withcontroversy over kickbacks: under thetable payments to decision-makerscalculated on the basis of hours flown.There are few in the ministries since1994 and in the airline’s seniormanagement who are unsullied. Someflight crew in Royal Nepal havebecome so cynical that they say theydon’t really care anymore if there iscorruption. “If they’re going to getkickbacks anyway, then the nextbest thing is to ensure that theylease jets that are suitable for us,and on terms that would makeoptimum use of our own 757pilots,” said one frustrated captain.

It was perhaps inevitable thatwith all the interference from rulingparty politicians, a jet lease wouldsooner or later turn into a politicalscandal. The Lauda Air deal istheoretically one of the better onesthe airline has undertaken. On paper,the 767 would have been ideal ifNepali 757 crew were allowed to flyit. The biggest absurdity is that theairline pushes its narrow-bodymedium-range 757s on long-haulroutes like Kansai and Gatwick, whileletting the wide-body 767 do Delhi

and Bangkok. Royal Nepalmanagement privately blame this oncrew lobbying: they are reluctant toforego allowances during long layoversin Frankfurt, Dubai and Osaka. Littlewonder, then, that even if a RoyalNepal 757 flies full capacity roundtripKathmandu-Gatwick and back, theairline still loses money on that sector.

When the Lauda lease was signed,most major travel agencies and hotelsin Kathmandu put out large ads in themedia congratulating Royal NepalAirlines for taking the “bold step”.Little did they know that the leasewould turn sour, and be used by theparliament’s powerful PublicAccounts Committee under UMLgraft-buster Subhas ChandraNemwang to gun for the primeminister’s head. The Commission forInvestigation of the Abuse ofAuthority (CIAA) is still investigatingthe deal, but insiders say there is noreal proof of wrongdoing besides aletter from the cabinet allowing theforeign currency advance for theLauda lease to be released.

Fleet-wise, Royal Nepal has alsonever been better placed. With three757s and a 767 it could easily make itsflights more reliable and increasefrequencies on real money-spinningroutes like Delhi, Bombay, Bangkokand Hong Kong. It could take thepragmatic decision to be a hub-and-spoke airline specialising in ferryingpassengers from regional airports likeSingapore, Hong Kong, Dubai andDelhi through code-sharing tie-upswith large international airlines. It

could scrap its over-extended andunder-marketed European routes.

Royal Nepal is haemorrhaging Rs100 million a month just on theLauda 767. “If we retain both leasedaircraft during the low summerseason, we’ll get deeper into the holefrom which we may never emerge,”says a senior staffer at Royal Nepal’sfinance department. But the airline istrapped, it can’t cancel the leaseagreements without big penalties. Saysthe official: “I don’t think anyoneknows how to stop this. I doubt ifanyone even wants to.”

Royal Nepal has always been asource of slush funds for politicians.Where politicians have remainedaloof, their relatives have walked awaywith the money. Aside fromkickbacks, airline sources allege large-scale corruption was involved in thequestionable decision to phase out theairline’s fully depreciated 727s in theearly 1990s. One of the jets wasstripped down to the last bolt andsold as scrap. After that the airlinehad two 757s to service routesflown by four jets. Since then, it hasbeen one hired jet after another fordurations varying from 18 monthsto even 15 days. By now, airlinesources say, Royal Nepal has spent$111 million just in hiring planes. Itcould have bought two brand new757s with that money.

After outright purchase, aircraftleasing tops the list as a kickbacksource, and decisions are taken bypoliticians. Says a former corporatedirector of Royal Nepal: “The

commission that comes while leasingaircraft is an easy take for politicians.”He told us the going rate variesbetween US$100-400 per flight hour.By a rough calculation this meansvarious politicians and bosses at RoyalNepal have pocketed some $5.2million in the past seven years in justkickbacks. Politicians are usuallyhand-in-glove with airline’s topmanagers who are politicalappointees, airline insiders told us.

The other lucrative place to be isthe engineering department. Engineoverhaul is the biggest item, each RB-211 engine of a 757 costs $1.5 millionto service after a specified number offlying hours. The planes themselvesneed to be stripped down and servicedin C-checks and D-checks everycouple of years. Spares are boughtwithout transparent bidding. Dealsworth millions are finalised by aprivileged few, top officials and theirpolitical masters. Money is also madein printing airline tickets, purchase ofmotor vehicles and huge aviation fuelcontracts at stopovers abroad. Thereis even hanky-panky in food andbeverages served on board, a lot of theunused liquor after flights justvanishes. It’s not all kickbacks, thereis also over-invoicing for shoddyproducts in in-flight catering. A formermanaging director who dared to fightgraft in the airline in 1995 andbrought out a White Paper was firedfor his effort. A new chiefexecutive was hired whowould ensure the cash flow—not of the airline, but of thepoliticos who put him there.

If this is the state ofinternational routes, the lesssaid of the domestic thebetter. Tickets sold in black,passengers wait months inremote airports for flightsthat never come, and RNAChas earned the appellation:Royal Nepal AlwaysCancelled. Fortunes are madeby ground staff in remoteairports by under-invoicingcargo, bribes for hard-to-gettickets, and overloadingaircraft. The honest staff, andthere are quite a few, sufferfrom a tarnished reputationand pressure from peers tojoin in the loot. “It’s got tothe point where if you don’tsteal, you are not regarded asa team player and they’ll haveyou transferred,” one dejectedstation manager confided to us.

We put this to a currentsenior executive at the airline.His reply: “Every politician is

Pull up, pull up ...aware that this corporation cannotrun this way. Our board tells themthis can’t go on, but they just keep ondoing it.” The staff unions arepolarised between the Congress andthe UML and get active only whentheir political bosses want them to.

Whenever there is talk aboutprivatising the corporation, thesame political interests whip upnationalistic sentiments to ensurethat it does not happen, lest theylose their cash cow.

Meanwhile, the airline’sinternational market share hasplummeted from about 50 percent in1994 to 34 percent in 1999, despitehaving larger seat capacity. RoyalNepal has given up nearly all itsmoney-making domestic routes,including the lucrative mountainflights. “All this is happening whenwe have so many internationalairlines coming to Nepal, and Idon’t think they come here becausethey love Nepal,” says MediniPrasad Sharma, Director General ofthe Civil Aviation Authority ofNepal. “They come because thereis money to be made flying toKathmandu.”

Next time you feel like cursingRoyal Nepal. Maybe you shouldn’t.Maybe you should curse thepoliticians and their appointees whohave ruined a perfectly good airlineand run it to the ground.

Bobby Bikram Shah July 1990Sher Bahadur Pandey Oct 1991Bhuvaneshwor Daibagya Feb 1993Pradip Raj Pandey Nov 1993Kalyan Dev Bhattarai Feb 1995Udayabir Gurung Dec 1995Pusparaj Raj Karnikar - -R.R. Shrestha Apr 1997Madhav R. Sharma Jan 1998Ajit N.S. Thapa 1998Bharat B. Karki June 1998Hongkong Ranamagar Oct 1998B.K. Man Singh 1999Bharat Bahadur Karki 1999Hari Bhakta Shrestha Apr 2000Rajesh Raj Dali Feb 2000

RNAC Chiefs:

On Time1-30 minutes delayed30-60 minutes delayedOver 1 hour delayed

Flight No. Sector Schedule ActualArrival DepartureTime /Arrival

RA 409 KTM-HKG 0940RA 410 HKG-KTM 1930 2030

07 MAR,2001RA 205 KTM-DEL 0835RA 206 DEL-KTM 1230 1305RA 225 KTM-BLR 1515RA 226 BLR-KTM 2045 1930RA 231 KTM-DXB 0920RA 412 SHA-KTM 1815 2000

08 MAR, 2001RA 205 KTM-DEL 0900RA 206 DEL-KTM 1230 1310RA 217 KTM-DEL 2110RA 218 DEL-KTM 2045 2350RA 232 DXB-KTM 1500 1550RA 201 KTM-BOM 1600RA 202 BOM-KTM 2205 2205RA 409 KTM-HKG 0915RA 410 HKG-KTM 1930 0005RA 411 KTM-SHA 2345

09 MAR, 2001RA 229 KTM-DXB 1000RA 407 KTM-BKK 1010RA 408 BKK-KTM 2240 2340RA 412 SHA-KTM 1815 1915RA 217 KTM-DEL 1915RA 218 DEL-KTM 2315 0040

P

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The state of Royal Nepal Airlines always indicates the state of the country. And Nepal’scondition is reflected in the state of Royal Nepal. At present both are in a sorry state.

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Royal Nepal’s 757 has been grounded for the past two months with itsengines bandanged in the airline’s hangar in Kathmandu.

1010101010 LIFESTYLE 27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

Sceptics and sniggerers, perhaps it’s time to take massage therapyseriously—it could make you healthier and less of a cynic.

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ALOK TUMBAHANGPHEYT staffers love massages. Stopsnickering, now. It’s démodéto associate massages only with

sleazy back alley storefronts wherefurtive-eyed men go. Today, all sorts

of people undergo a range of massagetreatments for a variety of reasons—from generic stress to that nagging tugin your ankle that’s been botheringyou for years. And if you think deeptissue massage or using essential oils to

little complicated—you must now bespecific and find out whether it isaromatherapy that draws you orreflexology, Shiatsu, Ayurvedicmassage or the rather interestinglypainful Swedish version.

Where to begin? Yes, there areloads of massage parlours in town,especially in Thamel, that offereverything from herbal cures tohormonal balancing (just how this“hormonal balancing” is done is amatter of some debate and appears toencourage furtiveness). Most of theemployees in dingy Thamel parlours

that certain points on the hands, feetand ears are directly connected to therest of the organs of the body throughenergy lines. These pressure points or“reflex points” when stimulated have acorresponding effect on the respectiveinternal organ.

Ilse Scheuboeck is anotherreflexologist considering working here.A graduate of the TechnicalUniversity in Munich who alsoreceived pre-med training fromMunich’s Naturopathic School,Scheuboeck has been practising thescience in New York for the last twoyears. She’s here because herassociation with refloxology beganhere, in a rather strange manner. Shewas trekking in the mountains aboutten years ago, and a local woman gaveher a foot chart used by reflexologists,in German. Scheuboeck, then arafting enthusiast was intrigued anddecided to find a different river, onethat flowed inside the body. “Thereis no real proof that it really worksbut from my experience clientsusually end up feeling better after asession,” she says.

