<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cdf9c7e80680e0c963fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Photos: GOPEN RAI</figcaption></figure>It is that time of the year again when we Nepalis worship various members of the animal kingdom. Cows and crows, bulls and dogs — all have a day this week dedicated to them.So it is ironic that the very evening they are worshipped (this year Kukur Tihar is on 24 October), we scare the bejesus out of dogs with firecrackers. Our furry friends are traumatised, some travelling great distances to escape the noise. There have been stories of dogs that never make it back to their homes.“We have a really wrong practice going on here, we worship dogs in the morning and frighten them at night,” says animal rights activist Sneha Shrestha who works with Sneha’s Care, which shelters homeless and abandoned animals from the streets of Kathmandu.Shrestha has 170 rescue dogs in her shelter and says that every time there is a loud wedding party in the neighbourhood, they are terrified.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-nepals-last-wild-dogs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Saving Nepal’s last wild dogs</a>, Yadav Ghimirey<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723ce19c7e80680e0c9640jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723ce49c7e80680e0c9641jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">“Tihar is the worst because of the explosions of firecrackers, sometimes dogs which are out in the open without protection get heart attacks,” Shrestha adds.Kukur Tihar is one of the most unique festivals in the world, and international documentaries have been made on the Nepali reverence for dogs. It has inspired 'Kukur Tihar Mexico' the same week as in Nepal. The least we can do, therefore, is to be kind to the dogs we venerate.The good news is that more Nepali families are now inclined towards keeping dogs and letting their children grow up with pets, instilling in them virtues of kindness and compassion towards all living beings from a young age.However, the way Nepalis treat strays and community dogs can be very different from pets at home. Dogs on the streets do not necessarily belong to individuals, but are part of the communities that they guard in return for food and (sometimes) lodgings.But there have been horrific incidences of animal cruelty towards community dogs, including poisoning by city authorities in the name of culling populations, or preventing the spread of rabies. Animal welfare groups estimate that there are over 100,000 dogs that live on the streets of Kathmandu Valley alone.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/microchipping-nepals-dogs/">Microchipping Nepal’s dogs</a>, Aria Shree Parasai<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723ce79c7e80680e0c9642jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723ce99c7e80680e0c9643jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">Families are now increasingly buying pups from kennels as status symbols, and an informal survey showed that Huskies have overtaken Golden Labs and German Sheperds as best sellers. However, there are still very few who adopt rescued street dogs from shelters.“Getting a dog is still very much tied with our vanity. If we are really looking to love them, the breed should not matter,” says Shrestha. “In fact, if we Nepalis claim to be proud of our heritage and ancestry, we should be adopting more of our local breeds, they are not inferior to pure breeds in any way.”Indeed, animal rights groups are promoting better treatment and welfare of strays and community dogs as well as providing them with loving families with the slogan: “Adopt, don’t shop.”Animal shelters and welfare organisations as well as individual young rescuers have been crucial in spreading the message, primarily through social media. Influencers and celebrities with hundreds of thousands of followers could do more by adopting strays and setting a good example.The Nepali street dog is now recognised as a breed of its own and its DNA has been traced to the first domesticated dog. A 2015 genetic study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said there was strong evidence to show dogs were first domesticated in modern-day Nepal, Tibet, and Mongolia at least 15,000 years ago. They evolved from Eurasian grey wolves and moved with pre-historic human migration across Asia.Local Nepali mixed breeds are exceptionally loyal and, because they are less prone to congenital diseases, are usually healthier and have longer lifespans than inbred pure breeds. They are street-smart, obedient, and respond to rewards. Not surprisingly, therefore, there is an increasing demand for Nepali street dogs to be adopted abroad.“Nepalis prefer pure breeds, but Westerners have recognised the value of these often unloved street dogs here,” notes Lesley Mapstone of Temple Dog Rescue in Canada  who supports animal welfare organisations in Nepal.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/woof-of-fresh-air-for-street-dogs-in-kathmandu,4132">A Woof of fresh air</a>, Ryan Chang<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cec9c7e80680e0c9644jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="665" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>https://youtu.be/DtjrRc4jlUsShe adds: “Local Nepali breeds are unique and rare, they are friendlier because they already have a social structure, they are also more sociable and get along with people because they have grown up on the streets, and they are also already well trained. What’s there not to love?”Mapstone has been to Nepal nine times since 2017 and spends nearly half a year in the country helping to promote the adoption of several Nepali stray dogs, primarily to Canada. At the moment, however, there is a temporary ban on their transport due to irregular vaccination status.Vaccination of dogs against rabies has long been neglected by municipalities and local governments. Animal welfare organisations like Sneha’s Care, KAT Centre, and Street Dog Care are now helping municipalities like Lalitpur to spay and manage community dogs.Rabies is a problem, but instead of vaccinating canines, towns across Nepal often resort to exterminating dogs when there is an outbreak.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cee9c7e80680e0c9645jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cf19c7e80680e0c9646jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cf39c7e80680e0c9647jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="647"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cf69c7e80680e0c9648jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">“We are always ready to lend our technical expertise to the government, but they are least bothered,” reports Sneha Shrestha, recalling one time when she asked officials for 10,000 doses of rabies vaccines for the dogs, only to be given 500.Nepal needs to increase domestic manufacture of anti-rabies vaccines if it is to meet the WHO target of eliminating rabies by 2030. But, says Shreshta, “At the current rate, it is looking impossible.”Perhaps it is not surprising that a government that neglects public health concerns of its human citizens would also treat animals so poorly. But the compassion a nation shows its animal population is often an indicator of how it treats its people.Lesley Mapstone says: “For me, the most favourite part of Nepal are street dogs, aside from human Nepalis. My humble request to everyone: if you are really looking to get a dog, to love and protect them for life, adopt a local dog. And be kind to them.”She could have added: Be kind to them every day, not just on Kukur Tihar.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bhaktapurs-dog-catchers/">Bhaktapur’s dog catchers</a>, Monika Deupala

