<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151156/636d119e9c7e80680e0a9896jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>The narrow stone-paved alley behind Patan’s Krishna Mandir is unusually packed these days with people in the new cafes, bars and homestays. But nestled among them is a 150-year-old sweet shop that has survived earthquakes, upheavals and epidemics.It is called Mamadu Galli, but over the decades it has become synonymous with the mari pasa confectionary shop housed in a building that survived the 1934 and 2015 earthquakes. One morning this week, it was crowded with customers, many of them who had just finished worshipping in nearby shrines.Shree Nanda Mithai Bhandar is famous not just in Patan. Customers come from Kathmandu and further afield to buy the freshly cooked jeri-swari, barfi, and other sinfully sweet ghee-dipped delicacies. Some are so impatient, they do not even wait to get home and are savouring the piping hot treats right there on the sidewalk.https://youtu.be/aXo4Y7HnCXkIt is just past 8AM, but the proprietor Radha Krishna Rajkarnikar has been busy since 6, as he is every day. “This is how it is 365 days a year, seven days a week, we rarely close,” says Rajkarnikar, whose family has been running the shop now for over four generations.“The recipes have been handed down from the time of our great-grandparents, passed down from one generation to the next,” adds Rajkarnikar, who grew up as a boy to watch his parents mix the ingredients, heat the sugar syrup in a great vat, before dipping the freshly-fried delicacies every morning.“I used to help my father with sales, I was told to sell one piece of jeri for 25 paisa,” recalls Radha Krishna, now 45. “I also learned to make simple breakfast staples like halwa, malpa and sel. Back then we used to buy stacks of firewood from local traders, we didn’t have kerosene or gas stoves.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151156/636d11a29c7e80680e0a9897jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/new-improved-yomari/">New, improved Yomari</a>, Sewa BhattaraiEverything flies off the shelf as soon as it is cooked, and is fresh, few items are left over for the next day. The best-sellers are everyone’s favourite jeri-swari, of which about 1,000 pieces are made every day. Other favourites are lakhamari, barfi and balbara.Its eight workers work nearly non-stop until 9PM every day, especially during the wedding and festival seasons, on Mothers and Fathers Days.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151156/636d11a69c7e80680e0a9898jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“More and more we are also getting customers who have been living abroad for years, and have childhood memories of visiting our shop when they were young,” says Srijana Shilpakar Rajkarnikar who runs the shop together with her husband Radha Krishna.The pandemic had significantly reduced business, but things returned to near-normal this Dasain season. Now, sales are shooting up again ahead of Tihar.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151156/636d11aa9c7e80680e0a9899jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Increasingly, traditional mithai are being replaced with well-packaged pastries, cakes and other baked goods. It is only during the festivals and rituals that people buy the more traditional delicacies. In time, family-run halwai businesses like these may also lose out to the modern bakeries and cake shops that have sprung up nearby. The younger generation is also moving away to pursue better-paying jobs or migrate abroad.Srijana herself became active in the shop only a couple of years ago but having been raised in a family of traditional wood carvers in Lalitpur, and growing up helping her parents at their showroom, she says it is important to continue the culinary heritage and keep traditions alive.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/crafting-a-heritage/">Crafting a heritage</a>, Shriluna Shrestha<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151156/636d11ae9c7e80680e0a989ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Both my young sons help out when things get busy, especially during festivals. We have taught them about raw materials and recipes,” adds Srijana. “It is my hope they carry on with our tradition in some capacity.”The Shree Nanda Mithai Bhandar is named after Radha Krishna’s grandfather and has been in the same rented space for nearly a century. Says Srijana: “We cannot let our heritage fade away, we need to transfer our skills and knowledge to continue our ancestral profession, and encourage the coming generation.”Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6768#.YYIQ1E1BzOQ">Govinda's sweet tooth</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/let-them-eat-pustakari/">Let them eat Pustakari</a>, Ashish Dhakal

Sonia Awale

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Hitting the sweet spot this Tihar

