<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121140/636ce3f49c7e80680e096681jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Jumla’s marsi red rice earned some notoriety in 2018 after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/red-rice/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/red-rice/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1617763875225000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEyA4QDeWqxQVlPbwvc7jXJOhlT7g">a photograph went viral</a> on social media of Prime Minister K P Oli and Premier-in-waiting Pushpa Kamal Dahal tucking in a lavish meal.At the table with plates of red rice was business tycoon Durga Prasai, and the image made marsi synonymous with political cronyism. However, all the free publicity also boosted demand for Jumla’s red rice in Kathmandu, where the government last month recognised it as a local brand.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121140/636ce3f79c7e80680e096682jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1449" height="990">Marsi was brought under the government’s food trade management last month, and is being lifted in bulk by the government from farmers in Jumla to be sold in Kathmandu. Its price is fixed at Rs225 per kg, and all this has turned out to be good news for farmers of Jumla and Sinja valleys, known for the highest altitude where rice is cultivated in the world.Red rice used to be sold only by businesses that promoted organic products in Kathmandu, but thanks to all the publicity, marsi has gone mainstream. It is now packaged and sold in supermarkets, or home delivered at up to Rs300 per kg.All this is also good news for consumers since red rice has much greater nutritional value than polished white rice. Himalayan red rice is pigmented and is packed with flavonoid antioxidants, protein and fibre, making it much more suitable than white rice also for those with cardio-vascular disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity.Most of the nutrients in grains of red rice are contained in the bran which gives it a nutty flavour, and the rice is eaten unhulled so as not to lose its most wholesome part. In white rice, the healthy bran is removed and most of what remains is carbohydrate.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121140/636ce3fb9c7e80680e096683jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1364">"Marsi is the highest cultivated rice in the world at above 3000m, and takes almost nine months to harvest,” explains rice expert Rajendra Uprety. “It is not mass-produced like other types of rice, and the environment it is grown in and the absence of pesticides makes it very healthy. The only fertiliser used is manure.”Here in Sinja and Jumla, spring has arrived and with it the preparation of the once-frozen terraces for this year’s rice crop. There is no need to wait for rain here since there is plenty of water for irrigation from the Tila and Hima rivers which are swollen with snowmelt.Shanta Kumai is waiting at the local watermill to get her millet harvest pounded into flour. “I’m expecting my son to visit soon. Men, from most of the families have migrated down to the plains for work, but they come home when it is time to plant the marsi,” she says.While much of the farm work is now done by women, they wait for the men to help with the ploughing of the fields. Seasonal migration for employment has been one of the main means of making an income for the men in Sinja, but come March-April, they return home to renew the annual agricultural cycle of planting marsi rice, before leaving for their jobs again.Women pounding marsi is a common sight in the villages of Jumla district. Reddish-brown when harvested, the glutinous grains take a lightly purplish texture when cooked, and retains its nutritious ingredients.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121140/636ce3fe9c7e80680e096684jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121144/636ce4029c7e80680e096685jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Dal Bahadur Buda, 45, owner of an eatery in Gothijyula Bazar in Sinja says he has noticed a sudden spurt in buyers of marsi rice."Previously, visitors would buy beans, apples, potatoes, local medicinal herbs and tea. But these days, the demand for marsi rice has picked up,” he says. “In the past, we were tempted by what Kathmandu ate and we always used to wonder what white rice tasted like. But after getting to know the health benefits of marsi, we have gone back to our own red rice.”Pankali Budha, 49, from nearby Okharpata village also has childhood memories of the smell and taste of red rice. She would tag along with her father to Mugu when she was young to trade the family’s marsi crop."Many local shepherds walk to Mugu and to the Chinese border to sell the rice. There used to be interpreters who helped us barter our rice, potatoes, beans and sheep for salt, spices and blankets from China,” she remembers.Those days are over, and with the Karnali Highway all the publicity surrounding marsi and a more health-conscious population, means red rice has a ready market in Kathmandu and other cities.Even while red rice has leaped from Twitter to farmers’ markets in Kathmandu to become a nationally recognised food item, there is still no market system or infrastructure in place in Jumla for farmers to sell the rice.The growing popularity of the marsi has also created the possibility of a new source of income for the people of Jumla. But, as is often the case, the farmers who actually grow the crop still get a small piece of the pie.Still, the popularity of the marsi rice has lessened somewhat the demand in the Karnali and far-west for white rice, and the red variety is also bought by food-for-work agencies as wages for road-building labour.Trader Sundar Upadhaya from Sinja says that since the region does not have to worry about pests because of its low temperature, storage of the crop has not been a hassle so far. But putting in a system to trade the local produce would make it easier for local farmers to promote the rice in the market.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121144/636ce4059c7e80680e096686jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121144/636ce4089c7e80680e096687jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Marsi BeerTrue to the adage that all publicity is good publicity, businessman Durga Prasai has used the unsavoury reputation that red rice got after his viral photograph to launch his own Marsi Beer brand.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110121144/636ce40b9c7e80680e096688jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Prasai earned considerable notoriety after the photo of him having lunch with K P Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal at his home in Thimi went viral three years ago, and people even started teasing him as “Mr Marsi”.Prasai decided to turn this to his advantage by building a brand around marsi to rehabilitate the goodness of red rice as well as his own name. He bought a brewery in Nawalparasi for Rs4 billion, and went from ‘lunch to launch’ by selling the bottles in the market. The beer is said to be made from 70% barley and 30% red rice.Prasai had organised the lunch to mediate the final negotiations for the merger of the Maoist Centre led by Dahal and Oli’s UML. The electoral alliance of the two parties propelled them to victory and the unified Nepal Communist Party had a near two-thirds majority in Parliament.However, things soon went sour between Dahal and Oli until the Supreme Court ruled on 7 March that the NCP should be disbanded into the Maoist Centre and UML again. Since then, Prasai has been seen to be hedging his bets with Oli, and even got the prime minister to inaugurate his cancer hospital in Birtamod. Oli assured Prasai publicly that his B&amp;C Teaching Hospital would soon get affiliation from Kathmandu University.