Sonia Awale

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Kathmandu’s street-smart dogs

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cf99c7e80680e0c9649jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1337"/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHHETRI</figcaption></figure>Even as the entire nation gets ready for another week of holidays this month, we have to grudgingly accept that Tihar is a discriminatory festival in which some animals are treated more equally than others.Only crows, cattle, pooches and half-elephants are deemed holy enough to be worshiped next week. Not fair. What about the rest of the animule kingdom? Why leave out pangolins? Is there any reason a gnu isn’t god? How come crow is holier than vulture? The ancient Egyptians had feline goddesses, yet Catmandu’s cats do not make the grade to be venerated. Who made these rules anyway?Such politically incorrect speciesism has crept into other aspects of our everyday life. For example, during the monsoon it only 'rains cats and dogs', not trouts and salamanders. Only a bull is deemed worthy of being taken by the horns in a china shop. Mules are stigmatised as stubborn, whereas beavers are extolled as being eager.And what really gets my goat every time Tihar comes around is that the psycho mutt who terrorises our neighbourhood and keeps us awake all night by barking at the Universe gets to be garlanded and fed treats on Monday even though he is such an ass whole.I hereby, henceforth and hereinafter propose to form a political pressure group in the next  Parliament to ensure a fairer and more inclusive Tihar under the new Constitution so that this country’s canine elite is stripped of its divine right to monopolise being man’s best friend forever.As a start, we could begin by cleaning up the English language of all speciesist figures of speech so that no animal is demeaned or diminished, or its feelings hurt ever again. We should purge the language of all animal similes that belittle them, and find alternatives.For example, when we say that current campaigning for elections in November is moving at a ‘snail’s pace’, are we not being judgemental about the velocity of slug locomotion? Think of what an insult it is to stallions in general and Wolf Blitzer in particular when we say that delegates at the Baddie party convention were ‘wolfing down the hors d’oeuvres’. And in describing coalition politics as a ‘can of worms’ we have to be sensitive about offending our age-old grassroots  heritage of vermiculture.Let us replace speciesist language with more politically correct formulations:WRONG: Sher Bahadur Deuba’s fifth term as prime minister is proof that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.CORRECT: If Sher Bahadur Deuba is prime minister for a sixth time, we can be sure the country will go to the dogs. Yay!WRONG: Only those candidates willing to lick the ass of the party president got tickets to contest elections this time.CORRECT: The party president has been a visionary statesman for donkey’s ears.WRONG: The Finance Minister has set aside a lion’s share of the budget in allocations that benefit his cronies.CORRECT: Leopards are generally satisfied with the location of their spots and will not change them even if forced by the Supreme Court.

