<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfe379c7e80680e0a0c29jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1384" height="898"/><figcaption>MASKING THE TRUTH: Of the approximately 130 people in this photograph of the steps of the Nyatapola Temple during the Saparu festival on Monday, only 12 were not wearing masks properly. But experts warn that masks alone will not provide full protection from the delta variant, people must also avoid crowds like this. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI / PHOTOSHOP BY KIRAN MAHARJAN</figcaption></figure>In January Nepal became the first country in South Asia to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-begins-covid-19-vaccination-drive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">start the Covid-19 vaccination drive</a>. Today, despite delays and a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/we-knew-the-tsunami-was-approaching/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">devastating second wave</a>, close to 15% of the population is fully inoculated.Recent surveys show that 97% of Nepalis would take the Covid vaccines if available. Used to pollution, mask wearing is also high among urban Nepalis.With minimal vaccine and mask resistance, Nepal should have by now had the pandemic under control. And although the spike in cases after the lockdown was partially lifted in July is flattening out, the daily <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-uneven-covid-19-deaths/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">death rate</a> is still high and the risk of a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/vaccines-variants-and-a-third-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">new Covid-19 surge</a> is greater than before.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfe3a9c7e80680e0a0c2ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2770" height="1348"><a href="https://covid19.healthdata.org/global?view=cumulative-deaths&amp;tab=trend" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://covid19.healthdata.org/global?view%3Dcumulative-deaths%26tab%3Dtrend&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1630094210932000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGvdeV1UA0KTyh-ILmgK3DYs64LZQ">Graph from IHME for Nepal</a> showing reported total fatalities from Covid-19 (orange line) and the estimated actual deaths counting excess fatalities including unreported cases (green line). For example, on 25 August, the reported total was 10,614, but the excess deaths from Covid-19 including unreported was projected at more than 37,000. If 90% of the population started wearing masks (green dotted line), nearly 6,000 Covid-19 deaths would be prevented by 31 December (red dotted line). Go to <a href="https://covid19.healthdata.org/global?view=cumulative-deaths&amp;tab=trend" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://covid19.healthdata.org/global?view%3Dcumulative-deaths%26tab%3Dtrend&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1630094210932000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGvdeV1UA0KTyh-ILmgK3DYs64LZQ">IHME</a><a href="https://covid19.healthdata.org/global?view=cumulative-deaths&amp;tab=trend" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://covid19.healthdata.org/global?view%3Dcumulative-deaths%26tab%3Dtrend&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1630094210932000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGvdeV1UA0KTyh-ILmgK3DYs64LZQ"> site for interactive Nepal graphs.</a>Source: The <a href="http://www.healthdata.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.healthdata.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1630094210932000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEWLI_7338oGit9sBT_Fq-Ut4iofA">Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)</a> an independent global health research center at the University of Washington.Experts say the vaccination drive appears to have created a false sense of security among those with jabs to believe that they are now fully immune to the coronavirus.Ironically, the government’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/no-vax-ask-for-mask/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">promotion of masks</a> also may have been too successful – with many thinking it will protect them from the virus even if they crowd around. A case in point is the Saparu festival crowd in Bhaktapur earlier this week (pictured above).“If you are going to crowd in that way for an extended period there is no point in wearing a mask,” states epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa.“Many still don’t know that the virus transmission is through the airborne route, and we cannot be careless knowing how infectious the delta variant is and that the majority of the people are still unvaccinated, particularly children,” she adds.Masks and vaccines just reduce infections and serious symptoms, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/dying-to-get-vaccinated/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">they are not foolproof</a>. And epidemiologists warn that available vaccines do not stop even those who are vaccinated from transmitting the virus.New studies have also shown that even the protection vaccines provide will be wearing off, so Nepalis with jabs will be needing third booster shots even before the eligible population is fully vaccinated.Covid-19 vaccines save lives by ensuring that infected people do not have serious symptoms, and do not require hospitalisation. But vaccinated people can be carriers at the same rate as those unvaccinated if they have been infected with a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/delta-variants-wake-up-call-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">delta variant</a>.