<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1f99c7e80680e083e7bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Safari elephants on the streets of Sauraha. Photo: ISAZ</figcaption></figure>Humans and elephants have shared environments for thousands of years, but what might surprise readers is that a quarter of the world’s Asian elephants live in captivity.These elephants are a vital and vibrant part of Nepal’s history, and their use has been documented since at least the fifth century in areas as diverse as war machines, living monuments to regal power and wealth, rewards for service and currently as tourist transport.Elephant tourism has become a major financial windfall for businessmen in the Chitwan National Park area, and photos of elephants on the streets of Sauraha have become synonymous with the location. Visitors to the area often mention their desire to ‘see elephants’ in both the wild and in captive settings. Tourism vendors must keep up the appearance of happy animals in idyllic settings in order to maintain a steady flow of income.However, there is no ‘sound science’ supporting elephant-backed tourism as indicated in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-elephant-dilemma/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-elephant-dilemma/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605948955641000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0cRf5xREKUphszMHgItcIk">a Nepali Times article of 4 October, 2020</a>, and no animal welfare studies that provide data that shows anything but substandard conditions in the majority of stables within the area.Waxing poetic about grand experiences on elephant-back does not change the data. In fact, I have spent the last four years as a rhino and elephant researcher in Nepal, and have just completed an assessment of not only the stables in Chitwan, but an overall review of captive elephant health and welfare throughout the US, UK and Asia.In a series of articles, Brown, et al found that elephants in tourism venues varied in weight, fecal glucocorticoid measurements (a sign of stress), and other hormonal studies depending upon their management techniques and expected performance of duties.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1fd9c7e80680e083e7cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="412"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In a few studies, the elephants used in safari rides showed better weights and lower concentrations of certain stress hormones than those used in exhibition-only venues. However, while these analyses were conducted by reputable sources, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-elephant-dilemma/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-elephant-dilemma/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605948955641000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0cRf5xREKUphszMHgItcIk">the Nepali Times article</a> misrepresents their results. Rather than conclusively exonerating elephant captivity, these studies called for further research, acknowledging that the weight differences may be due to the practice of overfeeding sweet treats such as bananas and sugar cane to elephants kept in exhibition/visitation stables.In addition, being chained or kept in one place impacts exercise habits of these individuals, and increasing their activity via non-riding activities may be needed. Further studies showed that simply being exposed to humans was a stressful event, causing spikes in the stress hormones of captive elephants.Hopefully, new measures such as an examination of secretory hormones, will allow researchers to assess positive or negative experiences in elephants. Bansiddhi, et al and others in their studies have stated that the information is of limited value until a baseline study of normal levels in wild elephants can be obtained, and a determination of harmful levels can be gathered.Without this data, comparisons between elephants under varying management styles are more informational than diagnostic. In fact, at the EMA Conference 2020 last month, the need for better assessment tools and baseline studies in order to properly assess welfare were discussed.Other oft-quoted studies used by tourism agencies to promote elephant rides include those which say that the bullhook is not a danger in and of itself. This is a very true statement, just as any weapon is essentially harmless when disconnected from a human.Sadly, much traditional mahout knowledge regarding safe elephant handling has been lost, and bullhooks are now used nearly exclusively for fear and beating-based training, along with nails, knives, and sticks.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be1fe9c7e80680e083e7djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="318" height="241"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be2009c7e80680e083e7ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="320" height="240"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Experienced mahouts have moved on to better jobs to escape the stigma of being low-caste or poorly-paid, researchers have found, leaving younger or inexperienced men to handle elephants using dominance and violence. Beatings often take place in view of visitors, and present tourists with a negative view of Nepal. There are no laws specifically protecting elephants in Nepal, and this lack of legislation (despite support for it from various government agencies) puts an uncomfortable spotlight on the country.A reality that animal welfare advocates (both Nepali and western) must acknowledge is that one cannot simply expect elephant rides to stop overnight. Those of us working in elephant research and welfare acknowledge the need for a gradual change which provides training and better employment opportunities for mahouts, financial stability for owners, and opportunities for local community members who rely on elephant tourism for their survival.Having a long-term plan in place is key for the well-being of all stakeholders. By pushing for better elephant standards, we are not clamouring to immediately eradicate elephant tourism. In fact, most researchers realise that government-owned elephants are a necessary part of anti-poaching, emergency rescue and wildlife census activities. During the monsoon season, these elephants remain the only way to enter the park.Happy elephantsThe elephants at Tiger Tops Tharu Village, who were participants in my study as well as being mentioned in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-elephant-dilemma/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-elephant-dilemma/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605948955641000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0cRf5xREKUphszMHgItcIk">Lisa Choegyal’s article</a>, have significantly different lives than most elephants in Nepal. These elephants are kept in chain-free enclosures, and have a large number of well-trained and experienced mahouts to care for them and are allowed more agency in their daily activities.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be2019c7e80680e083e7fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In addition, the staff of Tiger Tops has agreed that they will <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/elephants-born-free,3302" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/elephants-born-free,3302&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605948955641000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2uQ2YkyaSKvngH-Nqafm_y">no longer purchase elephants</a> once this herd passes. But these humane conditions are aberrant for captive elephants in Nepal.Surveys into the health and welfare of privately-held elephants have shown nutritional deficiencies, physical deformities and injuries, wounds from abuse and abscesses from saddles, death from preventable disorders, stillbirth and near-constant reproductive issues. Injuries and some disease processes are common in tourism venues throughout Asia, but are manageable with changes to management and husbandry styles.Furthermore, the majority of elephants in the Sauraha area are not allowed to recline for rest, get dirty or dig (a necessity for foot and joint health), but are instead chained by front and back legs. Recumbancy for sleep is incredibly important for elephant health, as is digging.  