"Why are adults sexist?” my ten-year-old nephew, Paartha, asks in response to a scene where the parents threaten to marry off Asha Karki, if she fails her exams. I’ve been reading to him from an illustrated young adult fiction series by Anbika Giri. In the story, Asha, like many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/half-of-nepal-s-girls-may-drop-out-of-school?a=">girls in Nepal</a>, has to juggle between household chores and schoolwork. By the time she is done at night, she is too tired to study. In the mornings, she is always late for the school assembly because of chores. And as if the burden of household work wasn’t enough, there is constant threat from her parents to “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/too-young-to-marry">marry her off</a>” if she fails-- the idea of marriage, dangling like a dagger over her head the entire time. Asha is compliant to the daily needs of her family over her own desire to study. The elders do not appear aware of her aspirations as a schoolgirl, but it is her brother who shows up, becomes an ally. The boy starts to take up responsibility for household errand and is present for his sister in times of distress, eventually helping her to win the accolades and recognition she is deserving of. The series comes in the form of five books: Mother is Mighty, Nisha’s Life Lessons, Lakshu’s Silence, Superhero Sister and Payal Goes to School (आमाले सक्नुहुन्छ, नाक कसरी ठाडो हुन्छ, लक्षु किन बोल्दिन, मेरी दिदी र पायल पढ्न जान्छे). The series was completed in 2021 and was first published in Nepali -- they are taught at schools in Kathmandu and elsewhere. The English edition of the novellas, translated by our friend <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/of-crows-and-people">Prawin Adhikari</a>, hit the bookstores in June 2025.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250706080724_c9d3bf0c738b0b14e36ffe31fe82eb9317aa5b6e090687dd47f8e2f3b6cf89ef.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250706080724_c9d3bf0c738b0b14e36ffe31fe82eb9317aa5b6e090687dd47f8e2f3b6cf89ef" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="On life lessons"> <figcaption>Photo: PRATIBHA TULADHAR</figcaption> </figure>  In each of the novellas, the story pivots around a schoolgirl, either as the narrator or the protagonist. She is faced with a range of challenges-- from the yearning for a bicycle to the agony over confronting social afflictions. And in all of them, Anbika creates <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/educating-your-sons-will-protect-your-daughters?ref=blog.togglecorp.com">male allies</a> in the roles of family members, teachers or neighbours or government representatives. Her<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/she-is-the-story"> female characters </a>as mothers, sisters, friends, students are resolute, self-aware, astute, and feisty. If they are cast down because of life’s circumstances, they get up, pick their bicycles and pedal again. Anbika had started writing these books in 2017, when she and I used to be colleagues. She would disappear one weekend and would show up at work on Monday and announce she had sort of finished writing a novella. That’s right, one of the books was written in exactly three days. I recall her saying she wanted to create a series about how <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/educating-girls-to-break-cycle-of-poverty" target="_blank">girls in different parts of Nepal </a>commute to school, which appears in a different series. Her books for children all hinge on the idea of bringing books about Nepali girls to young readers. “I wanted to write these books for my daughter, Awani. I wanted to write books that are gender sensitive,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/placing-nepali-women-first-past-the-post"> female-led</a>, and represent cultural diversity,” says Anbika. “Awani has never had books like that to read. Female leads do not exist in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/for-children-about-children">Nepali literature for children</a>.” Like many other children in Nepal, Awani too grew up on books by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/with-love-labour-and-writing">international writers</a>. And while the beauty of that is that a wide range of context is presented to children, which helps build empathy, but they lack the local context. And that is the gap Anbika tries to fill through her books. “I wanted to put into context some important questions. How can we change ourselves as humans? How can we have empathy, gain realisation and evolve as individuals? I wanted to write stories that carry morals,” she explains. “I wanted to introduce politics to children in the simplest way.” Anbika’s girl characters aim at becoming prime minister, local leader, doctor and riding bikes when they grow up-- challenging the traditional portrayal of women’s desire for beauty, love, marriage and home. She introduces topics like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/can-nepal-end-child-marriage-by-2030-gmx92qf3">child marriage</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/menstruation-is-normal-period">menstruation</a>, casteism, bullying, property ownership, economic independence and the local governance system. And none of them are easy subjects to broach when writing for children.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250706080728_2bad0254f87d5f89cb31a1476a5079d68838a157ad4a0349ec6e619274bcf7fc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250706080728_2bad0254f87d5f89cb31a1476a5079d68838a157ad4a0349ec6e619274bcf7fc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1483" loading="lazy" alt="On life lessons"> <figcaption>Photo: HIMAL</figcaption> </figure>  “I’m a political writer and I have my own politics, and it shows in everything I write. I think of gender as my politics. And it shows in subtle ways in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/illustrating-innocence">children’s books </a>I write,” says Anbika. She says she hopes for the books to also be read by parents. “I thought of creating something that both adults and children can read, comment on.” The stories are mostly set against the rural Madhes backdrop. “Some have questioned me about the romanticisation of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/life-and-livelihood-in-remote-nepal">village life</a>, but that kind of life also exists and needs to be seen and understood,” she says. Some scenes slide into what could be difficult to read for some children, such as the mention of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-has-progress-in-saving-women-s-lives-stalled">maternal death</a>. There is no sanitised version of life in these books. But there is triumph and hope. Anbika says the details of village life and the core sentiment of the book have been earnestly transferred to the English iteration, something she had always hoped for when she had started writing the books. “Thanks to the thoughtful and sensitive translation by Prawin Adhikari, the dream has taken flight. I’m deeply grateful for the care he’s brought to every word and nuance. I chose him to translate these books because he understands the context of my stories.” Prolific and also deeply passionate about her projects, Anbika wants to eventually write her books in English. That passion is embodied by her characters. “My characters in Ama le Saknu huncha and Payal Padhna Janche carry books, dreams and strength on the handlebars of their simple bicycles. They are brave, determined, and ready to ride against the wind.” Each book has been illustrated by a different artist, some depictions better than the others. The books’ covers bear dreamy images by Anamika Gautam-- the one with a schoolgirl on a bicycle, a common favourite between Paarth and me. Paartha, was very impatient when we read the parts where the key characters went through difficulties. One of the questions he asked on repeat was why do adults treat girls unfairly, reminding me of the deep responsibility we bear towards children.&nbsp; When we had finished reading Superhero Sister, I told him: “That unfair treatment needs to change, so girls can live as boys do.”

