<figure><img width="1123" height="768" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06469c7e80680e0a5f53jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: SUBHAS RAI</figcaption></figure>We will finally know in 12 July the fate of the dissolved House, whether or not K P Oli stays on as prime minister, if Sher Bahadur Deuba becomes prime minister for the fifth time in 20 years, or if Nepalis have to vote in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-sets-elections-in-middle-of-pandemic/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-sets-elections-in-middle-of-pandemic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625735264179000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFNesP84u5FYPCAE0JHQ7tGcH5vng">early elections in November.</a>After two weeks of deliberations, on 12 July the Supreme Court’s Constitutional bench is set to decide on writ petitions challenging Prime Minister Oli’s dissolution of the Lower House and President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s rejection of leadership bids by both Deuba and Oli on 21 May. Throughout the submissions by petitioners and government lawyers, depositions by the four members of the amicus curiae, as well as questions from the bench, the debate has boiled down to this: in a multi-party democracy, does the party whip have more legitimacy in a floor test than a non-party individual vote?Can MPs from a ruling party seeking a confidence vote side against it, and even back the candidacy of an opposition leader to replace their own prime minister? There were spirited arguments by lawyers from both sides. The petitioners went beyond censuring Oli to accuse President Bhandari of complicity and failing in her duty to protect the Constitution from Oli’s ambition to cling on to power.Both Oli and his main challenger, former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, have claimed that their actions were constitutional, and it was the other side that is acting against its letter and spirit.The Constitutional Bench itself was formed last month on the basis of seniority by Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana and includes Justices Dipak Kumar Karki, Anand Mohan Bhattarai, Mira Dhungana, Ishwar Prasad Khatiwada. We have no way of guessing which argument the individual justices will favour, but if <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/court-debates-nepal-pm-olis-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/court-debates-nepal-pm-olis-future/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625735264179000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF0IeOBH-TePa8tjGto_qMFeokPBw">some of its recent judgements</a> overturning Prime Minister Oli’s moves one by one are anything to go by, they may also restore the dissolved House on Monday.If you remember, after Prime Minister Oli got president Bhandari to dissolve the House for the second time on 21 May, Deuba of the Nepali Congress, Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the Maoist Centre and dissidents from Oli’s own UML and the JSP gathered 149 signatures to stake a claim to form the new government.Oli got wind of this, and also claimed majority support with all 122 members of his own party and 31 from the JSP, even though rebel factions from both parties had sided with the Deuba-led alliance. President Bhandari <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/2-ex-pms-vie-to-be-nepal-pm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/2-ex-pms-vie-to-be-nepal-pm/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625735264179000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF6K9hFkxrMWBCiMeBy80xmpn1pHg">rejected both claims</a> saying two groups <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/2-ex-pms-vie-to-be-nepal-pm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/2-ex-pms-vie-to-be-nepal-pm/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625735264179000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF6K9hFkxrMWBCiMeBy80xmpn1pHg">cannot claim a majority.</a> This prompted the politicians from the five-party alliance to file a slew of petitions in the Supreme Court on 24 May, not just challenging the dissolution of the house but also asking that Deuba be declared prime minister.The fact that the judiciary has to decide on who should be prime minister, which party has a majority in Parliament, shows just how dysfunctional Nepali politics has become. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/making-up-is-hard-to-do/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/making-up-is-hard-to-do/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625735264179000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEYXsPhx5Xoxk-1WeogNXgzFBU-5Q">Just because two members from the executive arm cannot get along</a>, they have blurred the separation of powers and dragged the judiciary in to pass a verdict on a matter that should have been decided by the people’s elected representatives in the legislature.On Monday, we will know if the House will remain dissolved and Oli will lead an election government till polls on 12 and 19 November, or if the President will once more call for members to show a majority in one month. Which is why some young turks in the UML have been desperately trying to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/tried-tested-and-failed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/tried-tested-and-failed/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625735264179000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEPXE3v8n_CAmyJqoIXutEQ6l1DuQ">prevent the party from splitting</a> because either way it needs to be together to confront the opposition coalition. If the UML unites, no matter what the Supreme Court’s verdict, the opposition alliance will fall apart.A UML working group has been desperately trying to patch up differences between Oli and Nepal, which is mostly an ego-clash, but also involves compromises like Oli backtracking from his induction of 23 Maoist MPs into the UML Central Committee that diluted Nepal’s clout in the party. Nepal wants either the prime minister ship or party chair, which Oli has flatly rejected. The bargaining goes on at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-a-hotbed-of-virus-and-politics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-a-hotbed-of-virus-and-politics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625735264179000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFwzdLgJtcZp-xLj40y47gZymEdHg">great cost to governance</a> at a time when the country faces a pandemic, a disastrous monsoon and an economic crisis. Hopefully, by this time next week the Supreme Court verdict will show us a way out of this rigmarole.