There’s no proof in most holisticregimens, but since people do feelbetter, and there’s little chance of thekind of side-effects that allopathicdrugs can pose, they’re attractivepropositions. Take the case of RamBrij, an Indian national working at theVerge Inn Leisure Club in Tahachal.From Gorkahpur, in Uttar Pradesh,this former metal welder chancedupon Arogya Mandir, a naturotherapycentre in Gorakhpur, and washooked. He trained there to be aprofessional healer and eventuallymoved to Mumbai. There Brij Ramclaims to have worked on everybodywho’s anybody—from cricket starSachin Tendulkar to movie starDharmendra. He’s now inKathmandu where he has workedwith all sorts of patients. He says he’seven cured a woman after a paralyticstroke. “Twice this woman wasparalysed and both times I cured her,”recalls Brij Ram. He’s a typicalholistic healer, in some ways, he hasnot had much formal education, buthe has had some training. “I believe inbalancing everything so that oneneither goes beyond the limit nor isleft too far behind. If you can bringthis balance you have a happy life,”says Brij Ram.

And that, really, is what massageand related complementary therapiesare all about. Okay, perhaps, they’realso incessant grist for the joke mill,but the effects they can have on a

stressed-out life are far fromfunny. You can berejuvenated and

detoxified. What morecan you ask for.

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Carlsberg

are women with just enough ideas tomake their customer—usually male—feel good. The price is right and for aslittle as Rs 600 (and as much as Rs2,000) per hour you’ll get all youwant, and sometimes more than youasked for. Masseuses and masseurs atthese places have handled the humanbody for years but, alas, theirprofessional training is usuallyinversely proportionate to theirexperience. Chances are, you will feelrelaxed and rid of aches after one ofthese sessions, but few will ask youabout your medical and personalhistory or know too much aboutpressure points or connectingnerves—not much use for chronicailments like a bad back orrheumatism.

If you want a pro, a pro you canget. Most work in five-star hotels, buttheir rates are surprisinglycompetitive. The Yak & Yeti Hotelfor example charges Rs 1,571 for 40minutes of Swedish massage or Rs2,020 for an hour-long Thaimassage. A Swedish massage at theSoaltee will set you back Rs 674,and at the Everest Hotel, evenless—Rs 561. Not very expensive,true, but terribly addictive.

If you’re serious about wanting tomake such treatment a part of yourlife, it’s best to find someone likeDenise Tomecko, a professionallytrained masseuse from England whofreelances. Tomecko describes herselfas more a therapist rather then amasseuse, because all the work shedoes is related to purifying the bodyand the soul. She even offers some ofher more regular clients counselling ifthey want it. Tomecko, who’s beendoing such work for over twentyyears, started out teaching yoga andmeditation. She felt that it was just asnecessary to heal the body and sotook courses designed by theInternational Therapists ExamCouncil and the British Registrar forComplementary Practitioners. Shewishes others also receivedprofessional training, so the word“massage” is never a source ofembarrassment or salacious smirks.“That’s one of the main problemsin Kathmandu—a lack ofprofessionally trained masseurs whoknow their subject.”

Tomecko’s favourite methods arearomatherapy and reflexology.Aromatherapy is the practice ofusing essential oils derived fromdifferent plants and herbs toheal the mind and the body.They are volatile substancesthat evaporate easily,releasing their aroma, andeach one has a specificquality that has acorresponding effect onthe human body. Whilearomatherapy uses theolfactory cells to triggerelectrical energy sent todifferent parts of thebody, reflexology isbased on the principle

heal is silly hippy-dippy nonsense,you have another think coming.Many biomedical doctors are happyto have their patients usecomplementary medicine, as this iscalled—in the US and Europe, theywork correspondingly with trainedmasseurs to treat people living withcancer and AIDS.

But trying on a “holistic” lifestylemeans more than just nipping over tothe barber to have your back crackedor hanging out at a beauty salon withmud on your face. In the world ofmassage, as in life, things have got a

Go on,massageyour ego

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SUSAN KUROSAWAnd so there I was lyingface-down in the sand,being pummelled, prodded

and sat upon by an iron-fingeredbeach boy who, for a grand finaleto his super-special-economy-deluxe massage (discount rate forbeautiful ladies), ran up and downby spine slapping me with his grimyhand-towel and yelling, “Two tents!Two tents!” all of which was metwith much amusement by onlookerswho may well have thought he wasordering a couple of circus tents toaccommodate the growing

You will emerge smelling like just about anything you canimagine, from a mixed fruit salad to a giant dill pickle.

develop an allergy to a rare Tibetanherb or break out in a rash causedby ground orchid stems. Becausethese conditions are so irritatingand scratchy they can only beremedied, of course, by anotherhour’s treatment.

During all these types of bodyhandling, it’s essential to makethe subject feel as vulnerable aspossible. This is especially so with

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such semi-tortures ashydrotherapy. Basically, you standagainst a tiled wall, strippedstarkers, while a person who isnot nude but is, in fact, wearingmore rubber and plastic than aTory fetishist, sprays you with thesort of serious hose normally seenon a fire truck. You are splayedagainst the wall in a mostundignified fashion and, if you area man, your private arrangementsmay come in for an awfulbattering.

The massage a la mode for thenew millennium is aromatherapy.This is completely civilised: allthose floral scented oils, smoothlyapplied while you drift off tofaraway rainforests to the tune ofmating-whale dirges. Things arevery different on the beaches ofAsia and the spa centres fringingIsrael’s Dead Sea. On the sandyshores of Goa, freelance beachmasseurs offer ayurvedic massageswhich are bliss of a sort but,depending on the character of thechap involved, could be far moresensual than memsahib wouldnecessarily want.

In a Dead Sea health club,you’ll be lathered with great lobsof viscous mud and left to lie on astone slab like a marinated pieceof meat. A matronly woman in a

shower cap, nurse’s uniform andplastic raincoat then appears witha watering can. If the mud hasbeen left a mite too long and it’sstarted to set, she’ll call for ahose. Then you must grip thesides of the slab and hang on fordear life while she holds themighty rubber serpent and comesat you as if you were on fire.Weeks later, you realise you stillhave stray bits of mud about yourperson—navel, ears, underarmcreases, unmentionable crevices.

The growth of the massage andaromatherapy business can be easilycorrelated with the stress of modernlifestyle. We have this ridiculoussituation where half of us are doingthe jobs of two people while theother half can’t even find a job forone person. That is, unless theunder-employed become masseursand set up shop to cater for theover-employed—a nice full circle ofrevenge, really. (Asia Pacific

Business Traveller)

On the sandy shores of Goa, freelance beachmasseurs offer ayurvedic massages which are blissof a sort but, depending on the character of the chapinvolved, could be far more sensual than memsahib

would necessarily want.

audience. In fact, he was saying,“Too tense! Too tense!” which is,of course, the mantra of masseursand masseuses from the beachesof Bali to the sterile salons ofBeverly Hills.

I have been massaged in manyforeign parts. Of the globe, thatis. It’s one of the great pleasuresof a resort-style holiday to treatyourself to “the works”. Whichwill variously be described asRoyal Spa Treatment,Rejuvenation Theapy, ImperialMassage or, if you are in Chennai,India, in a back street near theTaj Coromandel Hotel, “MrChatterjee’s First-Class Fingers byRoyal Appointment.”

Promises will be made ofunlocking the time-misted secretsof eternal youth and finelybalanced yin and yang.“Exfoliation” will be uttered as amystical password, an entrée tothe stripping of not just dead skinbut years of anxiety, tension andfailed fake tans. Ass’s milk,papaya, pulp, avocado oil, honeyfrom queen bees, lotus petals andheady herbs and spices will beinvolved. You will emergesmelling like just about anythingyou can imagine, from a mixedfruit salad to a giant dill pickle. Ifyou are very lucky you will not

The medium is the massageThe medium is the massage

1212121212 TECHNOLOGY 27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

Can you see me?The videophone is an important milestone in the history oftelecommunications, but the challenge has long been to make apersonal system that is cheap enough to tempt those earlyconverts who drive widespread technological change. At themoment, the state-of-the-art model for personal andworking purposes is the Motion Media mm225videophone. This little beauty not only lets you speak toyour callers you can also watch them do all those otherthings they do while talking on the phone—or, rather, itdoes if they have the same $1700 device as you do.Failing that, or until others catch up with you at theforefront of technological innovation, this videophoneis hardly a white elephant. If connected to an ISDNline, it can be used to watch televisionprogrammes, films and sporting events, whereveryou happen to be in the world.

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Lights! Camera! Action!Casio will give a whole new meaning to the word “watch”when it launches the next generation of wrist technologyin July. The device includes a digital camera, allowing thewearer to store up to 100 images, display them on its20mm x 20mm screen, or download them onto PC byinfrared. Enough already? In just a decade, adds Casio,we’ll be wearing simultaneous conference and fingerprintrecognition watches for security control. Oh, and for tellingthe time. $260 only.

Part II of an occasional NT series on gadgets andgizmos, for techies and luddites alike.

(and now for something completely different....)Eye in the sky

Before remote planesbecome the norm, tiny spyships are likely to lead theway in unmannedsurveillance. The latestprototype measures just 15cm across and weighsless than 60 g. The BlackWidow surveillance devicestill manages a sprightly 70kmph and has a flying timeof around 15 minutes. Builtby the Californiancontractor AeroVironment,the disc-shaped micro-airvehicle (MAV) flies with theaid of battery-operatedpropellers.on board is avideo camera weighing twogm. Controlled by remote,

developers are close to devising a way for MAVs to operate autonomously. They also plan tofit them with navigation systems or sensors to sniff out radioactive materials, body heat orbiological weapons. Price on demand.

Fast talkerThe shape of phones to come might just look like thenew Trium Mondo, released across Europe earlier thisyear. Actually a lightweight combination of mobile phoneand Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), the Mondo weighsjust 200g and offers 200 hours stand-by and up to threehours talking courtesy of a rechargeable lithium battery.The PDA uses the familiar Windows CE operatingsystem and offers a watch and alarm clock as well ascalculator, currency converter and three address books.The phone has a T9 directory for the fast composing ofSMS messages and is pre-set for the upcoming GPRStechnology.

GPRS is this year’s incomprehensible acronym fromthe mobile communications world. Ti is a non-voiceservice which enables information transfer up to 10times faster than previously available on GSM (threetimes as quick as a standard land-line connection).The data is transmitted in separate “packets” andreassembled at the other end.

Internet users will benefit from instantconnections (no dial-up is necessary), giving the impression of always beingconnected. Users will require both a network and a device that supports GPRS (notordinary GSM phones). The price depends on the contract and the supplier.

Night time is the right timeIf you want night vision goggles (and frankly it isbecoming increasingly difficult to think of alegal reason why you might), then youwant the best. ITT Industries hassupplied more than 70 percent ofcurrent US military stock and alsoprovides the light-amplifyingdevice of choice to the US policeforces. Its NightQuest 260 ismatchless when it comes totracking wildlife—as it should be,at $2,700. It uses light amplificationrather than thermal technology and claims toboost vision on nights with just a sliver of moonlightfrom 50 yards of visibility to 850 yards—albeit bathedin an eerie greenish glow. But be warned—you’ll need anexport licence to comply with an international traffic in US arms regulation. Which, of course,only makes it more appealing.