Pratibha Tuladhar

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On life lessons

As a child, <a href="https://bandanatulachan.com.np/">Bandana Tulachan</a> used to flip through illustrated pages of books left behind by Japanese tourists visiting her home. She never thought she would become an illustrator, and even when enrolled in Kathmandu University’s Fine Arts program she was simply trying out different things. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/early-nepal-drawings-come-full-circle">Drawing</a> just became the thing that I loved to do, and I developed a personal attachment to it,” recalls the thirty six-year-old, who is now a much sought-after illustrator of children’s books.&nbsp; Tulachan loves to read <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/writing-for-young-minds">children’s books</a> even as an adult, and is convinced they are formative in communicating to youngsters the right values of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/tolerating-nepal-s-religious-tolerance">tolerance</a>, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Every-act-of-kindness-counts,116">kindness</a> and cooperation. She says, “As children, we simply read the books, but as we grow older we begin to see the wisdom embedded in them.” Tulachan has seen for herself the immense power of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/tolerating-nepal-s-religious-tolerance">storytelling</a>, especially for children. Every book may not carry a grand lesson, but it exposes young minds to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/voice-of-the-entire-nation">meaningful stories</a> that reflect the world around them. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/covid-derails-child-development-in-nepal">Childhood</a> is such an important phase of one’s life,” she adds. “If something I create can bring joy to even one child, then it is worth everything.” Over the years, Tulachan has also grappled with the idea of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/seeking-identity-in-diversity">Nepali identity</a> in her work. Early on, she was often told that her illustrations needed more 'Nepaliness' but for her <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-turning-into-a-nation-of-hybrid-identities">Nepal is not a monolith</a>. The country’s <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13934">cultural diversity</a> cannot be restricted to a few visual stereotypes. “Nepal has so many ethnicities, so many stories,” she says. “Instead of trying to homogenise it all into one identity, I explore it one space, one culture at a time.” Her comics story <a href="https://bandanatulachan.com.np/portfolio/shanti-beyond-the-veil/">Shanti: Beyond the Veil</a> was inspired by the life of poet and activist Shanti Chaudhary with whom Tulachan spent three days at her hometown in Bara, walking through the places that shaped her life. “She took me to her childhood home, her surroundings, the house she moved into after marriage,” Tulachan recalls. “It felt important to tell her story.” The work was selected for Goethe-Institut’s Movements and Moments Project for its representation of indigenous <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/of-women-for-women-by-women">feminist activism</a>. Asked about her favourite work, Tulachan cites <a href="https://bandanatulachan.com.np/portfolio/sanu-and-the-big-storm/">Sanu and the Big Storm</a>, the very first book she both wrote and illustrated back in 2015, a challenge that initially terrified her. She recalls, “I wasn’t used to writing, and the process felt scary. But I had so much support to complete it.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250222160228_1659df66f8b631be0f09cbb64dcfb02c4f0f0e858f5620020e3e2ace5d36c4c3.png" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250222160228_1659df66f8b631be0f09cbb64dcfb02c4f0f0e858f5620020e3e2ace5d36c4c3" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="709" loading="lazy" alt="Sanu and the Big Storm "> </figure>  More recently, Tulachan illustrated <a href="https://littlepeoplebigdreams.com/book/tenzing-norgay-2/">Little People Big Dreams: Tenzing Norgay</a>. Having roots in Mustang, she has always felt a strong connection to the mountains. And after visiting Solukhumbu, she immersed herself in visually telling the story of Tenzing Norgay’s life with drawings that use the grainy tone of early photographs.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250222160232_df358487c139906668803266b4246f980d00e68c2753c7b91a25437eb4a03ba6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250222160232_df358487c139906668803266b4246f980d00e68c2753c7b91a25437eb4a03ba6" data-rendition-name="original" width="5039" height="3150" loading="lazy" alt="Tenzing Norgay"> </figure>  “It felt like a full-circle moment, illustrating a story so deeply rooted in the landscape I cherish,” she adds. The text is by <a href="https://www.slj.com/author?query=S%C3%A1nchez%20Vegara%2C%20Maria%20Isabel">Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara</a> and the book is published by <a href="https://www.slj.com/publisher?query=Quarto/Frances%20Lincoln">Quarto/Frances Lincoln</a>. Looking back, she knows it is far from perfect, but seeing children recognise and love the book makes it one of her most rewarding experiences. Tulachan sees exciting growth ahead for illustrators of children’s books with the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/communicating-existence-through-art">rise of the art</a> market and fresh, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/sooner-or-later-everyone-comes-home">younger talent</a>. As for what the future holds, Bandana Tulachan is certain that more books lie ahead. “I want to make something amazing, something personal yet something that resonates with people,” she says. &nbsp; As Tulachan takes on more challenges, delving into <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/opportunities-for-women-animators?fbclid=IwAR11KzS9nw6uit5e5fT1OEr-SLLV0dTzhe_mTHQ_0OO4dbozI-u6sBK9DMk_aem_ARiYhqGw6C9yMLaFPFYX0XHH87R2-ckJQ0wQKWoyi3-_p9RO6SYFknc-2c7Sf054DVM">animation</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/women-s-stories-in-pictures-and-words">graphic novels</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/adventures-of-a-little-dumpling-named-momo-and-other-books">children’s book illustrations</a> are still what hold a deep personal and emotional bond for her. And she likes it that unlike other writers or artists she does not have to explain her work. Says Bandana Tulachan: “Whenever you create something, a part of you goes into it, but I don’t feel the need to explain my art. Whatever people take from it is theirs to keep.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/for-children-about-children">For children, about children</a>, Ashish Dhakal

Illustrating innocence

On a certain February morning earlier this year, we gathered in the drawing room of a friend, reading through the drafts of a set of four books for children, by Luja Mathema. The books, “Unstoppable Women Series” features four Nepali women who are icons of courage, intelligence and perseverance. It was the first time I was seeing books for children on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/50-outstanding-women-of-nepal">female figures from Nepal</a>. Our friend Prawin Adhikari, who also translated the books from English into Nepali, had made available his space so that Luja, Iva Maharjan, and I could join him to proofread the books, created over a period of 18 months. Across a slow day, punctuated by coffees and teas, we read the stories about these four women: Entrepreneur<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/ambica-shrestha-1933-2024-9kaynjv7"> Late Ambica Shrestha</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-singing-nun-is-a-hit-in-china">Ani Choying Drolma</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/the-goal-is-empowerment-and-independence-of-women">Jurist Sapana Pradhan Malla</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/pasang-lhamu-sherpa-the-film">Mountaineer Late Pasang Lhamu Sherpa</a>. The first book I picked was the one on Ani Choying Drolma, someone I had met through my work as a journalist. The first time I saw her, she was sat on the floor of a raised platform inside a hall at Yak and Yeti, performing to an audience to raise funds for the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18218">Aryatara School for nuns</a>. I was a rookie reporter and it was one of my first stories. But seated on the floor as Ani’s chants filled the room I felt I had been removed to someplace else. I had been taken on an inward journey, not just one of music but one of profound gratitude. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7229#.YVVcFC8w3u0">Pilgrim's progress</a>, Alexandra Alter I went back to the newsroom, holding three DV tapes to edit, not knowing how I would fit the story of such force in a two-minute broadcast. But I did anyway. Between my news editor Binod Bhattarai and I, we came up with the title, “the singing nun”, for the story. A colleague from The Kathmandu Post came over to watch the tapes and write the story-- he would call her the singing nun, too. Anchor story, Page 1. The experience of writing/producing a story can shift something in you. Covering Ani's performance was such an experience for me. I came away feeling braver. It is this change that Luja hopes to inspire in children through the books she has written. Between proofing, I had asked Luja what had drawn her to write the books and she said she had written them for her daughter, because she found that when buying books, she was hardly ever able to find books about female heroes. So, she felt the need to write them herself!&nbsp; “I want my daughter, as well as the children of Nepal and all over to learn about these individuals and their positive impact in our society,” says Luja whoa lso works as a Gender and Communications consultant outside of her writing career. “I want the children to be encouraged, excited, and hopeful. Having access to such stories at a young age is crucial to increase children’s awareness about all the possibilities in the world.” Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Israeli-authors-in-Nepal,4223#google_vignette">Imagining better futures</a>, Duksangh Sherpa A couple of years ago, I was watching an animated film with my nephew, which had a female ship captain as the lead. I recall how fascinated my nephew was while watching the film. He had many questions about the character. One of the things he asked me was how come he had never watched a film with “girl captains” before? So, it is these beginnings that count and it is what excites me about Luja’s books. Spending a day proofing her books is the only time I’ve ever met Luja. But in those few hours, I was fascinated by her drive to get the books done and to put them out on the shelves for children to come find them. “I hope that both children and parents enjoy the stories of these unstoppable women from Nepal,” says Luja. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/for-children-about-children">For children, about children</a>, Ashish Dhakal The second book I picked to proof from the set was the one on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ambica-shrestha-92-442e9mix">Ambica Shrestha</a>, who was still among us when we were reading together that day. When we come to the part where she arrives in Darjeeling and joins Loreto Convent, there’s an illustration of her looking out through the window of the convent with a friend. At that, I teared up and I suppose there was a catch in my voice. I had met Ambica Shrestha for the first time at a Loreto alumni meeting. And every time I met her after that, she said hello. What I really took away from seeing her each time was the way she carried herself-- always so tall in the things she did and never afraid. As a fellow alumna, I hoped I had somehow inherited some of her traits. The common thread that binds the four books is the determination and strength of character of all the four women featured. The text is replete with anecdotes of inner strength that helped them forge unique paths.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240901080948_aab1f583e5c1f37f5f69fc48d44dd6b9fdf29a3e9b6348180bff197d16435b70.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240901080948_aab1f583e5c1f37f5f69fc48d44dd6b9fdf29a3e9b6348180bff197d16435b70" data-rendition-name="original" width="1426" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Passing the baton on, books on female figures from Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Luja Mathema and her books.</figcaption> </figure>  The books series by Luja reminds one of the <a href="https://www.rebelgirls.com/products/good-night-stories-for-rebel-girls">Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls</a> series, stories about girls from around the world who went on to do great things. The marvel in doing so is that even when one might only be doing it for oneself sometimes, the drive and the courage eventually serves as inspiration for others. And while Luja’s attempt in bringing these books together was rooted in the intent to gift them to her own daughter, she has gone on to set substantial precedents for others to create books about Nepali women. The books are illustrated by artists <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/365-is-not-just-a-number">Prakash Ranjit</a>, Shaili Malla and Nhuja Shakya. Shaili captures some details of Boudha in the illustrations that you would only notice if you grew up in the vicinity. Nhuja’s illustration on the last page of the book on Pasang Lhamu is steeped in pathos, and yet salvages the book from what might have been a dreary ending. And on a personal note, Prakash’s drawings of LC, makes me want to visit Darjeeling. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/female-foeticide-to-football">Female foeticide to football</a>, Srijana Singh Thakuri What I like most about these books is that they are bilingual. The Nepali and the English text appear alongside each other on each page. From my experience of reading to my nephew at bedtime, I do wish that the font size had been larger and more eye-friendly. Regardless, I can’t wait to bring the books home to my nephew, so I can share with him the stories of the Unstoppable Ambica, Ani, Pasang and Sapana. The books, published by Nepalaya, will be launched in Kathmandu on September 1, 2024. Suburban Tales is a monthly column in Nepali Times based on real people (with some names changed) in Pratibha’s life.

