<figure><img width="640" height="559" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd19a9c7e80680e08f8c3jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>This <a href="https://globalvoices.org/2021/01/05/the-favorite-dishes-of-nepali-chef-santosh-shah/">story</a> by <a href="https://globalvoices.org/author/sanjib/">Sanjib Chaudhary</a> originally appeared on <a href="https://globalvoices.org/">Global Voices</a> on March 19, 2020. After finishing in <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2020/12/18/santosh-shah-who-has-brought-nepali-recipes-to-the-world-declared-runner-up-at-masterchef-professionals">second place</a> in the 2020 edition of BBC's “MasterChef: The Professionals,” London-based Nepali chef <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santosh_Shah">Santosh Shah</a> became a household name both in UK and Nepal. During the run-up to the finals, the 35-year-old chef presented before the judges a variety of dishes that are little-known outside Nepal.<a href="https://kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2020/11/19/never-shy-away-from-thinking-outside-the-box">Born and raised in Karjanha, Siraha District</a> of Nepal’s southern plains, Santosh toiled up a hill to reach where he is today. After failing his school-leaving exams, he moved to India to work as a dishwasher at a five-star hotel. There, he rose through ranks to become a cook.In an interview with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/">Nepali Times</a>, Santosh says he took a risk when he moved to London in 2010, but it paid off as he began working with renowned chefs. At the time he entered the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1281256/">MasterChef competition</a>, he had been experimenting with Nepali food for two years in restaurants in the British capital. The judges appreciated the food items he prepared and presented, such as kodo (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paspalum_scrobiculatum">millet</a>) pudding, amot (mango leather), crispy stuffed okra, yomari, chicken chilli, and crab curry.Nepali Expat Arun Chaudhary tweeted: (By presenting Nepali cuisine to the world, from the tubular papadum (fofi) from the Terai to yomari, Chef Santosh Shah from Karjanha Village in Siraha has reached the finals. Best wishes, brother. Shine the name of Nepal like this only.) <figure><img width="557" height="818" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd19d9c7e80680e08f8c4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Global Voices chatted with Chef Santosh Shah on WhatsApp to know about Nepali food he loves and would like to promote.“I love <a href="http://ecs.com.np/features/season-smart-food-from-the-terai">biriya</a> (a delicacy from the Terai region),” he said. “Biriya cooked with newly harvested potatoes are my best.” Biryia is made of grass peas, mustard greens or broadleaf mustard leaves wrapped in black gram paste and dried on the sun. They are then stored to be cooked in the rainy season when green vegetables are scarce.Another dish Santosh would like to promote is <a href="http://ecs.com.np/food/neglected-but-nutritious">Airkanchan</a>, which is also popular in Bihar, Jharkhand and other Indian states. Taro leaves, pasted together with rice flour or gram flour paste and cut into small cutlets, are fried in mustard oil and then dipped in a gravy of curd and spices – it’s hot, salty and sour!Check out Santosh’s <a href="https://www.instagram.com/chefsantoshshah/">Instagram</a> for more delicious food from Nepal: <img width="491" height="798" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd19f9c7e80680e08f8c5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="442" height="837" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1a19c7e80680e08f8c6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="495" height="833" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1a39c7e80680e08f8c7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="494" height="766" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1a59c7e80680e08f8c8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="500" height="700" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd1a79c7e80680e08f8c9jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-inspire-others-by-learning-not-teaching-santosh-shah/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"You inspire others by learning, not teaching," Santosh Shah</a>

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Santosh Shah’s favourite dishes

<figure><img width="1675" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bed924b0ad905ca02eef2jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Judges of MasterChef last month were so impressed with Nepali chef <a href="https://www.chefsantoshshah.com/inthepress" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.chefsantoshshah.com/inthepress&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607316980153000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHWDqd1ersnecLNrRPvTt5jAwdM6g">Santosh Shah</a>’s performance in the quarterfinals that he is now shortlisted in the semis for the title of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007mtf0" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007mtf0&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607316980153000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHARuhIB5jOe-BWdZVOVpiZTwvcnQ">Masterchef: The Professionals 2020</a> on BBC One. Episodes are broadcast from Tuesday to Thursday every week until the final later this month.Nepali Times caught up with Santosh Shah in London to talk about his life and career so far:Nepali Times: From Siraha to Cinnamon Kitchen! Quite a journey. How did it begin?Santosh Shah: I come from a very humble background. I was born in Siraha, the youngest of seven children. My father passed away when I was five years old. I started to work when I was around 9-10, engaging in petty trade, like selling farm produce (we share-cropped), fruits or bread in the market. Ours was a story of struggle, and school never got prioritised. I failed SLC but did not have the patience to wait for another year to re-appear for the exams because what was I going to do with an education given my circumstances? So I followed what others in my village did -- go to India. When I was told that I will work at a hotel in Ahmedabad, I imagined it would be like one of those small hotels in Siraha. I was shocked to see a five star hotel. Even those of us who washed dishes had to wear uniform and we had a superviser in suit and tie who used to manage seven of us dishwashers. I used to wash the skewer of a chef who worked in the tandoor section. I told him that I wanted to be a chef as well, and wanted to help him. He advised me to talk to the executive chef. One day, when I was serving tea to the executive chef, I requested him to give me a shot, and he did. Perhaps he saw that I was eager to work and was committed, so he placed his bet on me. I started helping the chef in the tandoor section who had originally recommended me. From there I transferred to another hotel. I started taking a hotel management course, learnt English and computers on the side. I kept strengthening my CV -- the salary discrepancy among chefs was huge. When I started, I was earning Rs900 per month whereas the executive chef was earning Rs17,000 a month so there was value in good credentials and experience. Within seven years of hard work, I became an executive chef. I then went to Montenegro via an agent, but I wasn’t happy and did not see my future there so I returned.  <figure><img width="1506" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bed944b0ad905ca02eef3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>In India, I organised a food festival and this was picked up by media including The Times of India, Aaj Tak and India TV. I got an unexpected call from someone who was two hours away from me -- he apparently had read the media piece and asked that I meet him that night itself. I went to meet him at midnight because his flight to the UK was the next morning. At midnight, we talked – he ran a restaurant in the UK and wanted someone like me. I of course agreed and my paperwork came through soon after with all costs borne by the employer. In London, the original restaurant was very small -- for someone who was used to working with large teams in five star hotels, it felt very odd to work in a restaurant with 3-4 employees. I have switched jobs multiple times since then. I think there are two things that describe my journey. One is, I always ask what is next. I am very happy with where I am because I have made it so far, but I am also always looking at the next step. I never stop learning and keep trying to do better. I could have easily settled with a comfortable job as an executive chef, but I never did. The other is, I am a risk-taker. In London, one of the job changes was to a French restaurant that was run by a celebrity chef where the salary was half of what I was earning, but given the learning opportunity and mentorship under a famous chef, I took it. Taking chances may not always work in my favour, but I can always take satisfaction on how far I have come because I took the risk. How does it feel to be in MasterChef? What has the experience been like?In many ways, it feels the same. I am the same person experimenting with recipes and enjoying my job to the fullest. But in many ways, things have changed as well.  I used to get a few messages and now I get thousands from people who are cheering me on. It also feels great to have the platform to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/exploring-nepals-culinary-diversity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">introduce Nepali food to the world</a>. I have always worked hard but now it feels like my cause got a lot bigger given the platform and I am thrilled about that.I also think I now have added responsibility with people looking up to me, especially Nepalis in the hospitality sector. A message that has stuck with me was from another London-based chef also from Siraha after he saw one of my interviews in Maithili that was widely shared in my community. He told me that he never shared with his family that he is a chef because it is not seen as such a respectful job back home. But after he saw me sharing my journey including my rough beginnings so publicly, he said he felt inspired to disclose his profession to his family. The MasterChef competition is very tight and we are judged for creativity. As the competition advances further, the margin for error is very small and they seek perfection. We have to be mentally strong -- my experience participating in cooking competitions on a smaller scale in the past has helped. We are timed, and put under immense pressure. One dish is per our liking, and I practice that numerous times in advance so by the time I make the dish on the show, everything is intuitive and I don’t have to think about anything as I get grilled by the judges, the pressure of the camera and the short time. But the other dish is as per the judge’s wish in which case it is easy to falter and mess up. I score lower in the latter, but it averages out in my favour. But the competition is getting tighter and more demanding as two chefs get eliminated in each round. Ten are remaining out of the original 32 and these are some of the best chefs around. I am glad to have made it this far. Even if I don’t win, I am glad I was able to put the spotlight on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/could-nepali-cuisine-go-global/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali cuisine</a>. <img width="1032" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bed974b0ad905ca02eef4jpeg.jpg" alt="">Just like it is difficult to say what “Indian” food is, must to be difficult to describe what “Nepali” cuisine is, when it is so diverse? How do you answer that when your international audience asks you the question? I am an Indian chef – even in London, if you ask who the ten best Indian chefs are, my name will come up. But I have been experimenting with Nepali food for the last two years. It’s hard to come up with a good way to describe Nepali food. Nepali food is described by others as “similar to Indian food, only slightly different”. But that is not true. Our food, especially along our borders are influenced by Tibetan and Indian cuisine, but that is not the entirety of our diverse dishes. That is what I want the world to know. There is no yomari, choila, kachila, tama, gundruk outside Nepal. Our food is unique and diverse and varies by castes or geography, we have different techniques and ingredients. Two years into experimenting with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/food-of-the-royals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali food</a>, I have realised how little I know and how much there is to learn and do. I could spend a lifetime just researching and experimenting with Nepali recipes. Personally what are the best aspects of Nepali cuisine for you ? How much do you experiment, or do you try to keep to traditional ingredients and preparations? I experiment a lot because palates differ geographically. Let me share an example. I know sukuti growing up in Nepal. It is a familiar, nostalgic food, and I am fond of sukuti dishes. But to outsiders unfamiliar with the texture, the hardness of the meat may not be palatable. So I experiment with it and try to dehydrate it for different periods of time to soften it while making sure the original taste is not lost. The challenge is to garner wider appreciation for these unique tastes that our rich culinary landscape offers. Food trends are dynamic. The Indian food trend has been there for long while in the last few years, I have seen an increase in the trend for Sri Lankan food. These come in waves, and I want a trend for Nepali food as well, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/much-more-than-dal-bhat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">beyond just momo and dal-bhat</a>, so people actively seek out Nepali food and appreciate it for its diversity and richness. <img width="1592" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191112/636bed9a4b0ad905ca02eef5jpeg.jpg" alt="">In one of your shows you prepared an octopus dish Nepali style. How did it go down? There were negative comments on social media on how my spiced chargrilled octopus dish isn’t our food. But we need to understand that this is a global competition for a global audience. Octopus is very popular in Europe and South America. When I was working in an Indian kitchen, I had experimented with octopus recipes with Indian flavor as it is my favourite seafood (in fact I was the first chef to introduce octopus to Indian cuisine here) and the dish had turned out to be amazing. Having made that a few hundred times, I had the urge and confidence to try it with Nepali ingredients and it worked great. So, I went with it in the show. It was described by the judges as, “The most beautiful plate of food I have ever been served seen in Masterchef.” All four judges were generous with their praises for the octopus dish without a single negative feedback. When you went to India you had no idea you would land up where you did. What advice do you have for other Nepalis who are also going abroad to make a future for themselves?My advice to young Nepalis is to never stop learning, you are never too old to learn new things and to improve your craft. Asking what is next is important. There is always room to improve, tweaking my recipes a bit often makes a big difference to the meal. Keep learning and be a positive force to others, not by teaching. Sikayera haina sikera inspire garnu parcha. (You inspire others by learning, not teaching.)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgVoaH_c9cYSo, what is next?I am now set to start a high-end fine dining Nepali restaurant in London. The tentative name is ‘Ayla’ by Santosh Shah. I am hopeful that this will help create a separate identity for Nepali cuisine. Being in MasterChef will definitely help, regardless of the outcomes of the competition. My ultimate goal is the Michelin Star for Ayla, which is the Oscar equivalent for Chefs. That would further help elevate the profile of Nepali cuisine globally.