Monika Deupala

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Himalayan red rice is red hot

<figure><img width="1500" height="900" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0cf4b0ad905ca02f033jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Actress Shilpa Maskey in Maya Handicrafts Jewelry's Asarfi mala necklace and Former Miss Nepal Shrinkhala Khatiwada promoting her own line of Glambisque palette. Photos: MAYA HANDICRAFTS JEWELRY and GLAMBISQUE INSTAGRAM</figcaption></figure>Staff at <a href="https://mayahjewelry.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maya Handicrafts Jewelry</a> in Thamel, are busy these days managing delivery for handmade silver jewellery ordered by customers in Kathmandu, Butwal, Pokhara, Dharan, as well as from outside Nepal. The store has seen its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-e-shopping-booms-under-covid-19/">online sales peak</a> despite the pandemic, making for up to 70% of total transactions. Encouraged by their success, the owners opened Nakkali, to sell gold-plated jewellery. Up to 90% sales are currently conducted through digital platforms. “Nepalis now have an easy access to online shopping because of increased Internet connectivity. This, coupled with better online service has translated into healthy digital sales. The pandemic has only accelerated the growth,” says Samir Shakya of Maya Handicrafts. Following the Covid-19 lockdown, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/glambisque/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Glambisque</a>, an up-and-coming Nepali cosmetics brand, shut down its stores in Lazimpat and Labim Mall. Since then, the two-year-old company has been operating only online. The sales have been more or less the same, but 100% driven by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-budding-e-commerce-ecosystem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital transactions</a>. “At this rate we won’t even need to have physical stores anymore when things get back to normal,” says Shalini Rana of Glambisque. “<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/daraz-finds-nepalis-still-shy-to-shop-online/">People weren’t comfortable</a> with online shopping in the past. Lockdowns and safety protocols however forced them to try it out. And upon finding that it’s reliable and convenient, they have now gotten used to it.” Small and medium businesses like Maya Handicrafts Jewelry and Glambisque use social media sites like Instagram and Facebook, to market their products. Increasingly, more companies are also using e-commerce platforms like Daraz and Sastodeal to advertise their goods. Payments are usually made via e-wallets (e-Sewa, Khalti, IME pay) or by cash on delivery. Goods are either home delivered or couriered if clients are outside Kathmandu.  <figure><img width="1000" height="667" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0d24b0ad905ca02f034jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Nepal was already transitioning to e-commerce and digital market, but the pandemic sped up the process and provided a much-needed boost,” explains digital marketer, Saniaa Shah.  “Even so, businesses with a hybrid presence are ahead of the others. Also, certain categories such as healthy food, fitness and gadgets which are directly on the rise due to the pandemic are more popular,” she adds.   Many people turned to organic produce and super foods during the pandemic, with the hope of building immunity against coronavirus. The inclination towards a healthy diet and fitness caused online grocery and health stores to thrive.    The increasing need to stay ‘online’ has also had an impact on businesses selling electronic items. People have been upgrading their smartphones and computers for webinars and online classes, which increased business for gadgets and repair shops.  <a href="https://hamrobazaar.com/">Hamrobazaar</a> online classified has seen 40% increase in overall traffic since the pandemic. Categories like computers and laptops and two wheelers — because public transport is now considered unsafe — have the most enquires in this Nepali version of eBay.   Covid-19 seems to have made people health conscious as well as tech savvy.  Bibek Neupane of <a href="https://juasstore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Juas Health Food Store</a> says, “Before the pandemic, people interested in our products used to ask for our physical stores. Now they call us up for home delivery of ayurvedic items like shilajit, and Keto diet ingredients.” Capitalising on the growing online market, former Miss Nepal Anushka Shrestha also recently launched <a href="https://www.facebook.com/makkuse.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Makkusé</a>, an online dessert store that specialises in Nepal's authentic and traditional sweets (such as Gundpak and Pustakari) with modern touch.  <figure><img width="739" height="399" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0d54b0ad905ca02f035jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Not all businesses have found the trend towards online shopping as encouraging. Despite demand and overwhelming enquiries, <a href="https://misumicosmetics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Misumi Korean cosmetics</a> in Labim Mall has not been able to stock up because they haven’t been able to import goods due to lockdowns and restrictions. The recently launched online handicraft store, <a href="https://www.durbar-square.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Durbar Square</a>, is also still waiting for sales to pick up. Even so, Suresh Shrestha of <a href="https://www.ratnabook.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ratna Books</a> says the shift towards online shopping has other benefits besides a growth in sales. “It has also allowed us to understand the taste of our consumers. This is an invaluable information for better future planning,” he says.  <figure><img width="1000" height="667" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0d64b0ad905ca02f036jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepal’s proposed Electronic Commerce Bill is expected to standardise online transitions while protecting user data and privacy. It also has provisions for easy return, exchange and refunds, and traders found violating the rules will be fined up to Rs300,000. As per the draft, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/outdated-laws-limited-ecommerce-hold-back-tech-industry%20,3547">e-commerce</a> businesses will need to be registered with the Company Registrar Office and obtain a licence to operate, which needs to be renewed every year. Despite the entry into Nepal’s online retail market of China’s <a href="https://www.alibaba.com/?src=sem_ggl&amp;cmpgn=407465347&amp;adgrp=26917222987&amp;fditm=&amp;tgt=kwd-40556346123&amp;locintrst=&amp;locphyscl=1011034&amp;mtchtyp=e&amp;ntwrk=g&amp;device=c&amp;dvcmdl=&amp;creative=232561557314&amp;plcmnt=&amp;plcmntcat=&amp;p1=&amp;p2=&amp;aceid=&amp;position=&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8IPYmonx7QIVCX8rCh0F_g5tEAAYASAAEgKfrvD_BwE">Alibaba</a> through <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/daraz-launches-stimulus-package-to-promote-e-commerce/">Daraz</a> and India’s <a href="https://www.flipkart.com/">Flipkart</a> via <a href="https://www.sastodeal.com/">Sastodeal</a>, e-commerce is still at a nascent stage. But one of the side effects of Covid-19 is that it is set to grow in the next few years as more people find online shopping safe, convenient and time efficient. “This boom in online shopping is driven by pandemic-induced need. It might be challenging to sustain it, but not if we improve consumers’ online shopping experience,” says Manohar Adhikari of <a href="https://foodmandu.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Foodmandu</a>. “Stocking up on quality goods, and improved infrastructure with a reliable street address system would be key in upping the online shopping game," he adds.