Simple, inexpensive changes to stables — such as providing dirt for the expression of natural behaviours or more appropriate nutrition — would be a game changer for the elephants of Nepal.Look, don’t touchThe captive elephants of Nepal also represent a population which may impact the life span of wild elephants in the area. Because they carry diseases such as TB, found in at least 23% of the captive population and has recently resulted in the deaths of two government-owned elephants, they risk passing along a variety of bacteria to wild populations.Furthermore, studies have shown that the pressure placed on forest resources by captive elephants impacts the availability of resources for wild elephants. Preserving these endangered species in their natural habitats should be a priority for the government of Nepal, and allowing the keeping of captive elephants in shared spaces is a risky practice.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be2039c7e80680e083e80jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be2059c7e80680e083e81jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="638">IllegalityBecause Nepal is a CITES signatory, the trade and sale of these endangered species is illegal. Yet, it continues unabated, and owners openly acknowledge this fact in newspaper articles and emails. No amount of description of peaceful jungle walks or ‘ethical’ activities will change the fact that the use of these animals for commercial purposes is illegal.Until the government of Nepal enforces CITES there will be no effective changes. Owners should refrain from buying or selling elephants in the future, as a sign of their commitment to creating lasting changes in Sauraha. Visitors to the area should be aware of the laws surrounding elephant trade, and consider this fact when booking travel to areas advertising elephant tourism.The upsideCurrently, there are multiple plans in place to create a non-riding sanctuary in the Chitwan National Park area of Nepal, and NGOs such as Jane Goodall-Nepal and World Animal Protection have been in talks for years with the local elephant owner’s cooperative group about this issue.If all owners agreed to stop tourist elephant riding, these organisations, and others, have indicated that there would be a great deal of financial support available. But because there have been holdouts among cooperative members, talks have stalled for the time being.There is now discussion of a cooperatively-owned facility housing a few of the members' elephants which will provide viewing of elderly individuals and riding of younger ones. However, this hardly fits the definition of a true sanctuary.Instead, Sauraha has the unique opportunity to become a completely ride-free, chain-free venue due to the relatively small number of captive elephants, and the acknowledgement by owners that these elephants now require a change in treatment and management.These owners have the chance to establish Sauraha as a more ethical tourism venue, while still creating income for themselves and maintaining employment opportunities for marginalised communities of mahouts. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Nepal, and the elephant owners, to create a world-recognised facility. Hopefully, owners will embrace this opportunity and create lasting changes in the elephant industry.Luckily, there is already one smaller NGO in the Chitwan area working with local stakeholders to purchase elephants out of riding situations, and quietly transfer them to true sanctuaries. In addition, other organisations are working with hotel owners to lease elephants, keeping them off safari.In addition, there are other ethical venues open for tourist visits. One way to ensure your destinations are animal-friendly or ethical is look at the access offered to living animals. If the venue allows human touching of animals, then it is best to avoid. Use your tourist dollars to support facilities that care about animal health and welfare. Look, but don’t touch.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be2069c7e80680e083e82jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="638"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The bottom lineNo one wishes to ban tourism in Nepal. It is a beautiful location with much to offer, and has set a high standard in preserving natural habitats for wildlife. Visitors to Nepal can enjoy jungle walks, home stays, local food and products, and enjoy the sight of wildlife crossing the Rapti River at sunset.What must change, however, is for tourists to take responsibility for their own impacts on both wild and captive elephants as well as local communities. This endangered species deserves our respect and better treatment in return for their years of hard work.They deserve a life with proper nutrition, agency, and space. Well-informed tourists will continue to visit the area, and should use their tourist dollars to support ethical activities and stay in hotels that promote chain-free corrals and well-nourished elephants.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181120/636be2089c7e80680e083e83jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="155" height="200">If you would like to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/speaking-for-elephants/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/speaking-for-elephants/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605948955641000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2quOJmNVbFWhDn_B2t3uUW">discuss elephants</a>, tourism, or my research, feel free to comment on this article, and I will reach out to you.<a href="https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/ease/people/michelleszydlowski/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/ease/people/michelleszydlowski/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605948955641000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2zQRnF4ajftgPJeObTtrDF">Michelle Szydlowski</a> is a PhD candidate with the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/anthropology/anthrozoology/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/anthropology/anthrozoology/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605948955641000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1UB0aiC8CQ-v65K0u8kWuD">University of Exeter Anthrozoology </a>Department. Her research focuses on pachyderm-people relationships in Nepal, captive elephant welfare, and sustainable tourism.

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Set the elephants free

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a94e59c7e80680e05dbddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="953" height="760"/><figcaption>King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya with Jim Edwards in May 1988</figcaption></figure>It was the most splendid of glittering weddings. Fairy lights threaded through the bushes, candles glowed on the ivy-wrapped tables, oil lamps marked the stone flagged paths, and white cushions padded the benches arranged around the low garden walls.The stage setting enhanced the sequined saris, embroidered gowns, bare midriffs and gossamer shawls of the women, and men strutted in finest silk, high collars and gilded long jackets – an ambassador and husband in impossibly well-cut Italian suits. The diamonds dazzled, emeralds reflected the under-lit swimming pool and sapphires caught the blue of the fading sky. A thin sliver of moon hung suspended above the tiled and tiered rooftops as waiters glided by with laden platters and silver trays of drinks.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a94e89c7e80680e05dbdejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1023"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Ministers and politicians mixed comfortably with the assembled aristocrats, generals, entrepreneurs and diplomats. Everyone was here. I spotted political party leaders, retired Ranas, an eminent surgeon,  a son of Tenzing Norgay, and daughter of Toni Hagen.“The king is here!” A whisper rustled through the crowd.The pavilion door was guarded with Rottweiler zeal: only the chosen few guests were allowed in to meet their ex-majesties. The former queen appeared unusually animated, her greying hair drawn back from her pointed chin. Through the glass windows, we could see much deferential nodding, submissive bows and polite conversation with the dethroned Mr and Mrs Shah.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a94ec9c7e80680e05dbdfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3234" height="2320"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Later, when <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8371#.XblOs9Iza70">Gyanendra</a> came to leave, the chattering crowd parted, backing away spontaneously from the entourage with former feudal respect, but the royal couple were in relaxed and festive mode. Spotting me in the throng, he broke away and came over with a wide smile to shake my hand and exchange a few words before moving on with a light laugh.“Amazing, what a changed personality,” observed a seasoned guest. “Wow, what a smile – I have never seen his teeth before!”