“What I’m seeing now is a surge of overconfidence among younger people who are vaccinated, they are risking everyone else not yet vaccinated, especially as Dasain-Tihar nears,” says virologist Sher Bahadur Pun at Teku Hospital. “We are creating an ideal condition for the next surge or the third wave to take place.”Recent studies have shown that an individual infected with delta variant even if vaccinated can have a high viral load -- as high as that of an unvaccinated person. This means they can be carriers of the virus just like unvaccinated people.The real surge in Covid cases last year took place <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/this-years-dangerous-dasain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">after the festivals</a> when millions of Nepalis travelled from Kathmandu to their home villages and took the virus to the remotest corners of the country.This resulted in higher fatalities, especially in rural Nepal with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/rural-nepal-fights-back-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">limited health care facilities</a>.  A recent report found that despite fewer cases, Dolpa, Mugu and Humla districts had fatality rates of 7%, 6% and 5% respectively – compared to only 0.9% in Kathmandu.The delta variant and its higher transmissibility despite vaccinations have made the situation worse this time around. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-nepal-must-prepare-for-3rd-covid-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Covid-19 is here to stay</a>, and managing it requires behavioural change and taking safety measures such as hand washing, physical distancing and masking a necessary part of our lifestyle.Earlier this year, researchers at Yale and Stanford University ran a large-scale randomised controlled trial to identify a precise combination of strategies that are successful in changing mask-wearing habits.They found their <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/3-pronged-strategy-to-save-nepal-from-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">NORM strategy</a> worked well. NORM stands for:- No cost masks distributed at scale- Offering information about mask-wearing- Reinforcement in public places by intercepting non-mask wearers- Modelling and endorsement by trusted leadersAfter a successful pilot trial in Lahore with 5 million people, NORM is being scaled up to cover the whole of Pakistan. The Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) is aiming to reach 81 million people with NORM methods. In India, the program is being tried out in Gujarat and other states by the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA).<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/keep-wearing-masks-after-the-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mask-wearing</a> rates have tripled where NORM methods have been implemented, helping save thousands of lives. The campaign was launched earlier this month in Nepal in the densely populated urban centre of Thimi, Sunsari’s rural areas, and Melamchi which has been battered by earthquakes and floods.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141132/636cfe3d9c7e80680e0a0c2bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The plan is to distribute up to 450,000 masks through volunteers who go back to the community every 10 days to monitor progress in uptake. The pilot will be scaled up across the country with one million masks donated by Hanes, a US clothing brand arriving in Nepal shortly.The NORM pilot in South Asia is being funded by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and the Covid-19 Crisis Management Centre (CCMC) has endorsed the campaign in Nepal.“We hope that the NORM mask-wearing approach will enable behaviour change throughout our nation and help to curb the negative effects of Covid-19,” says Brig Gen Arun Neupane, who heads the medical division of the CCMC.Preeti Adhikary of the NORMalizing Mask Project in Nepal says the campaign has been received well, with many more local governments willing to participate.She says: “Despite the vaccine rollout there is still a lot of uncertainty. So we must educate the public that even after vaccination we must follow safety protocols, which only comes with behavioural change which is what we are trying to do.”_________________<h2>How to get QR coded vaccine certificates</h2>Vaccine certificates are now the new passports for international travel, much like in the past when passengers from certain countries were required to present the WHO-approved yellow cards at airports.This month, there were <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-queueing-up-all-night-for-proof-of-jab/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">long queues of migrant workers </a>at Teku hospital waiting for rubber-stamped papers to certify vaccination before they flew off to destination countries. The letter did not have a digitally-registered QR code, and risked being invalid.This finally prompted the Health Ministry to set up an online application with photo, ID, vaccination card and a self-declaration form for a scannable <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-workers-queue-up-for-qr-codes/">digital vaccine certificate</a> accessible with encrypted link and QR code acceptable internationally.The QR code is linked to the officially-authorised database hosted and managed by the Health Ministry so the system is authenticated.