1313131313WORLD 27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

by VACLAV HAVELCOMMENT

PRAGUE - Identity and sovereignty are often discussed nowadays. Butwhat do they actually mean? Both probably consist of feelings that acommunity can only be its true self when it can be so without hindrance—in essence, when a community can decide its own fate.

Today’s talk about identity and sovereignty is often rather gloomy. Bothare allegedly endangered: by an EU that wishes to assimilate “us” as muchas possible; by the European Commission with its standards; by NATO, theInternational Monetary Fund and the World Bank; by the United Nations;by foreign capital; by Western ideologies; by Eastern mafias; by Americaninfluence; by Asian or African immigration; and by god knows what else.

Some of these concerns may contain a rational core. Yet they all derivefrom a traditional misconception—that upholding character, identity orsovereignty is not principally the task of a community or a people butsomething left in the control of others. That is, left to those who wouldattempt to deprive “us” of our identity, or at least to weaken it. I do notthink, however, that the world’s main concern is to find ways to rob peopleof their identity and sovereignty. Respect for anynation’s unique character, the manner of itsdevelopment, and the degree to which acommunity decides its fate, is determinedprimarily by those living within it.

How is this fate determined? It depends onwhether a people close themselves off in hope thatthe various winds of this world will pass them by,or a nation takes the opposite track and conductsitself as true inhabitants of this planet—as peoplewho assume their share of responsibility for it. Allhumanity is faced by this crucial dilemma: tosilently watch a suicidal self-propulsion of ourcivilisation, or to become active participants in themaintenance of global public assets, including themost precious—our planet and its biosphere.

But the concept of community is alsocomposed of concrete things. It depends, forexample, on whether the environment is nurtured.It depends on whether a people let their cities andtowns become marred by a banal universalarchitecture devoid of creativity and imagination. Such blights are notimposed by the EU or by global capital, or by evil foreigners. All of thisphysical degradation is accomplished with local consent and active localassistance. In other words: those who defile “our” identity are primarilyourselves—we who should be its protectors and guardians.

Who is it that infests language and conversation with clichés, ill-structured syntax and rote expressions? Who is responsible for thesterile language of commercials seen on every wall and television,indeed, seen everywhere, and without which we appear to be unable toknow even the time of day? Aren’t these severe attacks on language alsoassaults on a root of our identities? And aren’t we who use them, quitewillingly, responsible for them?

Let us go farther: Who allows young people to bathe from morning till

Who threatens our identity?

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GEOFFREY H LINDOP IN LONDON

n the 1960s Arthur C Clarkepenned the script 2001: A SpaceOdyssey, then the definitive science

fiction movie. He envisaged thathumans would venture on a mannedspace flight to Jupiter in 2001, using agiant cartwheel-shaped space stationas a base camp.

Manned missions to planets are along way off, but Clarke’s vision of anorbiting space station has come true inthe form of Alpha—the InternationalSpace Station taking shapeapproximately 375 km above theearth. When completed, it will boasta 108.5 m wingspan and be nearly90m long. The station, expected tocost $35 to $37 billion, will be hometo seven astronauts and scientists, whowill work and live in an area roughlyequal to the passenger cabins of two747 jetliners. It draws upon theresources and expertise of 16countries, including the USA, Canada,Japan, Russia and 11 nations of theEuropean Space Agency (ESA)—Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany,Italy, the Netherlands, Norway,Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and theUnited Kingdom. Brazil and Italyhave also signed on as participants.

The initiative highlights

Up in space, it’s different

international cooperation in spacealthough other advances closer tohome expose the limits ofcollaboration. US plans for a space-based missile defence system havestrained relations with Russia, whichargues that the plan encourages themilitarisation of space. Disagreementsurfaced in mid-April when aninternational conference in Moscowmarking the 40th anniversary of the

first man in space—cosmonaut YuriGagarin—was boycotted by Britainand the US and attracted onlymarginal European involvement.The conference theme of ‘SpaceWithout Weapons’ was seen as anattack on US plans.

Up in space, however, it’s adifferent story altogether. Here it wasfelt to be appropriate that theRussians, with all their expertise in

space stations, should launch theZarya control module, the firstcomponent of the International SpaceStation, which they did in November1998. A month later, the AmericanUnity module docked with Zarya andthe International Space Station wasborn. Two US space shuttle flightsdelivered extra equipment to theorbiting platform before the RussianZvezda service module docked in July2000, providing living quarters for thecrew. Since then, Russia’s Progresscargo craft and space shuttle missionshave been taking up modules andcomponents to the growing station—including an array of solar panels forpower, docking ports, communicationgear, computers and other hardwareand, in November 2000, the firstoccupants.

The first changeover in crew tookplace on 18 March—it was also thefirst time a Russian cosmonaut wasput in charge, with two Americansunder his command. CommanderYury Usachev and flight engineers JimVoss and Susan Helms relieved thestation’s first tenants, Commander BillShepherd, pilot Yuri Gidzenko andflight engineer Sergei Krikalev.

The Americans, who have takenthe lead role by virtue of putting more

money into the project than any othercountry, have since named veteranand rookie crews for missions in thenext year. “These assignments signalthat the space station is ready forlong-term operations,” said CharliePrecourt, chief of the Astronaut Officeat the National Aeronautics SpaceAdministration (NASA) JohnsonSpace Center in Houston, Texas.

Free from the confines of gravity,space stations offer the potential tomanufacture semi-conductor crystalsfar larger than those ‘grown’ on theground—creating ‘super chips’ thatenable computers to operate fasterand more efficiently than they donow. A weightless environment canalso facilitate the manufacture ofunique alloys. A space-based factorywould allow medicines to beproduced without risk ofcontamination, and manufacture ofunique products to help victims ofstroke, heart disease and othermedical conditions.

The US module Destiny joinedthe orbiting platform in February,bringing with it a module thatincludes a laboratory that enablesscientists to study the physiological,behavioural and chemical changes inhumans induced by space flight.

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Other laboratories will follow. TheJapanese plan to take up a similarlaboratory, Kibo (Japanese for ‘Hope’)in February 2004. The European SpaceAgency will also introduce a laboratoryand provide a number of other facilitieson the station. Brazil will providepallets onto which equipment can bemounted outside the station.

European contributions includethree Italian-made Multi-PurposeLogistics Modules (MPLM) which arecarried in the shuttle’s cargo bay totransport nine tonnes of supplies andequipment to the space station. Butalthough Alpha is called aninternational space station, not allnations are represented. India has asophisticated space programme,having successfully launched a newrocket carrying an experimentalsatellite on 18 April, but mannedspaceflight is not priority.

Clarke’s prediction of orbitingstations is becoming a reality, but heappears wrong on one point. In hissequel to 2001, Clarke wrote about afrosty relationship between the US andRussia as if they were still in the ColdWar. But despite glitches on theearth, the fact that 16 nations—including the ex-Cold War rivals—are working side-by-side on Alphareflects a reality of mutual trust andcooperation. (Gemini)

Geoffrey H Lindop is a Britishwriter specialising in astronomy andspace research.

i

On the ground friction between formerStar Wars foes remains, but up in theInternational Space Station,cooperation and trust abound.

If a nation’s identity is jeopardised, it isplaced in that position primarily fromwithin—by choice, negligence or indolence.

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More globetrottersUNITED NATIONS - The UN is projecting a significant rise in tourismworldwide, from about 664 million arrivals in 1999 to an estimated 1.6billion by 2020. A recent UN study says the sector is now the world’slargest industry and the largest sector of international trade inservices—and growing. In 1999 alone the number of internationaltourist arrivals reached 664 million generating about $455 billion intourist earnings worldwide. This is far higher than the internationalreserves of the world’s three largest economies last year: Japanwith reserves amounting to $330 billion, China with $160 billion andthe United States with $55 billion. The study says tourism willcontinue to grow owing to population growth, improved livingstandards, improvement and expansion of transportation systems,increasing free time and other factors. For many nations, in particularmost small island developing states, but also some bigger and moreeconomically diversified countries, tourism has become the mainsector of economic activity. The island states that depend heavily ontourism are mostly in the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Oceans.These include Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas and the Maldives,where tourism accounts for over 65 percent, 55 percent and 55percent of gross national product respectively.

Tourism became a mass phenomenon in the more developedcountries by the 1970s, and has now reached wider groups ofpeople in most nations, according to the study. During the 1990s,international arrivals grew at an average annual rate of 4.2 percent,while international tourism receipts, at current prices and excludinginternational transport costs, had an average annual growth of 7.3percent. In 1998, 7.9 percent of the worldwide export value of goodsand services came from tourism, surpassing such leading industriesas automotive products and chemicals. The study also points out thatas a result of the rapid expansion of tourism, traditional and emergingtourist destinations are facing increasing pressure from their natural,cultural and socio-economic environments. (IPS)

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night in blood flowing on television and movie screens, and yet aresanctimonious and astonished about the aggressiveness of the young? Whoreads all kinds of trash and porno-trash? These “entertainments” are notfilmed and published by bureaucrats from Brussels or by representatives ofinternational institutions, foreign states or large internationalcorporations: they are marketed by citizens to fellow citizens.

Behind these visible assaults on identity, the postcommunist countriesconfront other serious threats to both sovereignty and identity. Over thepast ten years of economic transformation, unimaginable wealth hasunaccountably disappeared from banks and companies; billions in taxes gounpaid. Few of those responsible have been brought to justice. Perhaps

worst of all, those who transferred money to taxhavens seem to enjoy the silent admiration of thepeople of whom they have taken advantage.

Who emits into our political and public life thepoisons of dissension, foul play, egoism, hatred andenvy? Who—quite inconspicuously—is leading us tobecome ever more hardened in our sensibilities andtoward becoming increasingly accustomed to the factthat everyone can lie about everything and anything?

I repeat: if a nation’s identity isjeopardised, it is placed in that positionprimarily from within; it is jeopardy bychoice—often choices expressed at the ballotbox—and out of negligence or indolence.Threats to identity nowadays are primarily notmatters of dictates from outside. True, theblind pursuit of profit is not the invention ofany one people. True, that pursuit is a traitthat is immensely contagious. But it is alsotrue that nobody can force anyone to takethat course.

If we really want it, if we all are prepared to express the desire topreserve community and identity by taking part in elections and bymaking the right choices, an open international environment and theadvanced democratic cultures of our neighbours, friends and alliesconstitutes the best ground for advancing a people’s uniqueness.Nowadays, any identity can truly live and flourish only if it breathesthe free air of the world; if it defines itself against a background oflasting and living neighbourly relations with other identities; and, if itconfronts, in a dignified manner, both the adverse winds that blowacross today’s world and, perhaps more importantly, the adversedesires that come from within. (Project Syndicate)

Vaclav Havel is president of the Czech Republic.

