Tired of working a desk job that left her physically and mentally drained, Dutch citizen Hana(pictured, below) planned a trekking trip to Nepal in 2021. As soon as she reached Pokhara, all her tiredness seemed to slip away, and she felt as though her life had changed.&nbsp; “I was drawn to Pokhara’s mountains, the nature, and the climate,” says Hana who was in Nepal to do the Annapurna trek. “But once here, I discovered the healing benefits of yoga and meditation.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-comes-alive-at-night">Pokhara comes alive at night</a> Hana is back in Pokhara for the third time in three years, and spends time in daily meditation and yoga. She says, “Pokhara is so peaceful and beautiful, it is the perfect yoga destination.”&nbsp; Like Hana, there are thousands of ‘meditation tourists’ visiting Pokhara during what used to be the monsoon off-season for visitors. Many yoga retreats have sprung up in and around this scenic city, and instructors advertise private meditation classes in hotels.&nbsp; One instructor is Maheswar Man Shrestha (pictured, below), who grew up as a sickly child in Kathmandu and was often hospitalised, missing school for months at a time. When modern medicine did not work, his father, himself a doctor, sought ayurvedic treatment and combined it with yoga and meditation. Shrestha soon got miraculously better. &nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/practicing-mindfulness-in-schools"> Practicing mindfulness in schools</a>, Basu Gautam Now in his fifties, Shrestha is a true believer in the power of yogic healing. “I went from medication to meditation, I am living proof that yoga ensures physical and mental wellbeing,” says Shrestha who teaches yoga to overseas tourists at his Purna Yoga Retreat.&nbsp; Being both<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-other-abc-trek"> the start and end point for treks</a> makes Pokhara perfect for tourists to combine physically taxing Himalayan hikes with a soothing recovery. But even outside the trekking season, its lush monsoon greenery, the lakes and cloudscape make Pokhara the ideal place to decompress from the material world. “Pokhara’s proximity to nature and relatively clean environment makes it great for tourists to come here to learn yoga,” Shrestha says. Indeed, Nepal’s travel industry has lately discovered that blending <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/getting-up-close-and-personal-with-the-mountains">mountains</a> and meditation is a popular combination. After all, the Buddha was born in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/lumbini-is-not-a-buddhist-disneyland">Lumbini</a>, a seven hour drive to the south of Pokhara, and for many a trek in Nepal is already also a pilgrimage. Rishi Raj Lamsal (pictured, below) worked for a travel agency outfitting and guiding trekking groups. Once, on a hike to Poon Hill, his clients gasped at the panorama of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna at sunrise, and they promptly took out yoga mats and started doing asana and pranayam.&nbsp; It was there and then that Lamsal (pictured) realised that tourism had a spiritual aspect that Nepal’s travel industry had largely ignored. As soon as he returned to Kathmandu, he started designing meditatiton tourism packages. Lamsal also learnt yoga and has been an instructor based in Pokhara for many years, teaching not just foreign visitors but also Nepalis from all over the country.&nbsp; “I have been to 42 districts, but there is no place like Pokhara, its geography is ideal to mixing tourism with spiritualism. It is natural beauty that draws people initially, but once here they also find inner peace,” Lamsal says.&nbsp; Deepa Basnet initially took up yoga to reduce weight, but is now pursuing a degree in yoga and is also an instructor on the side. “I wanted to increase my knowledge of yoga beyond the basic asana to ayurveda,” she explains.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/yoga-unites-the-world">Yoga unites the world</a>, Yugeshwor Koirala Pokhara’s fame as a yoga city has been boosted by the Indian Embassy holding the International Day of Yoga on 21 June every year in partnership with local organisations. The city’s strategic location between sacred Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites of Muktinath and Lumbini also help. Ekraj Rokaya was working in Australia, and while there he began to ruminate on impermanence, suffering and human existence. He returned to Nepal a changed person, and began to practice and teach yoga and meditation, changing his name to Raj Karmayogi (pictured, below).