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Holier than thou

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cdc9c7e80680e0c963ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/>Dasain this year was a washout, but with the rains gone it is looking brighter for the approaching festivals of Tihar, Mha Puja and Chhath.Besides its cultural and religious significance, Tihar is also a time when gambling with cards has official sanction. And, since this year the festival coincides with preparations for elections exactly a month away, there will no doubt be a lot of candidates gambling everything on their political futures.Impunity and the rule of the lawless is rife in this country. When murderers do not have to answer for crimes, it is a small matter that bribe-takers, swindlers, extortionists can stay in office and ply their trade.So far, we have seen malafide nominations of relatives, cronies and influential party donors on the Proportional Representation list. The leadership of all main parties have purged popular and competent candidates, treating them as more of an enemy than opposition figures. There has been shameless gerrymandering by coalition leaders to divide up constituencies so they have a 100% chance of being elected.We in the media are preoccupied with election arithmetic and not questioning enough how the entire system has been manipulated in violation of the Constitution. We accept it as a given.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/house-of-cards-2/">House of cards</a>, Sonia AwaleWhat could be more absurd than the sight of Nepali Congress leaders in Gorkha on a stage where the photos of the warriors who sacrificed to restore democracy in Nepal were overshadowed by hammer and sickle posters? Or a Hindu-royalist candidate campaigning under the symbol of the Unified Marxist-Leninists. If there is no ideological difference between parties, why do we need parties at all?In any other democracy worth its salt, this would be called rigging the vote. In fact, it is like cheating at cards on Laxmi Puja.The only flickering lights we see this Tihar will be the fresh young faces who have managed to get tickets from the parties, or are standing as rebel candidates and independents. It is likely that despite a public yearning for change and an overwhelming disillusionment with established parties and their leaders, many of them may lose because Nepal’s elections are still largely determined by vote banks, tribal loyalty to parties, and the ability of candidates to spend lavishly on feasts and booze. They are not determined by the performance track record of candidates when they had a chance.The top leaders of all main parties have been prime ministers cumulatively 14 times since 1996. Prime Minister Deuba wants to do a double hat-trick.Nearly 4 million young Nepalis abroad, who would mostly be anti-incumbent, cannot cast absentee ballots because the established parties have not allowed voting by mail.  Electronic voting machines are not used either because they just don’t trust each other.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-parties-forge-new-pre-poll-alliances/">Nepal’s parties forge new pre-poll alliances</a>, Shristi KarkiIt is no wonder that Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, in another candid off-the-cuff remark, boasted how his party had stuffed ballot boxes in the Constituent Assembly elections in 2008, and maybe they should try that again since his party has been too ‘decent’.The reverence for hard cash is engrained even in this festival of lights. The first day of Yampanchak on Saturday, 22 October, is devoted to Ganesh, the elephant-headed god who removes all obstacles. Sunday is the day of the crow, the scavenger who is doing more to consume and recycle Kathmandu Valley’s garbage than the municipalities are. Dogs are gods on 24 October, and it is the turn of cows and bulls the next two days. The last day, 27 October, is sibling day when sisters and brothers venerate each other.Tihar ends, but the festivities do not. In the Tarai, Chhath takes off with the worship of the sun asit sets and is reflected on water bodies.Besides gambling there is one element that is common to Diwali, Tihar and Chhath: the leitmotif of light. The light that illuminates the darkness and allows us to remove injustice, greed, envy, inequality and discrimination.The symbolism of Tihar is great, and gives us a glimmer of hope that on 20 November the country will have the good fortune of dealing from a brand new deck of cards.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/3-party-dictatorship/">3-party dictatorship</a>, Editorial