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d17b19c7e80680e0ac780jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="856" height="571"/><figcaption>Kathmandu's Dasain shopping crowd this week. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Nearly half of Kathmandu Valley’s population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19, but the national average is only a little over 20%. In essence, this is a microcosm of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hope-hyperbole-and-hypocrisy-of-covax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">vaccine inequity seen globally</a> – but it also reflects Nepal’s in-built socioeconomic inequalities.In Asia and Africa, a majority of the population including health workers and the elderly are yet to receive even their first dose. But the US, France, Germany, and Israel are already <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/to-boost-or-not-to-boost/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">providing booster shots</a> to their vulnerable populations.On one hand, this is a stark reminder that Nepal is not on the priority of wealthy nations. Just as it was not during the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-real-cost-of-nepals-second-wave/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">devastating second wave in May</a> when, despite the prime minister and the president calling on foreign governments for vaccine shipments, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/aid-pours-into-nepal-but-where-be-vaccines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the response was tepid</a>.On the other hand, the imbalance in vaccine distribution within Nepal is a reflection of long-standing inequities in healthcare services, education, drinking water, and food that predate Covid-19.Despite a federal Constitution that has devolved decisions and delivery of basic services to local governments, it is still Kathmandu that holds the purse strings and power. Isolated and beyond the state’s reach even at the best of times, Nepal’s hinterland this year has been cut off by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/still-chasing-the-melamchi-mirage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">destructive floods blamed on the climate crisis</a>.A village in Kailali with 200 Tharu and Dalit families has been marooned by floods for the past month, where the submerged roads block access to even the rudimentary healthcare available.It is not surprising, therefore, that very few in this village are inoculated. In fact, those who need to be vaccinated the most now face a triple whammy: historical state neglect, international apathy, and now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/mountainous-regions-face-catastrophic-impacts-without-urgent-climate-action/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate-induced extreme weather</a>.This in turn has set off a vicious cycle, and the poor are getting poorer. The official death toll from Covid-19 in Nepal is nearly 12,000, but the ‘excess deaths’ that were not counted in remote villages across the country is probably several times higher.An estimated <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/helping-nepals-covid-orphans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">1,200 children have become orphans</a> because of the death of one or both parents due to Covid-19. Many of them do not have support for food, healthcare, and education – setting a stage for intergenerational inequity.In Kathmandu and urban centres, on the other hand, there is complacency and false sense of security as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/too-early-for-nepal-to-let-its-guard-down/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the festive season approaches</a>. Unvaccinated children have also started <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/two-schools-of-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">attending in-person schools</a>. The Health Ministry’s recent seroprevalence study has revealed that 67% of people have SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, and therefore have natural immunity against the virus. This, combined with half of the valley’s targeted demography being vaccinated on paper, makes a case for a fully immune population.But that is not the case. There is now growing proof that antibodies provided by vaccines wane over time, which means many of us who were vaccinated earlier this year have weaker protection than we think. Only those newly infected with the virus might have sufficient antibodies to fight off the next infection.It is not as important to know what portion of the population has antibodies as to how much of it they have. Vaccinated individuals are less susceptible to hospitalisation, severe symptoms, and death, but they can still be contagious, especially as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/delta-variants-wake-up-call-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more virulent Delta variant</a> continues to circulate in the region.The Dasain shopping spree has started, and there are throngs of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/dasain-crowd-unmasked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shoppers in Asan and other bazar streets</a>. Many have stopped wearing masks, or use them inappropriately. The situation will be worse when Kathmandu residents travel to their hometowns this week. They will be visiting elderly parents and grandparents, exposing vulnerable elderly relatives with lower immunity to the virus.The government is bringing in 100,000 doses of Pfizer vaccines after the festivals, with plans for 10 million more by March. But provincial and district hospitals must have deep refrigeration equipment in place, and make necessary collaboration with private hospitals.To make sure that each Nepali child, even those in remote Karnali, gets <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/once-nepal-gets-vaccines-they-need-to-be-fairly-distributed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a shot at the Covid-19 vaccine</a>, our expansive network of community healthcare workers must be mobilised and, where required, administer vaccines at the household level.Lhamo Yangchen Sherpa is an epidemiologist and a senior research monitoring and evaluation advisor at IPAS Nepal.

Giving all Nepalis a shot at the Covid vaccine

<figure><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbc29c7e80680e0802dfjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All photos: BIKRAM RAI &amp; MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>While every household in Nepal is celebrating Dasain, the Newa community of the historic town of Khokhana is marking its annual Sikali Jatra. The festival lasts five days, and is derived from the traditional post-harvest celebration.  <img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbc59c7e80680e0802e0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbc89c7e80680e0802e1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbcb9c7e80680e0802e2jpeg.jpg" alt="">The festival is celebrated for the goddess Sikali, also known as Ajima or Rudrayani, a goddess regarded to be the protector of children. During the week-long festival, Goddess Rudrayani is carried in a wooden chariot throughout the village and rested in front of the Sikali temple in Khokana along with various religious copper vessels.  <img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbce9c7e80680e0802e3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbd19c7e80680e0802e4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbd59c7e80680e0802e5jpeg.jpg" alt="">The procession is led by priests adorned in white robes along with 14 masked deities come together to perform dance. Locals believe that the goddess protects their town from misfortunes and prevents calamities. The festival could also have antecedeants in the high child mortality in Nepal before modern vaccines and medicines. <img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbd89c7e80680e0802e6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbdb9c7e80680e0802e7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbde9c7e80680e0802e8jpeg.jpg" alt="">In Khokana, Sikali is a substitute for Dasain, and is organised by three different guthis: Ta-Guthi, Sala Guthi and Jhahu Guthi. With Covid-19 pandemic on rise, guthi members have ensured all preventive measures and look towards celebrating their most important festival adhering to avoid the pandemic chaos.  <img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbe29c7e80680e0802e9jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2048" height="1375" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbe59c7e80680e0802eajpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171156/636bdbe89c7e80680e0802ebjpeg.jpg" alt="">