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“You inspire others by learning, not teaching,” Santosh Shah

<figure><img width="1675" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be67d9c7e80680e0877a9jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Judges of MasterChef last month were so impressed with Nepali chef <a href="https://www.chefsantoshshah.com/inthepress" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.chefsantoshshah.com/inthepress&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607316980153000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHWDqd1ersnecLNrRPvTt5jAwdM6g">Santosh Shah</a>’s performance in the quarterfinals that he is now shortlisted in the semis for the title of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007mtf0" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007mtf0&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1607316980153000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHARuhIB5jOe-BWdZVOVpiZTwvcnQ">Masterchef: The Professionals 2020</a> on BBC One. Episodes are broadcast from Tuesday to Thursday every week until the final later this month.Nepali Times caught up with Santosh Shah in London to talk about his life and career so far:Nepali Times: From Siraha to Cinnamon Kitchen! Quite a journey. How did it begin?Santosh Shah: I come from a very humble background. I was born in Siraha, the youngest of seven children. My father passed away when I was five years old. I started to work when I was around 9-10, engaging in petty trade, like selling farm produce (we share-cropped), fruits or bread in the market. Ours was a story of struggle, and school never got prioritised. I failed SLC but did not have the patience to wait for another year to re-appear for the exams because what was I going to do with an education given my circumstances? So I followed what others in my village did -- go to India. When I was told that I will work at a hotel in Ahmedabad, I imagined it would be like one of those small hotels in Siraha. I was shocked to see a five star hotel. Even those of us who washed dishes had to wear uniform and we had a superviser in suit and tie who used to manage seven of us dishwashers. I used to wash the skewer of a chef who worked in the tandoor section. I told him that I wanted to be a chef as well, and wanted to help him. He advised me to talk to the executive chef. One day, when I was serving tea to the executive chef, I requested him to give me a shot, and he did. Perhaps he saw that I was eager to work and was committed, so he placed his bet on me. I started helping the chef in the tandoor section who had originally recommended me. From there I transferred to another hotel. I started taking a hotel management course, learnt English and computers on the side. I kept strengthening my CV -- the salary discrepancy among chefs was huge. When I started, I was earning Rs900 per month whereas the executive chef was earning Rs17,000 a month so there was value in good credentials and experience. Within seven years of hard work, I became an executive chef. I then went to Montenegro via an agent, but I wasn’t happy and did not see my future there so I returned.  <figure><img width="1506" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6819c7e80680e0877aajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>In India, I organised a food festival and this was picked up by media including The Times of India, Aaj Tak and India TV. I got an unexpected call from someone who was two hours away from me -- he apparently had read the media piece and asked that I meet him that night itself. I went to meet him at midnight because his flight to the UK was the next morning. At midnight, we talked – he ran a restaurant in the UK and wanted someone like me. I of course agreed and my paperwork came through soon after with all costs borne by the employer. In London, the original restaurant was very small -- for someone who was used to working with large teams in five star hotels, it felt very odd to work in a restaurant with 3-4 employees. I have switched jobs multiple times since then. I think there are two things that describe my journey. One is, I always ask what is next. I am very happy with where I am because I have made it so far, but I am also always looking at the next step. I never stop learning and keep trying to do better. I could have easily settled with a comfortable job as an executive chef, but I never did. The other is, I am a risk-taker. In London, one of the job changes was to a French restaurant that was run by a celebrity chef where the salary was half of what I was earning, but given the learning opportunity and mentorship under a famous chef, I took it. Taking chances may not always work in my favour, but I can always take satisfaction on how far I have come because I took the risk. How does it feel to be in MasterChef? What has the experience been like?In many ways, it feels the same. I am the same person experimenting with recipes and enjoying my job to the fullest. But in many ways, things have changed as well.  I used to get a few messages and now I get thousands from people who are cheering me on. It also feels great to have the platform to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/exploring-nepals-culinary-diversity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">introduce Nepali food to the world</a>. I have always worked hard but now it feels like my cause got a lot bigger given the platform and I am thrilled about that.I also think I now have added responsibility with people looking up to me, especially Nepalis in the hospitality sector. A message that has stuck with me was from another London-based chef also from Siraha after he saw one of my interviews in Maithili that was widely shared in my community. He told me that he never shared with his family that he is a chef because it is not seen as such a respectful job back home. But after he saw me sharing my journey including my rough beginnings so publicly, he said he felt inspired to disclose his profession to his family. The MasterChef competition is very tight and we are judged for creativity. As the competition advances further, the margin for error is very small and they seek perfection. We have to be mentally strong -- my experience participating in cooking competitions on a smaller scale in the past has helped. We are timed, and put under immense pressure. One dish is per our liking, and I practice that numerous times in advance so by the time I make the dish on the show, everything is intuitive and I don’t have to think about anything as I get grilled by the judges, the pressure of the camera and the short time. But the other dish is as per the judge’s wish in which case it is easy to falter and mess up. I score lower in the latter, but it averages out in my favour. But the competition is getting tighter and more demanding as two chefs get eliminated in each round. Ten are remaining out of the original 32 and these are some of the best chefs around. I am glad to have made it this far. Even if I don’t win, I am glad I was able to put the spotlight on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/could-nepali-cuisine-go-global/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali cuisine</a>. <img width="1032" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6849c7e80680e0877abjpeg.jpg" alt="">Just like it is difficult to say what “Indian” food is, must to be difficult to describe what “Nepali” cuisine is, when it is so diverse? How do you answer that when your international audience asks you the question? I am an Indian chef – even in London, if you ask who the ten best Indian chefs are, my name will come up. But I have been experimenting with Nepali food for the last two years. It’s hard to come up with a good way to describe Nepali food. Nepali food is described by others as “similar to Indian food, only slightly different”. But that is not true. Our food, especially along our borders are influenced by Tibetan and Indian cuisine, but that is not the entirety of our diverse dishes. That is what I want the world to know. There is no yomari, choila, kachila, tama, gundruk outside Nepal. Our food is unique and diverse and varies by castes or geography, we have different techniques and ingredients. Two years into experimenting