Sonia Awale

Nepal goes online shopping in 2020

<figure><img width="1500" height="900" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9ea9c7e80680e0878eajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Actress Shilpa Maskey in Maya Handicrafts Jewelry's Asarfi mala necklace and Former Miss Nepal Shrinkhala Khatiwada promoting her own line of Glambisque palette. Photos: MAYA HANDICRAFTS JEWELRY and GLAMBISQUE INSTAGRAM</figcaption></figure>Staff at <a href="https://mayahjewelry.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Maya Handicrafts Jewelry</a> in Thamel, are busy these days managing delivery for handmade silver jewellery ordered by customers in Kathmandu, Butwal, Pokhara, Dharan, as well as from outside Nepal. The store has seen its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-e-shopping-booms-under-covid-19/">online sales peak</a> despite the pandemic, making for up to 70% of total transactions. Encouraged by their success, the owners opened Nakkali, to sell gold-plated jewellery. Up to 90% sales are currently conducted through digital platforms. “Nepalis now have an easy access to online shopping because of increased Internet connectivity. This, coupled with better online service has translated into healthy digital sales. The pandemic has only accelerated the growth,” says Samir Shakya of Maya Handicrafts. Following the Covid-19 lockdown, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/glambisque/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Glambisque</a>, an up-and-coming Nepali cosmetics brand, shut down its stores in Lazimpat and Labim Mall. Since then, the two-year-old company has been operating only online. The sales have been more or less the same, but 100% driven by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-budding-e-commerce-ecosystem/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">digital transactions</a>. “At this rate we won’t even need to have physical stores anymore when things get back to normal,” says Shalini Rana of Glambisque. “<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/daraz-finds-nepalis-still-shy-to-shop-online/">People weren’t comfortable</a> with online shopping in the past. Lockdowns and safety protocols however forced them to try it out. And upon finding that it’s reliable and convenient, they have now gotten used to it.” Small and medium businesses like Maya Handicrafts Jewelry and Glambisque use social media sites like Instagram and Facebook, to market their products. Increasingly, more companies are also using e-commerce platforms like Daraz and Sastodeal to advertise their goods. Payments are usually made via e-wallets (e-Sewa, Khalti, IME pay) or by cash on delivery. Goods are either home delivered or couriered if clients are outside Kathmandu.  <figure><img width="1000" height="667" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9ee9c7e80680e0878ebjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Nepal was already transitioning to e-commerce and digital market, but the pandemic sped up the process and provided a much-needed boost,” explains digital marketer, Saniaa Shah.  “Even so, businesses with a hybrid presence are ahead of the others. Also, certain categories such as healthy food, fitness and gadgets which are directly on the rise due to the pandemic are more popular,” she adds.   Many people turned to organic produce and super foods during the pandemic, with the hope of building immunity against coronavirus. The inclination towards a healthy diet and fitness caused online grocery and health stores to thrive.    The increasing need to stay ‘online’ has also had an impact on businesses selling electronic items. People have been upgrading their smartphones and computers for webinars and online classes, which increased business for gadgets and repair shops.  <a href="https://hamrobazaar.com/">Hamrobazaar</a> online classified has seen 40% increase in overall traffic since the pandemic. Categories like computers and laptops and two wheelers — because public transport is now considered unsafe — have the most enquires in this Nepali version of eBay.   