Khokana's Sikali festival

Kathmandu Valley celebrates Gaijatra today even as the risk of COVID-19 looms over the capital. However, celebrations across Kirtipur, Bhaktapur and Basantapur are muted compared to previous years due to the pandemic.Gaijatra is celebrated primarily by the Newa community as they remember and honour loved ones who have passed away in the past year by holding processions around the Valley. In recent years, Gaijatra has also been a day of celebration for the LGBTQIA+ community, the Nepali equivalent of the gay pride parade.King Pratap Malla in the 17th century introduced the festival to console a grieving queen Bhuwan Laxmi after their second son Chakravatendra Malla was trampled to death by an elephant. People were asked to participate in a procession if they had had a death of a family member that year so that the queen could see she was not the only person to have lost a loved one. This procession was a form of census.The king also allowed a week-long freedom of speech for his people as long as they could make the queen laugh, thus giving satire a prominent space in Nepali culture.The significance of the festival can be more keenly felt this year. As heritage expert Anil Chitrakar says in his ‘Walkabout with Anil’ video series with Nepali Times, “In today's world of COVID-19 when people are trying to cope with death, Gaijatra has amazing lessons we can learn from and preserve for the future as well.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4779c7e80680e07366bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba47a9c7e80680e07366cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba47d9c7e80680e07366djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1366"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4809c7e80680e07366ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="401"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4839c7e80680e07366fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4869c7e80680e073670jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4889c7e80680e073671jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba48b9c7e80680e073672jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba48e9c7e80680e073673jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4929c7e80680e073674jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1333"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4959c7e80680e073675jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1760" height="1174"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4989c7e80680e073676jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba49b9c7e80680e073677jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba49d9c7e80680e073678jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4a19c7e80680e073679jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4a49c7e80680e07367ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1280"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4a79c7e80680e07367bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4aa9c7e80680e07367cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4ad9c7e80680e07367djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110914110/636ba4b09c7e80680e07367ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Photos: Monika Deupala and Bikram RaiRead also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-festivals-muted-amidst-coronavirus-lockdown/">Kathmandu festivals muted amidst coronavirus lockdown</a>, Shusma Barali

Kathmandu Valley celebrates Gaijatra

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baec59c7e80680e078014jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Despite contradictory government directives about the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/makers-of-machhindranath,2204" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Machindranath Chariot</a> in Patan due to the COVID-19 crisis, the local community trust in Patan involved in the festival has decided to go ahead with it.On Saturday, the figure of the rain god was installed in the newly-built chariot in Jawalakhel – three months behind schedule. The trust said the chariot would be pulled on its normal route through Patan’s holy spots starting 17 August.Coincidentally, that is also the day the government has said <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-ends-covid-19-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">regular domestic and international flights will also restart</a> nearly five months after being grounded.The red god resides in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/cultural-evolution" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/cultural-evolution&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1595764702990000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHzzgahkcDFhBl3ruhSvjhNHxKFkg">Machindranath temple in Bungamati,</a> except for six months in a year when it is drawn through the streets of Patan in a chariot. Usually, the god is ceremonially installed on the chariot in mid-May and devotees believe that the chariot pulling will appease the rain gods before the monsoon.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baec89c7e80680e078015jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1002"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baecb9c7e80680e078016jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baecf9c7e80680e078017jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="428"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baed29c7e80680e078018jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="404"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baed59c7e80680e078019jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="409">But this year, Nepal is already half-way into the monsoon season and there has been 30% more rainfall than normal, causing floods and landslides that have killed more than 150 people.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-festivals-muted-amidst-coronavirus-lockdown/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-festivals-muted-amidst-coronavirus-lockdown/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1595764702990000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEyHcLajKDAWfiy3ODpwDNXg2l1aQ">Because of the lockdown</a>, the festival could not follow its traditional schedule this year. Once every 12 years, the chariot is also pulled from Bungamati across the Nakhhu rivulet to Patan. This tradition <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rato-machhindranath-chariot-in-limbo,2398" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">was also disrupted in 2015</a>, when the earthquake struck, damaging the chariot. It was dismantled and rebuilt before carrying on its journey to Patan.A few thousand people showed up at the chariot in Jawalakhel on Saturday despite fears of the virus, but most of them were wearing masks, including the priests, devotees, members of the Gurju Paltan dressed in their historic black uniform carrying muskets. Volunteers were seen handing out masks to those who did not have one.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baed89c7e80680e07801ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141144/636baedb9c7e80680e07801bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1508" height="1000"><figcaption>All photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>The chariot festival is often linked to the fate of the nation, and in fact the years in which the Machindranath chariot has keeled over or caught fire have been closely followed by major political upheavals and natural calamities in Nepal.Many of the faithful at the chariot this year will be praying for a speedy end to the pandemic, and a return to normalcy for the country.Read also:<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/makers-of-machhindranath,2204" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Makers of Machindranath</a>, Cynthia Choo<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/cultural-evolution-red-rain-god" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cultural evolution</a>, Kunda Dixit