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141136/636cfe409c7e80680e0a0c2cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="800">WHO Nepal has been helping the Health Ministry with technical support on the digitisation of vaccination records to ensure that no one is left behind from accessing the Covid-19 vaccination and facilitating the equitable allocation of Covid-19 vaccine.The WHO support includes training, design and development of the ministry’s software system and IT equipment, and electronic vaccination registration system in seven selected municipalities in seven provinces.Vaccination digitisation can be done in three ways: pre-registration, on-site registration and post digitisation. Pre and on-site registration are used for digitisation of new vaccination records whereas post digitisation will be used for the digitisation of people who are already vaccinated and have certificate cards.“Recordkeeping is important to ensure that there is no duplication but measures must be taken so that there is no crowding at the vaccination centres, turning them into breeding grounds for the virus,” says a virologist at Teku Hospital Sher Bahadur Pun. “We need more vaccination centres and safety protocols must be implemented strictly at every booth.”Public health experts say the digitisation can help control the pandemic in the long run if properly implemented, since the documentation will assist in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/once-nepal-gets-vaccines-they-need-to-be-fairly-distributed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccine equity</a> as the inoculation drive gains pace.Epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa says that online registration is important in reducing crowds at vaccination centres. But, she adds, “Since this is more applicable in areas with Internet access and for people with a smartphone, SMS with individual inoculation timing might be more effective.”To register for online vaccine certificate, visit the <a href="https://vaccine.mohp.gov.np/public-request-form">website</a>: https://vaccine.mohp.gov.np/public-request-form

Sonia Awale

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Behind the masks

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93ad9c7e80680e06f1bajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"/><figcaption>Photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>After nearly two months, the lockdown in Kathmandu Valley has been relaxed after the number of infections started to go down, but public health experts warn of a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/learning-to-live-with-covid/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">surge</a> if precautions are not followed.In fact, the infection rate has not come down compared to the start of the lockdown on 29 April. At that time, only 10 people across the country had died of Covid-19, whereas on Monday 46 people did. The total active cases was more than 54,000 this week, whereas it was less than 30,000 two months ago.Despite this, keeping the economic impact of the lockdown in mind, the government loosened restrictions, allowing odd-even private vehicles on the roads, shops to open on alternate days. And although the government has now allowed limited regular international flights to and from Kathmandu, public transport and domestic flights have still not been allowed.“It is true things are not as bad as in April-May, but the danger is still there, the delta virus is still there and it is infecting and killing people,” says Anup Bastola, a physician treating Covid-19 patients. “I fear there is a danger that a lot more people are going to be infected.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93b19c7e80680e06f1bbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1398" height="712"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93b49c7e80680e06f1bcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1406" height="738"><figcaption>Source: www.worldometers.info</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-can-we-do-till-vaccines-arrive/">What can we do till vaccines arrive?</a> Mushfiq Mobarak, Maha Rehman, Satchit Balsari Bastola says what raises alarms is that most Covid-19 patients during the second wave have the delta variant, only 3% of the population has been fully vaccinated, and carelessness in following protocols could lead to a new surge.Till this week, 2.5 million people had got their first dose of Covishield or VeroCell vaccines, and only 731,653 had got both doses. There are doubts about when people are going to get their second doses, and complete uncertainty about when the remaining 20 million or so eligible population can get their jabs.A level of complacency appears to have set in among the public in Kathmandu, and a weariness with the prolonged shut down. A recent survey showed that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/half-of-nepalis-lost-jobs-in-past-month/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than half of employed people in Nepal had lost their jobs</a> during this lockdown, and there are fears of widespread hunger and poverty.