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Parliamentary whiplash

<figure><img width="769" height="476" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd4c9c7e80680e08bc6cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: SOCIAL MEDIA</figcaption></figure>The morning after <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/supreme-court-puts-nepal-politics-back-on-track/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s Supreme Court reinstated the Lower House</a> that had been dissolved by Prime Minister K P Oli two months ago, the mood in Kathmandu is of a calm before another storm.The past two months since the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-outraged-by-pm-oli-move/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">House dissolution on 20 December</a> had been punctuated with daily demonstrations and rallies on the streets by supporters of Oli and his arch rival in the Nepal Communist Party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal.Overnight, the reality has sunk in that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-supreme-court-restores-house/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Supreme Court decision</a>, while bringing derailed politics back on track, has opened up more uncertainties that will keep Nepal unstable into the near future.A lot will hinge on whether Prime Minsiter K P Oli resigns, as his enemies have been demanding, or if he decides to face off a no-confidence vote in Parliament when it reconvenes before 8 March as the Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday.The Dahal faction of the NCP has been jubilant about the victory. However, even if Oli steps down, it will faces a challenge in cobbling together a coalition with smaller parties.The prime minister has not reacted publicly since Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana announced the verdict of the Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court on 24 February, which coincided with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-oligarchy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oli’s 68th birthday</a>. Oli’s advisers have said he is in no mood to step down, and will face a confidence vote in the House.Things will not be easy for Oli. The Dahal faction does not just want him to step down, but for the party to take disciplinary action against him. They also will hold the threat of impeaching President Bidya Devi Bhandari, who is close to Oli, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/president-endorses-parliament-dissolution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">who signed off on the House dissolution</a>. <img width="640" height="305" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd4e9c7e80680e08bc6djpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="306" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd509c7e80680e08bc6ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="361" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd529c7e80680e08bc6fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="317" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd559c7e80680e08bc70jpeg.jpg" alt="">Dahal has decided not to take part in a rally in Chitwan and has returned to Kathmandu for consultations with party colleagues in the NCP parliamentary committee on Wednesday about his next move. He has ruled out working with Oli, and has demanded his immediate resignation.However, he has been coy about his own prime ministerial ambition, telling the media that he would work with other parties on a national consensus. He has in the past said he would be willing to make the NC’s Sher Bahadur Deuba, who has been prime minister four times already, PM again. Dahal is said to have talked to Deuba on the phone on Tuesday.Even though they have accepted the Supreme Court’s verdict, supporters of K P Oli have expressed their dissatisfaction with the ruling. Deputy Prime Minister and staunch Oli loyalist Ishwar Pokhrel said the move would destabilise Nepali politics.“The prime minister was no allowed to work and tried to seek a fresh electoral mandate,” Pokhrel said. “His effort has been thwarted by a verdict in a constitutional garb. We accept it, but do not agree with it.”Meanwhile, another NCP leader, Bam Dev Gautam, who has tried to play both sides in the power struggle in his attempt to become prime minister even though he lost the 2017 election, called for a party secretariat meeting. Gautam has been trying to keep the party intact and carve out a role for himself.The nine-member secretariat is almost equally divided between Oli supporters Ishwar Pokhrel, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, General Secretary Bishnu Poudel, while Dahal has former prime ministers Madhav Kumar Nepal, Jhalnath Khanal, and Narayan Kaji Shrestha on his side. Gautam’s vote in the secretariat would be a tie-breaker.The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Editorial/editorial-alternative-current,3860" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">alternative political party</a> Sajha Bibeksheel welcomed the Supreme Court verdict, calling on Oli to resign from prime ministership and to work towards the formation of a new government without indulging in any more intrigue. It also called on President Bhandari, whom it called “a rubber stamp of the prime minister” to step down. <img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd569c7e80680e08bc71jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd589c7e80680e08bc72jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd599c7e80680e08bc73jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd5a9c7e80680e08bc74jpeg.jpg" alt="">Activist affiliated with the Dahal-Nepal faction of the Nepal Communist Party, stage rallies in Kathmandu on Wednesday, welcoming the Supreme court decision to reinstate the Lower House Photos: AMIT MACHAMASITIMELINE 66 days after the Supreme Court verdict overturning the House dissolution 20, December 2020 Cabinet forwards recommendation for the dissolution of the Lower House to the President. President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolves the Lower House. Seven ministers resign from the Cabinet. Vote of no confidence registered against PM Oli at the Parliamentary Secretariat. 21-22 December 13 writs filed in the Supreme Court against the dissolution move. 23 December Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana calls for writs to be heard in the Constitutional Court. Refuses to announce an interim order on the case. 24 December The Constitutional Bench (Harikrishna Karki, Bishwombar Prasad Shrestha, Anil Sinha and Tej Bahadur KC headed by Chief Justice Rana) presides over the first hearing against the writ. The Prime Minister's office, President's office and the Speaker are directed to furnish written responses by  3 January, 2021. The bench directs the offices to attend hearings and to present a list of the details of the party affiliation of the members of the House of Representatives. The order also calls for deployment of two to three judges from Nepal Bar Association and Supreme Court to an amicus curiae. 3 January, 2021 The offices of the President and the Prime Minister and the Speaker present written responses to the Supreme Court. The President and the Prime Minister insist the move of dissolution was in line with the Constitution. The Speaker terms the dissolution 'unconstitutional' and requests the SC to overrule. 5 January The 13 writs are re-filed with the demand for them to be heard in Full Court and not at the Constitutional Court. Law professionals argue that Judge Harikrishna Karki should not be presiding over the hearing related to the issue, citing his close association with the PM, calling it a conflict of interest. Karki had served as an advocate  during KP Oli's term as Prime Minister in 2016.  Judge Karki steps down from the case's hearing at the Constitutional Court. 6 January The Supreme Court rules for the issue of the dissolution of the Lower House to be moved to a Full Court. Justice Sapna Pradhan Malla replaces Karki on the Bench. Law professionals demand a Full Court hearing. 15 January The SC rules that the debate has raised ‘serious questions on constitutional definition’ and that such a case will be heard at the Constitutional Court. 17 January A month after the dissolution, the main hearing on the cases begin. The writ petitioners demand that the dissolution of the Lower House be quashed. 31 January The hearings are complete. The delay in a verdict from the SC raises questions over SC's independence. Street protests by both factions are a daily occurrence. <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd5b9c7e80680e08bc75jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd5e9c7e80680e08bc76jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd609c7e80680e08bc77jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccd639c7e80680e08bc78jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>1 FebruaryHearings defending the government begin. Defendants say the dissolution of the Lower House was legitimate.11 FebruaryThe lawyers defending the cases on behalf of the  government and the Prime Minister rest their cases. Three lawyers argue the case on behalf of the Speaker. They demand that the dissolution of the Lower House be overruled.14 FebruaryHearings from writ petitioners begin.15 FebruaryResponse to the hearings completed. They argue there is no alternative to reinstatement of the Lower House of Parliament, as the PM's move was unconstitutional.16 FebruaryAmicus Curie hearing begins18 FebruaryThree lawyers from Nepal Bar Association and two from SC Bar Association attend the hearings. Senior advocates Badri Bahadur Karki, Satish Krishna Kharel, Purnaman Shakya and Geeta Pathak forward their argument to the bench saying the dissolution was unconstitutional. Senior advocate Bijaykanta Mainali argues that the constitution has given the Prime Minister the right to dissolve the House.SC orders for the hearing note to be presented on 22 February.23 FeburarySC issues a verdict saying the recommendation and decision to dissolve the Lower House of Parliament was unconstitutional. Demands the House of Representatives be summoned within 13 days.