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1414141414 ASIA 27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

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LUKE HARDING IN NEW DELHIndia’s vast border has alwaysbeen a source of trouble. In thenorth of the country, the line

of control (LoC) between Indiaand Pakistan in Kashmir has beenat the centre of conflict for half acentury. Down in the remotenorth-east, China still contestsIndia’s presence in the state ofArunachal Pradesh.

But until last week, nobodyhad paid much attention toIndia’s border with Bangladesh.All this changed last Wednesdaywhen 16 Indian soldiers appear tohave ventured just insideBangladeshi territory near thetown of Manakchar in Assam.

They were responding to anincursion two days earlier byBangladesh’s border securityforce, the Bangladesh Rifles, intoPyrdiwah, a village in theneighbouring state of Meghalaya.What happened next is thesubject of bitter controversy. Cutoff from their unit, the Indiansoldiers appear to have walkedstraight into a trap.

They were disarmed byhundreds of Bangladeshi villagerswho appeared from nowhere andhanded over to the BangladeshiRifles. They were then tortured.Finally they were shot. “The jawans[Indian soldiers] were strangled andtheir bones broken. Some of thebodies were badly charred andscalded as boiling water was pouredon them,” General Gurbachan Jagatof India’s border security forceclaimed. On Friday, the mutilatedbodies of all 16 men were returned

to the Indian side.The weekend papers in India

made grim reading. In particular,one image shocked: that of a deadIndian solder being carried on apole by Bangladeshi villagers acrossa shallow river. His hands and feetwere tied with rope.

On Saturday, the dead man’scolleagues watched as all 16soldiers were cremated on a seriesof wooden pyres. Nine of themwere so badly mutilated theycould not be identified. Theincident could have beenexpected to plunge relationsbetween India and Bangladeshinto turmoil. In fact, both Delhiand Dhaka have been remarkablyrestrained in their response—and

have blamed the border skirmishon “local adventurism”.

Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’sprime minister, telephoned herIndian counterpart Atal BihariVajpayee to express her “regret”at the deaths. What now seemsclear is that Major-GeneralFazalur Rahman, the chief of theBangladesh Rifles, deliberatelyorchestrated the skirmish.Bangladesh’s general election isonly two or three months away.The country has been paralysed inrecent months by a series ofopposition-called strikes. It islittle secret that General Rahmanis no friend of Sheikh Hasina’s.

Like most of the Bangladeshmilitary, Rahman’s allegiance

appears to lie with the Bangladeshopposition leader Khaleda Zia,the widow of the former militaryruler Ziaur Rahaman. Since SheikhHasina won office in 1996, theinfluence of Bangladesh’s generalswho enjoyed unbridled powerduring 16 years of martial rule haswaned. They have privately opposedher policy of improving relationswith India.

Were Sheikh Hasina now tosack Gen Rahman, the oppositioncould parade him as a patriot whohad the guts to stand up toBangladesh’s overweeningneighbour, sources in Delhi havesuggested. As one Indian newspaperput it: “The military had beenquietly preparing the ground for amajor showdown using the classicalroute - India baiting. “The BNP[Khaleda Zia’s party], and itssupporting cast of generals areclearly trying to cash in on the deepdivide in the Bangladeshiconsciousness over India’s designs.The 2001 Bangladesh elections willdecide if the ploy has worked.”

The gruesome incident lastweek shows that Bangladesh’sarmed forces are prepared to act indefiance of their political masters inDhaka, a worrying trend. Back in1975 the army assassinated SheikhHasina’s father, Sheikh Mujib, thecountry’s independence leader,together with most of his family. Along period of military rulefollowed. As Bangladesh prepares togo to the polls, following anexceptionally acrimonious pre-election campaign, could anothercoup be on the cards? (Guardian)

iFrontier fracas

Last week’s killing of 16 Indian soldiers atthe border shows the military is preparedto defy its political masters. Could anothercoup be on the cards?

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No GE for SerendipCOLOMBO - Public health and green groups in Sri Lankaare overjoyed by the government’s decision to ban all typesof ‘genetically-engineered’ (GE) foods, starting May.Environmentalists here say that Sri Lanka is the first Asiancountry to do so and one of the few in the world. The HealthMinistry announced mid-April that it was banning theimport of all GE foods—it has notified a list of 21 items,which cannot be imported, unless certified not to begenetically engineered.

A ministry spokesman said there would be initialproblems in implementing the ban but added that theindustry had been given a year to prepare for it. Sri Lankadecided on a ban instead of using GE-free food labellingbecause it is a major food importer. Wheat and sugarcomes from the United States and European nations, andmost soya products come from neighbouring India. (IPS)

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Bihar’s bloody electionPoll violence in Bihar has even shocked hardenedobservers this time. In the first two phases of polling forelections to the local bodies, completed last fortnight, 80people were killed, including two candidates. With threemore phases to come, observers feel that even the officialdeath toll would cross the 100 mark, while unofficialestimates expect it to be over 500. When Bihar last hadpanchayat polls in 1978, 100 lives were lost. This time,given the blatant use of automatic weapons, that figurewas achieved much earlier. Polling booths witnessedpitched gunbattles between trigger-happy goons of rivalcamps, with many voters killed in the crossfire.

The state government, perhaps for the first time in thecountry, provided insurance cover to all 4,65,849 pollingpersonnel deputed in 1,16,028 booths. The three-tierpanchayat elections in the state are to be held in sixphases for 8,452 panchayats, with 436,000 candidates inthe fray. The only silver lining was the high turnout ofwomen voters, and despite the violence, the high, around60 percent total polling. About 50 per cent women casttheir votes—a record of sorts for Bihar.

Interestingly, because of the Royal Nepal Army’spresence along the border there has been hardly anyspillover of the violence into our side. And the publicityindustry—loudspeaker rentals, printing presses andartists—on the Nepali side, has reported good business.

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JONATHAN WATTS IN TOKYOunichiro Koizumi, a reformer promising toughlove for Japan, is to be the next prime ministerafter a surprise victory in voting for the leadership

of the conservative ruling party. Defying allpredictions, the former health minister rode a waveof popular support to overwhelm the traditionallypowerful factional interests represented by his threerivals for the presidency of the Liberal DemocraticParty (LDP).

Guaranteed the post of prime minister by the rulingcoalition’s majority in parliament, he is to inaugurate acabinet that is expected to be the youngest and mostreform-minded that Japan has seen in decades. He hasalso pledged to push aggressive reforms of the bankingsystem, cap the issuance of government bonds and breakup LDP factions.

Koizumi, 59, is an immensely popular politicianwhose selection is likely to boost the ratings of theLDP in the upper house election in July. In opinionpolls, 51 percent of floating voters said they wanted

Prime Minister elect Koizumicuts an unusually colourfulfigure in the grey world ofJapanese politics.

him as head of the ruling party. “At last we have a realleader,” one woman told a local television station. Inprimaries leading up to yesterday’s election, Koizumiswept 123 of the 141 regional votes that were at stake,making it politically impossible for the party’s grandeesto deny him victory.

In the final count, which included a poll ofMPs, he won 293 votes, putting him far ahead ofhis next closest rival, the former prime ministerRyutaro Hashimoto, with 155.

“It is unbelievable that I received such hugesupport,” he said after the victory. “It is theindividual citizens who moved politics. It is myresponsibility to rebuild the party so that we cansay with confidence that the LDP will change Japanand move ahead with major reforms,” he said.

Koizumi cuts an unusually colourful figure inthe grey world of Japanese politics.

Compared to the cheap suits and short-back-and-sides hairstyles that are almost de rigueur among LDPmembers, Japan’s new leader is a sharp dresser withlong grey permed hair. A divorcee, who has two sonsfrom a marriage with a woman 14 years his junior,“Jun-chan” as he is nicknamed, lists his hobbies asskiing, movies, Kabuki and singing karaoke. As a well-known fan of an outlandishly dressed pop group, X-Japan, he helped to set up a memorial museum for theband’s lead singer, who committed suicide.

His policies, particularly his advocacy ofprivatising Japan’s huge postal savings network,have also earned him the reputation as a politicalpunk inside the LDP: the party gets much of itsmoney and support from the postal lobby. “Jun-chan is a little different from your run-of-the millpolitician. He doesn’t make decisions based onpersonal interests. He is a politician who respectstheories and logic,” said one of the other threeleadership candidates, Shizuka Kamei, beforedropping out and throwing his support behindKoizumi. “He may prove to be a tough character onthe international scene.” (Guardian)

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Japan votes for change

j

Junichiro Koizumi

A Bangladesh Air Force helicopter readies to transport army personnelinjured in the border clash.

1515151515FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

THIS PAGE CONTAINS MATERIAL SELECTED FROM THE NEPALI LANGUAGE PRESS

27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

autocratic and undemocratic. Ithas been using the police to curbthe democratic and constitutionalrights of the opposition topeaceful demonstration, and toarrest innocent leaders andpolitical activists. There is noguarantee that it would not usethe army to destroy democracyand suppress the opposition.Only a government with political

commitment, ethics and high moralecan lead the country and give itdirection. Koirala’s government lacksthese qualities. The government itselfis synonymous with violation of theconstitution and laws and democraticrights, intrigue, unrest and corruption.On what moral grounds can thegovernment expect to rule the countryand solve the Maoist problem? Agovernment presided over by a uselessand corrupt prime minister cannotsolve the nation’s problem. The plan isonly another ploy of the corrupt.

Gyanendra meets○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

PrachandaNepal Jagaran, 16 April

It is public knowledge that Babu RamBhattarai and Prachanda of the NepalCommunist Party (Maoists) have metmany leaders of various politicalparties. Now it has come out in theopen that the two Maoist leaders alsomet Prince Gyanendra recently.

The meeting between the prince

and the two Maoists leaders has raiseda lot of questions and suspicion in theminds of the people. This is mainlybecause the basis of that meeting,what was discussed and whatconclusions were reached have notbeen clarified. According to sourcesthis meeting took place veryrecently. Ramesh Nath Pandey, theroyal nominee to the Upper Housewas also present at the meeting. Ithas been stated that a very high-ranking army officer was alsopresent. It seems Pandey was thecoordinator, the mediator.

“Why did a member of the royalhousehold meet Maoists leaders?” isthe question everyone is asking. Bothparties agreed to keep the issuesdiscussed at the meeting a secret. Thishas given rise to more suspicion.

Why are members of the Maoistorganisation very keen to meet withmembers of the royal household?Almost a month ago, members ofthe Maoist party met with Pandey,who as mentioned earlier is the royalnominee to the Upper House. Themeeting of the Maoists and Pandeywas criticised by all. Now, after themeeting of Prince Gyanendra and theMaoists, there is more suspicion in theminds of the people.