The Unstoppables

Linda Sue Park is an American children’s book author of Korean heritage. Her book A Single Shard, about an orphaned boy in 12th century Korea who wants to become a potter, was awarded the John Newberry medal in 2002. She was recently in Kathmandu for <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/bal-sahitya-mahotsav-children-literature-festival,2034">Bal Sahitya Mahotsav</a> at Rato Bangala School, and spoke with Nepali Times about reading, writing, specifically for children, and learning English. Excerpts: 
Nepali Times: What are the things to keep in mind when writing children’s books, as opposed to books for adults? 
Linda Sue Park: This has changed and evolved over the years. Children’s books used to be instructive, like how to be a good little girl or boy. When I broke in more than twenty years ago, the emphasis was on stories. It was sort of very amorphous, we just want exciting stories, adventure stories, happy stories, sad stories. The current phase in the US is activism. Mostly how you’re going to save our planet. This is something that kids are going to have to deal with.
I have a book called A Single Shard. Young people come up to me and tell me that this book is about perseverance. Other people will say no, this is about family. Then there are those who say it is about how our lives would be a bleak misery without art. Am I going to say that any of those are wrong? No. So the message or the theme of the book is what that individual reader most needs at that time in their minds. 
If it's a really good book you can read it when you’re ten years old and get one message and then read it when you are fifteen and get another, and read it when you’re 50 and still get a third. 
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/adventures-of-a-little-dumpling-named-momo-and-other-books">Adventures of a little dumpling named Momo (and other books)</a>, Sahina Shrestha
It has been said that all great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.'A Single Shard has elements of both. Do you think that the journey Tree-ear goes through to learn pottery has parallels in learning how to write? 
Absolutely, and I was not conscious of that, it was a young reader who pointed that out to me. He heard me talk about revision. I’ve talked a lot about revising, and this little kid said to me, that’s just how Min makes a pot. 
Do you start with an outline and then flesh it in? 
My fiction is a character with an external and an internal quest. The character has something they want, that’s the external quest, or what other people call the plot. They also have an internal plot, the emotional growth they need to experience, sometimes that’s called the theme. Often the character does not know their internal quest. That’s how I start a story. 
I’d say the first month of thinking about the story, I write them each down on a post-it, and I stick them on either side of my trackpad, so that everything I write, it’s got to be this or that.
In writing A Single Shard, how much of it was first-hand personal experience that influenced the story, and how much of it was external research? 
I traveled to Korea and visited some of the sites that are in the story. When I would come across something in Korean that I thought was important, my parents would translate it. 
So how am I going to write this book because it is so much trouble to find out about 12th century Korea? Well, because Korean pottery at the time was so famous, pottery experts had done a lot of work on it. Every piece mentioned in the book is real. 
I am not an expert on Korea or Korean history, I grew up in America, I have done some research on Korean pottery of this era, just enough to write this story. 
One of your parents cut out the phonics of the English language into a notebook and another parent took you to the library. 
My son learned with phonics. My daughter had no patience for it. She learned what is called whole language, she would just hear the book over and over and read it. So their development as readers was quite different. He can figure out an unfamiliar word quicker and easier than she can. She comprehends a whole story much better than him. 
What you have to have is a wonderful teacher who is trained in many different systems, and that teacher says, “Okay, this child is a phonics kid. But this child maybe not so much.” It's so difficult for teachers. Where it really has to happen, is at home, which is also really difficult. 
Kids who have parents who support their reading at home, are far ahead by the time they get just to kindergarten. 
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/angrezi/the-thappad">The Thappad</a>, Anbika Giri 
What is the importance of having diverse stories for kids? 
I do a lot of work around this as it pertains to children’s books. We need to see everyone in their full humanity. We need to realise that they are people just like we are, because if you don’t, that means that you feel you can treat them as lesser than you are. 
I grew up in an era of children’s books where there were very few Asians portrayals. I never saw one Korean character. It does terrible things to a child’s self-image. It is important for kids to see themselves or someone who looks like them in books. 
Those of us who do this sort of work are very fortunate to have that experience. Little girls running up to you and saying, “She looks like me!” It’s just really heartwarming. 
But to me, even more important, is the dominant culture, to say, “Oh, they want to do whatever it is just like I do. They’re like me.” And that second part especially is what still needs so much work.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-power-of-reading-aloud">The power of reading aloud</a>, Sanghamitra Subba
What advice do you have for budding writers out there who want to make it their career? 
As a writer just starting out you don’t make a living. Many people have a vision of either being a great novelist or biographer, or Hollywood screenwriter. That is a reality for a very few people. Many of us who do writing do other things that are less glamorous. A lot of writers teach writing. They teach in university programs and so forth. 
The rest of us do what we call writing-adjacent jobs, such as school visits. I’m one of the fortunate ones, I’m not J K Rowling, but I can live off what my books make. But I love to travel, so I do very, very few school visits now in the United States. I accept invitations from schools abroad, like now in Nepal, because I want to see the country.
What was your first impression of Nepal after coming out of the airport last week? 
I have only been in Kathmandu, and it's very lively, a lot of people, a lot of life, and Nepalis are very friendly, very helpful, smiling, they’ve got their own thing going on. We’ve really enjoyed it.