&nbsp; Seeing the benefits of meditation, he wanted to share its value with others and set up a yoga school in Pokhara six years ago. “Pokhara is a yoga city just like Rishikesh in India, it can be associated internationally with yoga,” he believes.&nbsp; Indeed, with better road connectivity yoga centres are no longer concentrated in Pokhara city, but have been established in the surrounding mountains which command a stunning panorama of the Annapurnas. &nbsp;&nbsp; Pokhara was the venue for the International Yoga Festival in March last year with 50 overseas participants, and a four-day repeat of the festival is planned for October in which renowned instructors will be taking part.&nbsp; While individuals and instructors are promoting Pokhara on their own, they lament the lack of interest on the part of the government and the Nepal Tourism Board in marketing the city as a yoga hub internationally.&nbsp; “There is zero interest from the government to promote yoga tourism,” states Manohar Shrestha, of Purna Yoga Retreat Centre which takes tourists on hikes in the nearby mountains with yoga and meditation sessions in the mornings and evenings.&nbsp; Since India has branded the International Day of Yoga, Shrestha and Lamsal suggest Pokhara could be promoted as an International Meditation City, and the Nepal government could set aside an annual commemorative day for it, which the provincial and municipal government can then peg events on. “Nepal and the Himalaya are where the Buddha and numerous Hindu sages meditated, these mountains are the spiritual home of both religions. There is no better place to honour them by rediscovering yoga,”says Lamsal.&nbsp; But like all other sectors in Nepal, there is a lack of regulation, and fly-by-night yoga retreat operators are giving the city a bad reputation. It is not only Nepalis involved, foreign trainers also bring clients and take private classes without paying taxes, local retreat owners say. Only certified instructors should be allowed to train and proper protocols should be in place for yoga tourism, they add.&nbsp; Krishna Prasad Bhandari of the Pokhara Tourism Council adds: “Yoga and meditation must be developed such that it becomes synonymous with Pokhara, but we should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs in the process.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Tired of working a desk job that left her physically and mentally drained, Dutch citizen Hana planned a trekking trip to Nepal in 2021. As soon as she reached Pokhara, all her tiredness seemed to slip away, and she felt as though her life had changed.&nbsp; “I was drawn to Pokhara’s mountains, the nature, and the climate,” says Hana (pictured, below) who was in Nepal to do the Annapurna trek. “But once here, I discovered the healing benefits of yoga and meditation.” Hana is back in Pokhara for the third time in three years, and spends time in daily meditation and yoga. She says, “Pokhara is so peaceful and beautiful, it is the perfect yoga destination.”&nbsp; Like Hana, there are thousands of ‘meditation tourists’ visiting Pokhara during what used to be the monsoon off-season for visitors. Many yoga retreats have sprung up in and around this scenic city, and instructors advertise private meditation classes in hotels.&nbsp; One instructor is Maheswar Man Shrestha, who grew up as a sickly child in Kathmandu and was often hospitalised, missing school for months at a time. When modern medicine did not work, his father, himself a doctor, sought ayurvedic treatment and combined it with yoga and meditation. Shrestha soon got miraculously better. &nbsp; Now in his fifties, Shrestha is a true believer in the power of yogic healing. “I went from medication to meditation, I am living proof that yoga ensures physical and mental wellbeing,” says Shrestha (pictured, below) who teaches yoga to overseas tourists at his Purna Yoga Retreat.&nbsp; Being both the start and end point for treks makes Pokhara perfect for tourists to combine physically taxing Himalayan hikes with a soothing recovery. But even outside the trekking season, its lush monsoon greenery, the lakes and cloudscape make Pokhara the ideal place to decompress from the material world. “Pokhara’s proximity to nature and relatively clean environment makes it great for tourists to come here to learn yoga,” Shrestha says. Indeed, Nepal’s travel industry has lately discovered that blending mountains and meditation is a popular combination. After all, the Buddha was born in Lumbini, a seven hour drive to the south of Pokhara, and for many a trek in Nepal is already also a pilgrimage. Rishi Raj Lamsal worked for a travel agency outfitting and guiding trekking groups. Once, on a hike to Poon Hill, his clients gasped at the panorama of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna at sunrise, and they promptly took out yoga mats and started doing asana and pranayam.