Delayed Machindranath Festival resumes

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae599c7e80680e077febjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Chet Kumari Chitrakar, 65, uses wooden blocks to imprint the outline on paper, then infills them with colour. All photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>The ancestral occupation of Chet Kumari Chitrakar, 65, is devotional art – painting gods and goddesses for the altars of the people of Bhaktapur, a city also known as ‘the city of devotees’.But this week has been particularly busy in the run-up to Nag Panchami, the festival of the multi-headed serpent god that falls on Saturday 25 July this year.She cannot turn out the paintings fast enough for people to buy to stick them to their main doors to protect the household from earthquakes, lightning, pestilence – and this year from the COVID-19 pandemic.Chet Kumari learnt how to make these paintings from her Chitrakar in-laws – the surname means ‘artist’. Besides Nag Panchami, she also turns out paintings for Chotha Puja, Gai Jatra (4 August) Indra Jatra, Bisokarma Puja, Dasain and Tihar. Now that paddy planting is over, Kathmandu Valley’s calendar is filled with festival every week till harvest time in October.“I feel holy while I make these sketches and colour the figures of deities, it is like praying,” explains Chet Kumari, as she imprints the outlines of serpents from a wooden block before infilling them with colour. She buys paper, colour powder from the market, works on different block shapes and fills in the colours with her brushes. It takes about 15 minutes to complete one.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae5c9c7e80680e077fecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">But the tradition is dying out because of cheaper printed posters in the market.  But there are still many people of Bhaktapur who prefer these handmade paintings to the mass produced ones precisely because the sacred drawings are made by the hands of a devotee herself.“It is sad that young people these days are not interested in the festivals and the significance that they carry,” Chet Kumari says, but she is happy she is there to uphold the tradition of her forebears.Legend has it that there were many serpents living in the lake that once filled Kathmandu Valley till the level of the top of Swayambhu Stupa. But when Manjushree drained the lake by striking the Chobar Ridge with his sword, the serpents were washed away.But there are still said to be some lingering about in water bodies like Taudaha and other holy ponds, especially Nag Pokhari in Naxal. On Saturday, special rituals will be held at Nag Pokhari, with the bronze serpent head on a pedestal in the middle of the pond being ceremonially bathed in milk.Nag Panchami is observed by both Hindus and Buddhists, and the practice of the head of the household pasting a serpent image on the door is unique to Kathmandu Valley.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae5f9c7e80680e077fedjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae629c7e80680e077feejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae659c7e80680e077fefjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae689c7e80680e077ff0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae6c9c7e80680e077ff1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae6e9c7e80680e077ff2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636bae719c7e80680e077ff3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Asta Bahadur Chitrakar, 72, from Kathmandu sells traditional paintings of deities that he made himself for Nag Panchami.</figcaption></figure>Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-craft-of-art/">The craft of art</a>, Sewa Bhattarai