At present both Prachanda andBhattarai are in the capital. Rumourhas it that they are very busy (meetingdifferent people). Both leaders hadearlier met CP Mainali of the Marxist-Leninist party, Prakash Nepal of theUnity Centre and Narayan ManBijukchhee of the Nepal Workers andPeasants’ Party. According to sources,it is expected that the two leaders willsoon meet with leaders of theSamyukta Jana Morcha and the NepalCommunist Party (Masal). The

Maoist leaders are meeting with theleaders of all left-leaning parties andothers which is why rumours of allsorts are around. People know thatthe Maoists have met with manyleaders, but they do not know whatwas discussed at the meetings. Thislack of information is creating a biggerrift between these forces and thegovernment too.

What the Chief○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Sa’ab said…Excerpts from a convocation speech ofthe army chief Prajwalla S Rana, 20April

For the past few years, we at the RoyalNepal Army and the people havebegun to understand that thecountry’s security situation has nowreached very difficult phase. Werealise that the situation is slowlygetting worse. The nation has beentrapped in violence and counter-violence, the conspiracies andcounter-conspiracies, the lack ofdiscipline. Because there has been adeterioration of human values andinstitutions, extremists, insurgents,communal forces and criminals havefound support. As result, there hasbeen a negative affect on nationalunity and development and, tosummarise, the entire country isrestless, amid uncertainty, unrest,hopelessness and poverty. Today’smain need is to end the confusion,negative behaviour and activities tosecure the future of the country.For that reason mainly, all politicalparties and also we, the citizens,need to take the initiative fornational stability, unity andinterest.

While the country is goingthrough unrest and confusion, therehave been comments on the role ofthe army and its duties. The rank andfile needs to be clear on the RoyalNepal Army’s position on these issues.For there to be peace, security anddevelopment in the country, it isimportant to have political stabilityestablished. The Royal Nepal Army isnot a party-affiliated mechanism but anational institution. This is a non-political institution whose proudhistory is associated with the historyof the making of the Nepali nation, itscontinuity and national unity. Thusthe Royal Nepal Army, which is a

symbol of national continuity andstability, has to be used only insituations that would benefit theentire country. It is very necessary thatareas of national interest beidentified…

…finally, to support the nationalinterest, and for peace, security anddevelopment programmes, we cannotignore the fact that the Royal NepalArmy will in the appropriate time andsituation be mobilised, for which theRoyal Nepal Army is always mentallyand physically prepared. It is the dutyand responsibility of all to achievesuccess in the work for which we aremobilised. Thus if the Royal NepalArmy, for national interest, is to beinvolved in the Internal Security andDevelopment Programme thensustained and continued politicalcommitment of all political partiesand the people, has necessarily to bethere (apariharya huncha).

Narayan Singh Pun, MP, Nepali CongressSaptahik Bimarsa, 20 April

I have already mentioned earlier that I wasassociated with the aviation industry for more thantwo decades and therefore I know something aboutthis industry. People already know about myexperiences in this industry, in the air while I wasflying, my experiences in foreign lands and my variedand multiple experiences with all sorts of differentpeople and different circumstances. Although theLauda Air issue did not get a proper hearing in the19th sitting of parliament, I had given a lot of thoughtand made public my thoughts concerning this issue at manyplaces and in many forums. I am very familiar with all aspects ofthe leasing of planes and all issues that come up in the process.When I was with the Royal Nepal Army, and then later when Iworked with a private firm, I got a chance to study the ways in whichthese deals were done and was at times myself a member of thecommittees formed to lease planes. It is on this basis, the basis ofmy experiences in the aviation industry, that I want to lay bare theactual facts concerning the whole Lauda Air issue.

The Royal Nepal Airline Corporation (RNAC) has beenfunctioning for a long time and is a well administered corporation.The RNAC has played a major role in the national economy. Itbegan in 1958 with one Dakota and by 1990 had a fleet of 18planes, which included four jets. At the present moment it has atotal of nine planes. Of these nine planes, only two are jets andthey fly international routes only.

Nepal is already established as a tourist destination in theinternational arena and the number of tourists is rising with theyears. Air agreements have already been signed with 31 nationsand more than 15 different airlines land in our country. QatarAirlines flies seven days a week using a wide-bodied jet, ThaiAirlines flies a Boeing 777 seven days a week. Singapore Airlines,Transavia, Condor and Gulf Airlines all fly wide-bodied jets to thiscountry and all this shows that Nepal has firmly established itselfas a tourist spot on the world map. It can be seen that all theseairlines are slowly increasing their flights to our country, while theRNAC, on the other hand, is slowly cutting down on the number offlights it offers because of a scarcity of planes. Actually the RNACshould be increasing its flights but it’s doing the opposite as saidbefore, slowly cutting down its number of flights. All this is becausethere’s a major shortage of planes. As a result, while it had a 53percent share in the international sector in 1995/96 (2052/ 53), thisshare had dropped to 38 percent by 1999/2000 (2056/57). It is nota good sign for the national flag carrier to steadily lose its marketshare because of the lack of planes. It is keeping in mind this lossof market share, that the corporation decided to lease planessome time ago. In fact, the process of leasing planes has been onfor a long time. The two planes that the RNAC owns fly a total of 35flights a week in the international sector and they are always seenflying. These two planes fly 12 times a week to Delhi, thrice a weekto Bombay, twice a week to Bangalore, four times to Bangkok,twice to Singapore, thrice to Osaka via Shanghai and thrice a weekto Frankfurt, London and Paris via Dubai. Since these planes arereally busy, a small change in any flight really messes the wholeschedule of the airlines. At times when a plane has to go in for acheck up, then the RNAC has only one plane to operate and thisleads to cancellations, delays and chaos—none of which paints a

very good picture of the country or the airlines. Thisresults in time loss and in the loss of revenue.These problems have tarnished the reputation ofthe airline, which in turn leads to loss of customerconfidence, which results in loss of revenue andmarket share. The airline wants to increase thenumber of its flights to sectors in which it alreadyoperates, and wants to start new flights to Seoul,Riyadh and Lhasa. It has already done a marketsurvey for these sectors and is now marketing itsflights in these areas. Experts have already statedthat if the RNAC wants its plans to succeed, then itshould have at least four wide-bodied jets. The long

term goal and plan of the RNAC is to own at least seven wide-bodied jets, and until such time as it is not capable of buying itsown planes, it will continue leasing them, like the one it has justleased from Lauda Air. If the plane that has just been leased fliesaccording to the present schedule, then within 18 months it willgenerate a profit of Rs 650 million. If it flies direct to Osakawithout stopping in Shanghai, then it will generate a profit of Rs880 million. Statistics show that this jet carries a total of 258passengers per trip, which translates into an increase of 65,000passengers or tourists per year. If one tourist spends $500during his stay, this means that $32.5 million dollars will begenerated as revenue, which is a big amount. Let us notforget the indirect assistance and help this will provide to thenation and the national exchequer. Twelve organisations thatare associated with the tourism industry have understood thisaspect of the deal and have therefore welcomed this leasehappily and with open arms.

Now if we go into the technicalities of leasing a plane, then letme make it clear, that there are no clear cut rules, laws andregulations, neither with the government nor with the RNAC.From 1994 to 2000, the government has leased 19 times planesof various sizes with different companies—this means 19agreements have already been signed during these seven years.All these leases were done through direct contract and notthrough a tender system. After the Chase Air scandal, theCommission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA)recommended to the government that from that time on, allleases should be done through a tender system. Following thisrecommendation, the cabinet passed directives to the concernedministries and agencies. According to international norms, allcompanies that want to lease out their planes, put all theirspecifications on the Internet months in advance. Now if anygovernment wants to lease a plane, it can directly go to thedifferent websites and directly finalise a deal with any companythat gives it the best offer. Plane owners are not interested inanything that talks of tenders, guarantees and counter-guarantees. It is because of this system, that although the RNACcalled for tenders four times within the span of eight months, noone responded. It is only after this that the government decided todirectly lease a jet from a private company.

Everyone accuses the government of corruption in this case.They state that a cheaper jet was available, and ask why thegovernment went for an expensive one. Actually in the long run,the Lauda jet turns out to be the cheapest one. A Lauda Air seatcosts $15.06 per hour, the Ansett jet would cost $16.65 per seatper hour and the China Southwest Airlines plane costs $15.98per hour.

“The bare facts of jet leasing”

Deshantar Weekly, 22 April

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

We’re looking at three areas within the Nepali context—parliament, the streets, and the jungle. If the power inparliament has gone to the streets, the power of the streets has gone to the jungle. Our goal is to bring thepower that has gone to the jungles back to the streets and parliament. To involve them in the democraticprocess.

– Madhav Kumar Nepal, CPN (UML) General Secretary in Tarun Weekly, 23 April.

Narayan Singh Pun

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“A futile exercise”Budhabar Saptahik, 25 April

The government invited the CPN-UML last Saturday to participate in adiscussion about the proposed“Integrated Security and Develop-ment Plan”. The UML declined theinvitation, instead putting forth fourdemands. The UML said that theProgramme is futile and cannot helpsolve the Maoist problem, and refusedto hold talks with the government.The four demands were:

The programme is groundworkfor mobilisation of the army. Ithas been UML’s political standthat Maoist problem cannot besolved by the use of force.The programme is ambiguous,directionless and dubious. It isnot clear even about the nature ofthe Maoist problem.

The programme is superficial andreactionary and will providefurther opportunities for theNepali Congress and thegovernment for corruption.

The present government is

If the army were mobilised, they’d put everyone in place...Singha Darbar is immobilised. Maybe we should go there too.

Prajwalla SJB Rana

Prince Gyanendra

1616161616 SPORTS 27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

Jamaican, winner and gentleman

ourtney Walsh’s finalmoments as a test cricketerwill stay with him for the rest

of his life. A Jamaican through andthrough, a winner and a gentleman, hewas able to experience and indulge inall three pleasures as he helped WestIndies to a 130-run victory over SouthAfrica in the fifth and final test atSabina Park this week.

When South African last manPaul Adams sliced a delivery fromMervyn Dillon to Marlon Samuels atbackward point, the catcher wassuddenly all alone. Everyone else wasrunning towards Walsh at fine leg.Dillon, who many in the Caribbeanhope will go furthest to filling the

Courtney Walsh’s brilliant test careercomes to an end, in one of the mosttouching farewells ever in the game.

gaping void created by Walsh’sdeparture, leapt into his mentor’sembrace and was immediatelyfollowed by the third fast bowler inthe side, Cameron Cuffy. Brian Lara,meanwhile, had persuaded umpireSteve Bucknor to part with the matchball and sprinted towards Walsh andhis ecstatic gathering to present himwith the memento as well as astump he had grabbed when victorywas complete.