&nbsp; It was there and then that Lamsal (pictured) realised that tourism had a spiritual aspect that Nepal’s travel industry had largely ignored. As soon as he returned to Kathmandu, he started designing meditatiton tourism packages. Lamsal also learnt yoga and has been an instructor based in Pokhara for many years, teaching not just foreign visitors but also Nepalis from all over the country.&nbsp; “I have been to 42 districts, but there is no place like Pokhara, its geography is ideal to mixing tourism with spiritualism. It is natural beauty that draws people initially, but once here they also find inner peace,” Lamsal says.&nbsp; Deepa Basnet initially took up yoga to reduce weight, but is now pursuing a degree in yoga and is also an instructor on the side. “I wanted to increase my knowledge of yoga beyond the basic asana to ayurveda,” she explains.&nbsp; Pokhara’s fame as a yoga city has been boosted by the Indian Embassy holding the International Day of Yoga on 21 June every year in partnership with local organisations. The city’s strategic location between sacred Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites of Muktinath and Lumbini also help. Ekraj Rokaya used to be a migrant worker in the Gulf, and while there he began to ruminate on impermanence, suffering and human existence. He returned to Nepal a changed person, and began to practice and teach yoga and meditation, changing his name to Raj Karmayogi.&nbsp; Seeing the benefits of meditation, he wanted to share its value with others and set up a yoga school in Pokhara six years ago. “Pokhara is a yoga city just like Rishikesh in India, it can be associated internationally with yoga,” he believes.&nbsp; Indeed, with better road connectivity yoga centres are no longer concentrated in Pokhara city, but have been established in the surrounding mountains which command a stunning panorama of the Annapurnas. &nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120824_c38be59a8ca83ce85c0d1277e248c25855a188474b1c3a4bb4e0642a0901413b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240817120824_c38be59a8ca83ce85c0d1277e248c25855a188474b1c3a4bb4e0642a0901413b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga and tourism in Pokhara NT 5"> </figure>  Pokhara was the venue for the International Yoga Festival in March last year with 50 overseas participants, and a four-day repeat of the festival is planned for October in which renowned instructors will be taking part.&nbsp; While individuals and instructors are promoting Pokhara on their own, they lament the lack of interest on the part of the government and the Nepal Tourism Board in marketing the city as a yoga hub internationally.&nbsp; “There is zero interest from the government to promote yoga tourism,” states Manohar Shrestha (pictured, below), of Purna Yoga Retreat Centre which takes tourists on hikes in the nearby mountains with yoga and meditation sessions in the mornings and evenings.&nbsp; Since India has branded the International Day of Yoga, Shrestha and Lamsal suggest Pokhara could be promoted as an International Meditation City, and the Nepal government could set aside an annual commemorative day for it, which the provincial and municipal government can then peg events on. “Nepal and the Himalaya are where the Buddha and numerous Hindu sages meditated, these mountains are the spiritual home of both religions. There is no better place to honour them by rediscovering yoga,”says Lamsal.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-season-in-the-nepal-himalaya">Peak season in the Nepal Himalaya</a>, Vishad Raj Onta But like all other sectors in Nepal, there is a lack of regulation, and fly-by-night yoga retreat operators are giving the city a bad reputation. It is not only Nepalis involved, foreign trainers also bring clients and take private classes without paying taxes, local retreat owners say. Only certified instructors should be allowed to train and proper protocols should be in place for yoga tourism, they add.&nbsp; Krishna Prasad Bhandari of the Pokhara Tourism Council adds: “Yoga and meditation must be developed such that it becomes synonymous with Pokhara, but we should not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs in the process.”