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a94ef9c7e80680e05dbe0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2876" height="2136"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Amidst the wedding reception hubbub, we reflected that in recent years he had not had much to laugh about. The personal cost of losing so many immediate family in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/three-kings-in-four-days-nepal-massacre">2001 massacre</a>, and the public price of losing a kingdom as the monarchy became a federal democratic republic -- <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepal-from-royal-to-republic,3736">albeit with minimal fuss or strife</a> when the moment came to vacate his palace and relinquish his privileges.A quick-draw friend sent me a snapshot (pictured) with the caption: ‘Taken in the heat of the moment. Picture of you and your old friend’ and a quizzical emoji.The royals and their guests were indeed frequent visitors to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/So-far-so-good/back-to-Chitwan,1075">Tiger Tops</a> in the formerly ‘Royal’ Chitwan and Bardia National Parks when I was working there in the early days. With fanfare and formality, they would arrive with the usual trappings of jeepfuls of wardens, wildlife department, palace officials and security guards. Nepal’s absolute monarch was never referred to except as ‘His Majesty’ in the most hushed and venerated tone, even in private.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a94f29c7e80680e05dbe1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2812" height="2077"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>A frisson of excitement would reverberate through the camp at the news of a royal visit. The lodge and bar would be swept and spruced, the wood oiled and the brass polished. Tablecloths would be replaced, chick blinds repaired, petromaxes primed, white stones repainted and green uniforms tidied. Helicopter arrivals were a rare event, so grass would be cleared, the ground levelled and lime-marked with a big ‘H’. Our big boss, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/john-r-edwards-a-life-in-the-shadow/">Jim Edwards</a> would arrive from Kathmandu to host the visit, taking advantage of the opportunity for a little politicking on the side.Jim had started life in Nepal with a hunting company before turning conservationist when environmental conditions changed. The depletion of Nepal’s tiger, leopard, gaur and rhino populations was the result of their wild habitat shrinking to unsustainable levels with encroachment, disturbance and poaching.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a94f69c7e80680e05dbe2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2812" height="2077"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Jim appreciated the proclivity for hunting that ran deep through the veins of Nepal’s rulers, a culture of maharaja and vice-regal hunts testified by the volumes of trophy photographs stored in the Kaiser Library and displayed in Rana homes.Like many former hunters with a passion for the world’s wild places, the royal family spearheaded the conservation movement in Nepal. Under royal rule, Nepal’s exemplary protected area network was first established, encompassing landscapes in the high mountains, middle hills and Tarai plains, and preserving Nepal’s vast biodiversity in Palearctic and Indomalayan ecozones. Previously a prized royal hunting reserve, Chitwan was the country’s first national park declared in 1973 and South Asia’s first World Heritage Site in 1984.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a94f99c7e80680e05dbe3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="708" height="948"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As the king’s younger brother, Gyanendra led His Majesty’s Government conservation efforts and served on the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8973#.XblPhNIza70">World Wildlife Fund international board</a>. In 1982 he founded King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation as a non-governmental and non-profit organisation, now the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), with innovative environmental and community-based solutions such as the Annapurna Conservation Area. Today protected areas cover over 20% of Nepal.Based in their rural palaces at Kasara park headquarters or on the river near Narayanghat, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8412#.XblQ5tIza70">King Birendra</a> and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/A-suitable-prince,2423">Queen Aishwarya</a> would stop by for some quick refreshments as part of their jungle progression. But it was <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8973#.XblPhNIza70">Prince Gyanendra</a> who came most often. Hosting Prince Bernhard and the elite WWF 1001 Club for several days in Chitwan in 1977, we launched gharial crocodiles with Peter Scott, discussed tiger distribution with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/So-far-so-good/Tigerman-tiger,930">Chuck McDougal</a> and arranged a private dinner for the group one perfect October evening in Jim’s private bungalow, resonant with night sounds vibrating in the surrounding forest.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a94fc9c7e80680e05dbe4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="780" height="577"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Not long after, Gyanendra brought the Indian Prime Minister’s son to stay. Rajiv Gandhi was still a quiet dedicated airline pilot before family pressure forced him into politics. In 1986 Gyanendra escorted Prince Philip to Tiger Tops during <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8301#.XblSYNIza70">Queen Elizabeth’s state visit</a>. Scratchy and acerbic, Philip growled at the press corps but was captivated by Chitwan’s wildlife and Nepal’s conservation gains.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a94fe9c7e80680e05dbe5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="929" height="747"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Hosting David Attenborough in Nirmal Niwas during the filming of a BBC nature series, we marvelled at Gyanendra’s collection of mounted hunting trophies. “Looks like this rhino charged through the wall then got stuck,” giggled Sir David as we were ushered through the entrance hall.So perhaps not “old friends”, but in a radically changed world, certainly old acquaintances with an enduring jungle connection.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95019c7e80680e05dbe6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1512" height="2016"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Read <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8973#.XblPhNIza70">Nepali Times interview with then Prince Gyanendra</a> during the World Wildlife Fund Annual Meeting in Kathmandu in November 2000.

Lisa Choegyal

Champions of Nepal’s conservation movement

<figure><img width="1400" height="1050" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101128/636a21689c7e80680e04173bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Despite the mountain of problems in this country, and the list of urgent to-do’s for the government, Nepal's officialdom tends to get bogged down trying to fix things that ain’t broke.In this edition of Nepali Times we carry two reports. One is of the unique eco-tourism conservation project in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/municipalities-want-to-manage-annapurna/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Annapurnas</a> that has become a model for other parts of the world. The other is Nepal’s successful effort in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=19245&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">protecting forests</a> over the last four decades by handing over their management to local communities.Both success stories have some things in common: local communities owned the projects and made them an integral part of local development. They are also brilliant examples of grassroots democracy at work, where elected sub-local committees collectively decide what is best for the people, for nature and for the economy.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=19245&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Who now owns Nepal's forests?</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/municipalities-want-to-manage-annapurna/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Municipalities want to manage Annapurna</a>, Yuvaraj Shrestha These accomplishments of the post-1990 democratic era survived the NC-UML polarisation, ten years of war, kleptocratic coalitions, and the instability of the post-conflict decade. But now both are threatened by the utter confusion and disarray wrought by ill-thought out federalism.