The Day of the Holy Serpents

<figure><img width="755" height="814" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a96159c7e80680e05dc49jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The cover of Nepali Times Issue 478 (27 Nov-3 Dec 2009)</figcaption></figure>Mahagadimai Municipality of Bara district is preparing for an influx of millions of visitors next month for the practice of mass animal sacrifice that has <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Overkill-in-Gadhimai,1794">tarnished Nepal’s image</a> as a peaceful and compassionate nation.The little town of Bariyapur has gained international notoriety for the Gadimai Mela, where pilgrims from India and Nepal who have had their wishes fulfilled congregate every five years to offer mass animal sacrifice in gratitude. But the blood-letting has also sparked outrage and activists worked to get Nepal’s Supreme Court to rule against the wanton killings in 2016. "There are so many animals, and many are not even beheaded cleanly because the knives are blunted by the mass slaughter. Sometimes they have to hack the animal many times, and the animals take hours to die,” says media personality Saroj Nyaupane, who co-filed the writ petition at the Supreme Court with advocate Arjun Kumar Aryal.Nyaupane adds: “The animals are not even being killed for food. Nepalis take great pride in the Buddha being born in Nepal but such cruelty is against Buddhist principles.”Despite the court ruling, the government has not banned the practice. Bara's Chief District Officer Phanindra Mani Pokhrel told Nepali Times his administration is trying its best to discourage the sacrifices.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://time.com/3609356/the-worlds-largest-animal-slaughter-festival-has-begun-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The World's Largest Animal Slaughter Festival Has Begun in Nepal</a>  <figure><img width="896" height="1280" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a96189c7e80680e05dc4ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>"We have held discussions, and spread the message discouraging animal sacrifice through local radio and newspapers. But we cannot suddenly stop it right now. Activists also need to work on it constantly rather than just before the festival," Pokhrel said. Mahagadimai Municipality is preparing in earnest for the festival scheduled to begin 3 December. Mayor Shyam Yadav says tents are being erected and toilet facilities built for the huge influx of devotees and their animals. In 2014, there were an estimated 6 million visitors, and roughly 250,000 water buffalos and goats killed.  This time, fewer animals are expected to be killed because of court decisions in India and Nepal and growing public awareness. Activists have raised issues of not just <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16522">animal cruelty</a>, but also the lack of visitor accommodation, environmental impact, hygiene, pollution and the health and condition of the animals. This year, the government and the Gadimai Operation and Development Committee have promised to take care of these issues. In earlier years, the Chamar community used to consume the dead buffaloes, but younger members of the community are boycotting the meat this year. Says Dalit activist Manoj Ram: "It's not just about the meat, but also self respect. Society looks at us with distaste because we eat leftover sacrificed buffalos. We want to stop that.”Legend has it that the Gadimai Mela started about 200 years ago when a man sacrificed five drops of his own blood to the goddess for a fulfilled wish. Over the years people substituted defenceless animals for human blood.The temple committee has refused to budge on the practice despite the outrage in Nepal and globally. "We do not sacrifice animals-- people come from far away bringing their animals. If they are not able to fulfil their vow, their faith is broken, and we cannot have that,” says Ram Chandra Sah of the temple committee.The temple's chief priest Mangal Chaudhary adds that it is not necessary to sacrifice animals. "YOu can just as well sacrifice a coconut, or offer flowers and swets to the goddess," he says in an interview with Bloodless Gadhimai campagin.While activists say the festival has <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2014/11/17/no-sacrifice-gadhimai-nepal/">brought shame on Nepal</a>, the temple is proud that it has put Gadimai on the world map. Devotees see criticism of the festival as an attack on Hinduism, and accuse western activists of double standards for not being outraged when millions of turkeys are killed at Thanksgiving. Frensh actress Brigitte Bardot and British actress Joanna Lumley have spoken out against it, earning the festival further notice and international criticism.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/29/world/asia/nepal-gadhimai-ritual-slaughter/index.html?fbclid=IwAR2uv0d-6x-e-CRFJRl6qyI2fXlVqkK1edzgsfNMg2QoXKf6Ejzlvz4dD_Y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Death and the goddess: The world's biggest ritual slaughter</a>Yet, the strongest voices against the bloodletting are from Hindus, themselves who say the festival is not an ancient tradition and not deeply rooted in religion. Animal rights activist Pramada Shah says the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-sacrifice-of-animal-sacrifices/">sacrifices</a> go against religious teachings.She says: "They are done in the name of religion. But Hinduism does not teach people to torture animals. It is religious malpractice, like sati and untouchability, and we need to reform it. The Supreme Court decision is not enough. We need stronger laws, and an effective awareness campaign among communities who practise it."