Covid-19 seems to have made people health conscious as well as tech savvy.  Bibek Neupane of <a href="https://juasstore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Juas Health Food Store</a> says, “Before the pandemic, people interested in our products used to ask for our physical stores. Now they call us up for home delivery of ayurvedic items like shilajit, and Keto diet ingredients.” Capitalising on the growing online market, former Miss Nepal Anushka Shrestha also recently launched <a href="https://www.facebook.com/makkuse.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Makkusé</a>, an online dessert store that specialises in Nepal's authentic and traditional sweets (such as Gundpak and Pustakari) with modern touch.  <figure><img width="739" height="399" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9f09c7e80680e0878ecjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Not all businesses have found the trend towards online shopping as encouraging. Despite demand and overwhelming enquiries, <a href="https://misumicosmetics.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Misumi Korean cosmetics</a> in Labim Mall has not been able to stock up because they haven’t been able to import goods due to lockdowns and restrictions. The recently launched online handicraft store, <a href="https://www.durbar-square.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Durbar Square</a>, is also still waiting for sales to pick up. Even so, Suresh Shrestha of <a href="https://www.ratnabook.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ratna Books</a> says the shift towards online shopping has other benefits besides a growth in sales. “It has also allowed us to understand the taste of our consumers. This is an invaluable information for better future planning,” he says.  <figure><img width="1000" height="667" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9f29c7e80680e0878edjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepal’s proposed Electronic Commerce Bill is expected to standardise online transitions while protecting user data and privacy. It also has provisions for easy return, exchange and refunds, and traders found violating the rules will be fined up to Rs300,000. As per the draft, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/outdated-laws-limited-ecommerce-hold-back-tech-industry%20,3547">e-commerce</a> businesses will need to be registered with the Company Registrar Office and obtain a licence to operate, which needs to be renewed every year. Despite the entry into Nepal’s online retail market of China’s <a href="https://www.alibaba.com/?src=sem_ggl&amp;cmpgn=407465347&amp;adgrp=26917222987&amp;fditm=&amp;tgt=kwd-40556346123&amp;locintrst=&amp;locphyscl=1011034&amp;mtchtyp=e&amp;ntwrk=g&amp;device=c&amp;dvcmdl=&amp;creative=232561557314&amp;plcmnt=&amp;plcmntcat=&amp;p1=&amp;p2=&amp;aceid=&amp;position=&amp;gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8IPYmonx7QIVCX8rCh0F_g5tEAAYASAAEgKfrvD_BwE">Alibaba</a> through <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/daraz-launches-stimulus-package-to-promote-e-commerce/">Daraz</a> and India’s <a href="https://www.flipkart.com/">Flipkart</a> via <a href="https://www.sastodeal.com/">Sastodeal</a>, e-commerce is still at a nascent stage. But one of the side effects of Covid-19 is that it is set to grow in the next few years as more people find online shopping safe, convenient and time efficient. “This boom in online shopping is driven by pandemic-induced need. It might be challenging to sustain it, but not if we improve consumers’ online shopping experience,” says Manohar Adhikari of <a href="https://foodmandu.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Foodmandu</a>. “Stocking up on quality goods, and improved infrastructure with a reliable street address system would be key in upping the online shopping game," he adds.