Walsh was hugged by every one ofhis team mates and then, left brieflyalone, saluted his adoring fans andaccepted the embraces of groundstaff,security guards and anyone else whohad managed to climb over the

perimeter fences in time. The famousSabina Park Mound played themoving reggae song composed andwritten in his honour by local DJZum Jay: “Whoa di big man innacricket” and the crowd joined in,“Whoa lick down batsman wicket...”

As Walsh finally reached thepavilion he was greeted by anotherguard of honour, team mates andSouth Africans alike lining up toapplaud him as he made his way intothe dressing room where hecontemplatively sipped champagnestraight from the bottle. “I said beforethe game that I was going to come outand enjoy five days of good cricketand, it’s a good team, maybe we couldhave a win to provide a nice send offfor me. The team played unbelievablecricket and I’m just grateful for that,”Walsh said after the game.

“When I broke the record (forthe most wickets) last year it was a

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Courtney Walsh Factfile1962: Born Oct 30, Kingston, Jamaica.1982: First-class debut for Jamaica.1984: August - English county debut for Gloucestershire.

November - West Indies Test debut against Australiain first Test at Perth.

1989: 100th Test wicket against Australia, Sydney.1993: Takes 200th Test match wicket against Pakistan in

Bridgetown, Barbados.1994: Appointed West Indies captain for India and New

Zealand tours after Richie Richardson ordered to rest.1995: February - Career-best Test 7-37 in second Test against

New Zealand in Wellington. August - 300th Test wicket,sixth Test v England at the Oval.

1996: Named West Indies captain after Richardson resigns atthe end of the World Cup.

1998: January - Sacked as captain after West Indies lose allthree Tests on 1997 tour of Pakistan. November -Becomes West Indies’ leading wicket-taker, passingMalcolm Marshall’s 376 mark.

1999: Third man in Test history, after Kapil Dev (434) and SirRichard Hadlee (431), to take 400 wickets.

2000: Breaks Dev’s world record of 434 Test wickets whendismissing Zimbabwe bowler, Henry Olonga, in thesecond Test at Kingston, Jamaica.

2001: March - Becomes first bowler in history to take 500 Testmatch wickets. April - On his home ground atKingston, retires from international cricket after fifth Testagainst South Africa with 519 Test wickets.

c

tremendous occasion, I broke a record,we won the test and it was a series winas well. It was fantastic to finish it allhere, on home turf, but that wasprobably a bit more special,” Walshsaid when asked about his favouritememory from a career spanning 132tests in 17 years. Walsh thanked“everyone involved with West Indiancricket, from the very top to the verybottom, but most importantly the fanswho have shown tremendous loyaltyand stuck by me and supported methrough thick and thin.”

The cheers were deafening. Walshnoted, too, the “good sportsmanship”of the South Africans who formed aguard of honour when he came out tobat for the last time on the fourthmorning and joined in the applauseand back-slapping congratulationsimmediately the match ended. “In mylast test series in England they did thesame thing and they did it in Australia,

too. All the opposition teams I haveplayed against have treated me withthe utmost respect and I’m verygrateful for that. I just want to thankthem for that and wish them well intheir endeavours.”

“But to my own team mates, whohave always given me their supportthrough thick and thin, I want tothank you. You have answered thecall for me in this test match...thank

Walsh

you.” As promised before his finalmatch, the 38-year-old Walsh plans totake a complete rest for about sixmonths before deciding where hisfuture lies. “I spoke to Allan Donaldand he recommended six months off,put the feet up, play a little golf...I’mgoing to spend some time with thefamily at home, some time with myson and daughter. I’m just going torefresh myself, recharge my batteriesand then focus on the next stage ofmy life from here on in.” It is acredit to the nature and spirit of theman that no one seemed to be sadas he said goodbye.

Maybe it was because West Indieshad won their first test in 14 attempts,but more likely the noise, the vibe andthe unrestrained joy pulsating from theparty on the Mound was becauseJamaicans were simply overflowingwith pride that Courtney was one ofthem. (sports-jam)

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by DESMOND DOIGSAVING FAITH

n the beginning, when gods walkedthe valley of Kathmandu, there wasa mound where the temple now

stands, and to it daily came a cow tooffer her milk. A bewildered cowherdwho watched this incrediblehappening in great awe and fear, atlast found the courage to dig at thespot. He had hardly begun when hewas consumed by a light like that ofmany suns emanating from a lingawith faces of Shiva carved on all foursides. So terrifying was one of the facesthat an early invader of the valleylooked upon it and died.

There ends the myth and historytentatively begins. Pashupatinath,

however small the original shrine, wasthere when the first settlers raised aperishable town of wood and mudabout it on the banks of the sacredBaghmati. The earliest remains areLicchavi, from AD 300 to 800.Licchavi rulers were in closerelationship with Gupta India, soSanskrit was the court language with a

growing interest in Hinduism.Chinese representatives of the

time, visiting the Kathmandu valley,described the fabulous court, carvedand ornamented with pearls andgems, as being near the holytemple of Pashupatinath, wherethe king daily worshipped thedeity that protected him.

Long before, when the Mauryanking Ashoka visited the valley, hemarried his daughter Charumati to alocal prince and they founded the cityof Dev Patan, close to the most sacredshrine. In the fourteenth century thetemple was shattered by the invadingarmy of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlak: threehundred years later it was eatenthrough by termites.

King Pratap Malla, in atonementfor having seduced a minor girl, addeda courtyard filled with Shiva lingas.The last Malla king of Kathmandustripped the temple of all its gold andhad it melted down to finance his waragainst the invading Gorkhas. Such isthe power of Pashupatinath, believethe devout, that he lost the battle.

Pashupatinath, as Shiva in one ofhis many incarnations, is a protector ofanimals, so there are no sacrifices atthis great shrine. Appropriately,throngs of gossiping monkeys swarmthrough the temples, feasting off votiveofferings and sometimes exploding intoviolent battles that zoom to and froacross the river, up and down stairsscattering pilgrims, along the ghats,

The light of many sunsand through rows of temples. Theylive on the wooded hill which is partof the temple complex which reachesthe airport, until recently calledGaucher, the meadow of cows.

When I first came to Kathmandu,a famed mystic, the Shivpuri Baba,lived on Pashupati hill in a small hutthat seemed part of the forest. I wentto him and was enchanted by a jovialold man with a flowing beard whoclaimed to be 150 years old. Lest Idoubted him he said he rememberedQueen Victoria being crownedempress of India, and had seen thefirst train in India.

Today, Pashupatinath is a two-tiered pagoda temple with heavilygilded roofs, heavy silver doors thatare closed to non-Hindus, and is thecentre of a vast conglomeration oftemples, shrines, dharamshalas,bathing and burning ghats heldtogether by an aura of religious fervourand the smoke from funeral pyres.Here is beauty commissioned by art’sgreatest patron, religion, so thathardly a stone is unchiselled or wooduncarved. The windows of even thehumblest dharamshalas areornamented with wasp-waist deitiesand intricate floral designs. Templespires writhe with golden serpents,and on two of the platforms on whichthe dead are cremated are sixthcentury stone carvings of rare beauty.

Two festivals blaze inPashupatinath more brightly than the

others; Shivaratri, when thousandsconverge on the temple from all overNepal and India, thronging the area,day and night, and raising shelters andshops wherever space permits.Devotional music is everywhere. AtTij, women from all over the valleywalk to the great shrine, marriedwomen in their vivid marriage sarisand unmarried girls in their brightestbest, singing and dancing as they go tobathe in the sacred river and pray atthe great temple: the married womenfor their husbands, the girls for a goodand kindly match.

They pour from the temple downthe stairway to the river like a burst ofscarlet sequins overflowing the ghats

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by MARK TURINFIELDWORK ANECDOTE

t was four years ago, in late November orearly December, that I was sitting outside ona bamboo mat facing the eastern Himalaya.

Beside me sat Rana Bahadur Thangmi, arespected shaman and village elder, and thefather of my host. I had been staying in his son’shouse for a few weeks, orientating myself andbeginning to learn the Thangmi language. In thelate morning sunlight of that day, I decided totry out my first full Thangmi sentence.

Thangmi is a Tibeto-Burman language witha complex verbal agreement system, making itparticularly difficult for an English-speaker tolearn. I had collected quite a few words in thetime that I had been there, and was now readyto try some of them out. It was a Saturday sothe village children were home rather than atschool, and the area around our house wasbuzzing with activity. Rana Bahadur lookedregal and dignified in a bright red woollen hat ashe shared a home-rolled cigarette with his wife.I had decided on my practice sentence: it was toinclude a subject, an object, two adjectives and,of course, one of those difficult verbs. I lookedat him and chose the correct personal pronoun, a respectful form, andthen made it into a possessive form. I recalled the adjectives for red andbeautiful, the noun for hat and the suitable ending of the verb ‘to be’. Inshort, I was ready.

“Oh, respectful father, village elder and shaman of high-standing…,”

Learning about Himalayan body parts(through observation rather than participation)

I proclaimed unnaturally loudly in my ‘I’mspeaking to a foreigner in a language I don’t speakvoice,’ “…your red hat is beautiful”. My firstsentence was complete. The reaction: silence, totalsilence. Women’s mouths dropped, hands went upto cover eyes in shame, children stopped pullingthe legs off beetles, and men turned to look at me.Rana Bahadur glanced up from where he wasdrawing a map in the earth with a stick. “What didyou say, my foreign grandson?” My accent wasprobably difficult to follow. After all, they hadnever heard me trying to speak their languagebefore. Moreover, he was a little hard of hearing.“Your red hat is beautiful,” I said again, but thistime with conviction and satisfaction, pronouncingevery syllable as clearly as I could. Silence again.Tortured beetles fell to the ground. Rana Bahadurbegan to shake his head slowly and let out a deep

sigh. He was most definitely not amused.“Grandson,” he finally said in Nepali so that I would fully understand,

“your country is a long way away.” He started most sentences like this, so Iwas not unduly concerned. “And you have made a great effort and sacrificedmuch to come and live with us,” he said. Nothing untoward so far. “And

now…,” he continued, “you have the nerve to insult me in front of myfamily and my village…have you no shame?” My contentedness at mylinguistic achievement withered as it dawned on me that I hadn’t saidquite what I had intended to say. As the giggling started and as childrenbegan to whisper to each other and point at me, I desperately lookedaround for assistance. A young man, about my age, was peering downfrom the porch of the house in front of which I was sitting. He wasshaking his head with a mixture of disgust and pity. Making eye contactwith him, I gestured incomprehension with my hands. In answer, heshook his head as he pointed to his hair and then nodded as he pointedto his groin. My first Thangmi sentence hadn’t come out as planned.