Vishad Raj Onta

Writing for young minds

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a1449c7e80680e0d7076jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2014"/><figcaption>Photos: MOMO AND UNCLE YETI</figcaption></figure>In the high Himalaya of Nepal, a little dumpling child Momo wakes up to the sight of the majestic mountains. While on an adventure to climb one of the peaks, Momo receives an invitation from a family member via postcard to travel to a different land with a promise of an exciting undertaking.Thus begins the journey of Momo to New York to find Uncle Yeti who went there to sample the various food the city has to offer.Washington DC-based Nepali-American author Sibani Karki chronicles Momo’s voyage to the Big Apple in a new children’s book, Momo and Uncle Yeti: Adventures in New York City. Her poetic prose is accompanied by artist Oleg Goncharov’s spectacular illustrations which make the book a visual treat for both children and adults alike.“The book represents my own journey to the US as a child from Nepal and also some of my favourite things in life: travel, good food, cultures and family,” says Karki, who moved to the US when she was 11.New country meant new people, new experiences, and living between two cultures. It was also an opportunity to connect with and share her own Nepaliness. And one way Karki does that is through food.As any immigrant can attest, food brings one closer to home. With food, one makes new friends, can court lovers, understand a new country, hold on to memories of a home left behind.“Momo parties happen more frequently here than in Nepal,” says Karki. “More than food, momo is a feeling. And having a momo party is an opportunity to get together, share stories, and reconnect with friends and family.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a1489c7e80680e0d7077jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2038"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a14c9c7e80680e0d7078jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2028">As someone who enjoys myths, Karki knew she had to include the Yeti as one of her characters. However, Karki’s Uncle Yeti is not scary. He is jolly, has an insatiable hunger and loves getting lost in new cities while hunting for new tasty food.Like many Nepali children, Karki did not grow up with a book culture at home and developed a reading habit only after moving to the US. At bookstores, she often found herself in the children’s book section leafing through the colourful pages with vivid images.But what was missing in the books was the representation of characters with life experiences and culture people like she could relate to.She started writing the story of Momo and Uncle Yeti in 2016 while at Columbia University. But it was not until the pandemic that she finally got a chance to sit down and collate it into a book.While she ran the rhymes by her family, she struggled to find an artist for the illustrations. A few collaborations fell through as the art style wasn’t what she was looking for. Then, a chance meeting with designer Larry Issa at a farmers' market helped her connect with illustrator Oleg Goncharov.There was a catch: Goncharov did not speak English, and lived in Crimea. So, the entire conversation between the two happened on Google translate. One cannot tell, leafing the book, of the struggle to communicate between the two."Working on the story of Yeti and Momo was a completely new experience for me. Despite the fact that I have been illustrating books for more than 12 years, I have not yet worked on a project in which fairy-tale characters would travel to the real sights of the city. So the idea to add more fabulous creatures besides Momo and Uncle Yeti was born. And dragons, fairies and others appeared on the pages of the book. I am very glad that Sibani supported this idea," says Goncharv.From realistic depictions of the airports and landmarks in Kathmandu and New York to a more creative approach in assimilating animals and humans, Goncharov’s gorgeous images add another dimension to Karki’s words.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a1509c7e80680e0d7079jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2021"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a1559c7e80680e0d707ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="2000">“From my experience with my nieces Kaia and Yara, I know that children sometimes take to the smallest characters in the book. They will notice the small ladybug rather than the big main character. Since it is a children’s book, not everything had to make sense. The anthropomorphism in the book is also to show the cohesion of animals and humans,” she explains.Coming from a close-knit family, the names of relatives are scattered through the book. Pramila Soon Pasal is named after her mother, Shyam Chiya Pasal after her father. The names of her brother, sister-in-law, husband, nieces also make an appearance.Karki now works as a gender specialist at the World Bank and has also included other aspects she is passionate about in the book. At Times Square where Momo goes looking for Uncle Yeti, the usual advertisements are peppered with social messages including those of gender equality, inclusivity and positivity.Rosy cheeks with big inquisitive eyes, Karki’s Momo enjoys discovering new places, eating new food, solving puzzles, and is gender neutral. “Often, we see that adventure is associated with boys. But I want the children to see themselves in the pages and connect with the characters. So, Momo is not a he or she or they, Momo is just Momo,” she says.While New Yorkers have a reputation for being brusque, there is also a sense of community in the city’s diversity. This comes across as Momo runs (hops?) around the city looking for Uncle Yeti.Karki’s Momo and Uncle Yeti are very Nepali and the high-rises of the Himalaya and New York will make it relatable for not only the global Nepali audience but also those who are familiar with Nepal – weaving a sense of adventure, appetite for food and travel, appreciation of one’s family, and tolerance of different cultures.The book is available on Amazon and through <a href="http://momoandyeti.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://momoandyeti.com&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1674927440572000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0utod-G9c1SxsA3V4qwocb">momoandyeti.com</a>. It will soon be launched in Nepal.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a1599c7e80680e0d707bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="986">Momo and Uncle Yeti: Adventures in New YorkSibani KarkiIllustrations by Oleg GoncharovPathways LLC, 202238 pages$19.99<h2>Sathi</h2>Sathi is an exquisitely illustrated bilingual book for children and adults that tells a fairy tale story of an abandoned dog, who is scalded on Kukur Tihar by a city shopkeeper. Sathi, the dog, is miserable and in pain as she licks her wounds by a garbage pile, until she finds a benefactor who takes her to the real-life animal shelter, KAT Centre in Kathmandu. She is cared for at the dog home, and the burns on her back heal slowly. She makes friends with other dogs at the shelter who have also been attacked, abandoned, or hit by cars, and finally emigrates to a new forever home in Canada.Sathi: The Street Dog from Kathmandu, Nepalसाथी: काठमाडौँ सडकको एक कुकुरJuluIllustrations by Jenny CampbellNepali translations by Angeela Shrestha and Suraj ShresthaVajra Publications, 202144 pages$14.95<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a15d9c7e80680e0d707cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1750" height="1352"><h2>The Wak-a-Too</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a1629c7e80680e0d707djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1918">Another international children’s book featuring Nepal is the soon-to-be published The Wak-a-Too by Nepali film-maker Eelum Dixit (who himself became a father recently), and is lavishly illustrated (pictured, right) by the US-based Dutch designer Eveline Wijdeveld. The book begins with an ornithological overview of Nepal, including its urban birds and then takes children into a dreamlike fantasy world of the Wak-a-Too. At the end of the book, young readers are asked to draw their own versions of the imaginary Wak-a-Too and post them @thewakatoo on Instagram and Facebook.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a1669c7e80680e0d707ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1309">The Wak-a-Tooby Eelum DixitIllustrated by Eveline WijdeveldVery Tale Books, 202345 pagesHardback: $27.99<h2>Are You a Snow Leopard?</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a16a9c7e80680e0d707fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1724" height="1313">Written by Sandra Shiwani Van Doesburg and illustrated by Kanchan Burathoki, Are You a Snow Leopard? tells the story of Hiuko, a snow leopard who goes looking for others of her kind to befriend. As she traverses through the mountains, she meets and befriends other animals found in Nepal: Ooney, the yak, Chulbuli, the blue sheep, Jooney, the black bear, Bhukule, the red panda, and finally Tiktikey, the snow leopard.Sandra and Kanchan met in fourth grade in a boarding school in Nepal. After high school, Kanchan went to Boston and Sandra to Rotterdam. They reconnected 15 years later to work together on the story of Hiuko, which primarily has an underlying message of diversity and inclusion. The book also features photographs by renowned wildlife photographer Chungba Sherpa.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a16e9c7e80680e0d7080jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1570">Are You a Snow Leopard?Sandra Shiwani Van DoesburgIllustrations by Kanchan BurathokiVan Doesburd Creative Works, 202128 pagesHardback: Rs1,850 | Paperback: Rs1,550<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a1729c7e80680e0d7081jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="1040"><h2>The Ambassador’s Dog</h2>This delightful children’s book is the tale of Lo Khyi (Lo for Mustang, and khyi, which fortuitously means both ‘dog’ and ‘happiness’ in Tibetan), a pup that dared to dream big and who went on to become the source of happiness for Scott who adopted the dog to America after his tenure in Nepal. ‘Scott’ in the book is Scott H DeLisi, who served as the real-life American ambassador in Kathmandu from 2010-12. The Ambassador’s Dog has a dream-like quality to it, but at its heart is a story of optimism and positivity. Lo Khyi is a canine medium for an important message: set goals for yourselves and believe in them. And somehow (stars will align, or you will find avenues) your dreams will come true. Sadly, Lo Khyi died of old age recently at his home in Virginia, and DeLisi wrote a tribute on his Facebook page: ‘He had become a dog of near mythic proportions in my mind – surely he would find a way to live forever. But, of course, for as long as there is a single copy of The Ambassador’s Dog to be read by someone with an open heart, he WILL live forever.’<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a1769c7e80680e0d7082jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1258">The Ambassador’s DogScott H. DeLisiIllustrations by Jane Lillian VanceVajra Publications, 202040 pagesRs1,600Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/a-tibetan-mastiff-pup-who-dares-to-dream/">A Tibetan Mastiff pup who dares to dream</a>, Sonia Awale

Sahina Shrestha

Adventures of a little dumpling named Momo (and other books)