Calm before another storm in Nepal

<figure><img width="854" height="601" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be9899c7e80680e0878c6jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>After reports appeared in a section of the India media (pictured above) that Prime Minister K P Oli may be making a visit to New Delhi on 4 January, officials in Kathmandu are neither confirming nor denying it.Not rejecting the reports outright may mean that there is some truth in a possible visit in the new year. If it happens, it would coincide with an embattled prime minister fighting for his political life as a rival faction of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-1-party-2-central-committees-system/">intensifying a campaign to unseat him.</a>The report appeared in India’s <a href="https://www.abplive.com/news/india/kp-sharma-oli-will-be-on-india-visit-in-january-1693953?fbclid=IwAR28CJN3ozKgpQSUZTATspQqdvvSVd2BN-y9J8w6JA4YDcyUhTcEw0CjVJA">ABPLive.com</a> which had also reported that Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali’s trip to New Delhi on 17 December was to work on the details of the visit.   What gives some credence to the report is that Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had also visited Kathmandu on 27 November in a fence-mending exercise after a year of strained relations. Many saw Shringla’s trip  as laying the groundwork for an exchange of visits by the prime ministers of the two countries.“We had discussed a high level exchange of visits during Mr Shringla’s trip to Kathmandu, and it is on the priority list, but no decision has been taken yet,” Foreign Minister Gyawali told Nepali Times on Friday. <figure><img width="1151" height="732" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be98c9c7e80680e0878c7jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal led a rally to the Election Commission on Friday to stake their faction's claim to the NCP name and election symbol. Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Even if Oli’s visit does go ahead,  the plans have been overtaken by the fast-paced events of this week, when Prime Minister Oli <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/">dissolved the Lower House and announced dates for new elections</a> in April-May 2021, leading to a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/president-endorses-parliament-dissolution/">virtual split</a> in the NCP. The two factions now have rival claims at the Election Commission as well as a dozen or so writ petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the dissolution. The Speaker of the Lower House, Agni Sapkota, is also said to be preparing to convene the Lower House, even though there is no clear provision for that in the Constitution, just as there was not for the House dissolution by Oli. If Oli does go to Delhi, he will likely to not be in a position to make any major agreements. He will try to use the possible visit more for domestic consumption to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/over-the-edge-again/" style="font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;">shore up his strength</a> to tackle the rival faction. But analysts say this is a double-edged sword because a visit to India will be seen by his critics as an effort to get New Delhi to meddle in an internal NCP squabble. It will also undermine Oli’s nationalist credentials, which he used to gain an overwhelming win for his UML-Maoist alliance in the 2017 elections. The two parties then merged in 2018 to form the NCP, but Oli has had a running feud with his party co-chair former Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who also took away some of Oli’s erstwhile party colleagues like Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalnath Khanal. On Friday, Oli added nine ministers after seven Dahal-loyalist ministers resigned from the Cabinet on Sunday. He has appointed former Maoist Top Bahadur Rayamajhi as Energy Minister to replace Barsha Man Pun, Mani Thapa has replaced Dahal's daughter-in-law Bina Magar as Water Supply Minister.  Two other ministers have been reshuffled. Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal has been given the Tourism portfolio, while Hridesh Tripathi has been transferred to the Health Ministry. The Dahal-Nepal faction and the Oli group have been holding <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-1-party-2-central-committees-system/">separate Central Committee meetings this week.</a> Although Oli has not ousted Dahal from the party, it has restructured the hierarchy and also kept former Maoists like Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa in its fold. The Dahal-Nepal faction, meanwhile has made Nepal the party Chair and the Dahal the head of the Parliamentary Party. This means that for all intents and purposes the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-1-party-2-central-committees-system/">NCP is already behaving like two parties</a>. India has so far not been drawn into this fight, describing it as an “internal matter”, and its diplomats in Kathmandu are keeping a low profile. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-china-now-micro-managing-nepal-politics/">Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi</a>, meanwhile, has been meeting leaders from both factions to once more try to keep the party from splitting, as she has done twice in 2020. <figure><img width="948" height="581" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181152/636be98f9c7e80680e0878c8jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A CCTV image of the full Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court issued a show-cause notice on Friday to Prime Minister Oli's government to justify its dissolution of the Lower House. </figcaption></figure>In a day of high drama on Friday, a rally led by Dahal and Nepal marched to the Election Commission to demonstrate that it had signatures of the required two-third majority in its Central Committee to claim the NCP party name and election symbol. Dahal and Nepal both wore signs on their heads that read हामि याहाँ छौँ (We Are Here) and submitted 297 signatures of Central Committee members. Seven members of PM Oli’s Cabinet who were Dahal-loyalists resigned on 20 December after the prime minister dissolved the Lower House. There are 13 writ petitions at the Supreme Court asking for the House dissolution to be revoked, and the hearings began on Friday in the Constitutional Bench which included Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana, Justices Hari Krishna Karki, Biswambhar Shrestha, Anil K Sinha and Tej Bahadur KC. The Bench issued a ‘show cause’ notice to the Government to explain why it dissolved the Lower House, and to provide all documents relating to it to the Court by 3 January so that it can continue the hearing on 6 January. If the prime minister does make his New Delhi trip, it will be in between those two court dates.