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111148/6368e2879c7e80680e033332jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667"/><figcaption>Harishwor Pokharel at his club Arjun Fitness. Photos: Gopen Rai</figcaption></figure>When athletes are injured, their lives turn upside-down in an instant. Most end up as coaches or referees, but once in a while someone lands a 360 kick and turns into a successful entrepreneur. That is the story of Harishwor Pokharel, once an international-level Taekwondo player and now the proprietor of four businesses from tyre repairs to momo restaurants.In the early 1980s, an 18-year old Pokharel was among the earliest batches of Nepali Taekwondo champions. Pokharel was coached by Deep Raj Gurung to become a 4th don. He graduated to the international stage during the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul. But an ankle injury in 1988 put a question mark over his career. He then went to Germany where he trained fellow players till 1992.“At that time I was earning well and I could have easily stayed on in Europe. But I thought it through, and decided to return to my home country and start something of my own,” recalls  Pokharel, with no trace of regret. That ‘something’ was a tyre resoling company, Gandaki Group, which now has 12 outlets across Nepal.The business of resoling tyres brought Pokharel great fortune, enabling him and his siblings to provide good education to their children. But when his three sons got stuck in America, he decided to initiate another plan. Four years ago, he and his family came up with <a href="http://www.classicmomo.com/">Classic Mo:Mo</a>, a restaurant chain that has become an international brand.Self-service, momos cooked in olive oil and without MSG, added fats, preservatives, artificial coloring or flavor enhancers, complimentary offer of mineral water, popcorn, vegetable or chicken soup and a hand sanitiser at every table made Classic Mo:Mo popular in Kathmandu.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111148/6368e28a9c7e80680e033333jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The winning formula was wholesome, hygienic food at an affordable price. Currently serving through online delivery system <a href="http://www.bhojdeals.com/">Bhoj Deal</a> and outlets in New Road, Thamel, Naxal in Nepal and Bangalore in India, Pokharel is planning to open 5-6 more franchises by the end of this year. Among his three sons, one has already returned to Nepal and is handling the company along with the online vegetable delivery Mero Store, and another plans to return next year.Despite the gradual growth of the ventures and a busy schedule, Pokharel has not left Taekwando, and says he never will. He is vice president of the Nepal Taekwondo Association, responsible for making guidelines and conditions for international participation of Nepali participants, coaches and referees.“Taekwondo in Nepal reached its peak in the 80s, but went downhill during the political transition due to lack of financial support for training. We want to take the sport back to its glory days,” says Pokharel, who continuously encourages children and parents to take up a sport.Pokharel handles sportsmanship and entrepreneurship seamlessly, often coaching little dabblers at his sports club Arjun Fitness. He brings the same discipline, team spirit, and passion for the sport into his other enterprises. Diet and nutrition overlap in both his sports and food businesses. From helping out at his kitchens to making tough strategic decisions for his companies, Pokharel has to be fast on his feet — a trait early training in Taekwondo prepared him well for.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111148/6368e28d9c7e80680e033334jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="862"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107111148/6368e2909c7e80680e033335jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="960">