Activists decry animal slaughter at Nepal temple

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95549c7e80680e05dbffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1448" height="2048"/>Film Southasia is held every two years, and in 2019 the theme of the festival of documentary films says it all: ‘Where the Mind Is Free’. Indeed, since the last edition of the festival, the space for free expression is increasingly constricted throughout the region.From 14-17 November, 64 documentaries from the Subcontinent will be shown at Yalamaya Kendra, Patan – many of them films that would be difficult to have a public screening anywhere else in South Asia.  "In the region’s increasingly cloistered space, exclusion seems to be a common concern of the documentaries," says festival director Mitu Varma. "The films focus on the marginalised like growing up in Ladakh, transgender love, and the crisis of Rohingyas and Dalits. Many of the films focus on people who have little in terms of resources, but a huge store of empathy and compassion for all living creatures, that marks them out as more human than many in the so called mainstream  There are five films on Kashmir, and several films on migration and education."By its very definition, the documentary is a film genre that takes time to dwell on social injustices and delve in-depth into the structural reasons for discrimination, inequality, exploitation. Film-makers tend to give voice to the voiceless, show the plight of neglected or abused people whom the mainstream media ignores.With the space for dissent and the marketplace of ideas shrinking all over the region, Nepal remains the last bastion of free speech. This year also, Film Southasia will be showing films that could not be screened elsewhere.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18597#.XcPHuFUzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Documenting Nepal</a>, Angelo D’Silva and Diwas KCThe focus of the festival this year is Pakistan, and the opening film Indus Blues profiles the country’s disappearing musical instruments and folk art, given the rightward movement of the state. Other films on Pakistan investigate scavenging ships on the Arabian Sea beaches and the murder of an activist who sought to provide a cultural space called "The Second Floor" in Karachi where all art forms could be shared and different issues could be freely debated and discussed.With most of South Asia living under similar social-political conditions, the  subject matter of the films focus on similar concerns common to all countries. However, there is a lot of experimentation in the form of film-making.There is a documentary shot mostly in the night with striking visuals (And What Is the Summer Saying), another film that simply records conversations that swirl inside a tea shop at the centre of a heated religious debate (Chai Darbari). The documentary about old Delhi with a 400 strong cast of actors straddles the line between fiction and nonfiction (Ghode ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon)."There are quiet films with little dialogue, where the story is told with visual imagery, or with the neutral eye of a fly on the wall," explains FSA organiser Alok Adhikari. "The film-maker takes the backseat with these observational techniques lets the story tell itself."This year the festival went digital for the first time, accepting submissions online instead of asking for DVDs to be couriered to Kathmandu. The number of submissions soared to more than 2,500, a testimonial to the rising interest in this form of storytelling.The festival's jury comprises of filmmakers Sumathy Sivamohan from Sri Lanka and Ayisha Abraham from India, and Nepali journalist Kunda Dixit.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17242#.XcPHvlUzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The world of South Asia</a><h2>8 FILMS from 8 COUNTRIES</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95579c7e80680e05dc00jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Pariah DogsJesse Alk, IndiaA group of people, themselves outcast, poor, and living in slums, take care of street dogs in Kolkata, India.Kabul, City in the WindAboozar Amini, AfghanistanA glimpse into the strained, tenuous life in Kabul where violence is a constant backdrop to daily life.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95599c7e80680e05dc01jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="329" height="153"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a955a9c7e80680e05dc02jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Opium WarsJohn La Raw, MyanmarJade miners who work under dangerous circumstances are being sucked into opium trade, while the state turns a blind eye to the issue of minorities.Scratches on CelluloidVindhya Buthpitiya &amp; Timothy P A Cooper, Pakistan/Sri Lanka/United KingdomWith the rise in multiplexes and home entertainment, days are numbered for traditional matinee theatres.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a955d9c7e80680e05dc03jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a955f9c7e80680e05dc04jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360">The Next GuardianArun Bhattarai &amp; Dorottya Zurbo, BhutanA priest wants his son to inherit the profession, but the son would rather play football and watch Facebook in rapidly modernising Bhutan.After SabeenSchokofeh Kamiz, PakistanHuman rights activist Sabeen Mahmud is shot dead in her car, and the film captures the aftermath of the tragedy.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a95639c7e80680e05dc05jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181144/636a95669c7e80680e05dc06jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360">Bamboo StoriesShaheen Dill-Riaz, BangladeshThe use of bamboo is dying out, but there are still many whose lives have depended on floating bamboo rafts down river.The Winter TapAashish Limbu &amp; Debin Rai, NepalThe story of the struggle to build a water supply in a remote Himalayan village is not as simple as it seems.

Film Southasia 2019

<img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a615e9c7e80680e056ecdjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>The third day of Tihar is Gai Tihar which celebrates cows. Cows are seen as a symbol of mother and nurture because they give nourishing milk. People of Bhaktapur celebrate Gai Tihar by worshiping cows, anointing them with auspicious red and yellow colours, marigold flowers, and giving them favourite treats to eat. The third day is also celebrated as Laxmi Pooja, when devotees worship Laxmi the goddess of wealth. It is also the main day of dipavali, when homes are lit up with lamps.  <figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61619c7e80680e056ecejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photos: Monika Deupala</figcaption></figure><img width="1500" height="1058" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61649c7e80680e056ecfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61689c7e80680e056ed0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="4702" height="3135" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a616b9c7e80680e056ed1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a616e9c7e80680e056ed2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61729c7e80680e056ed3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="5616" height="3744" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61759c7e80680e056ed4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61789c7e80680e056ed5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a617c9c7e80680e056ed6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a617f9c7e80680e056ed7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="5616" height="3744" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61839c7e80680e056ed8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110815110/636a61869c7e80680e056ed9jpeg.jpg" alt="">