PM Oli to India?

<figure><img width="854" height="601" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0704b0ad905ca02f00fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>After reports appeared in a section of the India media (pictured above) that Prime Minister K P Oli may be making a visit to New Delhi on 4 January, officials in Kathmandu are neither confirming nor denying it.Not rejecting the reports outright may mean that there is some truth in a possible visit in the new year. If it happens, it would coincide with an embattled prime minister fighting for his political life as a rival faction of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-1-party-2-central-committees-system/">intensifying a campaign to unseat him.</a>The report appeared in India’s <a href="https://www.abplive.com/news/india/kp-sharma-oli-will-be-on-india-visit-in-january-1693953?fbclid=IwAR28CJN3ozKgpQSUZTATspQqdvvSVd2BN-y9J8w6JA4YDcyUhTcEw0CjVJA">ABPLive.com</a> which had also reported that Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali’s trip to New Delhi on 17 December was to work on the details of the visit.   What gives some credence to the report is that Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had also visited Kathmandu on 27 November in a fence-mending exercise after a year of strained relations. Many saw Shringla’s trip  as laying the groundwork for an exchange of visits by the prime ministers of the two countries.“We had discussed a high level exchange of visits during Mr Shringla’s trip to Kathmandu, and it is on the priority list, but no decision has been taken yet,” Foreign Minister Gyawali told Nepali Times on Friday. <figure><img width="1151" height="732" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0734b0ad905ca02f010jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal led a rally to the Election Commission on Friday to stake their faction's claim to the NCP name and election symbol. Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Even if Oli’s visit does go ahead,  the plans have been overtaken by the fast-paced events of this week, when Prime Minister Oli <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-had-no-other-option-pm-oli/">dissolved the Lower House and announced dates for new elections</a> in April-May 2021, leading to a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/president-endorses-parliament-dissolution/">virtual split</a> in the NCP. The two factions now have rival claims at the Election Commission as well as a dozen or so writ petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the dissolution. The Speaker of the Lower House, Agni Sapkota, is also said to be preparing to convene the Lower House, even though there is no clear provision for that in the Constitution, just as there was not for the House dissolution by Oli. If Oli does go to Delhi, he will likely to not be in a position to make any major agreements. He will try to use the possible visit more for domestic consumption to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/over-the-edge-again/" style="font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;">shore up his strength</a> to tackle the rival faction. But analysts say this is a double-edged sword because a visit to India will be seen by his critics as an effort to get New Delhi to meddle in an internal NCP squabble. It will also undermine Oli’s nationalist credentials, which he used to gain an overwhelming win for his UML-Maoist alliance in the 2017 elections. The two parties then merged in 2018 to form the NCP, but Oli has had a running feud with his party co-chair former Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who also took away some of Oli’s erstwhile party colleagues like Madhav Kumar Nepal and Jhalnath Khanal. On Friday, Oli added nine ministers after seven Dahal-loyalist ministers resigned from the Cabinet on Sunday. He has appointed former Maoist Top Bahadur Rayamajhi as Energy Minister to replace Barsha Man Pun, Mani Thapa has replaced Dahal's daughter-in-law Bina Magar as Water Supply Minister.  Two other ministers have been reshuffled. Health Minister Bhanubhakta Dhakal has been given the Tourism portfolio, while Hridesh Tripathi has been transferred to the Health Ministry. The Dahal-Nepal faction and the Oli group have been holding <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-1-party-2-central-committees-system/">separate Central Committee meetings this week.</a> Although Oli has not ousted Dahal from the party, it has restructured the hierarchy and also kept former Maoists like Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa in its fold. The Dahal-Nepal faction, meanwhile has made Nepal the party Chair and the Dahal the head of the Parliamentary Party. This means that for all intents and purposes the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-1-party-2-central-committees-system/">NCP is already behaving like two parties</a>. India has so far not been drawn into this fight, describing it as an “internal matter”, and its diplomats in Kathmandu are keeping a low profile. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/is-china-now-micro-managing-nepal-politics/">Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi</a>, meanwhile, has been meeting leaders from both factions to once more try to keep the party from splitting, as she has done twice in 2020. <figure><img width="948" height="581" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0754b0ad905ca02f011jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>A CCTV image of the full Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court issued a show-cause notice on Friday to Prime Minister Oli's government to justify its dissolution of the Lower House. </figcaption></figure>In a day of high drama on Friday, a rally led by Dahal and Nepal marched to the Election Commission to demonstrate that it had signatures of the required two-third majority in its Central Committee to claim the NCP party name and election symbol. Dahal and Nepal both wore signs on their heads that read हामि याहाँ छौँ (We Are Here) and submitted 297 signatures of Central Committee members. Seven members of PM Oli’s Cabinet who were Dahal-loyalists resigned on 20 December after the prime minister dissolved the Lower House. There are 13 writ petitions at the Supreme Court asking for the House dissolution to be revoked, and the hearings began on Friday in the Constitutional Bench which included Chief Justice Cholendra SJB Rana, Justices Hari Krishna Karki, Biswambhar Shrestha, Anil K Sinha and Tej Bahadur KC. The Bench issued a ‘show cause’ notice to the Government to explain why it dissolved the Lower House, and to provide all documents relating to it to the Court by 3 January so that it can continue the hearing on 6 January. If the prime minister does make his New Delhi trip, it will be in between those two court dates.