Martial art to momo

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

Thousands of Nepali students dreaming of an American education have been forced to look elsewhere as the Trump administration’s visa restrictions make their future uncertain.
The US was long considered a top destination for higher studies, making Nepal the 10th biggest country of origin for international students in America.&nbsp;
However, that number has seen a significant decline with the total for Nepali students now at 16,482. Some 8,000 Nepali students obtained no-objection certificates to study in the US from the Ministry of Education in the past year.&nbsp;
India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom and Japan are the other popular destinations for Nepali students. There are no clear numbers for Nepalis going to India, but a slight decline was noted this year after the deaths of two female students.
The US State Department has issued a circular to its embassies not to issue new visas to applicants until further notice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the directive stated that the department planned to expand the screening of applicants' social media.&nbsp;
While new applicants are barred including those applying for visitor visas, students with scheduled interviews are allowed to proceed.
“Many of our students are affected by the new restrictions, but those who had applied for student visas earlier have got interview dates,” one Kathmandu-based college counsellor told us.
Meanwhile, even foreign students with spotless records already in the US have not been spared, as visa scrutiny intensifies under the new policy. In a move that underscores the growing sense of insecurity, many US colleges advised international students to carry their passports and documents at all times, even when traveling locally.
“Me and my friends did not go home this summer because we were not sure we would be allowed back, so we just went to Niagara Falls,” said a Nepali undergrad in Ohio, who like many interviewed for this report did not want her name used for fear of repercussion.
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Nepali students have adopted a cautious stance, with many choosing not to return home during summer vacation due to fear of visa revocations as well as travel bans. Meanwhile, over 7,000 Nepalis with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will have to come back to Nepal by 5 August or face deportation. Thirty-seven were flown back to Kathmandu on Omni Air last week.
“The US is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education, and the ban will definitely impact bright students,” says Narottam Aryal of the King’s College in Kathmandu.
Indeed, Nepali undergraduates admitted into Ivy League colleges for the 2025 academic year have been asked to look for alternatives. The entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board resigned on Wednesday citing interference from the Trump administration on the selection of this year’s cohort. Some Nepali students already on Fulbright scholarships have noted disruptions, delays and even cancellation of stipends.&nbsp;
The student visa restrictions were initially just for foreign students admitted to Harvard University, but it was later extended to all Chinese students and now to all students. Universities like Columbia which actively recruit foreign students, face sharp enrolment declines, threatening their financial stability and diversity.
An Indian female PhD candidate at Columbia University had her visa revoked by the US State Department, and said she was targeted on the basis of her social media posts on Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Social media vetting of political activism has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in a country where such rights were a given.
Many students have been informed via email that their visas have been revoked for getting speeding or parking tickets, but even others with no criminal record have been affected. The fear of deportation looms large amongst international students, including those from Nepal.&nbsp;
For most Nepalis who migrate to the US for education, the journey is a high-stakes investment. They come largely from middle-class families, often rely on a patchwork of scholarships, work-study programs, loans, or even the sale of family assets to afford fees.
Most Nepali students pursue STEM subjects which offer extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods that help fund their education. But with the US backsliding on education and humanitarian matters, countries like the UK and Canada are becoming more attractive despite their own recent stricter controls on student visas.&nbsp;
The UK universities saw a 63% rise in Nepali students’ admissions in 2024. Japan is another popular destination with 64,816 Nepali students enrolled as of 2024.
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Already, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are poised to benefit from the increased scrutiny of US student visas. Several Hong Kong universities are offering unconditional admission to affected students, while Malaysian institutions are targeting previously US-bound Asian students. China and India have 330,000 and 280,000 students respectively in America, but the numbers for China have seen a sharp drop in the past year.
Elsewhere, branch campuses of American institutions such as NYU in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown in Dubai and Northwestern in Doha are getting more admission applications, and universities in the Gulf region are expanding infrastructure to accommodate those who would otherwise have gone to the US.&nbsp;
Even educational institutions in Nepal are hopeful that the US visa restrictions can be an opportunity to at least keep Nepali undergrads in Nepal, and also attract foreign students from the region.&nbsp;
“Many students might choose to complete their undergraduate degree here in Nepal and then move abroad for their Master’s degree later,” says Aryal of King’s College. “There was a need for quality higher education in Nepal anyway in terms of innovation and opportunities, so this could be the time to reduce our dependence on other countries.”
Nepal’s strategic position between India and China makes it sensitive to US policy shifts. India, a key ally, is also under US scrutiny for potential student travel restrictions. Chinese universities are already offering more scholarships to Nepali talent to capitalise on the US retreat.
American universities have challenged student visa restrictions in the courts. A federal court in Boston revoked the blanket ban on Harvard, and the State Department has ordered the resumption of processing student and exchange visitor visas.&nbsp;
Some are still hoping that President Trump will backtrack on the student visa restrictions, just like he has done with many of his more drastic executive orders.
Even so, the visa see-saw and longer-term uncertainties about living in the United States and its education system means students across the world are making alternative plans.
Says Aryal: “Policies of foreign countries change according to their needs, so excessive dependence was never a good idea. We should work to create different opportunities and choices of higher education within Nepal, so students are retained.” &nbsp;