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93b79c7e80680e06f1bdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93ba9c7e80680e06f1bejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93be9c7e80680e06f1bfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93c19c7e80680e06f1c0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93c49c7e80680e06f1c1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93c79c7e80680e06f1c2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364">“We had no choice, people have lost their livelihoods and life has become really difficult for people, that is why we had to relax the restriction,” says Kathmandu district chief Dhundi Niraula. “But we are hoping that everyone will take the virus seriously and adopt precautions.”This does not convince public health experts like Baburam Marasini, who says the official figures for infections and deaths are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-covid-19-impact-worse-than-official-figures/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">grossly underestimated</a>, and that the virus is still spreading in the community.“Maybe it is easier to get beds in hospitals and oxygen now, but this does not mean things are normal,” he says. “In fact, even if the lockdown has been relaxed, we have to keep on behaving as if we are in lockdown, and not venture out unless absolutely necessary, and when we do to mask up and maintain distance.”However, going by the crowds in Kathmandu markets and the increased traffic at major intersections on Tuesday, it did not look like people were taking the precautions very seriously. Most other districts except Khotang and Morang are loosening their restrictions, following Kathmandu’s example. But increased inter-district movement will make it easier for the virus to spread.Warns Bastola: “You have protected yourself for more than a year, why do you want to risk your life now?”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/keep-wearing-masks-after-the-lockdown/">After lockdown, we will need masks more than ever</a>, Tom Robertson

Kathmandu Covid-19 lockdown relaxed

<figure><img width="1050" height="626" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121144/636ce4109c7e80680e09668ajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Nepalis crossing the border into the country last year through the Gauriphanta checkpost in Dhangadi, Far Western Nepal. Photos: DINESH KHABAR</figcaption></figure>India reported over 100,000 new cases on a single day for the first time on Monday, putting neighbouring Nepal on high alert. A repeat of what happened exactly a year ago seems likely, as imported cases from the southern neighbour led to rapid community spread.Nepal shares a 1,770km long porous border with India and migrant workers are returning home in large numbers, as some of the most affected Maharastra, Karnataka and New Delhi announce lockdowns and curfews. Experts say just like April 2020, it may not be long before Nepal will also see its second wave since what happens in India directly impacts Nepal. Health Minister Hridayesh Tripathi told Parliament on Monday that Nepal could see a surge of new cases by May.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-india-connection-in-nepals-covid-19-status/">The India connection in Nepal’s COVID-19 status</a>, Nepali Times <figure><img width="1463" height="759" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121144/636ce4129c7e80680e09668bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Daily Covid-19 cases in India (above) and Nepal (below). Source: WORLDOMETERS.INFO</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="1411" height="754" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121144/636ce4159c7e80680e09668cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>While Nepal is experiencing a déjà vu with a repeat of the situation, the major difference from last year is that there is no lockdown at the moment. People are out and about in the markets and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/oli-vs-dahal-1-upmanship/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">holding political rallies</a>, while many have stopped wearing masks, or even keeping safe distance. This time, it does not seem to be the state that is uncaring, but the people. “Nepalis have a short-term memory and have already forgotten what we went through a year ago,” says epidemiologist Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa. “By this point, we should have learned our lessons, but unfortunately, people are back to crowding and are not even wearing masks.”Last week, Kathmandu’s youth were out in thousands at Basantapur Square to collectively celebrate Phagu Purnima as if there was no health crisis at all, even though India was already seeing a worrying rise. Adding to Nepal’s woes is a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/thick-haze-adds-to-nepal-covid-19-woes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shroud of smoke from wildfires</a> that have covered the country with hazardous levels of air pollution for the past two weeks. With no sign of rain in the forecast, there does not seem to be an end in sight to the bad air.For the past 48 hours Kathmandu has recorded Air Quality Index (AQI) measurements above 300, aggravating the health of those with respiratory problems, including Covid-19 patients.Locals in Bhaktapur on Monday took to the streets to protest the cancellation of the Biska Jatra in Bhaktapur, saying they should be allowed to go ahead since political rallies and international football matches have been allowed to go ahead. <figure><img width="750" height="500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121144/636ce4189c7e80680e09668djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Locals in Bhaktapur protest against the District Administration Office’s decision to cancel this year’s Biska Jatra. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>To make matters worse, there are only about 3,000 PCR tests being done, and contact tracing has been all but abandoned. Nepal was pinning its hopes on its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-fights-infodemic-to-push-vaccine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">early vaccination drive</a> but after 1.6 million people had been inoculated, there is uncertainty even for second doses because of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/despite-doubts-nepal-sticks-with-astrazeneca-jabs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Indian ban on export of Covishield</a>.Nepal has 500,000 doses of Covidshield in the stock, just sufficient to provide a second dose for individuals who inoculated in the first phase. Nepal Army has additional 100,000 doses <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-gift-of-the-jab/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">gifted</a> by the Indian Army.  There is another 800,000 doses of Sinopharm from the Chinese government.Says Sherpa: “We sound like a broken record now, but we have to keep reminding people to wear a mask, wash hands and maintain physical distance. Vaccinate if possible, continue contact tracing and testing, particularly at the border.”Public health experts agree that there have to be tests at the Indian border, and those testing positive or with symptoms should be quarantined. However, they also admit that the border is open and returnees could easily bypass the official border checkpoints, as was the case last year.“We saw how Nepalis desperate to get home swam across the border river to cross over from India, that is why local governments must monitor those who have returned from India and strictly enforce a 10-day quarantine on them, and allow them out only after PCR tests,” says epidemiologist Sher Bahadur Pun. “If local governments act now, we can control the second wave.”Sameer Mani Dixit of the Centre for Molecular Dynamics agrees, but says everyone coming form India should be tested and be under mandatory five-day monitored quarantine. “Since cases are rising rapidly in India, I see the possibility of a surge in the Tarai first, but as it is not possible to test everyone at the border, it should be the responsibility of local governments to keep returnees under observation for five days,” he says. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-relaxes-entry-for-tourists/">Nepal relaxes entry for tourists</a>, Nepali Times

Nepal braces for its 2nd Covid wave

<img width="944" height="629" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111152/636cd8a89c7e80680e092e54jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Next week marks one year since <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/24-march-24-august-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/24-march-24-august-2020/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615957656000000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFvLAfq3m19YW1604I7dz3U9jEOuw">Nepal was completely shut down</a> to stop the spread of Covid-19. On 24 March 2020, after only the second infection was detected in a traveller from Europe, the country ground to a halt.The first lockdown lasted till 21 July, and although the number of positive cases had exceeded 18,000 by then and there had been 40 fatalities, travel restrictions were eased. The pandemic was raging in India, and the virus spread mainly through <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-and-india-stop-nationals-in-each-others-countries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-and-india-stop-nationals-in-each-others-countries/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615957656000000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEaUFpNllqcDKbDzl7sR9nw95DD9g">returning workers </a>from the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tarai-reels-under-covid-19-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-tarai-reels-under-covid-19-lockdown/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615957656000000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHaAVbMKzek5cNM9U6RhtnQ-QQoxg">Tarai cities </a>to the mountain districts, and then through <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/returnees-may-be-taking-coronavirus-to-rural-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615957656000000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGLuS6fMo2pCqtjN1B7wLvVN3ZUVw">community dissemination</a>.After that, there was another lockdown but it was lifted just before the festival season, leading to a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/this-years-dangerous-dasain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/this-years-dangerous-dasain/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615957656000000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEdgmYlztnbBK-ad75IbQInV8z_Kg">sharp spike in cases and fatalities in October</a>. The daily caseload peaked at 5,700, and the deaths every day hit a high of 40-45 in November. (see figures) <img