Bhaktapur celebrates Gai Tihar

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141156/636a60d99c7e80680e056e9ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1337"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHHETRI</figcaption></figure>As befitting a country whose patron deity is The Lord of Animals, Nepal’s autumn festival cycle is about offering buffaloes, goats and fowl to the goddesses, and worshipping cows, dogs and even crows.But our reverence for animals does not carry over into our day-to-day treatment of the animals in our midst. Owners are unmindful of how firecrackers frighten pets, municipalities lynch dogs, abandoned cattle roam the highways, buffalo calves die of suffocation in the backs of lorries, and the ultimate in cruelty: Gadimai Mela. How a country treats its animals tells us a lot about its culture.All this fatalistic brutality hardens us as a society, and translates into abuse of fellow human beings. State neglect condemns many to die due to lack of health care, and decrepit roads kill 2,000 people every year. No one has atoned for war crimes committed during the war. For a decade, Mohamad Aftab Alam got away with burning dozens alive in a brick kiln. An excavator driver in Baitadi last week swung his boom at people, injuring eight.For festivals to be really about the triumph of good over evil, we have to fall back on what all religions teach us: compassion, tolerance, non-violence against sentient beings and a reverence for nature.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=35062&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">In an Animal Farm</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=35114&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Waiting till the cows come home,</a> Kunda Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=35133&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Saving Nepal’s last wild dogs,</a> Yadav Ghimirey<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=35155&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A dog with altitude</a>, Sonam Choekyi Lama