The monsoon has got bad press because Nepal’s tourism operators actively told visitors to avoid <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/managing-the-monsoon?%2F">the rainy season</a>. It is time to change that. The reason can be found right here in the vast alpine meadows of Central Nepal where this time of year you can walk on velvet grass of pastures abloom with delicate pink, red and yellow flowers as the mist rolls up the valley. There is no sound except the hum of bumble bees. &nbsp;&nbsp; There are dozens of places across high Nepal called Chaurikharka, which means yak pasture. But this particular Chaurikharka in Rukum East located at an altitude of 4,000m stands out for its serene beauty, rustic charm and bucolic setting. There is just the occasional chime of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">yak bells</a> in the distance, and the sharp whistle of herders corralling sheep. &nbsp;&nbsp; The grass shoots are so fragile that one hesitates to step on them, the rounded ridges appear and quickly vanish in waves of mist. With the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon"> arrival of monsoon</a>, these meadows are a soothing shade of green dotted with millions of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-anatomy-of-a-flower?%2F=">multi-coloured flowers</a>. Until very recently, it took a week or so to hike up to places like Chaurikharka, but with the expansion of the road network even to these far-flung mountains in the lap of Dhaulagiri, they are much more accessible. It is just a three-hour uphill from the Mid-Hill Highway on the border between Baglung and Rukum East.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Purists would say that such easy access devalues the sanctity of these remote high meadows, but it also means more people will be moved to treasure the experience, appreciate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">the value of nature </a>so they can take steps to protect it.&nbsp; To be sure, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/deadly-monsoon-in-nepal-turns-deadlier">monsoon season can be challenging for road travel</a>. The roads are rough even at the best of times, and in the monsoon they become muddy and treacherous, often blocked by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/monsoon-deluge-in-nepal"> landslides</a>. But that could be precisely the kind of adventure that the more intrepid visitors crave. Improved road connectivity has already made Chaurikharka and places like Badimallika &nbsp;and other sacred lakes in the mountains of western Nepal popular with domestic tourists. What is driving this traffic is the urge to go to exotic new places and share videos and selfies on social media. Several of Nepal’s travel vloggers have visited Chaurikharka and popularised the place, enticing followers on TikTok or YouTube to retrace their footsteps. But even as they become more popular, these fragile and once-remote places should be protected from over-tourism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446" data-rendition-name="original" width="1083" height="699" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon NT"> </figure>  <h2>INCREASING FOOTFALL</h2> Chaurikharka is located in Bhume Rural Municipality of East Rukum, near the scenic valley of Dhorpatan in Baglung district. Even in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/monsoon-culture">middle of the monsoon</a>, there is a steady stream of Nepali hikers trooping to these high pastures – especially during festival days like Saune Sankranti which this year was on 17 July and actually marks the auspicious beginning of the monsoon here. “This year the rains have not been as heavy and there have been some clear mornings when we could see everything from Dhaulagiri to Machapuchre,” says Khageswar Bhandari, who trekked up here from the road. “The flowers, the greenery and the snowy mountain views make this an incredibly unique place.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1152" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Chaurikharka is worthwhile to get to in any season, but it has a different charm during the monsoon. Word has spread and because it is now easy to get to from Baglung or even Pokhara, people have been flocking here.&nbsp; “Holidays and Saturdays see the largest crowds, with up to 500 visitors every day,” says ward chair Mankaji Pun of Bhume.&nbsp; There was a time not too long ago when local herders brought sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes, horses, and mules to graze here during the monsoon. Although there are still livestock around, animals have been replaced by visitors taking selfies. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-monsoon-and-nature-s-arithmetic">The monsoon, and nature’s arithmetic</a>, Tom Robertson Ward Chair Pun says infrastructure development is his main priority. A foot trail to Chaurikharka was built last year by the Tourism Division Office in Kohalpur, but access via the Raniwas-Koipa road section still remains challenging.&nbsp; “If we get more budget, we can improve the road and facilities to make Chaurikharka the main tourist attraction of this region,” says Bhume Municipality Chair Hom Prakash Shrestha. “After that, we hope to promote Chaurikharka as a top tourist spot.”&nbsp; Economic activity is also picking up with the arrival of visitors, but there seems to be a need to manage the makeshift sheds made of corrugated sheets that spoil the beauty of the place. Tea shops and lodges are also available but facilities are basic. Kuldeep Neupane took a three-day trip from Ghorahi in Dang to visit Chaurikharka recently, and says: “This is an ideal trip to make a quick getaway and let nature recharge your mind and body. And it is much more fun with a tent, to watch the sunrise over the Himalaya or the mist blowing in.”