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hiking-up-the-benefits-of-tourism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hiking up the benefits of tourism</a>, Sangmin KimThe Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) project was conceived by naturalist gurus like <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/conflict-and-conservation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hemanta Mishra</a>, Chandra Gurung and Mingma Sherpa. Nepal could not adopt the national park model because, as the most densely-populated mountain region in the world, its wilderness areas had villages embedded in them.Mishra, Gurung and Sherpa came up with the novel idea of turning the Annapurna area into a model zone where nature could flourish in harmony with human habitation, indeed conservation could lift living standards of the inhabitants. Tourism income was ploughed into making households energy self-sufficient, in upgrading agro-forestry, replacing firewood in lodges, maintaining trails and building micro-hydro plants. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-silent-emergency-springs-going-dry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's silent emergency: springs going dry</a>, Ajaya DixitThe concept has worked brilliantly since 1985, retaining its main feature of conservation with a human face. The result can be seen in the lush regrowth of forests, the proliferation of wildlife, and in the relative affluence from tourism of villages in Manang, Mustang and Kaski. But change is afoot. The Annapurna Circuit now has a motorable road up to Manang village on one side and to Muktinath on the other. The Annapurna Base Camp trail now exceeds its carrying capacity in the peak season, new trails like Khopra and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/go-take-a-hike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mardi </a>struggle to cope with a new influx.The other success story is Nepal’s community forestry exercise. It is a vivid example of how just one piece of legislation combined with grassroots democracy can directly help preserve the natural environment. The program nearly doubled the country’s forest cover in the last 40 years, and this was solely due to the dedication of the 22,000 local forest committees all over the country. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nature-without-borders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nature without borders</a>, Sewa Bhattarai But now, both the Annapurna Conservation Area and the community forestry project have collided head-on with Nepal’s new federal structure. There is utter confusion about who is going to manage projects like ACA and community forests: will it be rural municipalities, provincial governments, Singha Darbar, or all three? The 16 rural municipalities in the Annapurnas have been on warpath for the past month, demanding that ACA hand over the project to them. They complain about tourism fees not being used in their villages, and strict rules about cutting trees, building roads and new hotels. The National Trust for Nature Conservation which manages ACA is under pressure to devolve its powers, but to whom? A new Forestry Bill seeks to curtail the rights of the community forestry user groups to sell forestry products on their own. The Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN) is up in arms, but in the absence of clarity about who owns and can manage forests, there is a danger that it will be free-for-all plunder.With devolution of political power under the new federal structure, there has also been decentralisation of corruption. Since it is the same political parties at the village and provincial levels, the kleptocracy has trickled down to local governments. Instead of handing control of forest conservation to rural municipalities, it may be more prudent to retain sub-local user groups at the grassroots. Allowing forests to be ‘managed’ when corruption is so pervasive will open up protected areas to wholesale logging, as has happened with quarrying and sand-mining on river ecosystms.Nepal cannot afford to squander its hard-earned gains in conservation by trying to fix something that is not broken. It will be like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It's a jungle out there</a>, Kunda Dixit Ten years ago this week, the office of Himalmedia that published Nepali Times and Himal Khabarpatrika was attacked by two dozen Maoist cadre in retaliation for the coverage of extortion and violence by militant unions affiliated with the Maoist party. The newsroom and office was vandalised, the CEO, Nepali Times Editor, the Finance Manager and several other journalists were physically assaulted. Two of them needed to be hospitalised. Nepali Times lodged an FIR, naming two of the Maoists involved in the attack. The two were picked up by police and detained. Ten years ago this week, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">#432 Nepali Times</a> of 2-9 January 2018 guerrilla commander-turned-elected prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal was interviewed about the attack. Excerpt:What do you say about the attacks on the media? Actually I have described the attack on Himalmedia as an unacceptable crime and called for the prosecution of the guilty. There are no ‘buts’ and ‘ifs’ and the guilty should not go free. I have asked the two to be handed over to the police. Such attacks and disagreements should not be allowed and it was to resolve this that I took those steps. It’s not our policy to harass the press.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/432"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101128/636a216b9c7e80680e04173cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="511" height="815"></a>

Fixing what ain't broke

Nepal has shut down dozens of social media platforms in a move that is widely seen as an effort to tax the revenue they generate in the country, and to control content critical of government. The sites were blocked as of midnight on Thursday, 4 September and affects all Meta products including WhatsApp and Messenger, Threads, and others. Although YouTube, Google and X are also on the government’s list, they were still working as of Friday midday.&nbsp; The government says it took the action after repeated warnings to the platforms to open offices in Nepal, a Cabinet decision last month setting a deadline, as well as a 17 August Supreme Court ruling also requiring them to register and pay requisite taxes. However, the Bill cited in the ban, ‘The Operation, Use, and Regulation of Social Media in Nepal’ has not yet been passed by Parliament. Some social media platforms which were already paying taxes in Nepal even though they are not officially registered, have also been blocked. The move is the latest in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/big-beautiful-bills" target="_blank">a slew of draft legislations</a> designed to undermine Nepal’s open society. A Bill amending the Print and Publications Act would allow district bureaucrats to shut down media. Another draft Bill would allow political appointees to head a new Media Council with the power to revoke the licenses of journalists.&nbsp; A counter-intelligence Bill would let just about anyone in government to arbitrarily tap phones, read emails and trail citizens. On Wednesday the government announced new immigration requirements that would allow it to track the movement of all foreigners in the country. Yet another draft Bill has been set to Parliament to dissolve the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10675" target="_blank">Social Welfare Council (SWC)</a> and move registration and monitoring of non-governmental organisations, nonprofits and charities to the Ministry of Social Welfare. Seen in this light, the blockage of social media platforms this week is seen as the latest government attempt to constrict freedom of press. Nepal is one of the few remaining open societies in Asia, and now appears to be drifting towards authoritarianism. The government’s sudden shutdown of social media has been greeted with howls of protest on platforms that still remain open, like Viber and TikTok, as well as in Nepal’s mainstream press. Even senior members of the ruling UML-NC coalition have sharply criticised the move, asking if the government is trying to “turn Nepal into North Korea”.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090508098_a2ab330e403e8418a7006cd5e915607382628dd6984524332bf7b99c74743656.