with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/food-of-the-royals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepali food</a>, I have realised how little I know and how much there is to learn and do. I could spend a lifetime just researching and experimenting with Nepali recipes. Personally what are the best aspects of Nepali cuisine for you ? How much do you experiment, or do you try to keep to traditional ingredients and preparations? I experiment a lot because palates differ geographically. Let me share an example. I know sukuti growing up in Nepal. It is a familiar, nostalgic food, and I am fond of sukuti dishes. But to outsiders unfamiliar with the texture, the hardness of the meat may not be palatable. So I experiment with it and try to dehydrate it for different periods of time to soften it while making sure the original taste is not lost. The challenge is to garner wider appreciation for these unique tastes that our rich culinary landscape offers. Food trends are dynamic. The Indian food trend has been there for long while in the last few years, I have seen an increase in the trend for Sri Lankan food. These come in waves, and I want a trend for Nepali food as well, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/much-more-than-dal-bhat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">beyond just momo and dal-bhat</a>, so people actively seek out Nepali food and appreciate it for its diversity and richness. <img width="1592" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181140/636be6879c7e80680e0877acjpeg.jpg" alt="">In one of your shows you prepared an octopus dish Nepali style. How did it go down? There were negative comments on social media on how my spiced chargrilled octopus dish isn’t our food. But we need to understand that this is a global competition for a global audience. Octopus is very popular in Europe and South America. When I was working in an Indian kitchen, I had experimented with octopus recipes with Indian flavor as it is my favourite seafood (in fact I was the first chef to introduce octopus to Indian cuisine here) and the dish had turned out to be amazing. Having made that a few hundred times, I had the urge and confidence to try it with Nepali ingredients and it worked great. So, I went with it in the show. It was described by the judges as, “The most beautiful plate of food I have ever been served seen in Masterchef.” All four judges were generous with their praises for the octopus dish without a single negative feedback. When you went to India you had no idea you would land up where you did. What advice do you have for other Nepalis who are also going abroad to make a future for themselves?My advice to young Nepalis is to never stop learning, you are never too old to learn new things and to improve your craft. Asking what is next is important. There is always room to improve, tweaking my recipes a bit often makes a big difference to the meal. Keep learning and be a positive force to others, not by teaching. Sikayera haina sikera inspire garnu parcha. (You inspire others by learning, not teaching.)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgVoaH_c9cYSo, what is next?I am now set to start a high-end fine dining Nepali restaurant in London. The tentative name is ‘Ayla’ by Santosh Shah. I am hopeful that this will help create a separate identity for Nepali cuisine. Being in MasterChef will definitely help, regardless of the outcomes of the competition. My ultimate goal is the Michelin Star for Ayla, which is the Oscar equivalent for Chefs. That would further help elevate the profile of Nepali cuisine globally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbdNwy8gHBURestaurants in urban Nepal are growing in number, and in Kathmandu today many world-class establishments vie for favour and seek to fill an empty niche. But most still cater to the Nepali palate for momos, sekuwa, pizza, chow mein, or the mandatory dal-bhat-tarkari.Bibhusan Raj Joshi is one of a growing set of entrepreneurs that want to do something different, and his contribution is a Spanish restaurant called <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/El-mediterraneo,676" target="_blank" rel="noopener">El Mediterraneo</a> in Jhamsikhel. Joshi has always believed that restaurateurs should take the risk and introduce Nepalis to cuisines from around the world.A fluent speaker of Spanish who started out guiding Spanish tourists in Nepal, it was natural that as a restaurateur he would go for Iberian cuisine. But in between, Joshi spent ten years in Spain working as a chef and finishing his hospitality management studies. Joshi thus returned to Nepal with a wealth of knowledge about the diversity of Spanish fare.El Mediterraneo has been a fixture of the Jhamsikhel neighbourhood for the past eight years, a favourite with local expatriates, tourists, and increasingly, young and upwardly mobile Nepalis.Joshi has trained several of his staff not just in the preparation of Mediterranean dishes, but in how to share their knowledge with guests while serving.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/migrant-worker-finds-farming-in-nepal-more-rewarding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Migrant worker finds farming in Nepal more rewarding</a>, Naresh Newar“Most Nepali guests are still not used to European cuisine, and part of our job is to describe the items and how they are prepared,” explains Joshi, who can often be seen chatting with his guests, most of them regulars who keep coming back.Running a restaurant like this is still financially challenging, and there are customers who come to El Mediterraneo and ask for momos, rice and curry. Joshi’s staff tells them to try out the paella, instead, describing it as “a Spanish biryani”.There may actually be a correlation because north Indian Mughlai cuisine shares the West Asian roots of the Muslim culture that helped shape the development of Spain’s culture, architecture, and food culture during the middle ages.The basic ingredient of running a restaurant is passion, Joshi believes, and owners have to give it all they have got. Then there is the knowledge and specialisation that translates into the unique selling point of an establishment. Decor and ambience help, but customers mostly look for authenticity and a unique dining experience.“I don’t want us to be like other restaurants. But even when restaurants are still not keen to introduce specific western cuisines to target the tourists, they can still make the effort of doing more research on Nepal’s diverse cuisines,” Joshi says.In fact, several restaurants in the Patan area have already started to experiment with Gurung, Newa, Tharu, and Madhesi cuisine, and even fusing elements of these with western dishes.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/rupeshs-epic-journey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rupesh’s epic journey</a>, Naresh NewarAlthough not highly profitable, El Mediterraneo has earned a reputation among visitors to Nepal thanks to customers who have written positive reviews on popular online platforms including the TripAdvisor.But Joshi believes his best promotion is still word of mouth, which is why he has so many repeat customers. Nepal has no grading system for restaurants, and there is no go-to food website that aggregates restaurants with information and menu.Joshi has no regrets about coming back to Nepal, and says the satisfaction of being in one’s own city and the fulfillment one feels by working here more than compensates for the lower income compared to working in Europe. Just like he latched on to the niche of Spanish cuisine, he feels there is a market for unexplored European, African and Asian food in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Journalist-turned-farmer Naresh Newar contributes this fortnightly multimedia column in Nepali Times, profiling successful young entrepreneurs.  Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/staying-in-nepal-to-create-jobs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Staying in Nepal to create jobs</a>, Naresh Newar

A taste of Spain in Sanepa

New and old, businessmen and former diplomats, engineers and academics — they have all been trooping to the Election Commission to register political parties ahead of the Sunday deadline.