Visit Nepal in the monsoon

The final investigation report on the crash of a Saurya Airlines jet on 24 July 2024 at Kathmandu airport has revealed flaws in the carrier’s technical operation procedures, poor monitoring by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and gaps in the airport’s emergency response. Eighteen people including a child were killed, and only the captain survived as the plane plunged seconds after takeoff, crashing within the airport perimeter. This was the latest in a series of aircraft accidents in previous years, and further tarnished Nepal’s already poor aviation safety record and contributed to the country being retained in the EU’s air safety list. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The circumstances in the Saurya crash were different from the Yeti Airlines crash in Pokhara in January 2022 that killed all 72 on board, and two Tara Air crashes in February 2016 and May 2022 on approach to Jomsom that together claimed 45 lives. However, all four tragedies were a result of negligence of carriers and crew, failure to follow procedures, regulatory slackness, and overconfidence. The Saurya crash, especially, was a glaring example of how an ailing airline broke its own rules to allow passengers, including non-employees, a joy ride to Pokhara on a maintenance ferry flight. CRASH REPORT The Final Investigation Report prepared by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission and released on the first anniversary of the crash last week carried a long list of rules that were ignored or broken, and of regulatory failure. The first mistake was to cram spares, tools and inflammable chemicals needed for the aircraft’s C-Check in Pokhara into the cargo hold flouting its own ground handling procedures.&nbsp; There was no check-in of passengers, some of whom were not even employees – even though regulations say only flight and maintenance crew should be on board a maintenance positioning flight. Many brought their own luggage into the plane and stored it unsecured in the cabin. There was no flight attendant to give a safety briefing to passengers. The load and trim charts given to the flight crew were rough estimates, and the total takeoff weight of the plane was 18,300kg plus or minus 200 kg. That would still have been all right, but there was a glaring mistake in the speedchart Saurya pilots were using to calculate the minimum takeoff speed (known as VR), and it had been wrong ever since the 21-year-old aircraft entered service with the airline in 2017. FAULTY DATA&nbsp; The Commission probed Flight Data Recorder inputs from previous takeoffs of the Canadian-built CRJ200-LR in 2023-2024 and found that the undetected error in the speedchart had caused the plane to pitch up at an abnormal rotation rate at least 18 times on previous takeoffs.&nbsp; Any rotation rate more than 3°/sec is regarded as unusual. But on at least two occasions, this aircraft with tail number 9N-AME had rotation rates of 5.8°/sec and 5.5°/sec, the second one was when the pilot who survived was flying in March 2024.&nbsp; On this particular day, the plane’s rotation rate was 6.5°/sec, causing it to go into a deep stall soon after takeoff, the Commission report said. Essentially, the plane was not flying fast enough down the runway to take off safely.&nbsp; It is not yet clear whether excess weight, unsecured luggage, wrong centre of gravity were also factors, but relying on a faulty speedchart for the given takeoff weight, the captain flying pulled back on the yoke before the plane had reached takeoff speed and at a pitch angle that was too steep. The investigation report says the plane then went into a deep stall and started banking right with the stick shaking. At this point, the flight officer on the right hand seat is heard on the cockpit voice recorder saying: “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sir, Sir, Sir…” It then banked left before the pilot flying turned the plane sharply to the right again in an evasive action to avoid the parking aprons of the international and domestic terminals. Had he not done so, there would have been a disaster of a much greater magnitude at Kathmandu airport that day. The plane scraped the runway with its right wingtip, collided with a container having helicopter spare parts, and plunged into a gully east of the runway, exploding in a fireball. The investigation also noted that the impact forces seemed to be survivable for some occupants. The fire trucks took unnecessarily long to reach the site even though it was inside the airport perimeter. The absence of an ICAO-standard runway strip, inadequate rescue drills, lack of training, and a blocked emergency service gate leading to the crash site were cited as other factors. &nbsp;&nbsp; <h2>Timestamp of a Disaster</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725" data-rendition-name="original" width="778" height="826" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:10:34 - The Saurya Airlines CRJ200 on the takeoff roll from runway 02. It had a takeoff weight of about 18,300kg, but the pilot’s speedcard had a previously undetected mistake about the minimum takeoff speed. 11:10:55 -The plane with tail number 9N-AME goes into deep stall soon after takeoff because it does not have enough speed to lift its weight. The plane also has an abnormally steep nose-up attitude.&nbsp; 11:11:03 - Without enough speed to generate lift, the plane banks right, then left and right again in CCTV photos taken from the domestic apron (below). If it had not banked right, it could have hit the aprons and terminal buildings. Seen parked is Saurya’s other CRJ200 with tail number 9N-ANM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd" data-rendition-name="original" width="770" height="555" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:11:08 - The plane scrapes the runway with its right wingtip, and falls into the gully. The captain is thrown off the left side of the cockpit and survives. 11:11:15: Plane explodes in a fireball inside the airport perimeter. Firefighters take time to reach the site because of lack of access road and a blocked gate. Read the full investigation report <a href="https://www.tourism.gov.np/files/9N-AME%20AIC%20Final%20Report.pdf">here</a>.

Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy

Every year, up to 15 people are killed by tigers in and around Nepal’s Chitwan National Park, famous for its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal">conservation success story</a>.&nbsp; But this was not always the case — elders say there used to be many more tigers but fewer deaths. What changed? Long before <a href="https://chitwannationalpark.gov.np/index.php">Chitwan National Park</a> was established in 1972, the indigenous Tharu people and tigers coexisted, fostering a centuries-old relationship based on an understanding of each other’s behaviour. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">the Tarai </a>plains, especially Chitwan, gained fame for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">tiger hunting</a> and proved useful as Nepal’s rulers employed hunting diplomacy by inviting British royals to extravagant hunting parties. Hunting expeditions would descend from Kathmandu in winter months to avoid malarial summers. The Tharu supplied rice, vegetables, goats, and constructed access roads.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250729160752_c9998ffdaa27ff3c251556bd472945bf6e648fdb4016d3b152cbef86f321c7f7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250729160752_c9998ffdaa27ff3c251556bd472945bf6e648fdb4016d3b152cbef86f321c7f7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1146" loading="lazy" alt="Tharu people"> <figcaption>A US-supported DDT spraying campaign against malaria in Chitwan in the 1950s that opened the valley to trans-migration of farmers from the hills. The Tharu people were partially immune to malaria. Photo: USOM RECORDS, US NATIONAL ARCHIVES, COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND</figcaption> </figure>  Rana rulers also relied upon Tharu mahout expertise in handling elephants, navigating the jungle, and tracking wildlife for hunting. The Ranas and their guests killed an astonishing number of tigers. During a hunting expedition in 1850, Rana Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana personally shot dead 31 tigers. In 1876, during two weeks, British King Albert Edward VII shot 23 tigers.&nbsp; In 1911 King George V killed four bears, eight one-horned rhinoceroses, and 39 tigers. Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher is said to have killed 433 tigers from all across the Tarai between 1930 to 1940. At the time, 90% of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/chitwan-s-bote-people-in-a-changing-world">Chitwan’s population </a>were indigenous Tharu, Bote, Musahar, with the Kumal making up the rest. While people were worried about their crops and food sources, they were also mindful of tigers, rhinos, and other forms of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/human-animal-interface-in-nepal-wildlife-corridor?%2F">wildlife</a>.&nbsp; The Tharu trapped tiger prey such as wild boar and deer for their survival, also understood that predators like tigers sometimes hunted their buffalos, goats, and cows — especially when they grazed in or near the jungle. To Tharu, this seemed only fair. “In 1973, just before the establishment of the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/on-the-tri-junction-of-wildlife-conservation-conflict-and-co-existence"> Chitwan National Park</a>, my family owned between 200 and 300 cows, oxen, and buffaloes,” says Keval Chaudhary, 95. “Tigers killed four to five of my cattle each year, but we never hated tigers and never felt like killing them. It was coexistence — we shared the same land.”&nbsp; Shukhlal Chaudhary of Bachauli once told us there used to be significantly more tigers before malaria eradication in the 1950s, but that did not mean there was more conflict with humans. “We used to go into the forest every day, and were familiar with the routines of the animals that lived there,” he used to say. “The tigers rarely ventured into our village or killed anyone who lived there.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250729160756_e39f7bdb451f752b753b1d8fc4e590196afd5cd21e2456443557c2eafb6c5c82.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250729160756_e39f7bdb451f752b753b1d8fc4e590196afd5cd21e2456443557c2eafb6c5c82" data-rendition-name="original" width="1915" height="1443" loading="lazy" alt="Tigers in Nepal"> </figure>  In the days before the National Park, the tiger population in Chitwan was probably bigger. The Ranas had laws against hurting rhinos and tigers, but more importantly, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/unsung-heroes-of-nepal-s-tiger-recovery">the Tharu also cared for the animals </a>and the jungle. This respect for nature runs deep in our tradition. The Tharu worship through the Gurau spiritual healer and honour the forest deity known as Bandevi. Says Aasha Ram Mahato, an 85-year-old resident of Madi: “हमरा पुजा करइ खुनिय जम्मा देवी देउता जससनेकी सोमेसोरबाणि, कल्की माइ, बिक्रम बाबा सब थारु देवी देउता क नाउ लेके हमरा सन्सारी बर्ना कर्साहु इय जेठवा नत एसार्ह महिनावमा हमरा इअ बाली बिर्ही बचावके, बनवका चिजुवा बिजुवा बचावके कहके हमरा बरसमा ३ चोटी पुजा कर्साहु एसार्ही बर्ना, लेरुवा पैठ हसे चैत पैठ बर्ना।” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/5-myths-about-the-tharu">The Tharu </a>take the names of all the gods they worship — such as Somesor Baani, Kalki Maai, and Bikram Baba, and perform Sansaari Puja, a traditional ritual to protect crops, wild and domestic animals, insects, and everything in nature. This ritual reflects the community’s deep respect and spiritual bond with the natural world and is performed three times a year. Bikram Mahato, 65, recalls an incident six years ago when 10 people entered Chitwan National Park to cut fodder grass. A tiger was 50m away, silently watching them and preparing to attack. The group quickly decided not to run or scatter. Instead, they stayed close together.&nbsp; This smart and immediate decision prevented a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/close-encounters-with-tigers-in-nepal">tiger attack</a>. It also depicts the Tharu indigenous community’s understanding of nature and wildlife, as well as their choice of coexistence and protection. The Nepal government and foreign aid organisations have mostly forgotten the history of Tharu–tiger coexistence and the community’s silent but c<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/conservation-at-the-crossroads">rucial role in tiger conservation</a>. Nevertheless, let us hope that the state will eventually acknowledge and pay tribute to the contributions of the Indigenous Tharu in protecting the forests and wildlife, especially the tigers, that currently make up Chitwan National Park. Birendra Mahato is an elected member of the Ratnanagar Municipality Ward 6 and Founder Chair of the Tharu Culture Museum Research Centre in Sauraha.