Gambling with our future

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161132/636d19b29c7e80680e0ac833jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="966"/>Online shopping did not take off in Nepal for the longest time. It took the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns that restricted movement for the Nepalis to start buying goods over the Internet.Many retailers also closed down physical shops following the Covid-19 crisis and limited their sales digitally via social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, which further promoted the culture of online payment in the urban centres.The growth of e-commerce in Nepal is still hindered by the central bank’s regulation on cross border payments and lack of essential infrastructure but proliferation of digital wallets and bank card has increased the access of ordinary Nepalis to online shopping.Daraz, a subsidiary of China’s Alibaba, has been trying to boost digital shopping with events like annual 11.11 sales that was launched in 2009 and in 2018 in Nepal, and has since become the largest online shopping extravaganza.The pandemic iteration of the 11.11 shopping festival timed for Tihar last year was its most successful edition yet. Despite the Covid-19 induced economic crisis, over 520,000 consumers from 27 cities across Nepal bought products worth Rs20.5 million from 7,000 retailers in the just first hour of the sale, up from 60%the previous year.The shopping event saw significantly higher numbers in online pre-payment via wallet and bank card taking up 45% of the total sales. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) who went online during the pandemic like Masala Beads, Juas, Mantra, Goldstar, Vans, and more generated 23% of the total sales.“Sellers are at the heart of our strategy and we can only thrive together. The domestic economy has been hit hard due to the pandemic, therefore, it is fundamental for us to help bring the economy back on track,” says Lino Ahlering, managing director of Daraz Nepal.He adds: “E-commerce and particularly Daraz as the leading marketplace in the country is growing extremely fast. 11.11 - the world’s biggest sale day is now only a few days away and is not only a unique opportunity for our customers across the country but also for our 12,000+ sellers to keep growing in these times.”This year’s sale is expected to break more records with over 1.1 million items with heavy discounts on display and delivery services extended to 47 cities. More than 12,000 retailers with leading domestic and international brands are joining the bandwagon this Tihar. Daraz has also been supporting SMEs waiving off their marketplace fee for three months under the Sahayatri Campaign“With Daraz’s mega campaigns driving sales for sellers, more consumers and brands are going online,” claims the company. “Brands and payment partners today are more aware of the impact of Daraz’s sale campaigns and ecommerce as a whole, thus, it isn’t uncommon to find many popular national and international brands promoting and offering lucrative deals on Daraz.”Daraz says its over 12,000 retailers are now undergoing necessary preparations for smooth delivery of goods keeping up with the increased consumer demand ahead of the big sale day on 11 November. Currently, Daraz has around 15 delivery hubs located throughout the country from where customer’s products are shipped to and from.Lack of proper road network connecting major cities and street addresses adds to the challenges in delivering goods and services. As such, the company also runs Daraz Express to deliver the goods, and has hired delivery riders familiar with a particular locality in any given part of the country.Ever since its acquisition by Alibaba in 2018, Daraz’s key focus has been to build a countrywide logistic infrastructure which it hopes will allow the company to increase its footprint but would also aid in creating a better ecommerce ecosystem in the country, according to the company.Says Daraz Nepal: “The company expects their biggest one day sale will enable further growth for sellers, and also help further develop an ecommerce ecosystem where logistic companies, payment partners, and everyone involved benefit greatly.”

Nepalis e-shop for 11.11 and beyond

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d18749c7e80680e0ac7cajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Dasain is all about family reunions, merry-making and a sense of community. Which is why bamboo swings and kite flying are an integral part of the festivities and are now making a comeback following the Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions.In Bhaktapur’s Changunarayan municipality this week, local youth were gearing up to build a linge ping from scratch. From choosing the best bamboo, spending hours to cut it clean and tying it up with jute ropes, it takes an entire day to set up a swing.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d18779c7e80680e0ac7cbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d187b9c7e80680e0ac7ccjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d187f9c7e80680e0ac7cdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18849c7e80680e0ac7cejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">As soon as the linge ping was set up, locals of all ages took turns riding on the swing and until late into the night. There is a belief that one must leave the ground at least once a year by riding on the swing during the great festival to obtain salvation.There are mainly two types of swings in Nepal: the more popular temporary linge ping is made every year, while Ferris-wheel design rote ping is used from year to year. The height of the swing made of bamboo, tough grass and wood usually exceeds 8m.Both swings are an amalgamation of tradition, communal spirit and fun, and are usually constructed a week before Ghatasthapa, the first day of the Dasain festival, and aren’t dismantled until after Tihar.Once upon a time, Dasain used to be incomplete without swings. But in the recent past, neighbourly activities have been replaced by video games, social media, parties and television entertainment.In turn, the youth started losing interest in building swings. The lack of open spaces in urban areas further discouraged them.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18889c7e80680e0ac7cfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d188b9c7e80680e0ac7d0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d188e9c7e80680e0ac7d1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18929c7e80680e0ac7d2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18959c7e80680e0ac7d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161128/636d18989c7e80680e0ac7d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kite-fight-over-kathmandu/">Kite fight over Kathmandu</a>, Alisha Sijapati

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Kathmandu’s street-smart dogs

Holier than thou

Gambling with our future

Nepalis e-shop for 11.11 and beyond

High on swings