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025090508098_a2ab330e403e8418a7006cd5e915607382628dd6984524332bf7b99c74743656" data-rendition-name="original" width="4280" height="5187" loading="lazy" alt="social media ban in Nepal"> </figure>  The Regional Director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Beh Lih Yi said in a statement: ‘Nepal’s sweeping ban on social media sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom. Blocking online news platforms vital to journalists will undermine reporting and the public’s right to information. The government must immediately rescind this order and restore access to social media platforms, which are essential tools for exercising press freedom.’ Besides undermining press freedom, blocking social media platforms will also hurt commerce and the economy since so many small and medium business trade through Instagram, Facebook and other platforms. Nepal’s vibrant social media has also been a boost or citizens to assert identity, build solidarity against injustice and play an adversarial role when the mainstream media does not do it. Social media platforms have also become the tenuous link for Nepali families scattered across the world to keep in touch with each other — its importance growing with the increasing size of the diaspora. The government wants social media platforms to register, pay taxes and remove posts on their sites that ‘undermine the national interest and Nepal’s territorial integrity, disturb social and religious harmony’.&nbsp; In response, rights activists have said while there is need for the government to regulate extreme content and hate speech, officials appear to be more intent on clamping down on free speech and trying to force platforms to share the revenue. On Friday, the government had allowed WhatsApp back online, but there were reports that it had instructed the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) to instruct mobile and internet service providers to block by Friday night all platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Threads, Snapchat, Pinterest, Signal, Clubhouse, Rumble.&nbsp; Platforms that have registered and are allowed include TikTok, Viber, Nimbuzz, Popo Live, WeTalk, Global Diary and the Nepali portal Hamro Patro. TikTok was banned last year for ‘disturbing social harmony’ and it was lifted after the platform registered its office in Nepal. But even while it was banned, many users simply switched to VPN. Telegram was also banned for ‘financial crimes’ and it has since also been allowed back. NTA officials confirmed that some Asia-Pacific regional offices of platforms, including Meta had been in touch overnight inquiring about the registration process.&nbsp; Nepal is not alone in regulating social media. China bans most Western platforms, Russia and Turkey regulate their and require platforms to locate their data servers in the country. Gulf countries allow social media but keep a tight control on dissent.&nbsp; Experts have said even the government will not dare close down YouTube since so many Nepali individuals and companies make money with posts on that platform, and closing it would also impact on Google and Gmail. Facebook had also just launched a monetisation scheme for videos and reels, and Nepalis uploading content would lose revenue.&nbsp; Blocking the platforms has already hit content creators, influencers and cut small businesses from reaching customers. A survey of social media use in Nepal by Sharecast Initiative showed that 94% of those with smart phones used YouTube, followed by Facebook (92%) while TikTok was in the 50-60% range. X and Instagram were in the single digits. A YouTube ban will also hurt the mainstream media since up to 20% of the revenue of Nepal’s main tv channels came through YouTube. Some 11.1 million Nepalis watch YouTube content every day, the survey showed. ‘For global giants like Meta or Google, Nepal is a small market, and they may not even flinch — but for millions of Nepalis, these platforms are central to daily life, livelihoods, and connections across the world,’ wrote AI consultant Naresh Newar in a LinkedIn post. Some experts said the government’s sweeping ban on social media networks was untenable and the government would be forced to rollback sooner or later. Said editor Shiva Gaunle: “The platforms had given citizens a voice and broken the monopoly of the government, legislators, the courts and journalists over public opinion. This is an effort to reassert that monopoly, but Nepal can never be turned into a North Korea.”

Protest grows against Nepal’s social media ban

It was 30 years ago this month that investment into ‘Baby Arun’, the 201MW first phase of the run-of-river Arun III project, was brought to a screeching halt when the World Bank officially withdrew its support. This brought about profound and fundamental changes in the way Nepal’s power sector subsequently developed. Nepalis suffered debilitating power outages between 2008-2016 due to shortages attributable to the cancellation. At the same time, the gap left by Baby Arun was filled by private sector investment in ways that were not obvious in 1995. It took 30 years, but in many ways Nepal’s power sector is more healthy today than it has ever been, and likely better than if the project was built as planned. At a projected budget of $1.08 billion, Baby Arun would have cost the equivalent of Nepal’s entire annual government expenditure in 1995. It was to be funded by concessional grants and loans from multilateral and bilateral funders, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), KfW, and investment by the government itself. At the time, Nepal’s total electricity generation capacity was only 230MW, and the trajectory of the power sector changed dramatically following the cancellation. In the past 30 years, $5.4 billion has been invested in the power sector led by private investors, and much of it from domestic banks and pension funds (table, right).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150840_c13d6f9f34d7163832b3089eabdad6f20d2d5cef3a53039e0432add2be6c32f0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250829150840_c13d6f9f34d7163832b3089eabdad6f20d2d5cef3a53039e0432add2be6c32f0" data-rendition-name="original" width="984" height="521" loading="lazy" alt="30 years after Baby Arun"> </figure>  Nearly 70% of the new megawatts generated were by private independent power producers (IPP) in the past 30 years, while the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and its subsidiary companies added 30% of new capacity. Almost 80% of total debt financing came from domestic banks and employee retirement funds. International assistance for power generation dropped dramatically over this time, accounting for only about 15% of investment. Before 1995 new power projects used to be entirely dependent on foreign aid. Since 1995, 63% of new generation came from 171 small hydropower projects with an average capacity of 12MW, while 4% was from 21 solar photovoltaic and biomass projects developed by local IPPs.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150844_5bc299fc78be90b95ce4727b0b3bdaa4542e17e126718cc8725d136630ffc097.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250829150844_5bc299fc78be90b95ce4727b0b3bdaa4542e17e126718cc8725d136630ffc097" data-rendition-name="original" width="988" height="503" loading="lazy" alt="30 years after Baby Arun"> </figure>  Over three decades, investment in Nepal’s power supply came primarily from new actors that had never before been involved in this sector. The rate of electrification rose from 10% to close to 100% -- sufficient to meet domestic needs during most of the year, and in 2024 made Nepal a net exporter of power to India for the first time in its history. As practically all the new investment in this period went into run-of-river hydro and solar projects, rather than into hydropower reservoirs with seasonal storage, Nepal continues to rely on imports from India during the dry winter months. Surplus electricity generation for export during the monsoon is slated to grow rapidly as another 200 solar and hydro projects are nearing completion of construction, with over 5,000MW of power capacity. Private Power The cancellation of Baby Arun inadvertently accelerated the entry of the private sector into Nepal’s power generation. The government enacted the Electricity Act in 1992 to attract private IPPs and diversify away from total dependence from international aid, but had been struggling for several years to conclude the first agreement with the 60MW Khimti Project. There remained a large gap between the tariff that the government thought was reasonable versus what was demanded by the Norwegian investor Statkraft, and the private sector arms of the World Bank and ADB that were financing the project. The shock of World Bank withdrawal from Baby Arun put tremendous pressure on the government, then led by the UML as it is now. The Bank’s decision to terminate its involvement was ostensibly, at least partially, taken in response to a letter critiquing the project sent by the UML while it was in the opposition.