&nbsp; <h2>Spiritual scams</h2> Katherine is an American yoga teacher and practitioner who signed up for a 300-hour training course at a yoga centre in Pokhara. It was a two-month course specifically tailored for trainers and instructors, and Katherine paid $2,800 after arriving in Nepal.&nbsp; She was deeply disappointed. Nothing was what was promised on the website, and she filed a complaint with the Nepal Tourism Board.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120816_63135505a5c57153a6b647ee24bed17cf3e28f52b59b267f8a70f6b6a24316c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20240817120816_63135505a5c57153a6b647ee24bed17cf3e28f52b59b267f8a70f6b6a24316c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="5184" height="3888" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga NT 2"> </figure>  “The trainer was not qualified and the training lacked &nbsp;international standard. I feel cheated,” said Katherine (name changed). “I &nbsp;wasted the flight cost and course fee, it all went down the drain.” As Pokhara gains popularity as a destination for yoga tourism, there are also reports of others like Katherine being scammed.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-malaysia-nepal-migrant-scam-nexus">The Malaysia-Nepal migrant scam nexus</a>, Ramu Sapkota and S Vinothaa Spiritual ‘wellness’ centres have sprouted like mushroom along Pokhara’s Lakeside. Some promise 200-hour teacher training, others have 300 hours sessions and some are 21 days long. The lack of regulation and strict enforcement of guidelines for instructors and certification of ashrams is the main reason for the increase in fraud in the business.&nbsp; “Some individuals and organisations offer training and classes without understanding the depth and importance of yoga and meditation,” says instructor Maheswar Man Shrestha. “There are instructors in hotels who are responding to demand but lack &nbsp;knowledge and training to teach others.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120820_581167e11418f3f29220d98cee5fc4e2c975544a4c44377f6822cd06c4cc0b40.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240817120820_581167e11418f3f29220d98cee5fc4e2c975544a4c44377f6822cd06c4cc0b40" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="810" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga NT 3"> </figure>  It should be up to the Nepal Tourism Board and Gandaki Province Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment to prevent Pokhara from getting a bad name for cheating foreign yoga students. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/embossed-plate-company-involved-in-scam">Embossed plate company involved in scam</a>, Ramesh Kumar Pokhara Mayor Dhana Raj Acharya admits there are some unscrupulous establishments, and says his municipality is coordinating with the Gandaki Province government to crackdown. He adds, “The reason is that the spiritual wellness sector is relatively new and we have not been able to play catchup with regulatory mechanisms.”&nbsp; &nbsp;Nepal Tourism Board’s Nabin Pokharel says he understands the need to standardise yoga and meditation centres with some regulatory guidelines. He admits: “If we don’t do something about it, it can give a negative impression of Pokhara.” If Katherine’s experience is any indication, that is already happening.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240817120820_fa6a5c3ac5b22b18e17221e187c696a38ffab83fcf3cd11381bfd508a07a26d6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20240817120820_fa6a5c3ac5b22b18e17221e187c696a38ffab83fcf3cd11381bfd508a07a26d6" data-rendition-name="original" width="785" height="889" loading="lazy" alt="Medication to Meditation yoga and tourism in Pokhara NT 4"> </figure>

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Medication to Meditation in the Mountains

While <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepalis-are-drifting-to-digital-media">digital gadgets</a> like smartphones have saved people a lot of time, provided people with new opportunities to learn, and improved access to information, it has also stretched their attention in multiple directions. The ever-growing digital dependency is disconnecting them from real-world human connection.
The constant influx of emails, notifications, social media updates can be overwhelming and cause stress and mental fatigue. Mindfulness practices such as meditation have become <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/life-times/In-the-Mountain,181">necessary coping mechanisms</a> to navigate the fast-paced, information-saturated world.