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

That winter day in January 1664 marked an exceptional event in the reign of King Pratap Malla of Kathmandu. It was 15 Paush 784 of the Nepal Sambat and for the first time, a historical event was being immortalised on canvas for generations to come.&nbsp; The occasion was the grand Tuladaan ceremony of the King’s youngest son Chakrabartendra Malla from his wife Anantapriya, an Indian princess from Cooch Behar in present-day Assam.&nbsp; During the ritual, the prince was weighed against gold, silver, pearls, and other precious stones, which were then offered to Goddess Taleju Bhavani, the guardian deity of the Malla dynasty.&nbsp; The 170 x120cm painting captures the time of King Pratap Malla in all its splendour and is more than a personal tribute to his son: it is a significant visual historical document. It was evidently completed five years later in 1669, and could be considered a photographic record, with retrospective recreation of the event by the unknown artist. A Tuladaan ceremony is performed to purify one’s karma, quell impending bad luck, or as an act of charity and devotion. Chakrabartendra Malla was not well, and the ritual was performed in hopes of restoring his health. King Pratap Malla had arranged for each of his sons to take turns ruling Kathmandu so they got administrative experience. But Chakrabartendra died just two days after assuming power in 1670 (790 NS). This painting is considered the earliest known example in which the composition is dominated by an architectural landscape: the Taleju Temple. Given the stylistic features such as side-profile facial depictions and the rendering of human forms, it is believed that the Nepali artist was trained by a Rajput master.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250615040624_ddad3bc27a327e3f9926c8473287e4f14b53081296c295049009f327a4d97051" data-rendition-name="original" width="3248" height="4395" loading="lazy" alt="Tuladaan NT"> </figure>  During that era, there were regular exchanges of artists between Northern India and Kathmandu Valley. The painting is also a melding of Nepali, Tibetan, Mughal, and Rajput art styles of the time. Pratap Malla could have been inspired by a painting of Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s Tuladaan ceremony for his son Khurram in 1607. The Mallas and Mughals shared cordial relations, which is reflected in the cultural influences seen in the art and attire of the period.&nbsp; The clothing of the Malla ruling class, in particular, features colourful tunics, turbans, and jewelry that display strong Rajput and Mughal stylistic elements. The musicians in the upper tier are also dressed in Indian-style clothing, while the ensemble on the lower steps wear local attire, notably without turbans. Their hairstyles also differ, with the lower group wearing their hair tied in a bun at the front. This national treasure is currently in storage at the Collège de France in Paris, and has never been publicly displayed. Nepal’s art scholars like Gautam Vajracharya, Pratap Aditya Pal and Anne Vergati have written about this iconic paubha in the past, but the only detailed study is from the perspective of music history by researcher Richard Widdess who had access to high resolution copies of the original.&nbsp; Widdess from the Department of Music at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London describes the paubha as the most significant and richly detailed documentation of music in Nepali art. He identifies distinct musical ensembles on the terraces of the temple, and remarkably most of them are actively used today. One of them reflects the Mughal naqqārakhāna model — a loud outdoor ensemble typically composed of kettledrums, trumpets, and cymbals, traditionally performed from the gateway of the emperor’s palace to announce his entrances and exits. The depiction of such an ensemble in the tulādāna painting is likely the earliest known representation of a complete naqqārakhāna in Nepal — considered the forerunner of the panche baja, the traditional Nepali ensemble. On the stepped pyramid base of the temple are two groups of musicians playing local instruments: dhimey, bhushya, and dha. They are unmistakably Newar musicians, wearing short skirts and short-sleeved tops, with bare heads and legs—clearly distinguished as local performers.&nbsp; Higher still on the temple pyramid are musicians of apparently higher status, positioned close to the king, and his courtiers, possibly professional court musicians from India, well-versed in rāga and tāla. A dāphā group is also clearly depicted, identifiable by their characteristic instruments.&nbsp; Dāphā bhajan is likely the oldest surviving tradition of Newar devotional singing, and this paubha is the oldest visual record of it. Pratap Malla himself is believed to have composed songs that continue to be performed by dāphā groups throughout Kathmandu till today.