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150848_7fb3641d776fe86a09ad60a758f7e16660a409fdb15e541644f13646b0894347.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250829150848_7fb3641d776fe86a09ad60a758f7e16660a409fdb15e541644f13646b0894347" data-rendition-name="original" width="949" height="446" loading="lazy" alt="30 years after Baby Arun"> <figcaption>BAD NEWS: Newspaper clippings from the early 90s on tender announcement ahead of loan approval (left) and secrecy surrounding environmental assessment (centre) of Arun III before its eventual cancellation in August 1995.</figcaption> </figure>  The government was forced to soften its position and agree to the investors’ terms following the cancellation of Baby Arun. It directed NEA to sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Khimti. It was concluded in January 1996, and this was followed by a second PPA in July 1996 with Panda Energy, the American developer of the 45MW Upper Bhotekosi project. The expensive USD-denominated agreements to buy power from two international private producers, with price escalation clauses tied to the New York Consumer Price Index, sent alarm bells ringing. There was worry that the country was heading towards unaffordable tariff rates for the consumer and potential bankruptcy for NEA as a result of inevitable future weakening of the Nepali Rupee. The government had strong-armed NEA into signing these agreements, and realised that concessionary financing terms that Nepal was used to receiving for public sector projects such as Baby Arun and Kali Gandaki A, that included below-market interest rates and 40 years repayment period with a 10 year grace period before starting repayment, were not the norm for private sector investors. Nepal’s status as a less than attractive destination for foreign investment meant that the country had few options but to accept expensive dollar PPAs from international developers with the high commercial interest rates and short repayment periods imposed by their banks because of high investment risks. In the end, the government ended up having to additionally provide a sovereign guarantee in order to close the deal at the insistence of the lenders – committing it to repayment in case NEA defaulted on paying the IPPs. It is reasonable to assume that the extraordinarily high political cost of agreeing to the PPA terms would have meant that no government would have willingly agreed to them in 1995 had it not suffered the trauma of the loss of concessionary-financed public sector projects as large as the Baby Arun. It has taken NEA 25 years to consider offering dollar-denominated PPAs again: to cover the foreign exchange portion of the investment in the 216MW Upper Trisuli-1 and 120MW Rasuwa-Bhotekosi Hydropower projects. It seemed unlikely at the time, but it turned out that the dire situation Nepal found itself in 1995 planted the seed to mobilise investment for affordable power from within the country. Double Whammy After the dual shock of first losing investment in Baby Arun and having to sign expensive power purchase agreements with international IPPs, the first proposal for an alternative strategy to mitigate the risk of foreign currency investment into hydropower projects came from a group of engineers within the Arun III team at NEA. Led by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4900">Deputy Director Damber Bahadur Nepali,</a> engineers convinced the leadership that NEA needed to invest in a subsidiary company to build a series of locally-designed and domestically-financed projects that would have lower cost with rupee-denominated PPAs. They registered the Chilime Hydropower Company Limited (CHCL) in October 1995 with 51% shares from NEA, 25% from its employees, and 24% available for the general public, 10% of which was prioritised for local residents at the project site. The 22.1MW project is in Rasuwa on a tributary of the Trisuli, and mobilised debt financing from the Employee Provident Fund, which manages retirement savings for employees of the government, public enterprises, and private sector institutions. CHCL’s experience showed that NEA employees themselves believed that individual hydropower projects with operational independence from NEA could be developed profitably in Nepal by its own engineers -- and they were willing to put their own money on the line. Chilime also demonstrated that there was money in the country, particularly with retirement funds, looking for opportunities for long-term investments. Following completion of Chilime in 2003, CHCL led the formation of three other NEA subsidiary companies that completed construction in 2023 and 2024, producing 168.3MW using fully rupee-tied investment. NEA’s largest subsidiary, the Upper Tamakosi Hydropower Limited, completed construction of its 456MW plant in 2021.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829160812_ce9ab8b49c598970db3f5bf0a079061ef52f153b28d9f4ead2bb1b26bfd7c2f3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250829160812_ce9ab8b49c598970db3f5bf0a079061ef52f153b28d9f4ead2bb1b26bfd7c2f3" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="1571" loading="lazy" alt="30 Years after Baby Arun"> <figcaption>DAMNED: The $700 million 456MW Upper Tamakosi built entirely with domestic funds before it was destroyed by the September floods last year. </figcaption> </figure>  There were some delays and cost overruns on this run-of-river project, the largest in the country with a final cost of over $700 million -- all of it sourced domestically. The five subsidiary companies launched by NEA have produced almost two times as much new power as NEA has over the past 30 years. Seven other NEA subsidiaries are currently constructing projects to add another 474MW to the national grid. But even more important than NEA subsidiaries have been local IPPs: Nepali companies which have over the past three decades enthusiastically entered the hydropower sector. From a regulatory perspective, the credit for mobilising domestic private investment to engage in power generation goes to Minister of Water Resources Shailaja Acharya, who in 1998 offered a flat feed-in-tariff of Rs4/kWh for hydropower projects under 10MW. This upfront offer removed a major barrier that early developers had faced of having to spend money to carry out a detailed feasibility study before they could even start tariff negotiations with NEA. She had laid the foundation stone of the Chilime project, and proved to be the champion of opening up the sector for domestic IPPs. The guarantee of a PPA with a fixed tariff, irrespective of project specifications, gave small power developers the confidence to apply for survey licenses and invest in feasibility studies so they could directly approach commercial banks and make a case for their project producing required revenue to repay loans. Domestic IPPs started adding power to the national grid in 2002. Their contribution was initially modest, and first projects were small and commercial lenders who took time to be confident about providing debt financing to a sector which had previously not been considered suitable for private sector investment. While the first 10 years were slow, with less than 10MW being added to the grid each year, this increased twenty fold over the following ten years, resulting in the equivalent of a Baby Arun being added by Nepali IPPs to the grid each year. A total of 84 IPPs added 232MW, 328 MW, 454MW, and 400MW of new generation to the grid in 2021-2024 (graph). There was explosive, exponential growth as domestic developers have surged ahead to account for 76% of the new megawatts added to the grid since 2020, compared to 24% by NEA and its subsidiary companies. The megawatts that IPPs are adding have followed the classic ‘hockey stick curve’ with the ‘breakout point’, signaling the rapid growth phase in 2020. Private producers are expected to accelerate new generation in the coming years with 300 solar and hydropower projects adding 11,000MW. Another 166 hydropower and 96 solar projects are currently in the survey stage, and are in line to add another 11,000MW to the construction pipeline. One major challenge is finding financing required for the projects. Domestic investment will no longer be sufficient to finance this ambitious pipeline of renewable energy projects. Project developers as well as NEA and the Electricity Regulatory Commission will have to leverage their substantial experience accumulated through the construction of over 200 projects to attract regional and international investment and hedge the risks of dollar-denominated PPAs. Following the cancellation of Baby Arun, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/decentralising-power-in-nepal">Nepal developed a highly distributed power sector</a>. The national electricity grid is currently supplied with power from a remarkably decentralised array of hundreds of hydropower and solar photovoltaic projects spread across 43 districts and all seven provinces.