I spent the rest of the afternoon apologising and attempting to undowhat I had said. Thankfully, Rana Bahadur, being a considerate man,forgave my linguistic transgression. To this day though, my Thangmi friendsgiggle whenever I say ‘hat’ in their language. After a few glasses of the localfirewater, however, I can’t remember for the life of me which is which.

An earlier version of this article was published ‘LearningHimalayan Body Parts’, in IIAS Newsletter, No 24, February 2001,p. 18 [ISSN 0929-87381]

Mark Turin is completing a grammar of the Thangmi language and is amember of the Himalayan Languages Project at Leiden University in TheNetherlands.

My first sentence was complete. Total silence. Women’s mouthsdropped, hands went up to cover eyes, children stopped pullingthe legs off beetles, and men turned to look at me.

Shaman Rana Bahadur Thami in DolakhaDistrict (the man I insulted)

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and spilling into the water. In theirmidst, on a stark stone slab, her feet inthe water, an old woman in white liesdying. No one apparently bothers butthat is what Pashupatinath is allabout, destroyer and protector, both.The eternal riddle of life and death.Every morning Radio Nepal opensits programme with a prayer toPashupatinath and when the king,himself a reincarnation of Vishnu,addresses his people, he calls uponPashupatinath to bless and protectthem all.

(Excerpted with permission fromIn the Kingdom of the Gods,Harper Collins, 1994.)

I went to the famed Pashupati mystic Shivpuri Baba, a jovialold man with a flowing beard who claimed to be 150 years old.He remembered Queen Victoria being crowned empress ofIndia, and had seen the first train in India.

27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES1818181818 CITY

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KATHMANDU

Finally, in April there was substantialrain. But not enough it seems to fillup the rivers, and hence the powershortage. The pre-monsoon trend isisolated thundershowers and this isnot going to replenish the riversenough for the power situation to getback to normal. For this week,satellite images show no clear trendto indicate any significant change inmovement. The picture on the leftshows the sun shining brightly allover the subcontinent, but heavyafternoon buildup over theHimalayan arc. A moderate low-pressure belt passing through thelower Himalaya is a sign of hope, inthe sense that it may draw freshwesterly clouds to the region. Thecloud mass deposited in the westernedge of the Himalaya will follow thetrack to precipitate into western andcentral Nepal. But these are dryclouds and will not bring much byway of precipitation.

by NGAMINDRA DAHALNEPALI WEATHER

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

on FM 102.4

For inclusion in the listing send information to editors@nepalitimes.com

For insertions ring NT Marketing at 543333-36.

MOVIESNepali and Hindi movies online ticket booking at www.nepalshop.comEATING OUT The Shangri La Jazz Bar French chef Phillippe Carpentier

and Narayan Gurung’s special menu this month, with jazz byCadenza (Tuesday, Thursday), Irish music by An Saine(Wednesday, Friday). Weekend pool and buffet, 12noon—3pm atShangri La Village, Pokhara. Adults Rs 550. Children upto 12years, 50 percent discount. 412999 Everest Hotel Barbecue at the Ropes, 12 noon-2.30pm daily

lunch, 7-10.30pm dinner at Mandarin Terrace. Saturday Splash, brunch, use of pool, Rs 555per head, including a soft drink or beer, Rs 229 for children under three ft, including a softdrink. 488100 Wet & Wild Summer Swimming in a cool pool and a buffet lunch. Saturdays at Godavari

Village Resort. Adults Rs 600, children Rs 350. Tax extra. 560675, 560775 Botega Restaurant and Tequila Bar authentic spicy Mexican specialities, steaks, salsa and

meringue music. Thamel. 266433 Naked Chef Restaurant, Nagarkot. Gourmet continental and Indian cuisine. Great views.

262039, 680115 Movenpick ice cream Exotic desserts at the new ice-cream lounge on Darbar Marg. Soaltee lunch buffet at the Garden Terrace Restaurant. International cuisine, salads,

soups, desserts. Rs 700 for full buffet. Rs 450 for soup, salad, dessert. Rs 300 for salad. Rs450 for children under four ft. Tax extra.MUSIC Rhythms of West Africa Baber Mahal Revisited and Friends of Kanti Ishwari Shishu

Vidyalaya present Emile Hassan Dyer. Songs, rhythms and stories from Africa and the USA.Proceeds go towards environmental awareness programmes. Baber Mahal Revisited, Sunday29 April 6.30pm. Rs 850 per head. 251647 Meditative Mantra Music by Sunita Mishra, Vijay Mishra, Kamala Maharjan, Santosh Sah

and Rena Shrestha. Pilgrims Book House, Thamel. 28 April 5pm. Free. 424942EVENTS The Panchatantra, Studio 7 presents classic tales about wise conduct in life. Naga

Theatre, Hotel Vajra. 27, 28, 29 April, 4,5,6 May. 7.15pm. Tea and show, Rs 600. For reserva-tions call 271545 or e-mail vajra@mos.com.np Spiny Babbler Museum Readings and presentations of contemporary Nepali literature and

art. Sundays 5-6pm Kathmandu Guest House, Thamel; Tuesdays 4-5pm Kathmandu Environ-ment Education Project, Thamel; Thursdays 7-8pm Bamboo Club Restaurant, Thamel; 5-6pmNew Orleans Café, Thamel. spinybabbler@mos.com.np. 542810, 546725 Get Caught Reading World Book Day exhibition. Celebrity readings, displays of fiction and

poetry titles, and popular films and music. 29-30 April. The British Council, Lainchour. 10am-5pm. Book Signing Dr Marcus Moench speaks about Water in Nepal by Dipak Gyawali. 29 April

5-7pm. Baggi Khana, Patan Dhoka. Organised by Himal Books, Panos South Asia, NepalWater Conservation Foundation. Nepal Education and Book Fair 2001 Nepal’s only career, educational and book fair. 4-12

May. Bhrikuti Mandap Exhibition Hall.EXHIBITION Contemporary Graphic Prints NAFA, the Indian Embassy and the Indian Council of

Cultural Relations (ICCR) present 81 graphics by 34 artists like MF Hussain, Laxma Goud,Gogi Saroj Pal. 15-30 April, NAFA Art Gallery, Bal Mandir. Jewellery Exhibition and Sale Designs by Florence Dupoizat and Angela Soulier, executed

by the women from the Vedfon Family Project. 24-27 April 9am-6pm. Alliance Française,Thapathali. Nepal Vision II Paintings by Roy Breimon and Vaclav Pisvejc on Kathmandu. 8am-6pm,

until 29 May. Indigo Gallery, Naxal. Jomsom to Muktinath Exhibition of water colours by Neera Joshi Pradhan. Park Gallery,

Pulchowk. 15-30 April 10am-6pm. 522307 Réalités An exhibition of multi-media paintings by Shova Adhikari-Wagley. 2-16 May,

Alliance Francaise, Thapathali.MEDITATION AND HEALING Japanese light healing Hirokazu Kobayashi heals Sundays and Wednesdays 3pm-5pm at

the Shuvatara School this month. 537551MARTIN CHAUTARI Dalits and Janajatis in the Nepali Media Research report presented by Pratyoush Onta,

Sekhar Parajuli, Bhaskar Gautam, Kumar Yatru, Chakraman Biswakarma. 1 May 5.30pm,Martin Chautari, Thapathali. chautari@mos.com.np. 246065

CLASSIFIED

BOOKWORMLeft for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest Beck Weathers with Stephen GMichaud. Little, Brown and Company, Great Britain, 2000. Rs 1,250.Weathers, the Texan climber who survived the 1996 Everest disaster and who Jon Krakauer wroteabout in Into Thin Air, tells his whole story. Left for dead, he staggered back to Camp Four withsuch severe frostbite, his companions thought he wouldn’t make it. He began descending slowly,until Madan KC could carry out what was then the highest helicopter rescue ever attempted.

Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine Julie Summers.Weidenfeld and Nicholson, Great Britain, 2000. Rs 2,240.A biography of Irvine, the lesser known of the Mallory and Irvine duo, whomight have climbed Everest in 1924. Irvine’s grand-niece uncovered new photographs and lettersIrvine sent home from Everest, and his engineering drawings, to answer questions about why,despite his limited mountaineering experience, he was chosen for the expedition, and why Malloryselected him for the final assault on the summit.

25 Adventure Treks in the Mighty Himalaya Steve Razzetti, climbing consultant Victor Saunders.New Holland Publishers, UK, 2000. Rs 1,100.This guide, part of the Globetrotter Adventure Guide Trekking and Climbing in Nepal series, isaimed at trekkers and climbers at all levels of experience. It includes detailed original cartography,strip maps and topographical photographs of 12 climbing peaks. The 25 treks range from Saipal inthe west to Kangchendzonga in the east, classic teahouse routes to newly charted expedition-styleroutes. Also included is information on trekking and climbing styles, mountain photography andlocal ecological concerns.

Annapurna: 50 years of Expeditions in the Death Zone Reinhold Messner, translated by TimCarruthers. The Mountaineers Books, Seattle, USA, 2000. Rs 1,910.The great climber Messner pays tribute to Maurice Herzog’s pioneering summit of Annapurna 50years ago, when for the first time the “Death Zone”—above 8,000 m—was crossed. He alsohighlights the most exciting and significant achievements on the Annapurna since 1950, includingclimbs led by Chris Bonigton, Erhard Loretan and himself.

Seven Summits: The Quest to Reach the Highest Point on EveryContinent ed, Steve Bell. Bullfinch Press, Little, Brown and Company, United States,2000. Rs 3,120.Every mountaineer dreams of climbing all Seven Summits—Everest/ Asia, Aconcagua/South America, McKinley/ North America, Kilimanjaro/ Africa, Elbrus/ Europe, Vonson/Antarctica, Carstensz Pyramid/ Australasia, Kosciuszko/ Australia. Editor Bell doesn’t saywhich of the last two should be the seventh summit, but includes both. The book hasinformation on each summit, with diaries and essays of summiteers.

Reflexology by a professional US-, Europe-trained naturopath, therapist. Improve yourblood circulation, energy flow. Perfectpreventive therapy and also for specificailments. 416118 (11am-5pm) or emailbuddhasfeet@about.com.

Himalaya International Clinic in Westernsetting, MD physician and generalpractitioners, imported vaccinations, lab test,minor surgical facilities, free informationabout mountain sickness. Parking available.9am-5pm. Jyatha, Thamel. Near Utse Hotel.225455, 223197

Kodari Eco-Resort Tatopani A few minutesfrom the Tibetan border, peaceful andpleasant stay with delicious food and friendlyservice. Hiking, Tibetan border shopping, hotsprings in Tatopani. Rooms with attachedbath in the Resort and lodge-type rooms withcommon bath at the Roadhouse. Specialrates for Nepalis, expats, travel agencies.kodari@mos.com.np, 480262.