Till press time Thursday, five new parties had been registered and 21 new parties were in the process of applying. Behind the scenes, new parties are head-hunting, well-known figures are shopping for parties to join, while older parties are splitting or uniting to form new united parties.
“It is reason for optimism that people are enthused to form new parties,” notes political analyst Indra Adhikari. But, she adds, this does not mean that despite the celebrity status they will win votes and succeed in politics.
The outlier in all this are the Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, which are still licking the wounds after being swept out of power by the GenZ protests in September. Neither are too keen on elections because of the prospect of losing badly.
Former prime minister K P Oli is the most recalcitrant, and seems to want to scuttle elections so Parliament will be reinstated. After announcing that he was stepping down, the NC’s Sher Bahadur Deuba has had a change of heart in Singapore and is gunning to restore Parliament.
Neither party and their leaders have shown any remorse for the 8 September massacre, or understood the outrage on the streets against their decades-long incompetence and corruption. &nbsp;
Among those registering parties are various GenZ youth groups and family members of those killed during the September protests. Notable among the new parties certified this week was Gatishil Loktantrik Party (गतिलो) backed by Buddha Air founder Birendra Basnet and led by sociologist Dinesh Prasai. Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang’s Shram Sanskriti Party is also registered.
Energy and Infrastructure Minister in the interim government Kulman Ghising has backed the Ujyalo Nepal with former secretary Anup Kumar Upadhyaya as its chair. Ghising has been playing coy about his political ambitions, and is planning to resign from his cabinet post before elections.&nbsp;
Ghising had been talking to Rabi Lamichhane’s RSP about joining, but that negotiation failed. Former RSP lawmaker Sumana Shrestha was supposed to join Ghising, but pulled out following Ghising’s reluctance to resign from government.
Ghising has much public support because he is credited with ending power cuts as head of the Nepal Electricity Authority, but is now getting flak for being unwilling to give up his ministerial portfolios while still wanting to contest elections. &nbsp;
Ujyalo has hit other snags. GenZ activist Tashi Lhazom, who was considered for a Cabinet position last month but was dropped by Prime Minister Sushila Karki, has said she is not in Ujyalo despite being listed as a Central Committee member. Another member has said that he will not be a part of Ujyalo due its “a lack of political culture”.
Even though Nepalis from across backgrounds and professions are eager to participate in the country’s new political landscape, there are doubts about the structure of their parties, ideology and electoral platforms.&nbsp;
Hurriedly set up parties without a shared philosophy have less chance of political influence and longevity. For example, the RSP was formed just months before the 2022 polls to become the fourth-largest party in Parliament, has lost its momentum, and its leader is in jail.
“Parties like the RSP, which did some positive work after being elected, have still not been able to establish a clear ideological roadmap or organisational structure,” Adhikari says. &nbsp;“It is easy to form parties, the real work goes into building an institution, which is the hard part”
Meanwhile, despite expectations of increased and inclusive youth participation not just at the polling booths but also on the ballot, only a few GenZ-led parties are applying at the Election Commission. They include the Rastriya Pariwartan Party and the Rastriya GenZ Party Nepal. Most other parties are led by men in their 40s, even in their 70s.&nbsp;
Analysts note that despite hopes of young blood in politics, Nepalis are still inclined to trust those with experience, as evidenced by GenZ’s choice of Sushila Karki to succeed KP Oli as Prime Minister after the September protests.&nbsp;
“So it will be difficult for young Nepalis without prior political experience to lead parties and it will be even more difficult for them to cultivate enough public trust to get votes,” says Adhikari.&nbsp;
Then there are the old political players, who have been breaking up and making up new alliances. Resham Chaudhary quit his Nagarik Unmukti Party and registered a new one.
Last week, Puspha Kamal Dahal’s Maoist Centre, and Madhav Kumar Nepal’s Unified Socialists merged along with smaller leftist parties to form the Nepali Communist Party (NCP). Disgruntled former UML members like Bhim Rawal have also joined the NCP. On the other hand, Janardan Sharma has fallen out with Dahal and is going his own way.&nbsp;
Even though the NC, UML and NCP show little sign that they have learnt their lesson and will be turning a new leaf, they still have the party organisation and vote banks to fall back on at election time in the runup to 5 March. &nbsp;
Says Adhikari: “At the end of the day, Nepali society remains hyper-partisan. And although the newly-formed parties and their popular candidates may give older leaders a run for their money, established parties will still benefit from their solid vote base.”