width="1904" height="966" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111152/636cd8aa9c7e80680e092e55jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1902" height="946" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111152/636cd8ad9c7e80680e092e56jpeg.jpg" alt="">Thereafter, the the positivity rate, patients in ICU, as well as the total daily fatalities declined steadily. Out of the 3,311 PCR tests done in a 24-hour period on 14-15 March, there were only 79 positives. There have been many days this month with no Covid-19 deaths reported. The number of active cases nationwide is now below 900.Looking around Kathmandu Valley today, and even more so in the outlying districts, it seems as if Nepalis think the pandemic is over. It could be due to desperation of people to return to their normal livelihoods, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/next-up-for-vaccines-elderly-nepalis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/next-up-for-vaccines-elderly-nepalis/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615957656000000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFp9FPNA71QeI_bGRgu_WdbEH_gfw">prospect of vaccines</a>, and news of the decline in infections. Nepalis are letting their guard down.We should not. The aggressive resurgence of the coronavirus in parts of India in the past two weeks should be a warning that we are not out of the woods yet. India recorded nearly 27,000 new cases on Monday, the highest single-day spike since December. Daily deaths have also climbed steadily and are back to a daily average of 115.Most of the daily cases in India’s second wave have been in the western state of Maharastra, especially parts of Mumbai and cities like Nagpur where there are now lockdowns. In December, public health experts were puzzled by the sharp decline in caseloads in India and Nepal and were trying find an explanation for it. The two countries were bucking the global trend, and despite crowded living conditions, poor surveillance and a return to normal life, the daily cases and deaths kept going down.Epidemiologists zeroed in on the first signs of ‘herd immunity’ — the virus was not spreading as fast because a sizeable percentage of the population already carried antibodies from previous exposure to the virus. Because the virus spread so rapidly and rampantly across India in mid-2020, it seemed to have burned itself out. However, the new surge is worrying because it means the virus is fighting back perhaps with local variants, as well as exploiting the tendency for people once more to move about without precautions.Indeed, pandemic fatigue has driven people out of their homes, crowded suburban trains had resumed services in Mumbai, and with the arrival of vaccines people had started becoming careless again. Although surveys have shown that half the residents of crowded cities like Delhi and Mumbai may have antibodies, the other half that does not is vulnerable. The new variants from Brazil, Britain and South Africa have also been detected.All this should set <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-braces-for-new-wave-with-vaccine-drive/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-braces-for-new-wave-with-vaccine-drive/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615957656000000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFiKgmdkKLbtrtvg8lPbAiDK3_4QA">alarm bells ringing in Nepal.</a> Something was protecting both Indians and Nepalis at the beginning of the pandemic in April-May last year, and there was a false sense of security that South Asians may be less susceptible. That was proven to be wrong. Now, once more, there is complacency that herd immunity will protect us. That may also be a wrong assumption.Epidemiologically, Nepal tracks India. So, health authorities here have to watch trends in India carefully, especially since there are so many Nepalis in the affected states who travel home regularly. We should also monitor the infection rates in bordering Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. So far, although the total cases have risen in India, there has not been an increase in the number of deaths. That is good news, and may mean the virus variant is weaker.But if it does spread, we could easily see a repeat of the virus penetrating the southern border that we saw last year. From Kakarbhitta in the east to Banbasa in the west this week, there are long lines of Nepalis waiting to enter India, but the flow of people into Nepal is unrestricted and unmonitored.The other reason to be wary is that whatever conditions led to the new surge of Covid-19 in India also exist in Nepal: people not adhering to physical distancing and mask wearing and moving about as if the crisis is over. There has been a slight uptick of active cases in Nepal: after dropping to 736 on 1 March, it has gone up to nearly 900 again.The government’s health communications should be moving in high gear: warning people that the virus is still around and is a threat, to continue mask-wearing and avoiding crowds, as well as to<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-fights-infodemic-to-push-vaccine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-fights-infodemic-to-push-vaccine/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615957656000000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF1o4PEh1LSd213OT4_3n99xHs18Q"> encourage people to take the vaccine doses</a>. After all, it is always better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.