Exotic orchids and dwarf azaleasfor sale, extremely sophisticated. Call Dineshor Pinki at 424877 or emaildipi@infoclub.com.np

Car for Sale 1987 Toyota Tercel 4WD StationWagon. Duty Paid. 5 Door, 5 speed manual,1452 cc petrol very good condition,112000km. US$7,600 (NRS 560,000) CallLee or Lynn Poole at 524202 (Home) or521377 (Work)

Yamaha keyboard and Oscar mountain bikefor sale Yamaha PSR320, 64 keys. Inputs:MIDI sustain. Rs 15,000. With catalogue.Oscar mountain bike. Aluminium frame, 21speed, plastic mudguards, detachable frontwheel, lock. Eight months old, hardly used.Ring Girish or Salil evenings at 353963.Email samudra@post.com.

Car for sale Mitsubishi Lancer ’75 model, butin top condition. Very low mileage. Cheap!Email janaki_gurung@yahoo.com.

Courtesy Mandala Book Point, Kantipath

1919191919ART

ARMY SPICE: Wives of cadets from the Royal Nepal Army’s Command andStaff Force emerge after the convocation ceremony carrying certificates on 20 Aprilin Tokha.

27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES

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PLAYING WOUNDED: WHO-Nepal staffer Shiva Ram (inset with mask off)being carried out by colleagues during a disaster simulation at UN House inPulchowk on 25 April.

EVERY DROP MATTERS: Representatives from a consortium of donorssupporting the Melamchi Project to augment Kathmandu Valley’s water supplyaddress the press on 24 April

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SALIL SUBEDIn a cold winter day, sadhusat Pashupati wrapped inragged gundris sit beside a

dying fire and watch the funeralpyres. Somewhere in Patan, thegod of compassion ratomachhendra is splashed with redvermilion and clothed in rich redbefore being taken out on achariot. Meanwhile, the fiveBodhisattva—the five differentforms of the Buddha—enshrined incountless alleyways and bahalsspread around the Valley glimmer

in the twilight as a couple preparesto tie the knot in a temple.

These are the cityscapes 51-year-old artist Roy Breimon walksthrough, observing keenly. He thenretreats and recreates them withbrushstrokes and acrylic onPlexiglas. Breimon uses an unusualtechnique called reverse painting.Breimon applies many layers ofcolours mixed with bronze and goldpowder, so his work has a richmetallic lustre.

“I am very impressed by theintensity of the colours of life here.The basic colours people have

incorporated in their culture andlifestyle are intriguing,” says theperipatetic artist who, in betweenhis extensive travels, spends a fewmonths in his native United Statesand in Prague, where he is based.“Kathmandu for me is vibrantcolours—red, green, yellow,” hesays by way of explaining the almostprimordial quality of some of thepaintings. Like the one called Tara,for instance—a thin stem-likeyellow line leads from the base toform a slim neck which opens up toan almost rectangular face paintedin pure lemon yellow with bluish-

these years to bring about theseworks of art.” And it shows.

(Accompanying his works areten paintings by the Czech-bornartist Vaclav Pisvejc whointricately portrays Kathmandu’scultural, social andenvironmental nuances ino

Different strokes

white eyes, all against ablack backdrop. It seemsthat here, vigorous life iscoming into being frompure emptiness, infinitespace.

But Breiman’s arenot all metaphysicalponderings, removedfrom the peoplearound us everyday.Because he is outthere, watching the

faces that watch others andrecreating them in The Guardians,gazing at the visitor. There arefaces that are giving, (the differentBuddhas) and those that appearlike caretakers (Pujari). “I try andunveil the mask that every humancarries. I observe faces wherever Igo. Faces are my subjects,” saysBreiman of his unique perspectiveon human visages. He dims themor exaggerates them to reflect theinfluence their surroundings haveon them.

Occasionally, this requires adeparture from rich, deep colours.“I like white. It is very pure,” headmits. In the collection of 31paintings currently on show at theIndigo Art Gallery, there arecolours ranging from the very darkshades in Mahadev to life-giving,sparkling tints in The Guardians.And, that is at the core of whatone takes away from the show:the colours Breiman uses togetherwith his lines delineate figures,particularly, in Ishwar, Kwa BahalPilgrims and Devotees that areunforgettable. If, after viewingthe show, you shut your eyes,

the colours and forms areimprinted, as Nabokov’sHumbert said of his muse,on the inside of your eyelids.Almost like a laser showprojected against the nightsky. “I consider theprojection of every innermostfeeling, even death, as purebeauty,” he says.

Breiman has beenworking exclusively withreverse image painting since1981. Basically, the imageis first painted on to theback of the Plexiglas, andworked from theforeground to thebackground to enhancedepth and texture. Thespluttering of colours inFaces of Shakti gives adynamism to the texture,while the undulating linesin Naga and the geometricpatterns in Yantra Deitydisplay well the flexibilityone has in stroke-making inreverse paintings.

Breiman, also a theatre,ballet and opera setdesigner, studied art as afifteen-year-old at theUniversity of Mexico inSatillo and had his firstmajor exhibition inWashington DC in 1976.He has had numerousexhibitions including inBerlin, Los Angeles, Miami,Barcelona, and WashingtonDC. This is his secondexhibition in Nepal. Whenasked what makes himpaint Kathmandu’s facesthe way he does, he says: “Ilike people who are reallydevoted to what theybelieve in. I don’t likeobsessive and intolerantpeople. And that is thetrait I have followed all

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If, after viewing the show, you shut your eyes, the colours and forms are im-printed, as Nabokov’s Humbert said of his muse, on the inside of your eyelids.

different forms of fish. Pisvejc,however, is not in the city atthe moment.)

Nepal Vision II Paintings by RoyBreimon and Vaclav Pisvejc. Until29 May. Timings: 8am-6pm daily.Indigo Gallery, Naxal. #413580

27 APRIL - 3 MAY 2001 NEPALI TIMES2020202020

CLOSE UP

by Kunda Dixit

Under My Hat

ere is the daily weather report. Roughlyspeaking, there may be some chances of partlycloudiness here-and-there in isolated parts of the

kingdom in the next 24 hours or so approximately. Orthere may be not. Let’s face it: no one really knows. Infact, there is a fat chance that strong storms will rakethe not-so-isolated parts of the kingdom as well, butwe can’t say that because this is a government-controlled weather report,and we have made it ahabit to err on the side ofcaution. But what we cansay with some degrees(between 30-32 Celsiusmaximum and 10-12Celsius minimum) ofcertainty is that thetemperature on thestreets of Kathmanduwill rise as a result ofa high-pressuresystem bringing a lotof hot air from acertain large countryin the vicinity whichhas requestedanonymity.Meanwhile, acrossthe Himalaya,moisture-laden cloudsthat could bring some welcome relief are stuck inKhasa because of a customs dispute over VAT. Thatmay be the end of today’s weather report, but we’renot too sure. And now, to end the news here are themain points once again:

The Defensive Minister has said he is workingwith the NC CWC, HMG/N, MOFA, CPN-UML, RPP, NSP, NMKP, ETC to have theNSC get the APF, IDAD and the ISDP tocounter the CPN-M/PP through its SWISHstrategy, building on past KS-II, IRDP, RNAC,CPRDPPED, the NWSC and last but not least,the MWSP.

NEPALI SOCIETY

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The Minister of Culture and Agriculture hasstressed the role of media in the under-development of the country. Speaking at theinauguration of the All-Nepal Non-workingJournalists’ Society (Counter-revolutionary) hesaid: “Journalists should try not to makeanything up. But if they want to, they shouldcheck with me first.”

The executive committee of the Nepal chapter ofthe International Union of Parliamentarians WhoBoycott Parliament but Still Collect Their DailyAllowances (ICPWBPSCDA) held a meeting in

Singha Darbar this week.The meeting waspresided over by theparliamentary party’sChief Whipping Boy,who demanded a CIAAinquiry into thedeteriorating quality ofthe samosas served during

executive committeemeetings. Themeeting alsoprepared a strategyWhite Paper to bepresented by a 14-member Nepalidelegation attendingthe nextICPWBPSCDAWorld Congress tobe held in Acapulcowhich this year has

the theme: “Case Studies of Effective Methods toBring the House Down”.

The World Meteorology Day Celebration MainCommittee held its first preparatory meetingtoday and decided to celebrate WorldMeteorology Day in a grand manner by hostingvarious programmes, walkathons and talkathons.A sub-committee under the Chairmanship of theDepartment of Environment and SupernaturalResources is organising a special prayer vigil todraw up a petition to Lord Indra to ensure a haleand hearty monsoon this year so that things willbe generally unfair throughout the kingdom.

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Mainly unfairthroughout the

kingdom hat is a German firetruck and ambulancedoing crossing into

Nepal from India? Well, theyhave travelled overland all theway from Germany, and arepart of a campaign by a Nepalineurosurgeon and his wife toupgrade emergencyequipment in Nepal. BhawaniNarsimha Rana (“BN” to hisfriends) and his wife Renatehave so far brought sevenambulances and three firetrucks for different hospitalsand municipalities in Nepal.BN’s sons, Renate’s brotheror friends of friends havedriven the vehicles acrossEurope, Turkey, Iran, Pakistanand through India into Nepal.That is a lot of trouble, but forBN’s relatives and friends it isadventure with a purpose.

The first ambulance wasdriven to Nepal overland in the

AMBULANCEearly 1980s, and is still beingused at the hospital for thedisabled in Jorpati. BN spendshis own money to bring thevehicles over, but doesn’t drivethem himself anymore. He isalso finding it more and moredifficult to come overland,because of border hassles andtax red-tape in Nepal.

BN and Renate run acharity through which theyraise funds for social work inNepal. Their work rangesfrom an orphanage inChapagaon with 100 chil-dren, raising funds for an OldAge Home and girls’ hostelcalled Abentureland inGodavari inaugurated by theprime minister recently. Thecouple also conduct aninternational conference onmedicine in Kathmanduevery year. The next one isscheduled end-2001.

BN left Nepal in 1960 tostudy medicine in Heidel-berg. After specialising inneurosurgery, he beganperfecting new medicaltechniques for patients withnerve disorders. All along,BN wanted to helpdisadvantaged people backhome and the inspiration forbringing the emergencyvehicles to Nepal was hisbrother Sambhu Rana, adriving and vintage carenthusiast.

BN has seen the limits ofwestern medicine, and feelsthat ayurvedic remedies havea lot of potential especially inpain relief. BN, who is withthe Pain Research Society ofGermany, says: “We shouldnot forget these ancienttraditions. They carry theultimate answer to a lot ofthings.”

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