Party Time

The very first frame in The Lama’s Son starts with a vision of Shangrila and the quest of a mythical utopia in the Himalaya when the rest of the world is crumbling away. It is also the personal search of filmmaker Kesang Tseten, but what he finds there are adherents of the Bon Po faith clinging to the last remnants of a culture as it erodes away like the sandstone cliffs of Mustang. “It was while editing the documentary that the story became distilled: how does what we see in the high Himalaya relate to the notion of the Shangrila idyll that especially the West ascribed to them,” asked Tseten during a recent trip to Kathmandu from Berne where he now lives. He continued: “Often and perhaps rightly criticised as an orientalist construct, I wondered if there was any basis at all to the Shangrila notion, and I hung the film on that idea.”&nbsp; Tseten takes us to the vast vistas of Mustang and Dolpo, a landscape of his Tibetan ancestors. This is as much an intimate documentation of families on Nepal’s Himalayan rimland torn between remoteness and globalness as it is about Tseten’s own quest for rootedness.&nbsp; We start from Lubra, a 3,000m village in Mustang the 15 households of which follow the Bon faith. Lama Tsultrim is from a 900-year-old lineage of the animist faith and an exponent of the tradition that is slowly being subsumed first by Buddhism and now modernism. For Tseten, the material is familiar, and not at all exotic as it is for non-Nepalis and indeed for many urban Nepalis. Bon, founded in Tibet, predates Buddhism, but over time, the two religions have come to resemble each other.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111156_ecf8148fbaa17b93c81ddfa3ed244bed266e3ef6af0cd5e6ca7b64c181b97d45.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251113111156_ecf8148fbaa17b93c81ddfa3ed244bed266e3ef6af0cd5e6ca7b64c181b97d45" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="The periphery cannot hold NT"> </figure>  ‘Both believe in karma, rebirth, and that humans can become enlightened. Nature and spirits are predominant in Bon, and rituals are what keep them benign and alight,’ says Tseten, who rarely narrates in his documentaries. “This is not really a personal film as such, but it has a point of view,” Tseten said. “I decided to have a voice-over on this one and cast my presence in the film.”&nbsp; Lubra's Lama Tsultrim is called upon to perform rituals from Kagbeni and other villages, but there is no one to continue the tradition after him, which is passed from father to son. Lama Tsultrim’s son (hence the title of the film) is a sushi chef in New York and has been gone for 20 years. “The Lama is like a setting sun, his son should come back and take over his father’s responsibilities,” says a local youngster chatting with friends. “If he dies tomorrow, where do we go? We can’t just light butter lamps ourselves to the gods.” It is not only the Lama’s son who has left. The village is nearly empty, and more are planning to leave. One of them is Chimi, a teacher who will be joining her fiancé who is an Uber driver in New York. Her brother is already in Hong Kong. In Lo Manthang a local is back home for a three-month vacation after being in New York for 12 years. A shopkeeper was in Japan for several years, and has returned. “Everything has changed, our language, our tsampa, our religion. We used to work and live together, now the children live separately,” says a middle-aged woman. “There are roads now, and vehicles stop right outside our house, but what’s the point? No one stays home.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111156_47b4c4984fa33e42791b16dba1f078aaa7f9d8bd51ca3bfd5415b436c3a0bf2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251113111156_47b4c4984fa33e42791b16dba1f078aaa7f9d8bd51ca3bfd5415b436c3a0bf2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="The periphery cannot hold NT"> </figure>  Like most of Tseten’s films, The Lama’s Son is an honest documentation of a place and people whose lifestyle, culture and heritage cling precariously to the past. In Dri village we come across local women filling their buckets with water. Tseten asks them why the village is so empty: “Where is everyone?” The women reply that they are “here, there and everywhere”. Then it is their turn to ask Tseten about where he lives and what he is doing in their village. Migration is a recurring theme in Tseten’s documentaries from We Corner People, In Search of the Riyal, or Saving Dolma. His previous film Diversity Plaza documented the lives of Nepali and Tibetan emigrants in Jackson Heights in the borough of Queens in New York.&nbsp; Diversity Plaza was shown at DOC NYC in 2023, and The Lama’s Son will be one of only two Asian films shown next week at one of the biggest documentary film festivals in the world.&nbsp; “The Lama’s Son is not loud, not attention grabbing but intimate, so I was surprised they chose a quiet film for a big, flashy event,” Tseten told us. In Lama’s Son, we also see how climate breakdown is impacting Nepal’s trans-Himalayan regions. Lama Tsultrim shows us the aftermath of a recent glacial flood that swept away houses and fields. The debris-covered farms are as hard as cement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111156_c82126a3c2dc4577b99beb9bef20aafa16f532a3f41e59caea17c93914c59fff.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251113111156_c82126a3c2dc4577b99beb9bef20aafa16f532a3f41e59caea17c93914c59fff" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="The periphery cannot hold NT"> </figure>  The nearby village of Dhey at 3,900m is a high and dry cold desert. Farmers get one crop in a year, but the springs have gone dry and there is no snow in winter. So they are relocating to New Dhey, closer to the road. We follow Kesang Tseten to Samling in Dolpo, which at 4,200m is another Bon village. Locals are preparing for the Walchu festival in which Lama Sherrab carries out elaborate rituals to appease spirits that can turn malevolent. But unlike Lama Tsultrim in Lubra, Lama Sherrab has a community of lamas to help him, including two sons, one of whom will eventually take on his role. We move on to the adjacent village of Bicher and listen in as locals talk about how despite being dirt poor, they thrive in scarcity and are resilient. “We wear sheepskin, eat stew and yak meat, and drink wine. But we are very poor, we have nothing. Look at how dirty our clothes are. We may be dirty, but we have few illnesses,” says one. But even here in Upper Dolpo, a week’s walk from the nearest road, things are changing. There are mobile phones, readymade clothes and instant noodles.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111156_d1472165cfa9ffa6edbf72de59167e8cbddcc2bf4a7928f7830e099966259a78.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251113111156_d1472165cfa9ffa6edbf72de59167e8cbddcc2bf4a7928f7830e099966259a78" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="The periphery cannot hold NT"> </figure>  At the Walchu ritual, Tseten watches men and women with hand-woven blankets and down jackets sing and dance after the main ceremony. He narrates: “Bon is sustained by a way of life that fosters a fine but fragile balance between nature and people, where humans come before gods. This is what lies at the heart of Shangrila if there is such a thing.” The film then takes us half-way around the world to a Bon centre in New York, but (spoiler alert) the eponymous Lama’s son never appears. He did not want to be filmed, but it makes for a more powerful portrayal of the life of emigrants forever trapped between two worlds. “Bon villages may be in danger, but the Bon has spread widely across the world,” narrates Tseten, a director who likes to call his storytelling ethnographic, and avoids coming to an apt conclusion. Lama Sherrab’s words after the Walchu ritual is a perfect segue:&nbsp; “Whether you say om mani padme hum (in Buddhism) or matri mi yu (in Bon) they are the same. When you go up, it’s the same heavenly realm. If you go down, it’s still the lord of death who awaits. There isn’t a separate heaven and hell for Buddhists and Bon, it has to be the same for both.” &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312110_82817ef48840bb6baa1732d5b0b90c90ead2f9bd9eb0c289940fa61d8058de8d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025111312110_82817ef48840bb6baa1732d5b0b90c90ead2f9bd9eb0c289940fa61d8058de8d" data-rendition-name="original" width="7087" height="10004" loading="lazy" alt="The Lama's Son NT"> </figure>  The Lama’s Son by Kesang Tseten, 2025 Shunyata Films To be screened at DOC NYC 16 November at 2:05PM local time, Online: 17-30 November Details <a href="https://www.docnyc.net/film/the-lamas-son/">here</a>.