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101148/63720f379c7e80680e0b7961jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1373" height="914"/><figcaption>All photos: SRIJANALAYA/THE ASIA FOUNDATION</figcaption></figure>Rajib does not like school. His dreams are filled with snakes, pulling him into dark wells. He stares at his own reflection in the mirror, transformed by anxiety. The boy withdraws into himself, trudging against watercolour skies from one page to the next.When Rajib’s older brother arrives from Australia, he brings with him a gaming set. During one of the games, the boys enter a dark tunnel, and the brother asks: “Bhai, it’s pretty dark in here, are you scared?”Rajib responds: “No, I only get scared when I’m at school...”But the tunnel takes a sinister turn when villains show up. The snakes from Rajib’s nightmares shed their skins to reveal his classmates. He cries and finally shares with his brother the secret that has been eating him up all this time.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101148/63720f3a9c7e80680e0b7962jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1197" height="821"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In the book  गयल केटो (Absent Boy) by Bina Theeng and illustrators Dristi &amp; Keepa Manandhar, Rajib is bullied and suffers from the resulting anxiety. It is one of six new  books produced by <a href="https://srijanalaya.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Srijanalaya</a> in collaboration with The Asia Foundation's<a href="https://www.letsreadasia.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> Let's Read Nepal</a> initiative.The project brought together six authors and six illustrators to design books on children's rights that address topics such as bullying, harassment, identities, gender- and caste-based discrimination and juvenile justice.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/milestone-in-tharu-childrens-literature/"> Milestone in Tharu children’s literature</a>, Alisha Sijapati <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/this-author-is-an-alien/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Books for young readers</a> by authors writing in languages of Nepal are rare. Even rarer are books that deal with the torment and confusion of being a child, so much of which goes unnoticed and overlooked by adults. Often, there is no vocabulary to articulate difficult thoughts and feelings – and even adults do not know what to say.Another book छ्याँबले (Chhyanbale) written by Tirtha Gurung and illustrated by Roseena Sakya is narrated by a mother swallow. Set in the mountain village of Sikles, which also called Chwiuli (barn swallow) locally the book follows an eponymous young boy who cannot walk and is bullied by his peers. Woven together are themes of loss and hope – literally a thing with feathers in the context of the book.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101148/63720f3d9c7e80680e0b7963jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1196" height="820">“The inspiration for the story came from my own childhood,” says Tirtha Gurung who, like Chhyanbale, was unable to walk for a long time. “But all children grow at their own pace,” he adds, “and the book aims to give hope to parents as well, that it takes time and there is no reason to worry or feel bad.”The musical story unfolds in warm yellow and orange and fresh green through the pages as light slants and curves giving the impression of someone looking over without rest, aiming to protect.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101148/63720f409c7e80680e0b7964jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1455" height="924">The artwork is similar in सुनौलो सुँगुर (The Golden Pig) by Swapnil Smriti and illustrator Swornim Shakya. It is the story of Lingyok, a young boy in Panchthar, also bullied by his classmates and teacher because of his family profession of rearing pigs. The rainy and thunderous palette mimics the unrest felt by Lingyok.Illustrations by Sapana Sanjeevni and Pallavi Payal for अम्बरको धुन (Ambar’s Tune) by Pranika Koyu on other hand is inspired by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/vibrant-mithila-art-thrives-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vibrant Mithila art</a>. The book is a day in the life of Ambar who is wheelchair-bound, and each line and shape, all larger-than-life, frame the lucid text to tell the story of boundless imagination.“We wanted to reflect Ambar’s voice and character as closely as possible in our art,” explains Sapana Sanjeevani: “Mithila art with its two dimensional form helps to express his simple and flowing language.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101148/63720f439c7e80680e0b7965jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1196" height="818">Sarita Pariyar’s उत्सुकता (Curiosity) is illustrated by Rupak Raj Sunuwar, and takes a more fabled approach to tell a powerful story of Dalit children which takes place in an entomic world, with industrious ants as protagonists.  ‘This is not an imaginary story. This is a story even more fearsome – <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-caste-struggle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the plights of caste-based discriminations</a>,’ read the first lines.“I was fascinated by weaver ants and how they use their saliva to make their homes, and this mirrored in how Dalit women use their saliva in sewing clothes which are then worn by the people of so-called upper caste.” says Rupak Sunuwar.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101148/63720f469c7e80680e0b7966jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1493" height="945">Narrated by a young weaver ant, Utsukta the story poses tough questions at society’s hypocrisies. She wants to understand why she should come second to her male classmate who copied her answers in exam, or why Pantheni bajai, who ‘reeks of raw milk and cow dung’ snaps at her to stay away before sprinkling purifying water on the clothes Utsukta has carefully brought for her.Ujjwala Mahajan's जुभी (Juvie), is a much darker fable of children in juvenile homes, illustrated by Alina Chhantel in the many shades of red and black, with barbed wires running across the pages.What is striking about this surreal and sensitive story is the multitude of eyes that grow on the children’s skins, as though constantly watched and judged by the world outside.“Books about children's rights are usually didactic, and we have an image in our heads about people who are punished for breaking the law as irredeemable and violent people,” she says, “and with Juvie we wanted to break that narrative.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101148/63720f499c7e80680e0b7967jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1197" height="818">Creators met young adults in Bhaktapur Juvenile Centre before writing the book that may be too sombre for children, but both Maharjan and Chhantel wanted it to be representative of the people it was about.She says, “We believed that being honest to their story, reflecting the seriousness and discomfort, would help get the feeling across to the readers, and encourage them to be more empathetic and accountable.”Pallavi Payal hopes the books will be able to encourage more writers and illustrators to create educational materials for children in Nepal in languages that are easy to understand and relate to. She says: "Children want to read books that make them feel they are not alone.”The books are available <a href="https://www.letsreadasia.org/all/new">online</a> as PDFs in Nepali and English. To request a copy of जुभी (Juvie), please reach out to Ritica Lacoul of The Asia Foundation at ritica.lacoul@asiafoundation.org, or Srijanalaya at srijanalaya@gmail.com.Watch the book readings and conversations with authors and illustrators on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/srijanalaya">Srijanalaya's Facebook</a>.