Nepal’s Tharu are tiger protectors

American artist Peter Makela was in Nepal in 2022 on a Fulbright scholarship when he experienced the Matya festival in Patan in which devotees made the rounds of the city’s shrines.&nbsp;
He joined the procession, walking through 2,600 stupa and 140 bahal of the town. That immersion left a lasting impression.
As part of Gallery Mcube’s international residency program in Patan, he put his inspiration to canvas in the exhibition Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping. The exhibition also coincides with this month’s Matya festival.&nbsp;
Makela has visited Nepal often in the past 11 years but he mostly stayed in and spent his time around Boudha. “This time I stayed in Patan, put the sites I wanted to visit on my map, and off I went,” he tells us. “Each of my artwork is inspired by the stupas and shrines in Patan that I visited.”
The stupa and Ganesh are recurring motifs in his watercolours, and the elephant gods are located in chaityas — reflecting the interplay and blending of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths in Kathmandu Valley.&nbsp;
The stupas and Ganesh are painted in vivid red, yellow, blue and green against abstract backgrounds meant to represent the sky.
“I use the sky as a backdrop because the sky has no border,” says Makela. “The four colours represent the four elements, the different Buddha families and also lights bouncing off of a rainbow.”
The use of just four colours for all the artwork stands out, and combined with the absence of heavy canvases, frames or stands render Makela’s art striking in its simplicity.&nbsp;
The Ganesh is always holding something and the art also portrays the elephant god’s sacred vehicle, the mouse.
While his vibrant stupas and Ganesh reflect the tangibility of Patan’s tradition and heritage, it is as if the backdrops with their shades of grey and red and yellow capture the soul of the city’s shrines.
“If you look closely, there is a sense of form and formlessness at the same time,” he says.&nbsp;
Makela walked 108 kora around the shrines during his exploration of the town, and in the process developed a spiritual connection with Patan’s heritage and traditions.&nbsp;
The exhibition connects with visitors on a deeper, more spiritual, level as well. And with it, they feel a sense of pride as well as the need to urgently preserve Patan’s heritage for future generations.
“Peter’s inclination and approach towards Nepali art and culture is fascinating, and it reflects in his work,” says Mcube curator Manish Lal Shrestha, whose international artist residency program promotes Nepal’s cultural heritage. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping
1-5 August&nbsp;
10AM-7PM
Gallery Mcube, Patan

lower-house-dissolution

Parliamentary whiplash

Calm before another storm in Nepal

PM Oli to India?

PM Oli to India?

Visit Nepal in the monsoon

Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy

Nepal’s Tharu are tiger protectors

Walking, working, worshipping in Patan