The periphery cannot hold

It was pure drama: the political transition in Madhes unfolded by the dawn’s early light. At around 4AM on Monday, Province Head Sumitra Subedi Bhandari quietly departed Janakpur saying she was headed to Kathmandu for health reasons.&nbsp;
Outgoing Chief Minister Jitendra Sonal, whose coalition had begun to unravel, even saw her off, asking supporters to clear the road for her motorcade.
But an hour later, instead of continuing on to the capital, Bhandari stopped in Bardibas on the East-West Highway. There, as the sun started rising over the misty plains, she administered the oath of office to Saroj Kumar Yadav of the CPN-UML, invoking Article 168(3) of the Constitution.&nbsp;
Bhandari is also a member of the CPN-UML. The provision she invoked is typically used only after coalitions fail under Article 168(2), and the timing and location of the swearing-in have since drawn scrutiny.
Bhandari was subsequently relieved of her duties, and former National Planning Commission member Surendra Labh Karna was sworn in as the new Madhes province head on Tuesday.
Sonal had formed his government barely a month ago, with the backing of 56 provincial lawmakers but it became evident he would not secure the 54 votes needed to survive a confidence motion.&nbsp;
Several lawmakers in his coalition publicly signalled they would abstain. Still, the seven-party alliance that opposed Yadav’s appointment argues that the Province Head, who is the highest constitutional rank in the provincial structure, acted prematurely and under pressure from central UML party command.&nbsp;
A coalition of seven parties, including the Nepali Congress (NC), had been urging the Province Head to invite them to form a new government under Article 168(2). At the same time, the UML, which had been holding demonstrations outside the Province Head’s office in Janakpur, was calling for the formation of a minority government under Article 168(3).
The alliance of the seven parties that included the NC and Maoist Centre took to the streets. By mid-morning, protests had escalated outside Madhes Bhawan with cadre vandalising both the Chief Minister’s office and the Province Head’s office.
This was the third government in Madhes to fall since the 2022 provincial elections, and it follows a similar pattern. The previous Chief Minister Satish Kumar Singh of the Janamat Party, resigned before a scheduled confidence vote after losing the support of his own party and others including NC and LSP.&nbsp;
His resignation unfolded amid nationwide GenZ protests against corruption, demanding accountability and reform. The recurring instability points to a structural tension in Nepal’s federalism.&nbsp;
Provincial politics remain closely tied to alliances shaped in Kathmandu. The withdrawal of support by parties like the NC and Maoist Centre in provinces often reflects national-level calculations rather than provincial priorities.
As a result, the Provincial Assembly is repeatedly consumed by survival of the coalition instead of governance. Development work stalls. Budget execution slows. Public frustration grows. In a province that was at the forefront of the movement for federalism to counter what is seen as neglect, apathy and discrimination by Kathmandu, the sense that the system may not delivering on its promise is becoming increasingly pronounced.
If federalism is to be strengthened, provincial governments must be able to function with a degree of autonomy that currently exists more in principle than in practice. Otherwise, the perception that federalism is costly, unstable, and ineffective will continue to expand, providing fertile ground for anti-federal sentiment that is already gaining traction.
Earlier examples such as the NC General Secretary Bishwo Prakash Sharma in January calling for a new government in Madhes led by his party demonstrates how the central party leadership deliberately intervenes in provincial affairs. His remarks came during campaigns for bi-elections in Madhes when former CM Singh had been in office for six months only.&nbsp;
Likewise, in early June 2024, the federal coalition in Kathmandu shifted from a Maoist Centre and NC to form a new alliance between the NC &nbsp;and the UML. Within a day, coalition negotiations in Madhes changed to mirror this.
UML leaders publicly stated: “The issues at the federal and provincial levels will be resolved together.” This indicated that the realignment in Madhes followed national party decisions rather than provincial deliberation.
The events that unfolded in Madhes are a reminder that federalism in Nepal is still in transition, and that its success depends on political actors honouring the constitutional framework.