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150848_0c3aa66b34bfb08380a624f397bf3ebb4126f4d6b41a26115848b496876f501b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250829150848_0c3aa66b34bfb08380a624f397bf3ebb4126f4d6b41a26115848b496876f501b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1228" height="867" loading="lazy" alt="30 years after Baby Arun"> </figure>  This presents a sharp contrast to the pathway of a few large public sector hydropower projects with a sprinkling of private sector projects that was envisioned as part of NEA’s investment planning when Baby Arun was being considered the front runner for investment. The strategy then was to allow public sector investment in a few large hydropower projects with thermal plants to fill the gap. Knowing what we know now about acceleration of climate change impacts and increased extreme weather events, following this path would have made Nepal’s power sector highly vulnerable. Decentralised generation greatly improves the resilience of Nepal’s power supply as damage to power plants in one part of the country need not affect other areas that have their own generation. Following the investment plan where over two thirds of the country’s power supply would have come from power plants on the Arun River, would have greatly imperiled Nepal’s energy security. All rivers in Nepal are susceptible to flooding from cloudbursts made more frequent by climate change. The Arun River which is fed by glaciers in Tibet is also at risk to glacial lake outburst floods. Bikash Pandey is Director of Clean Energy and Circular Economy at Winrock International. People Power is his regular column in Nepali Times on global energy issues relevant to Nepal. <h2>Decentralised and Diversified</h2> In the 30 years since the cancellation of ‘Baby Arun’: Hydropower projects constructed cover capacities ranging from less than 1MW to 456MW and developed by IPPs from across the country with strong local involvement in purchasing equity shares. Renewable energy sources contributed to the generation mix through solar IPPs that further contribute to climate resilience, and cover shortfalls during low rainfall. The government is committed to solar contributing 10% of the power on the grid. Increasing solar beyond this target and providing incentives to project developers to invest in utility-scale battery storage would further improve resilience. BIG ARUN: The 900MW Arun III project under construction since 2018 at Num in Sankhuwasabha (pictured, below) is a separate initiative by a different project developer using a different financing modality. The ‘Baby Arun’ version of Arun III was cancelled in 1995.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250829150852_df534df5166eb5a9bb4cbe101627bdec7ac1df2a405a9d3988d1c86fcc8ecdeb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250829150852_df534df5166eb5a9bb4cbe101627bdec7ac1df2a405a9d3988d1c86fcc8ecdeb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1312" loading="lazy" alt="30 Years after Baby Arun"> </figure>

30 years after Baby Arun

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2fZXyjsE28" target="_blank">Yog Narendra Malla</a> became king at age 18, and ruled Patan from 1684-1705 — his reign marked by a cultural and architectural renaissance of the city state. He put up a statue of himself in the palace square with a little bronze bird sitting on the guardian serpent above his head. It is said he told his subjects that he would look after their welfare till the day the bird flew off. During<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu"> the 2015 earthquake</a>, the pedestal collapsed and the statue was damaged. The bird was lost, only to be located in a pile of debris and reinstated when the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/piece-by-piece-patan-darbar-square-reconstruction,3782" target="_blank">statue was consecrated</a> two years later. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x2fZXyjsE28?si=jYfIb4p6zCLXYQ1T" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> History remembers Yog Narendra Malla as a wise king, but like most<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/preserving-king-birendra-s-family-home"> royalty of the day</a>, he had a weakness for women. He is supposed to have consorted with 30 queens and numerous concubines. At least 33 of them self-immolated themselves on the king's funeral pyre when he died, adhering to the prevailing <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/review/Jhola,947">practice of sati</a>. When Yog Narendra Malla’s favourite queen found out that he was carrying on with yet another woman, she got the local community of the Kwelachhi neighbourhood to stage a shadow sex play to quite literally expose his unfaithfulness. Actors enacted the explicit exploits of the king and his mistress, a bright butter lamp projecting the moving shadows of their lovemaking on a thin white drape to entertain those gathered in the square below. The queen made sure that the show was designed to face the home of the king’s paramour to shame them both. She also paid for a group to chant a bhajan with lyrics that ridiculed the king’s extramarital affair. The Jhyalcha Guthi community trust that the queen set up three-and-half century ago is still active to this day, and performs the annual shadow play in the same building in Kwelachhi the day before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-legend-behind-the-myth-of-indra-jatra">Indra Jatra </a>every year. This year’s show is on Friday evening, 5 September. The opening lines of the chants that accompany the play are the same words approved by the queen all those years ago: “Raja Yog Narendra ya aparadh…” (King Yog Narendra’s crime…) The community leader of the Kwelachhi neighbourhood, 62-year-old Baburaja Awale, explains the importance of the event: “This Jhyalcha is our<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-the-intangible,3303"> intangible heritage</a> and oral history. We do not have a written format, it has been passed down from generation to generation. Every word of the bhajan is the story of King Yog Narendra Malla.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250904070952_249e85b32cbd99bb8515151557e0ec1a65d44a34ef1aacabaaeb469622d12664.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250904070952_249e85b32cbd99bb8515151557e0ec1a65d44a34ef1aacabaaeb469622d12664" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1167" loading="lazy" alt="Sex and the city of Patan"> <figcaption>The statue of Yog Narendra Malla being reinstated after it toppled in the 2015 earthquake. Photo: GOPEN RAI/ NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption> </figure>  Jhyalcha Pyankha, as the ceremony is called, starts with a puja for the Bhimsen — the god of wealth and prosperity, a popular <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-homecoming-of-nepal-s-gods">deity in Patan</a> who has a temple dedicated just to him in the palace square. This is immediately followed by a bhajan of Bhairab performed with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-house,670">traditional Newa musical instruments</a>. Community members serve snacks consisting of samay baji beaten rice, water buffalo chunks, soybean, green veggies, lentils, ginger, garlic and aila liquor. “In the first act of the shadow play, the man initiates the lovemaking, and in the third it is the woman,” says Laxmi Lal Awale, also a member of the trust that organises the show. The shadow action is all uncensored, but interspersed with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">scenes of everyday life</a>: the woman is spinning a thread, the king is going about his royal chores, and the two sit down to share sanacha fermented pickle that is popular this time of year. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qZ3twuG1wNQ?si=yRfkoC3A-X9cIl8r" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> “Back then, there was no tv, films or YouTube, and yet we managed to stage the shadow play using our own resourcefulness,” says Baburaja Awale. “It is important to continue the tradition.” The challenge now is to ensure that the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-reign-of-the-god-of-rain"> younger generation takes over</a>, learning the lyrics of the ancient bhajan. The dafa khala group that performs all over Patan during festivals and religious events is now training teenagers to play the musical instruments and act in the shadow play. The Jhyalcha was staged even after the 2015 earthquake when the falcha where the bhajan is performed collapsed and they made-do in a tin shed. The structure was later rebuilt with a grant from the group, Photo Circle. Lalitpur Metropolitan City sets aside a budget of Rs50,000 to organise the Jhyalcha Pyankha every year, but this is not enough and is supplemented by individual donations. The performers including musicians and actors are all volunteers, and take part in it because it is their community duty. The erotic shadow play was way ahead of its time, not just in its graphic content but the use of contemporary local technology as well as improvisation and pure imagination. Says Laxmi Lal: “Whatever its origin in the legend of King Yog Narendra Malla and his queen, Jhyalcha also served as a medium of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lets-talk-about-it">sex education</a>. In the past, women were discouraged from watching the shadow play, but today everyone is welcome, we all watch it together.” Jhyalcha Pyankha Kwelachhi, Chyasal, Patan 7PM onwards Friday, 5 September

Sex and the city of Patan

This is the 72nd episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. My father ran a store and that is where I spent all my time till Grade 6. Doing my homework. Serving customers. I then moved to my maternal grandparents’ house because I used to get along with my cousin who was a year older than me. We did everything together, and were best friends. We took turns studying: I was a night owl, and he was an early riser. Before I went to bed after studying all night, I woke him up. My mother was 44 when I was born, the same year my eldest brother got married. My sister-in-law becoming a part of our family was how my mother referenced my age. I liked making money, and was always a hustler. In Grade 7, I learnt to handle a tractor and helped my brother-in-law to plough, earning Rs10 a day. As I got better, he paid me more. By Grade 9, I was already making Rs500 per day, but had to slow down to prepare for my exams. From an early age I knew I did not want a 9-5 job. There just wasn’t enough money in it. I wanted to get into business, and compared my brother who worked in the post office and what businessmen made. It did not help that my brother was honest, and never took bribes. A friend and I made money selling cheap Chinese phones at a premium to our friends. We blasted music on the phones and pretended that we were giving them a discount. After SLC, I started teaching math and other subjects. I was soon a shareholder in the same school and in the evening I was involved in our family’s floriculture business, growing amaranth and marigold for garlands.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250831020844_1b54b999d67122a50c4c7e6204cc737bcc99bf2a68db6499a4566a7f61a880b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250831020844_1b54b999d67122a50c4c7e6204cc737bcc99bf2a68db6499a4566a7f61a880b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="955" height="1314" loading="lazy" alt="Diaspora Diaries 72"> </figure>  It was then that a friend suggested we learn the Korean language. We could be earning significantly higher in Korea for similar efforts. I had no plans to go abroad but he convinced me. I did not know anything about Korea, and was scolded at the language institute when I asked someone to point Korea on the map.&nbsp; It was only there that I learnt you had to pass an exam for the Korean Employment Permit System (EPS), and pay for language classes. After a week, I decided it was not for me and dropped out. But my friend convinced me to give it one more try. I did not prepare much for the exam, and it was no surprise that I failed. But it was just by one mark, and people would pity me for failing “just by one mark”. It was a brand of failure. It hurt my ego. I had to turn things around by taking the exams seriously, and locked myself up to study hard.&nbsp; Even when we had visitors, my wife told them I was not home. If I was not in my room learning Korean, I would be with a group of ten of us test-takers comparing notes and practicing late into the night. The exam was difficult, but this time I passed, the only one in my group who did.&nbsp; As someone who never liked the idea of doing a job, I still had my doubts about going to Korea. It did not help that one of my acquaintances had returned a month after he had left, and he discouraged me from migrating given that I was already making good money in Nepal.&nbsp; But my wife suggested that I give it a shot since I had worked so hard for it. And if it really turned out not to be my cup of tea, I could always return. What did I have to lose, I thought, at least I would get to visit Korea. My job there was in an electrical company that made circuit boards. I worked all day, earned good money. In the evenings, I kept myself busy with my real estate business back in Nepal. I had learnt the tricks of the trade from fellow real estate agents back home, but at the time did not have the capital to invest.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250831020848_941e961e2045058f255ad89884b51faa7d2365c68236e5cbe573d63d769ac6c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250831020848_941e961e2045058f255ad89884b51faa7d2365c68236e5cbe573d63d769ac6c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Diaspora Diaries 72"> </figure>  In Korea, it helped that I had salary records that allowed me to get loans from financial institutions both in Korea and in Nepal. Ultimately, I started earning more from my real estate deals in Nepal than from my job in Korea. This was all thanks to my ability to take loans because of the EPS scheme. My wife has been managing the flower business while I was away. My finances grew stronger over the eight years I was in Korea. I paid off the loans that I had borrowed to buy land. But real estate did not satisfy me entirely. I wondered: what is my brand? What will I be known for? What is my contribution to society? Real estate is for wealth, but that is about it. I needed to sell one piece of land and use the revenue to start a venture. I took classes in business, and returned to Nepal six months ago and got back to my family’s ancestral roots in floriculture. In Nepal too, I am continuing the entrepreneurship training I had started in Korea with the Bridge International. Such exposure helps us reflect on our business such as our branding, vision, and proactive aspects like the importance of strong recordkeeping.&nbsp; I am now working to upgrade and expand my floriculture business. With a friend who is still in Korea I am building a cooling room to increase the shelf-life of flowers and other produce and set up a market in my village where others can sell their produce. Floriculture is our primary business, but it is seasonal and earns good money only during festivals like Tihar.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250831020848_a008ffeba13896e6918f68ff6e687c8fe11140d86a96f1ec11690547f2bcd415.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250831020848_a008ffeba13896e6918f68ff6e687c8fe11140d86a96f1ec11690547f2bcd415" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="720" loading="lazy" alt="Diaspora Diaries 72"> </figure>  So, I grow tomatoes to ensure year-round earnings. I also am engaged in other businesses like real estate and online shopping. I work round the clock in Nepal — a strong work ethic is something I picked up in Korea.&nbsp; My Korean bosses would work alongside us, that motivated us. I work just as hard in Nepal as I did in Korea. People here often ask me why I am pushing myself so hard. But making garlands comes easy to me, it is work my forebears were involved in. My childhood memories are about plucking flowers with my sister. I have a comparative advantage in this work. It comes naturally to me, it is easy and I enjoy it. And sometimes, if there are too many garlands to make, I can multitask while holding meetings. My fingers just fly. I am good at this job, but my wife is even better and faster.&nbsp; When there is too much load, we can also outsource the work. To be known as the flower guy would be great personal branding. The मखमली guy. Or the सयपत्री guy. I decided to come home for just this with a one-way ticket. “अब पासा: जाँदैन ल्हासा!” &nbsp;