Creatures of Culture

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

When Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) president Rabi Lamichhane was arrested in October on charges of defrauding depositors of cooperatives, the party’s vice president Swarnim Wagle gifted him Fareed Zakaria’s book, Age of Revolutions.
Since then, Lamichhane has been shunted around from Kathmandu to Pokhara to Chitwan and back to Pokhara to attend police investigations and court proceedings. He was being flown to Birganj via Kathmandu on Buddha Air on Monday. There is another pending case in Janakpur.
Human rights groups and civil society have criticised the government for hounding Lamichhane with inhumane treatment that borders on physical torture. The two parties in the coalition, Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, see Lamichhane’s RSP as a potentially formidable challenge to their power.
Even if the fraud charges against Lamichhane are true, the Nepali public is increasingly looking at the government’s actions through the police and courts as political vendetta.
Despite all the travelling, sometimes by plane and often by road at night, Lamichhane appears to be in high spirits, waving to supporters who often gather if they know he is going to be driven around. A social media video shows him giving high fives to fellow passengers on a recent flight to Pokhara.&nbsp;
In the past weeks, streets in Pokhara have erupted with parallel protests by Lamichhane’s supporters as well as depositors of cooperatives who lost their savings to the scam.&nbsp;
Although family visits are allowed, prison officials in Pokhara told Nepali Times that not many people visit Lamichhane these days. He added, “When he does get visitors, he asks them to bring him books.”
Lamichhane is currently Nepal’s most high-profile public figure in custody, and highlights the stark difference between how influential prisoners are treated compared to ordinary inmates.
There are six prison cells at Kaski District Police Office’s two-story detention centre, three on each floor. And while authorities pack prisoners into already overcrowded cells, Lamichhane has an entire room on the second floor to himself.&nbsp;
He has also been allowed to call his family every few days. Other prisoners are not permitted phone calls except for emergencies.
Meanwhile, Lamichhane’s former business partner Chhabilal Joshi, an ex-Deputy Inspector General of Police with whom he established his Gorkha Media Network, is in custody under the same charges in the prison cell next to him.
Lamichhane is accused of siphoning off depositors' money to the tv network in which he was part-owner and anchor. &nbsp;
Both Lamichhane and Joshi are able to buy food from the police canteen instead of being served the regular meal like other prisoners. Joshi has also given his statement to authorities in Rupandehi and Kathmandu for his alleged role in the scam. Lamichhane is yet to be presented in Kathmandu for questioning.
While he was in custody at the Kathmandu District Police Complex, Joshi expressed his desire to sleep in a police officer’s office, reportedly assuring authorities that he would not run away and he was entitled to certain facilities as a former officer of the law.
“He seemed to be under the impression that he is still a police officer,” says a source at the Kathmandu District Police. “We made it clear to him that as someone accused of a crime, he was not entitled to special treatment.”
Former ministers Balkrishna Khand and Top Bahadur Rayamajhi, and ex-home secretary Tek Narayan Pandey, who were arrested in connection with the fake refugee scam last year, were similarly housed in the offices of law enforcement officials instead of prison cells. Khand has since been released after six months in jail.
While there is no legal provision to keep high-ranking officials in separate detention centres when they are arrested, authorities granting them special facilities is not uncommon. Law enforcement officials say VIP detainees expect preferential treatment while in police custody.
Among those is former Kosi Province minister Lila Ballav Adhikari, who was arrested from Biratnagar on 10 November over his alleged involvement in human trafficking and brought to Kathmandu. Adhikari had flown to Japan without government approval with three individuals on 29 October to attend a cultural conference, but had been sent back to Nepal from Narita.&nbsp;
His three companions were arrested at Kathmandu airport upon their arrival, but Adhikari was able to exit unscathed from the VIP lounge. Adhikari had resigned as the Kosi Province Minister for Internal Affairs and Law when it became public that his companions had been taken into custody, and was himself arrested shortly after. He has since been cleared by the courts.
Throughout his detention, Adhikari was kept separately from other inmates. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Basant Rajouri, head of the Bhadrakali complex, says that while there is no separate detention area for VIPs, some detainees are kept separately depending on the nature of their crime.
However, sources say that arrangements were made for retired judges and others to visit Adhikari frequently worked at the office of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) during his time in custody.&nbsp;
“He used to constantly pester the authorities to let him sit outside in the sun, and to be able to use the police officer’s shower area,” added an officer.
Adhikari was released on 25 November after the government prosecutor’s office decided not to charge him in a move that was seen to expose the government’s double standards.
Over at Kathmandu’s Dilli Bazar Prison, former Kist Bank CEO Kamal Gyawali emerges from his prison cell into the courtyard of the prison’s ‘Ka (क)’ block every morning with a thick book in his hands, ready to give his daily sermon.
With his long beard, Gyawali, who is serving a prison sentence for banking fraud, looks the part of a religious guru as he implores his rapt listeners to “walk the right path, abandon bad thoughts and turn to scripture and spirituality”.&nbsp;
Afterward, the attendees gather to discuss politics and current affairs. Inmates at his daily sermons at the prison include other high-profile detainees, including former MP Ichchha Raj Tamang, who is in jail for money laundering and cooperatives fraud, former joint secretary Chudamani Sharma, who was convicted of corruption, as well as NC leader Chandra Bahadur Lama and Krishna Bahadur Upreti of the UML both of whom are on trial for embezzling billions of rupees.
Victims of the cooperatives scam that former lawmaker Tamang was involved in have made trips to the prison and requested visits, but he has refused to meet with any of them.
“Tamang often complains that the state has prevented him from returning the money to the victims by locking him up,” says a police officer at the Dili Bazar jail.
“All you hear every day from the VIP prisoners is that they have been framed,” adds the officer. “No one admits that they were involved in misdeeds.”
But while most high-profile prisoners complain about prison conditions, one exception is former provincial lawmaker Deepak Manange, who is serving a sentence at Dilli Bazar Jail for attempted murder.
“He is the happiest prisoner here,” says a warden. “Unlike the others, he doesn’t claim to have been framed, in fact he doesn’t seem to care that he is in prison.”
Manange is detained in the ‘Kha (ख)’ block of the prison complex, which he renovated at his own expense. The block previously housed female prisoners, but Manange used his influence to transfer them elsewhere. He faces no shortage of visitors, who range from political leaders to people from the underworld.
Along with Manange, other well-known prisoners in this block include Nepal Telecom Managing Director Sunil Poudel, and former executive director of the Surakshan Printing Centre Bikal Poudel, who are serving time for corruption.
Former prisoners at Dilli Bazar prison include ex-ministers Khum Bahadur Khadka and Shyam Sundar Gupta, NC leader Ganesh Lama, Maoist MP Balkrishna Dhungel, Nagarik Unmukti Party leader Resham Chaudhary, as well as former IGs Ramesh Chand Thakuri, Om Bikram Rana, and Hem Bahadur Gurung.
Section 54 of Nepal’s Prison Act assigns each prison’s internal administration the
responsibility of governing its prisoners, which means the more favourable the jail management is, the more comfortable it is for prisoners.
Dilli Bazar prison has been the prison of choice for many high-ranking prisoners, especially those convicted of white collar crimes, due to its more accommodating administrators. The prison, which has the capacity to house 700 inmates, is also less crowded than other jails.
Anuj Bhattarai, spokesperson of the Department of Prison Management, says that there is no legal classification in Nepal for felons to be assigned prisons based on the nature of their crimes.
“That Dilli Bazar Jail has a higher number of prisoners convicted of crimes like corruption is most likely a coincidence,” says Bhattarai. “There is no provision for influential people to be able to choose where they will be incarcerated.”&nbsp;
Translated by Shristi Karki from the Nepali original published in himalkhabar.com

What Nepal’s VIP prisoners do in jail

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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