Ashish Dhakal

For children, about children

Many of us former Nepal Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs) would agree that our time in Nepal changed in significant but very different ways our perspectives on life if not the future paths we chose to follow. Of no one was this truer than Dorothy Mierow. Dorothy was born in 1920, in Colorado Springs. Her father Charles C Mierow was a classics scholar and Latin professor, who served for ten years as president of Colorado College.&nbsp; Dorothy developed an interest in animals as a child, graduated with a BA degree in natural history from Carlton College in 1942, a Master’s in biology from the University of Pittsburgh, and another Master’s in geography from the University of Minnesota.&nbsp; As a young woman, Dorothy traveled with her father throughout Europe, including a visit to ancient Greek ruins, and took a Magellan Tour by cruise ship around the world in 1958.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_0bad133ab22aada319e74bbad95d563e191371db291c08f373839fbd15440262.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025071901074_0bad133ab22aada319e74bbad95d563e191371db291c08f373839fbd15440262" data-rendition-name="original" width="903" height="1178" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Dorothy Mierow as a college student in her native Colorado.</figcaption> </figure>  She was a college teacher during much of the 1940s, also teaching at a girls’ school in Hawaii. Then back to her native Colorado in 1953, where she became a curator and later director of the Colorado College Natural History Museum. She taught geography classes, and in her free time, Dorothy climbed 22 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. Traveling in India in 1960, Dorothy decided to spend two weeks in Nepal. In late 1961, she filled out an application to join the Peace Corps and specified that she wanted to go to Nepal, ‘because I admired the people so much when my father and I were there on our trip’.&nbsp; Dorothy reached Kathmandu in September 1962 as the first group of American Peace Corps volunteers in Nepal. She stood out from the others: one of the few women in that group, surely the oldest at age 41, a world traveler, and a woman who already had established a professional career.&nbsp; One doubts if Dorothy had had a husband and children whether she would ever have gone to work and spend much of the rest of her life in Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901078_68e84ade1ffb0f6c83c7f8fa5c1e7315b5f6c543217f96cde012e4d86f171515.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025071901078_68e84ade1ffb0f6c83c7f8fa5c1e7315b5f6c543217f96cde012e4d86f171515" data-rendition-name="original" width="1259" height="910" loading="lazy" alt="How th Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life NT"> <figcaption>Pokhara Bazar in 1962.</figcaption> </figure>  The Peace Corps assigned Dorothy to teach geography at Tri-Chandra College. After the school closed in the winter due to lack of heating, USAID and the College of Education asked Dorothy to help train general science teachers.&nbsp; She taught for two months and became involved in a textbook-writing project, commenting: ‘I would like the children to know something about public health, conservation (the trees are going fast and so is the soil), and learn the names of some of their common birds, trees, and flowers. They are more impressed with electricity, airplanes, and cell structure.’ When a new college opened in Pokhara in 1963, Dorothy was transferred there and lived with a Nepali family. The college boasted 30 students and no permanent buildings.&nbsp; In October 1963, Dorothy wrote: ‘Pokhara is a town of almost 5,000 people … We are in a fertile valley surrounded by foothills … There is a small Mission Hospital … a Leper Hospital and Tibetan Refugee Camp started by the Red Cross and now run by the Swiss. With winter approaching, more Tibetans are appearing in town, often with pack horses or donkeys. Some have been carrying large boxes of powdered milk,donated (by USAID) to the camp from the airport … There is no electricity, and the transportation problems make many items scarce and expensive. I am really a sort of a museum. The landlord brings all kinds of people in to see how I live and count my shoes and dresses. They express amazement at my books, pictures, tin oven, Nepali dolls from Kathmandu, screened food shelves and curtained closet.’ The standard term for Peace Corps volunteers was two years, but Dorothy extended her term and was still at Prithvi Narayan College at the end of 1965, when she wrote that she had 20 Geography students in the first-year class and 6 in the second year preparing for the IA Examination. The college enrollment was 125 students, and the foundation for a new science building was being excavated.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_c6a80e5e0db0c705b2f8733c6d30dc0386fe3abbd2238ea9d947b7d746f94a29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025071901074_c6a80e5e0db0c705b2f8733c6d30dc0386fe3abbd2238ea9d947b7d746f94a29" data-rendition-name="original" width="902" height="605" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow and friends at Phewa Lake.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy noted that she ate one meal a day at the (Shining Mission) Hospital but otherwise lived on dal-bhat, momo, and potato curry at local shops. However, she had developed a new passion: to build what she initially called the Pokhara Museum of the Himalaya. In commendable Peace Corps fashion, Dorothy always worked with Nepalis and respected the culture. ‘The greatest joy and satisfaction I have had has been from the building of a Museum-Library in memory of my parents … It has been possible to feel like a wealthy benefactor with the money saved by father for the family’s education and now available for the education of others… (Father) would have loved to be in on the founding of a new college and be able to plan a library. Several hundred of the books to be in the museum-library came from his collection and were carefully selected to be of use for students in Nepal…’&nbsp; ‘The museum part is to satisfy my own inclinations and was thought of when I found how little diversion there was for the people of Pokhara… It is part of the University requirements for the college that it should have a geography and biology museum. The museum building is small but adequate.&nbsp; I have tried to design it in harmony with Nepalese architecture and decorate it with some of the art of the best artists or woodcarvers… Posts holding up the porch roof are carved by Cottage Industries to represent different peoples of Nepal in typical costumes. The door was carved by a local wood carver and has typical birds of Nepal around it. Inside are 10 roof-support carvings designed by the retired Director of the National Museum in Kathmandu, Mr. C.M. Maskey.&nbsp; They were carved by the best wood carvers in Patan very skilfully. The building has three rooms: the library, the exhibition room, and a smaller workroom which can be used by our newly formed Woman’s Club as well as other groups or classes.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_03d3359c65389d30a0134e9a4862778994121e7e833b7d28b18e06e36fc76ff8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025071901074_03d3359c65389d30a0134e9a4862778994121e7e833b7d28b18e06e36fc76ff8" data-rendition-name="original" width="629" height="599" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow with local women in Pokhara in 1969.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy promoted her project to influential Nepalis connected with organisations whose support she solicited: The Department of Archaeology, the Department of Agriculture, the Godavari Botanical Gardens; Tribhuvan University’s Science and Education Department, Nature Conservation Society.&nbsp; The museum was opened officially in early 1967. The Annapurna Natural History Museum, the building Dorothy designed and had constructed, is still open and features some exhibits which she created many years ago.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_54326a8a0685e980e782378076de2f5cd02d2426e9b0d94eed972d3dbe83af26.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025071901074_54326a8a0685e980e782378076de2f5cd02d2426e9b0d94eed972d3dbe83af26" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>The Annapurna Natural History Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy returned to America in 1967, but she longed for Nepal. In the spring of 1969, she again tried to enroll as a Peace Corps volunteer but was told that as she had spent more than four years, she would not be eligible for another assignment. Undeterred, she persuaded the college in Pokhara to invite her to return as a teacher.&nbsp; UNICEF and the Forestry Department sponsored Dorothy to prepare charts on trees, birds, animals and flowers in colour for distribution to the schools of Nepal. Dorothy, back in the Peace Corps, returned to Pokhara and the Museum in 1972. She formed a friendship with her former geography student from Sikles, Chandra Prasad Gurung, and in 1974, she brought Chandra to America, where he enrolled in Colorado College and studied cultural anthropology.&nbsp; Chandra subsequently earned his PhD in geography from the University of Hawaii and returned to Pokhara to become director of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project. Gurung actively promoted ecotourism, landscape conservation, and biodiversity conservation in Nepal. His life was cut short along with those of 23 other Nepalis and foreigners who perished in a helicopter crash near Taplejung in September 2006.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_322d3c3ac6f1b08ffa07c44a19998b937a7db9eb43527f7539cf6481e1546314.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025071901074_322d3c3ac6f1b08ffa07c44a19998b937a7db9eb43527f7539cf6481e1546314" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow's four books on Nepal and its biodiversity. </figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy worked with several well-known Nepalis to publish her paintings and photos in beautifully illustrated books. She and Hemanta Mishra of the National Parks and Wildlife Service wrote Wild Animals of Nepal (Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1976). More than 400 photos Dorothy took on treks to the Everest region, Gosaikunda, Muktinath, Jumla and Rara Lake, as well as travels in the Tarai, appeared in Himalayan Flowers and Trees (Sahayogi Prakashan, 1978).&nbsp; The botanist Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha identified the species. Dorothy and Kesar Lall published This Beautiful Nepal (Sahayogi Press, 1981). Birds of the Central Himalayas (1988) contained Dorothy’s paintings of 250 species of birds found along the areas of the Kali Gandaki River, Pokhara, Chitwan and the central Tarai. Dorothy summed up her life and work in Nepal in Thirty Years in Pokhara (Pilgrims Book House, 1997). Dorothy returned to Pokhara and her adopted Gurung family several times during the 1980s and 1990s to celebrate festivals and meet old friends. Her final years were spent at her mountain cottage in Green Mountain Falls north of Colorado Springs. She died at the age of 79 in August, 2000. Nepal gave new meaning and purpose to Dorothy Mierow’s life. Daniel W Edwards was a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966 and is the author of several books on Nepal. The author thanks Special Collections, Tutt Library, Colorado College.