With the increasing availability of digital devices children are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-is-becoming-a-nation-of-net-addicts">spending more time online</a> which may interfere with their learning and concentration in the classroom, as well as decrease focus and attention span. Excessive screen time has also been proven to be harmful to children's cognitive development, including attention, memory, and academic achievement. It can also cause behavioral difficulties, including impulsivity, hyperactivity, and inattention.
In this day and age of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mobile-nepal-is-hooked-on-youtube">digital distraction</a>, it is important to introduce meditation in classrooms, as it can help students develop skills in mindfulness, focus, and emotional regulation, which are critical for learning and overall well-being.&nbsp;
Meditation can also promote empathy and compassion among students, which can help to build a more positive and supportive <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/teaching-nepali-teachers-to-teach-better">classroom culture</a>. By learning to be more present and aware of their thoughts and feelings, students can develop a greater understanding of the perspectives of others and be more empathetic toward their peers. Meditation can also help them develop better concentration, focus, and problem-solving skills, which can lead to better academic performance.
Those who practice meditation on a daily basis can enhance their attention and emotional regulation abilities, allowing them to handle stress more effectively and improve their general well-being.
Digital overuse also has potentially negative effects on children's creativity and imagination. Excessive screen time and over-reliance on digital devices can lead to a lack of imaginative play and limit opportunities for children to focus and engage in deep, creative thinking. This can lead to a reduction in the quality and originality of their ideas and a decreased ability to generate new, innovative solutions to problems.&nbsp;
To avoid these possible adverse effects it is important to encourage them to participate in activities such as dhyaan <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/the-real-essence-of-yoga-may-erode-as-it-globalises,2471">yoga</a> or meditation yoga that stimulate creativity and imagination. Dhyaan Yoga can help children learn to connect more deeply with themselves and others, and could also serve as a tool for helping build empathy and compassion.&nbsp;
It is necessary to separate meditation from religion. Meditation is a practice that can be approached from a secular perspective and adapted to suit a variety of cultural, philosophical, and spiritual traditions. In a secular context like classrooms, meditation can be approached as a tool for enhancing well-being, reducing stress and anxiety, and improving mental health.&nbsp;
Many schools and educational institutions are introducing meditation programs as a way to promote the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/post-pandemic-mental-health-epidemic">mental health and well-being</a> of students, without any religious or spiritual content. These programs focus on teaching students how to develop mindfulness and self-regulation skills, which can help them manage stress, anxiety, and other emotional challenges.
Modeling the meditation practice in the classroom is an effective technique to introduce students to mindfulness practices and instruct them on how to apply them to their everyday lives. Teachers can meditate in front of students to demonstrate how it is done. This can be done at specific meditation times or as part of a regular routine, such as before or after class. This helps students understand the advantages of mindfulness techniques and learn how to apply them in their daily lives.&nbsp;
Finding peace through meditation can be challenging. However, if teachers and students work together, they can create an environment conducive to meditation, promote peace in the school community, and incorporate mindfulness into their lessons. Simple exercises like mindfulness breathing, mindful walking, or mindful listening can help students stay focused and present.
Providing professional development, modeling the practice, building a supportive community, providing resources, working with outside groups, and fostering self-care may help train teachers to integrate meditation into their classes and create a conducive school culture.&nbsp;
Regular meditation practice in schools allows students to gain vital skills that will serve them both in and out of the classroom, as well as discover the missing peace in a digitally overwhelming environment.

