Suki Manandhar grew up watching anime and cartoons and reading manga whenever she could get her hands on them. Pokemon, Digimon, Dragon Ball Z, Haibane Renmei brought her joy and comfort.Back then, Manandhar wished she could dress like the characters she saw on screen. She would sometimes engage in ‘closet cosplay’, making costumes and dressing like anime characters and sharing those with fellow anime fans in online forums.“The stuff that was said to have been targeted towards children addressed issues like mental health, what it means to have important people in your life and for them to leave,” says Manandhar. “I had no idea what they meant when I was a child, but I appreciate them more when I watch them now.”Cosplay, a portmanteau of costume and play, is an art form in which  artists dress and accessorise as characters from across pop culture — anime, cartoons, comic books, video games, and other sources from tv and movies. The term was coined by Japanese reporter Nobuyuki Takahashi in 1984 after he attended the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Los Angeles.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238999c7e80680e0c7395jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200"/><figcaption>A cosplay artist attends pop-culture convention Otaku Jatra Fall 2022 on Saturday. Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption></figure>Although masquerade balls, carnivals and pageants where people dressed up in costumes have been commonplace since the 15th century, cosplay in mainstream media and art emerged out of fan culture through science fiction conventions in the 20th century.In 1939, science fiction writers Forrest J Ackerman and Myrtle Douglas became the first two people to attend the 1st Worldcon in ‘futuristicostume’. A masquerade competition began at Worldcon the year after, and fan conventions would continue to multiply.On the other side of the world in Japan, the emergence and rising popularity of manga and anime in the 1950s and 60s made way for ‘costuming’ as a fan activity in the 1970s.The San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC) began in the USA in 1970. Five years later, Japan inaugurated its own convention, Comiket. But the subculture would not make its way into Nepal until decades later.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/6372389c9c7e80680e0c7396jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200">Rohit Shrestha started watching anime when he was in 8th grade, began cosplaying in 2014, and is among the earliest cosplayers in Nepal. He is now one of the organisers of Otaku Jatra, Nepal’s largest pop culture convention.Back in 2013, Shrestha and like-minded enthusiasts used to get together and hang out every Saturday at the anime store owned and operated by fellow anime fan Wataru Oikawa Shrestha.Realising that there was a growing community of pop culture fans in Nepal, their collective Otaku Club joined hands with another collective, Otaku Next — which used to publish its Nepali mangas magazine— to host a small-scale pop culture events which made its way into smaller pop-up events, fanart and cosplay competitions, and exhibitions.In 2014, when she heard about the Otaku event, Suki Manandhar made her own costume, often sewing it out of sight of her teachers even as she attended her college lectures. The day before the convention, with her outfit still not done, Manandhar was up the whole night completing it.Manandhar went to her first cosplay event as Taiga from the anime Toradora!. She has been to many conventions since but recalls dressing up as Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan as one of her most memorable cosplays. Depending on the characters, Manandhar spends as much as five months creating intricate costumes.The 26-year-old communications officer, who has also illustrated and written a four-chapter manga The Birdsong, has been preparing for a year for the upcoming Otaku Jatra Fall 2022 on Saturday in Kathmandu, working on her costume whenever she has time.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/6372389f9c7e80680e0c7397jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="853"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238a29c7e80680e0c7398jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kriti Chamling Rai began cosplaying in 2016 after she and her friends visited the Otaku Store, where they met organisers who informed them of an upcoming convention.“We were so surprised that there was even a store that sold manga and anime paraphernalia, let alone conduct conventions,” Rai recalls who grew up watching anime and cartoons with her aunt.“We didn’t have internet, we would go to the DVD store and get CDs.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238a49c7e80680e0c7399jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1367"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>For the convention, Rai started with characters that did not require complex props or detailed costumes, deciding to go as Tenten from Naruto.“I saw so many people dressed like characters I had grown up watching on screen and loved — it was amazing to see them walking around in real life,” she muses. “I have been to so many conventions since then, but that first one will always be special.”Rai’s cosplay as Saber from the Japanese visual novel Fate/stay the night, which she worked on for three months would win her the 2nd prize at Comic Con Nepal 2017 and take her to New Delhi to represent the country.Back in Nepal, Otaku Jatra finally hosted a large-scale convention — a jatra— in 2017. By 2020, they had expanded enough to be a special event within Visit Nepal 2020, but those plans were scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic."My hobby turned into passion and passion turned into a business,” says Rohit Shrestha about Otaku Jatra speaking with Nepali Times ahead of their convention that will include cosplay, animation, K-pop contests, e-sports competitions, arcade gaming, and much more.Shrestha recalls a man in his sixties attending a convention with a cowboy hat and a prop gun. He was happy to finally find a space in Nepal where he could express his childhood wish of being a cowboy. We also get plenty of expatriates, little children dressed as Naruto or Dragon Ball Z characters with their parents in tow, adds Shrestha.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238a79c7e80680e0c739ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Otaku Jatra has branched out to India and approached content creators across South Asia to participate in events in Nepal with the plan to turn the country into a mecca for pop culture fans in the Subcontinent.“We have mountaineering and adventure tourism. Why not pop-culture tourism?” says Shrestha. “It’s going to take a long time to get there, but it’s a hustle.”The collective is also looking into ways to expand its digital platform in order to help artists and content creators make their hobbies profitable. Conventions like Otaku Jatra have also provided them with a space to showcase their work — be it cosplay itself, animation, or other forms of art.“These conventions are also networking opportunities for artists and corporations,” Shrestha adds. “We hope content creators can expand their work beyond hobbies into something that is more sustainable.”Additionally, the collective hopes to expand Nepali pop culture itself. One of its most recent undertakings is the ‘Jatraverse’, a digital universe through which they plan to introduce and incorporate characters from Nepali folklore and mythology — like the Yeti, Pisach, and Kichkandi — into their artform.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238aa9c7e80680e0c739bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238ad9c7e80680e0c739cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366">In 2017, Otaku Jatra took their display of cosplay to Nyatapola, which people mistook for Gaijatra. But the history of Gaijatra --which can be considered a form of cosplay, muses Shrestha — might make it easier for Nepalis to reconcile with an art form like cosplay because there is already a similar history of dressing up and expressing oneself through costumes in Nepal. But all of this has to be done in a culturally sensitive manner, Shrestha adds.But the cosplay community across the world has had to confront racism, misogyny, harassment, and homophobia. In Nepal, cosplayers say they have faced sexism and body shaming, as well as some degree of ignorance and active pushback when artists have tried to speak out. In fact, body shaming and online bullying have held back many people from being part of the community.For their part, organisers say they will ensure that the event is a safe space for artists to express themselves. “Cosplay is not consent,” Shrestha says, echoing the phrase meant to convey the anti-harassment policy at the New York Comic Con in 2014 that later led to a larger movement against the harassment of female cosplayers within the global cosplay community.Says Suki Manandhar: “This is a community where you can be anything regardless of who you are. I have met a lot of people who have chosen to be kind, understand consent, and stand up for each other.”