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025061211064_d67636730cdc0ec778c02494817aca0b99654f2950d0fae4b95499a61faf7ef3" data-rendition-name="original" width="596" height="768" loading="lazy" alt="Priceless paubha in Paris NT"> </figure>  The artist’s thorough attention to musical detail may be attributed to King Pratap Malla’s own deep interest in music. His inscriptions on this painting and elsewhere proclaim his mastery of all branches of knowledge, including music. He is also known as the author of dance dramas and poems, penning his name as Kavindra (king of poets). Some noteworthy elements of new art techniques stand out: for example, the roof of the temple is filled with realistically rendered white doves, pigeons, and crows. This is a rare feature in paubha, where animals and birds are stylised, mythological forms. This remarkably talented unknown artist has managed to also render an orthographic projection: the front and side view of Nepal’s first architectural paubha. The Taleju Temple, with its staggering multi-tiered structure and numerous steps and platforms, is masterfully translated into layers within the painting. This represents a significant artistic achievement of the time, especially considering that dimensional perspectives had not started in deity-based paubha.&nbsp; The artist has also made a meticulous effort to capture architectural details such as the toran (ornamental arch) and temple struts with impressive precision. There are flickering lamps along the steps and some people carrying what appear to be oil pots.&nbsp; It is a full moon night and the dark sky is adorned with all the gods and goddesses, who are depicted as blessing the ceremony while seated on stylised thangka clouds. There is a lot happening in this painting, with people engaged in various activities. The artist has also rendered a forest backdrop behind the temple, complete with deer, trees, and flowers. Could there have once been a royal garden behind the Taleju Temple?&nbsp; More details and clarity can only be achieved if we are able to view the original or a high-resolution scanned version of the artwork. Many countries proudly display art depicting historical events in their national museums with great reverence. France, for example, has The Coronation of Emperor Napoleon and Empress Joséphine by Jacques-Louis David (1808–1822), along with numerous paintings of the Napoleonic Wars. Many were commissioned by Napoleon himself for future generations to remember.&nbsp; For Nepal, the equivalent is the Tuladaan paubha which is a visual record capturing a historic moment involving one of Kathmandu’s greatest kings, on the very day the event took place. Sadly, we await the day when this masterpiece is displayed, shared in high resolution for detailed study, or more rightfully — repatriated to its homeland, where it truly belongs. &nbsp; Shaguni Singh Sakya is the Director of the Museum of Nepali Arts (MoNA) at Kathmandu Guest House in Thamel. <h2>Gods homeward bound</h2> The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign and Nepal’s Department of Archaeology are convening the first international conference on the Recovery of Cultural Heritage from 16-18 June in Patan. The conference will address urgent issues of theft, illicit trafficking, the campaign to repatriate looted cultural artifacts, and explore how the return of sacred antiquities contributes to justice, healing, and reconciliation for communities and nations affected by cultural loss. American art crime professor Erin L Thompson and Saubhagya Pradhananga of the Department of Archaeology will deliver the keynote. Meanwhile, author and Nepali Times publisher Kunda Dixit will lead a conversation on Illicit Trafficking: Public Opinion and Role of Media with Erin Thompson, Amr Al Azm, associate professor of Middle East History and Anthropology at Shawnee State University in Ohio, as well as Bradley J Gordon, a lawyer based in Phnom Penh. There will be sessions looking at repatriation perspectives from Cambodia, India, Vietnam, China and Poland, international frameworks for repatriation, emerging digital technologies in the repatriation of cultural heritage, cultural property agreements, museums as well as trends in the art market, and heritage diplomacy and the role of media.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025061211068_59cfccfa8f5d73bfe8b4c5811a7f53abc09ea04e8cb7c638933d62e5283efdf6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="1350" loading="lazy" alt="Heritage recovery NT"> </figure>  <h2> </h2> Some of the other highlights include James K. Reap, a professor in the Master of Historic Preservation Program at the University of Georgia who has a session on the US response to illicit trafficking. Art historian Lea Saint-Raymond is taking on “Gods at Auction: The Market for Himalayan Artefacts”, while lecturer of criminology at the University of Glasgow Emiline Smith is delving into transformative approaches to heritage ownership and repatriation. Helena Arose of Antiquities Coalition and Melina Antoniadis of NOSTOS Strategies that specialise on the return home of cultural heritage as well as Hao Liu of International Cultural Heritage Law at the School of Law at Shandong University are some of the others attending. The Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign was set up in 2020 to develop a coordinated movement to reclaim Nepal’s stolen gods and goddesses, with an aim to ensure that recovered items are returned to their original shrines, niches or sanctums. Ahead of the conference opening organisers have arranged for a film screening of Loot &amp; Return: 4 Documentaries at YalaMaya Kendra in Patan Dhoka between 14-15 June. Following the conference is a multimedia exhibition titled Absent Gods: Nepal’s Lost Heritage from 31 July to 4 August at Patan Museum.

Priceless paubha in Paris

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;

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The Everest Industry