It’s not over yet

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prabalgurung/" target="_blank">Prabal Gurung</a> left Nepal for New York in 1999 to escape years of bullying, sexism and homophobia, and to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqN0VaoAI5w" target="_blank">realised his dream</a>, but did not escape discrimination and racism in the new world. Propelled by passion for fashion, Gurung overcame everything America threw at him. He has attained <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/prabal-gurung-recalls-his-first-met-gala-when-zoe-saldana-was-at-his-side?srsltid=AfmBOooy-H0oGgxMit864FnW_Pmw8mUnV8rYrh-co-f6OyYK6m2ip5hP" target="_blank">fame and recognition</a> for his haute couture dress designs while remaining true to his Nepali roots, and is even more resolute in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmNauyzACk" target="_blank">fighting prejudice</a> in all its forms. Prabal Gurung’s newly-released memoir <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Walk-Like-Girl-Memoir/dp/B0DG11HCDQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZfpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuZcIJO2OXyXcRm1oq1iG6wzeoF7VJFrQ7GXOFI0YxuZZ4id_CNvSZSZZIna_aem_pG_mOKG73RTnYvN8JaC4fA">Walk Like a Girl</a> is a saga of harrowing abuse in boarding schools in Nepal and India, only finding himself facing a different kind of bullying in the US. He prevails over it all to be where he is today: an award-winning American fashion designer with his own label. Walk Like a Girl was launched last week in New York at a time when everything Gurung fought for — tolerance, inclusion and diversity — are in retreat in his adopted country because of a president who has espoused a culture of bullying. The book is a searing, raw exposé of how cruel and abusive people can be even at a young age in school. On the other hand, it also shows that there are generous, compassionate and open-minded souls out there. In his book, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4le_uWX7YE">Prabal Gurung</a> calls out those who tormented and tried to hold him back (some of their names have been altered). The moral of his story is: resist, never stop believing in yourself, do not let others define you, never lose sight of your dream, and help those who have been kept out. “Walk like a girl” was a slur used by bullies back in school in Nepal and India for Gurung’s effeminate ways. He fought back then, and he is still resisting by turning those words into something to be proud of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1253" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung NT"> <figcaption>Prabal Gurung at home in Kathmandu in the 1990s.</figcaption> </figure>  “Living through it all was one thing, but writing about it is one of the hardest things I have done in my life,” admitted Gurung during the launch. “I broke down constantly during the six-year writing process.” He continues: “I did not want this to be a victim’s book. I did not want to burden my readers with my emotions. I wanted my struggle to be an inspiration for others facing what I faced. I am grateful to those who bullied me in school, they made me a stronger person ready to face the world.” Indeed, this book is a departure from his earlier one titled simply, Prabal Gurung (Abrams, 2019), which was a lush pictorial autobiography of his career in fashion. Walk Like a Girl is not a typical fashion book, it is an intimate tale of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16997">Gurung’s travails and triumphs</a>, and how he willed himself to succeed. Prabal pays a lavish tribute to his mother Durga Rana. We find out she is a descendant of the first wife of the eldest son of Jang Bahadur Rana who was banished to Palpa in the late 19th century. Prabal’s father served in the Singapore Police and that is where he was born before the family returned to Nepal when he was four. Gurung relates with brutal honesty about the violence his mother endured from his father. Durga raises three children as a single mother in Nepal, and Prabal credits her for his fierce determination to resist patriarchy and injustice, which in time manifests itself in his hyper-feminine and subversive dress designs. Writing the book has been a cathartic experience for Gurung, who says he is now relieved of the burdens of his past. It no longer haunts him, and he does not have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Walk Like a Girl has life lessons not just for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmOcSgxdWz/" target="_blank">fashion industry</a>, but for every other profession. How can my job serve a greater cause? Gurung tells us his work is <a href="https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-designer-prabal-gurung-doesnt-want-just-stick-fashion" target="_blank">bigger than just making clothes</a>, it is about making the world a better place because it could do with a lot of improvement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1516" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung"> </figure>  This story of chasing the American dream may sound familiar to many immigrants: knocking on doors for jobs, rejections, trying to survive from day to day on expensive rent, and dealing with subtle racism in white America. Gurung finds racism is rife, and he is often mockingly called ‘gaysian’. He writes: ‘There was a strong hypocrisy — this idea of independence felt like a marketting ruse … and for all the talk of feminism in America, these high society women were trapped by the patriarchy just like in Nepal and India.’ After a trek to the Khumbu region in 2013, Gurung is inspired to use the colours, palette and textures of Nepal for his collection exhibited on Manhattan’s 8th Avenue. A major buyer tells him bluntly: “Stick to making pretty dresses … if I need to see a collection like this, I could buy a copy of National Geographic.” The New York Times was equally dismissive: ‘The designer tries to draw connections between blistered techo-fabric used to construct it and the topography of his homeland, Nepal. But, at the moment, he has lost his map.’ One potential investor tells Gurung he cannot design for Americana because “you do not look American”. Gurung wants to use expletives, but restrains himself. After a fundraiser in New York for the Nepal earthquake in 2015, some belittled his effort, saying: “Here comes the saviour."&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/prabal-gurung-by-prabal-gurung">Prabal Gurung by Prabal Gurung</a>, Kunda Dixit The Gurkha DNA must be dominant in Prabal Gurung’s genes because he does not take such mistreatment lying down. When asked by a fashion publicist why he was designing clothes for fat people, he snaps back: “Because of people like you.” He joins the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, launches the Shikshya Foundation charity in Nepal, and has powerful allies among celebrities who wear clothes he designed: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Sara Jessica Parker, Kamala Harris, Deepika Padukone … it is a long list.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="1534" loading="lazy" alt="Being Prabal Gurung by design"> <figcaption>Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wearing Atelier Prabal Gurung’s design for Met Gala 2025 in which the theme was ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’. </figcaption> </figure>  “I don’t dress women to look beautiful, they already are,” Gurung says. “I try to bring out their innate strength and grace.” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17908766880140171/" target="_blank">Admirers</a> tell Gurung he makes it all look so easy, but he used to put up a strong facade to not show his own vulnerabilities in public. “I was closed because of my childhood experiences,” he says. “I was always on guard to defend myself because I never knew where the next punch would come from.” But in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVepzPA210" target="_blank">Walk Like a Girl,</a> Gurung comes to terms with his vulnerability, and bares his soul. It has not been easy, it took sustained will power and support from his mother, sister Kumudini and a circle of close friends. “I made unbelonging my power,” he says. “Nepal is where I still have my heart and soul. Nepal grounds you. It is where people go to find themselves. But I escaped.” Recently appointed vice-chair of the <a href="https://cfda.com/about-cfda" target="_blank">Council of American Fashion Designers</a>, Gurung says: “I can’t believe I am here, it feels like it is happening to someone else. Writing this book, the healing has finally begun.” <h2>‘Everything is better in color’</h2> The Met Gala was two weeks later, and my table was an example of everything I’d been fighting for all these years as my guests represented everything I believed in: dynamic, powerful, influential women who were unapologetically original and unabashedly graceful. I was grateful to Anna for inviting me to host and dress a table that reflected my ethos—and for her guidance in doing so. I was also aware of the privilege as one of the first-­ever Asian fashion designers—not just from Nepal, but from the entire continent— to get the opportunity to do so. That fact was not lost on me. I reached out beyond the expected Hollywood celebrities and well-­known socialites to curate a table of exceptional women who inspired me. I invited Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for their first-­ever Met Galas, as well as Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Camila Cabello, Ashley Park, Denée Benton, KiKi Layne, Quannah Chasinghorse, and Grace Elizabeth. Together we checked many boxes: Asian, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous, each woman undeniably chic and powerful, a dazzling array of skin tones and experiences that proved my decades‑in‑the-­making hypothesis: everything is better in color. Excerpt from Walk Like a Girl Viking © 2025 by Prabal Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;

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