How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer’s life

· On the night of 15 May, two glacial lakes burst in Tharka in Humla and the debris flow washed away homes and bridges.&nbsp; · Last week, a slurry surge on the Kali Gandaki in Upper Mustang caused at least Rs15 million in damage, and was traced to a melting glacier. · Dozens are feared dead after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rasuwa-flood-likely-a-glof">an expanding glacial lake in Tibet overflowed</a>, sweeping down into Nepal and damaging four hydropower plants generating 230MW, nearly 8% of the country’s total grid supply.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060748_45225dc707c1e9c2968ca8dbf6e564e01e4eb6e2ff254fb8eb940cf62cdd910b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250718060748_45225dc707c1e9c2968ca8dbf6e564e01e4eb6e2ff254fb8eb940cf62cdd910b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2667" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Rasuwa flood"> <figcaption>Miteri friendship bridge connecting Nepal and China was swept away in the Rasuwa flood. Photo: PRAKASH CHANDRA TIMILSENA / NPL</figcaption> </figure>  And those are just in the past month. Climate scientists say Himalayan glacial lake outbursts are becoming more frequent and destructive, and a warning for Nepal not to put all its eggs in the hydropower basket.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">Record precipitation last September</a> unleashed floods that killed 200 people, and temporarily slashed Nepal’s total generation capacity of 3,000MW by nearly half. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster">Melamchi flood of 2021</a> caused by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-not-so-permanent-frost">permafrost melting</a> on a glacier upstream nearly destroyed a $800 million water supply scheme, Nepal’s largest infrastructure project which four years later still has not resumed full operation. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">glacial lake overflow in Sikkim</a> caused by record rainfall in September 2023 that destroyed the $1.2 billion Chungthung Dam and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructure on the Teesta River. This was a warning to the cascade of hydropower plants on the Arun and Marsyangdi river basins.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060736_6f61797a6be308321e3bae26e55d2f64cba4b9e5eb262adacb9e92fb5f3c6152.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250718060736_6f61797a6be308321e3bae26e55d2f64cba4b9e5eb262adacb9e92fb5f3c6152" data-rendition-name="original" width="919" height="549" loading="lazy" alt="hydro disasters and hydropower plants"> </figure>  Nepal has set a target of generating an additional 28,500MW by 2035 -- out of the feasible 48,000MW -- but how viable is an energy strategy that is exposed to heightened risk due to climate breakdown? &nbsp; “As extreme weather events increase, we must design and build infrastructures respecting river flow and topography,” says former Energy Secretary Dwarika Nath Dhungel. “We must make the best use of our water resources, but not by letting excavators loose everywhere mining riverbeds and building haphazardly where we shouldn’t.”&nbsp; Although no project can be disaster-proof, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">climate smart design</a> can minimise damage from flash floods and landslides. Recent disasters have driven up insurance premiums for energy projects in Nepal, and smaller ones cannot even afford them. The 456MW Upper Tamakosi hydroelectric project which is still not fully functional after the September floods has claimed insurance worth Rs1.8 billion. The alternative to high risk high investment hydropower projects is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-s-cooking-in-nepal-besides-politics">energy diversification</a> to other renewables such as solar, wind or biogas. Nepal gets annual sunlight of 300 days with 6-7 hours on average to total 50,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060744_4acd452b4117180ca9bb5d3be839ff46dfd5464e4d507f5ad3704cef6253bc48.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250718060744_4acd452b4117180ca9bb5d3be839ff46dfd5464e4d507f5ad3704cef6253bc48" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="720" loading="lazy" alt="solar power"> <figcaption>Farmers in Tarai using solar powered water pump. Photo: GHAMPOWER</figcaption> </figure>  The Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) calculates that Nepal could source 3,000MW from wind energy alone, considering 10% of the area with more than 300W/m2 wind power density. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/decentralising-power-in-nepal">Solar energy</a> stations are cheaper and quicker to build, and would be an ideal alternative to reliance on hydropower.&nbsp; “There has been some investment in solar power, especially from the state sector,” says water expert Madhukar Upadhyay. “But there is an issue of land acquisition since the arrays need a lot of space. It is comparatively easier to get a permit to put up a hydropower plant on a river.” As for biogas, there is simply no incentive to build on past success with household level plants to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/more-bullshit">promote industrial-scale production</a>. Scaling up biogas by integrating it with urban biodegradable waste would still be a viable alternative to LPG.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060744_715d44afd5eb4ba8dafa209b0ad0f19400665797b5f078f5636821e600f96684.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250718060744_715d44afd5eb4ba8dafa209b0ad0f19400665797b5f078f5636821e600f96684" data-rendition-name="original" width="1419" height="954" loading="lazy" alt="windmill"> <figcaption>A wind mill in Hapsikot in Nawalpur. Photo: WINPOWER NEPAL</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s public sphere is buzzing with excitement over the discovery of potentially 430 billion cubic metres of methane gas beneath Dailekh district that, if properly harnessed, would meet the country’s energy demand for the next 50 years. Even though a feasibility study is awaited, politicians from the prime minister down see this as a petro bonanza that will make Nepal rich. But drilling, storage and distribution of CNG in the country’s current kleptocratic state make that unlikely. If Nepal was to get rich solely on its hydro-energy potential, it could have done so in the past 50 years. Says Dhungel: “This is not exactly a new discovery, but it is premature to celebrate until its extraction is proven to be cost effective. And let us hope it does not get <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/balance-of-power">tangled in geopolitics</a>, since China is involved in the prospecting and drilling, which could make India uneasy.”&nbsp; The country suffers from the Dutch Disease curse even before its resource is fully exploited. And the same cronyism, corruption and rent-seeking structure cannot deliver the riches we expect from Dailekh’s methane discovery. Now, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/right-climate-for-nepal-s-energy-transition">with hydropower in jeopardy</a>, Nepal’s planners will have to evolve a new strategy for energy security into the future. But first, governance needs to be cleaned up with long-term strategic planning that takes climate risk into account. For example, do we need to mine fossil gas when there are renewable options? Will Dailekh take Nepal away from its climate commitments? Says Madhukar Upadhyay: “Nepal has always been resource rich and management poor. And the larger the resource, the bigger our management incapacity. It is a societal malaise.”&nbsp;

Nepal’s Resource Curse

चौतारा rest stops have long been an integral part of scenic touristic town of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-six-decades-ago">Pokhara </a>but are now rarely seen as the city bursts at the seams. They say inhabitants of Pokhara saw a plane before they saw cars. Indeed, the grass airfield was built in the 1950s, while the Kathmandu highway 20 years later. Before roads, people walked to get around, pausing to rest or even nap under the shade of banyan-pipal trees. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-s-desperation-and-hope">Pokhara airport’</a>s ‘terminal’ in those days was a shady chautara where passengers waited for their flights. The chautara bore silent witness to daily life, whether it was travellers seeking a brief respite from the summer heat or villagers gathering for a chat in the mornings and evenings. But with the roads came vehicles, and then houses started filling up spaces, even farmlands. Pokhara began transforming from a serene village to a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-comes-alive-at-night">bustling city</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250719010724_d101fa482441ce67afdf5bc4e4547b334e7662c1cf0a20e9d31a0e8dff66f04b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250719010724_d101fa482441ce67afdf5bc4e4547b334e7662c1cf0a20e9d31a0e8dff66f04b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2147" height="1581" loading="lazy" alt="Trees of life and living NT"> <figcaption>Photo: DURGA RANA MAGAR</figcaption> </figure>  The banyan-pipal trees were chopped down to make way for wider intersections and buildings. The once-iconic rest stops that carried Pokhara’s identity had all but vanished. “Building chautara was once considered a religious duty, which is why so many of them were constructed across Pokhara,” says archivist Sunil Ulak. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10927">Ekai Kawaguchi</a>, a Japanese Buddhist monk, who visited Nepal 120 years ago en route to Tibet, documented <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/no-visitors-in-pokhara-to-admire-view">the landscape of Pokhara</a> and its surroundings. In his book, Three Years in Tibet, he reflects on the natural beauty of the town and its shady trees. A chautara used to be surrounded by ponds, where shepherds would bring their cattle to drink from while they took a nap under the shade. The gentle rustling of leaves in the cool breeze lent a soothing melody as did the chirping of birds, while the insects took refuge in the branches and leaves. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-800-years-ago">Pokhara 800 years ago</a>, Kunda Dixit This ‘nature’s breeze’, as botanist Kalyan Panta puts it, is now history due to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">haphazard urbanisation</a>. “When the wind strikes against one leaf, it creates a domino effect and other leaves start waving as well,” he explains. There were 632 chautara in the city until 1977, and by 2000 the number had fallen to 278. But in some wards the number of trees fell from 55 in 1984 to only five now.&nbsp; The gradual loss of these resting places has meant habitat <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal">destruction of birds and insects</a>, it has also damaged the environment and natural beauty of the city.&nbsp; Researcher Jagannath Adhikari’s study showed that infrastructure projects ignored the environment, and concluded that that urbanisation in Pokhara was unsustainable.&nbsp; The destruction continues to this day. Recently, old chaurata in wards 6, 13 and 14 were cleared to make way for a sacrificial ritual. In fact, ward 6 got a permit from the local government to clear its remaining trees.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250719010724_cee1d4faf8376e7ba18b9c7012ea4215b7c3fbf7e0983b0c97005df5567d6de0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250719010724_cee1d4faf8376e7ba18b9c7012ea4215b7c3fbf7e0983b0c97005df5567d6de0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Trees of life and living NT"> <figcaption>Photo: DURGA RANA MAGAR</figcaption> </figure>  But in wards 13 and 14, the Human Service Foundation cut down some 33 trees for which it is in a dispute with the metropolitan city as there is no unclear jurisdiction regarding who gives the permit. The Kaski Division Forest Office is currently investigating the matter. Elsewhere in ward 19, the ward office had launched ‘मेरो रूख, म काट्छु’ campaign due to an alleged chaos caused by monkeys in the area. The decision was rescinded after an all-around opposition.&nbsp; To be sure, there are policies in place to protect trees such as the Gandaki Province Forestry Act, 2080, and the Regulations, 2081. The province government also introduced an act in 2019 per which no tree, including pipal, silk cotton and other <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/suburban-tales/trees-trees?%2F">trees of natural and historical importance</a> shall be damaged, eroded or removed. But the local government, responsible for implementing the Act, is doing the opposite. “If this rapid rate of tree felling continues, neither trees nor chautara will survive for the future generation,” conservationist Ram Bahadur Poudel tells us, adding that old trees are being cleared under the pretext of pruning branches. Interestingly, Ulak notes that Pokhara-8 was called सिमलचौर in the past because there were so many majestic silk cotton trees, but there are very few left, if any, and hence altering the identity of a place. With modernisation, people have questioned the significance of chautara in this day and age. But they still have relevance. Urban centres in Pokhara and Kathmandu are much hotter than the outskirts because of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/in-the-heat-of-the-moment-5xcycyot">urban heat island effect</a>. Says archivist Ulak: “While their original purpose was to provide rest, today they continue to play a crucial role in regulating temperature, beautifying the city, and preserving our environment.”