Chronic instability in the Madhes

You do not have to be a climate expert or atmospheric pandit to claim that Nepal is not pulling its weight on the grand narratives of the Anthropocene. As a heavily populated ‘country-on-an-incline’ from the Tarai to the Himalaya, Nepal is a thermometer of global warming.&nbsp; Its people are human witnesses to environmental and climate breakdown, but remain mute observers to the unfolding crises. Nepal should be leading the pack at the COP30 climate conference in Belém, backed by science and lived experience. But it is doubtful that two of the most crucial climate-related subjects central to the culture, economies and human wellbeing in the Himalaya and South Asia will be discussed at the summit that started this week in Brazil.&nbsp; The first topic that should be raised at COP is Black Carbon or the South Asian Brown Cloud, made up of tiny suspended particles in the air. This is not just a transboundary health hazard, there is now enough science to make the case that Himalayan snowmelt is accelerated significantly by the albedo effect that makes ice melt faster because of reduced reflectivity. But Kathmandu has not been able to make governments near and far listen. In 2014, I wrote a short piece published in Outlook magazine explaining why India’s Prime Minister Modi looking northward from a SAARC Summit retreat in Dhulikhel was unable to see the Jugal Himal range barely 30km away. His view was obscured by the pollution layer arriving from as far away as Lahore with substantial contribution from the Delhi region. That summit itself was an opportunity for Nepal to inform the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers that much of the haze, smog, dust and soot that settles on our slopes was generated in Sindh, Punjab, Punjab, Haryana, Western UP and Delhi NCR, carried by prevailing westerly winds up to the Himalaya. The forest fires within Nepal as well as Kathmandu Valley’s pollution contribute to the haze, but the shroud that suffocates the region through autumn, winter and spring is mostly transnational. Last year, these anthropogenic fine aerosols actually curled over the Bay of Bengal and invaded the airspace of Sri Lanka and Maldives.&nbsp; Even as the soot particles accelerate glacial melt and impact everything from infrastructure to public health, the most visible effect is on tourism. Nepal’s economic future is based on tourism, and much of this relies on being able to see the snow mountains. Why should travellers go to Pokhara if they cannot see the Annapurnas?&nbsp; Hoteliers in Nagarkot have started a campaign: ‘Visit Nagarkot 2025: More than Sunrise and Sunset’. While clever, the slogan is a response to the acclaimed Himalayan vista from Everest to the Annapurnas from the hill station, now obscured by the brown curtain of haze for most of the year. As the bellwether country of South Asia when it comes to the climate crisis, Nepal must build diplomatic confidence to reach out to the governments of Pakistan and India even in their present state of antagonism. Kathmandu must launch ‘haze diplomacy’ for its own sake and for the region.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113001132_16c9941da7b31c1d4683c06dc0f8a572803240701270606848851f915140329c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251113001132_16c9941da7b31c1d4683c06dc0f8a572803240701270606848851f915140329c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1005" height="695" loading="lazy" alt="permafrost"> </figure>  IMPERMANENT FROST&nbsp; Permafrost is understood mostly as a phenomenon of the Arctic, Antarctica, Siberia and Alaska. Mountains elsewhere did not figure, though it was natural for the ground to freeze all year round at high altitudes.&nbsp; In the Himalaya, besides the snowfields and glaciers, frozen moisture binds rocks and stabilises slopes. But global warming is melting the permafrost that used to cement mountain flanks, including boulders, sand and scree slopes. Some of the debris (गेग्रान) did tumble down, but much of it remained entombed on high, thanks to permafrost. Pokhara Valley and the Seti River reaching all the way up to the base of the Annapurnas, is the best place to observe this dance of geology between gravity and the mountain range. Rubble from the collapse about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-the-seti-disaster">700 years ago of paleo-Annapurna IV </a>created the sediment field on which Pokhara is situated today. However, much of the debris from the crumbled mountain is still lodged up on and around Annapurna IV, but the binding is loosening with the warming earth. A <a href="https://www.icimod.org/event/analysing-permafrost-in-the-hindu-kush-himalaya-using-open-access-tools/">2024 report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)</a> indicates that global warming is thawing the permafrost across High Asia. Among the unintended consequences of climate breakdown is that mountains and moraines are collapsing, with <a href="https://www.icimod.org/press-release/everest-region-a-hotspot-of-cryosphere-linked-hazards-icimods-new-study-on-nepals-2024-thame-flood-confirms/">cascading impact</a> that includes glacial lake outburst floods, reduced groundwater recharge as well as winter flow in the Ganga, Indus and Brahmaputra. No one has calculated the total volume of rubble locked in by permafrost across the Himalaya. Despite the increased risk, there is accelerated construction of highways, hydropower projects, housing and tourism infrastructure across the Himalaya. While the COP conferences discuss rising oceans and receding glaciers (without doing much about it), Himalayan permafrost has been melting unremarked. In their path-breaking September 2024 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-not-so-permanent-frost">article in Nepali Times</a>, Wilfried Haeberli and Alton C Byers argued that the extreme events of the past few years that led to mountain and moraine collapses, unleashing destructive debris flows downstream, were the result of melting permafrost. Haeberli and Byers suggest that the avalanches and floods including those of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Anatom-of-a-Himalayan-tsunami,1330">Seti (2012)</a>, <a href="https://www.icimod.org/article/understanding-the-chamoli-flood-cause-process-impacts-and-context-of-rapid-infrastructure-development/">Chamoli (2021)</a>, Birendra Tal (2023), <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772883825000251">Sikkim (2023)</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">Thame (2024)</a>, <a href="https://himat.org/publication/byers-rockfall-induced-2019/">Barun (2017)</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/drones-to-the-rescue-in-melamchi">Melamchi (2021)</a> were the result of the thawing of frozen ground. They say that the collapse of the lateral moraine on the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">South Lhonak glacial lake</a> in Sikkim on 4 October 2023 that swept away more than 100 people, destroyed the $1 billion Chungthang Dam as well as houses, roads and farms far downstream, was also caused by cloudburst on a lateral moraine that had lost its permafrost adhesive. There will be permafrost sceptics, as there have been climate change deniers. But it is time to wake up to the reality that the Himalayan peaks are no longer the immutable sentinels as regarded by humanity since prehistoric times.&nbsp; Modern society has pumped so much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere that now even the mountains are giving up. And we have not even begun to think about the bacteria and viruses locked away in the permafrost up the slope.&nbsp; Loss of permafrost adds to the cumulative impact of climate breakdown, including extreme weather events, drought and cloudbursts, heat waves in the plains affecting lives and livelihoods, creating mass migration, social unrest, and upending politics and geopolitics. The government and polity of Nepal have a duty to themselves and the larger humanity to wake up to the climate breakdown. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conclave organised by the Government in May failed to emerge as a pulpit for global warming and associated ills. Our political class, bureaucracy and academia should make up for lost opportunities to rise to the occasion and take the lead.&nbsp; Kanak Mani Dixit is writer, commentator and founding editor of Himal Southasian.

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