Shristi Karki

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Cosplaying in K'mandu

Samsung Nepal has opened pre-orders for the Galaxy A57 5G and A37 5G. Both phones run Samsung’s One UI 8.5, featuring AI capabilities like voice transcription, Circle to Search, and photo editing. They feature a 50MP triple-camera system, a Super AMOLED display, and six years of OS and security updates.

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‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>

How to win friends and influence nations

Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday broke tradition and met with 17 foreign envoys collectively, a move that was a notable departure from how his predecessors operated.&nbsp;
Shah had already set himself apart by talking less, listening more, and delegating to trusted friends. But by meeting all ambassadors at one go in the presence of the Foreign Ministry, he signalled a paradigm shift in how he wants Nepal to be seen: no longer just balancing India and China, but as a country confident about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/tripolar-contestation-over-nepal">strategic importance and place in the world</a>.
In just two weeks, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rsp-dos-and-don-ts">RSP has sprung into action </a>on multiple fronts to implement its ambitious 100-point, 100-days action plan. It has taken short-term measures to mitigate the impact of the Gulf war, as well as medium- and long- term measures to streamline the bureaucracy. A few high-profile figures have been made examples of to drive the message home.
Earlier this week, the government recalled six politically appointed ambassadors, the most notable being long-serving Shankar Sharma from New Delhi. The Kathmandu District Court issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his former foreign minister wife Arzu Rana on charges of money laundering and corruption.
Each ministry has been trying to clean up the accumulated rot from the past three decades: regulatory overhaul of microfinance, education, health and service delivery.&nbsp;
These actions widely disseminated campaign-style on YouTube and TikTok have made most Nepalis hopeful that the party they installed in power means business.
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BACKLASH
But such attempts to overhaul a long-entrenched political culture were bound to face backlash. In their impatience and enthusiasm to get things done, some of Prime Minister Shah’s ministers have over-reached.
It was common knowledge that government-paid advertising in the mainstream press was kickback-driven, but the PMO’s directive that official notices be published or broadcast only on state-run media has been denounced — especially as the media industry struggles to stay afloat.
More serious are some recent appointments by ministers of relatives and figures closely associated with the RSP to key positions. This has rankled because this party built its political plank on ending nepotism and graft.&nbsp;
News that Home Minister Sudan Gurung allegedly had not paid rent on leased land, which illegally encroached on the lake in Pokhara did not help. &nbsp;
Prime Minister Shah himself has come under scrutiny for appointing a kitchen cabinet full of male buddies from his time as Kathmandu mayor. To douse criticism he brought in as adviser investigative journalist Deepa Dahal, who has exposed corruption in high places of the previous coalitions.&nbsp;
Shah’s appointment of another political adviser Asim Shah to the head Constitution Amendment Task Force, is also seen as problematic. He is a filmmaker and former lawmaker, but does not have a background in constitutional law.&nbsp;
Even more controversial is the Cabinet’s decision to appoint RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane’s legal counsel, Narayan Kandel, as Attorney General. Kandel used to be a UK permanent resident, and does not have as much experience practicing law in Nepal.&nbsp;
Kandel’s appointment drew flak and raised eyebrows, and with the pending legal cases against Lamichhane this appointment represents a flagrant conflict of interest.
Health Minister Nisha Mehta was also accused of favouritism after reappointing Junu Shrestha, wife of Labour Minister Dipak Kumar Shah, as member of the Health Insurance Board which had earlier suspended her. The Labour Minister’s rambling rant at the Board’s meeting on Tuesday has not helped the RSP’s image.&nbsp;
(UPDATE: On Thursday, Prime Minister Shah sacked the Labour Minister after the RSP found him in breach of the party's code of conduct and discipline. He served 14 days in the Cabinet, one of the shortest tenures for a minister in Nepal )
It is hard to know what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ball-in-balen-s-court">Balendra Shah is thinking</a>, and how Rabi Lamichhane is going to justify some of these moves. After all, making politics, governance, and bureaucracy a meritocracy has been the core tenet of the RSP, and it risks alienating its mainly youth base if these missteps persist.
But at least for now, most RSP supporters seem to be giving the party the benefit of doubt.

cosplay

Cosplaying in K'mandu

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How to win friends and influence nations

Nepal’s new government springs into action