Trees of life and living

Nepalis are living longer than ever. By 2028, the country is set to join the ranks of other <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepals-demographic-window-is-closing">ageing societies</a> around the world, and by 2054, 1 out of every 7 people in Nepal will be over 65. Life expectancy at birth has risen dramatically from just 55 in 1990 to 71 today, &nbsp;thanks to improvements in public health and access. But as more people live longer, the country must also prepare for a parallel rise in age-related illnesses and the complex social and medical needs that come with an <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/need-to-prepare-for-ageing-society,3624">ageing population</a>. Extended families have always acted as a safety net for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/home-sweet-home-for-older-nepalis">the elderly</a>, with children and grandchildren shouldering most caregiving duties. But with more than 1,600 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-not-a-wish-but-necessity-for-nepalis">Nepalis migrating </a>every day, older parents are left behind with no one to care for them. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-new-equaliser">Remittances</a> from migrating youth, which account for nearly a third of Nepal’s GDP, have kept the economy afloat. But money sent home cannot make up for the chronic departure of kin and caregivers, who are often the first to catch the signs and symptoms of disease in elders. In rural areas where over 85% of Nepal’s elderly live, the absence of this daily vigilance means early signs of illness often go unnoticed until they become debilitating. As a result, chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and depression are left unmanaged.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250720130748_213f2c65f2638872e9ac0550a7ac251e4960c3726dc5c76215962a23ba71dff1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250720130748_213f2c65f2638872e9ac0550a7ac251e4960c3726dc5c76215962a23ba71dff1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1064" height="701" loading="lazy" alt="Smart ageing is Nepal’s next frontier"> </figure>  Geriatric medicine is largely absent from medical curricula and there is no national plan in place to manage cognitive decline, memory loss and confusion. These are often mistaken for signs of normal ageing, instead of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/dementia-brings-new-problem-that-families-have-little%20knowledge-of,2151">dementia</a>, delaying care until it is too late. The same pattern plays out with strokes, osteoarthritis, and vision problems — conditions that could be managed early but are instead allowed to spiral into <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/changing-disability-to-this-ability-h68f6sq2">disability</a>. Nepal is not ready for an older future. It needs a strategy for ‘smart ageing’ where the focus is not adding years to life, but enhancing years lived through the intelligent application of policy, infrastructure, and crucially, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/tech-and-transition-in-nepal">technology</a>. Many models of smart ageing, however, are sculpted around modern societies where independent living in later life is the norm. Furthermore, eroding traditional family care and an underdeveloped formal care system means there is a large gap that can’t simply be filled by copy-pasting from foreign models. Nepal must shape its own version of smart ageing. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/healthcare-moving-from-hospitals-to-homes?%2F">tech boom</a> has led to homegrown digital healthcare apps such as Hamro Doctor, Cura Health, Jeevee and Health Yaad Ayo which offer teleconsultations, online appointments, and at-home test bookings. As <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/nepal-s-new-digital-landscape">smartphones and internet access</a> extend to the most rural fringes of the Nepali countryside, geography is no longer a barrier to the use of these digital tools. What limits their use is the lack of digital proficiency among the older generation. Others find the idea of turning to a device instead of a familiar, reassuring face unfathomable. That is why <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/addressing-nepals-digital-divide?ref=blog.togglecorp.com">digital literacy</a> efforts must be paired with guided human support to build trust alongside technical skill. Such a model of community-led digital mediation is already gaining traction elsewhere. In the UK, ‘digital health ambassadors’—often young people or even schoolchildren—are trained to co-design and advocate for online platforms that resonate with peers who might otherwise feel excluded from automated health services. A Nepali version could engage cohorts of nursing students, tech-savvy youngsters and returnee migrants to assist elders in navigating digital health platforms and troubleshooting problems, and most of all, normalising the idea of health apps being a reliable recourse.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250720130748_fcb94ab76e76b5574189757e88d76fccad4e115e78dd9eae92a3bd4c882c3431.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250720130748_fcb94ab76e76b5574189757e88d76fccad4e115e78dd9eae92a3bd4c882c3431" data-rendition-name="original" width="2246" height="1590" loading="lazy" alt="Smart ageing is Nepal’s next frontier"> </figure>  Nepal’s own network of Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs), whose credibility is rooted in long-standing relationships across rural communities, could be similarly upskilled, their roles in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/target-2030-for-maternal-and-newborn-health">maternal and child health </a>expanded and repurposed to also include geriatric tech support. However, there is a limit to how much older adults can adapt to new technologies. So, Nepal should simultaneously invest in passive technologies—tools that monitor and act for the elderly, instead of demanding active use. That is where wearables and in-home smart health devices collectively known as 'gerontechnology' come in. Picture an 82-year-old in far-flung Rolpa, away from the facilities of an urban hospital. Installed in her home are low-cost motion sensors that monitor prolonged inactivity or signs of a fall, instantly triggering alerts to the nearest health post when necessary. On her wrist, a wearable bracelet continuously tracks her sleep, vital signs, oxygen saturation, and glucose levels. This data is encrypted and synced to a digital dashboard accessible by health staff at the local post. If the system flags an acute risk—such as a potential stroke or hypoglycemia—a nearby health worker is dispatched immediately to her home. If her readings over time indicate a trend toward a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/why-do-so-many-nepalis-have-high-blood-pressure">chronic condition</a> like diabetes, community health volunteers step in. They help schedule a virtual consultation with an endocrinologist in Butwal. Based on the advice received, she gets a prescription and picks up her medication from the local community pharmacy, along with a smart dispenser to ensure she sticks to her treatment plan without missing doses. This is not as far-fetched as it may sound. Many of the individual devices forming this connected medical system called an Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) already exist in Nepal as imported commercial products. What is missing is a stronger framework for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/public-health-partnership">public-private collaboration</a>: one where health tech companies continue developing locally adapted tools, and the government actively integrates these innovations into public health delivery. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/nepal-as-an-ai-power-bank">Nepal’s tech ecosystem</a> is maturing, but policymaking must evolve in tandem, especially when it affects an older generation largely resistant to change. The backlash against the recent mandate requiring National Identity Cards for accessing social security benefits revealed the pitfalls of imposing top-down reforms without adequate preparation or support for seniors. For Nepalis to age well, community caregivers, doctors, innovators, and above all, the state, must step in where families have stepped away. The goal is not to replicate traditional care, but to build a coordinated system of support that connects everyone through technology. The future is older for Nepal, let us be wiser too. The writers are pursuing their undergraduate studies in biomedical engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

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