Basu Gautam

Practicing mindfulness in schools

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d17f49c7e80680e0ac796jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="768" height="967"/><figcaption>Meditation, Poster Color, 74 x 58 cm, MoNA Collection</figcaption></figure>In a society where we spiritualise the tangible through our imagination and creativity, we also turn into tangible art forms our spiritual experiences.Traditional devotional art uses various imaginative forms to represent a thought or emotion: compassion, impermanence, detachment. To this day we echo the artists who thousands of years ago translated mudra, objects, and nature into iconography.The very form of everyday devotion and ritual in our culture and religion is an abstraction of our imagination for practical, tangible, and visual purposes – most vividly in stones and rocks.For example, an oval rock, when powdered with red tika, turns into a Ganesh. An oblong stone becomes a Shiva linga just by having milk sprinkled on it. Any roadside rock when smeared with vermillion and covered in flowers is revered as a deity. We dare not pass these totems without bowing our heads as a manifesstation of unshakeable faith.This is because in those objects we see what is not there, and interpret it according to what we want, imagine, and believe.Abstract art, on the other hand, is a purposeful collision of an artist’s conscious and subconsious minds to give instinctual expression. The subconscious mind is best understood as a recollection of actions and experiences, which the contemporary abstract artist piques when crafting and contemplating a masterpiece.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/jeevan-rajopadhyays-untitled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jeevan Rajopadhyay’s Untitled</a>, Rajan ShakyaSuch is the case of Uttam Nepali’s I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. which brings out untainted, unbiased, and unsolicited inquisitiveness in all of us. Staring in-depth into this painting screams out the purity of childlike innocence. The conscious and the subconscious instincts are unleashed, evoking a time when right and wrong were not determined by rigid rules, but through love and affection.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d17f79c7e80680e0ac797jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="1200"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Uttam Nepali merged art and poetry into a kind of original expressionism not seen before in Nepal. The artist died on 21 July 2021 in a Kathmandu hospital aged 84, and as a tribute the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-first-private-art-museum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Museum of Nepali Art (MoNA)</a> in Thamel organised an individual and group viewing of his painting  I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N.This is what we saw and what we felt, how this work by Uttam Nepali moved, and moved us. We were very lucky to have met and interviewed the artist about this particular work before he passed away.The acquisition of I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. came out of a necessity. I did not even look at the painting and I did not ask for its price. I had been looking to acquire one of Uttam Nepali’s pieces for a long time.The only thing I knew was that I wanted his work in MoNA because a museum dedicated to Nepali artists would not be complete without Uttam Nepali in it.The painting hung in my office wall for at least six months, and it was amazing to observe how a painting of this calibre speaks differently from different perspectives and temperaments. After all, moods and emotions dictate the emergence of different shapes and colours as a form of artistic expression.Some days the red seemed prominent, other days it was the blue that provoked, and strokes of white suddenly made sense. When I am alone, I see something but when looking at the painting in a group, something else emerges. It feels like a different painting every time you look at it. What an investment!Eventually, the painting becomes a part of the viewer's personality, and adds to it. How you explain this artwork to others hints at your own depth of understanding and place in the world.I met Uttam Nepali only a month before he passed away, and at that time I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. communicated with me in an entirely new way. Here was a man who had devoted his entire life to art and Nepal's art community. His studio stacks over 300 of his paintings. Some of the artwork is as personal as his representation of his grandchildren in the womb.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/n-a-r-i-by-mukti-singh-thapa/">N A R Ì by Mukti Singh Thapa</a>, Rajan SakyaUttam Nepali rarely sold his art. Instead, he presented them to people he met and who showed interest in his work. I was trying to persuade his family to allow us to hold a solo exhibition at MoNA of his incomparable contribution to the contemporary art of Nepal.We had only given a day’s notice before visiting Uttam Nepali at his home. As we sat down, his son Udhyam told us how his father had become rather forgetful after a surgery five years ago. He was on oxygen support most of the time, and his memory was deteriorating day by day.But when we showed him his painting that we were acquiring, there was a sudden sparkle in his eyes. He sat up and spoke nonstop for 20 minutes about when he made it, why he made it, and what feeling he had at the time. This is what he said:“When everyone comes to a state of quietness and calm, every person shares a similar kind of impression and expression. However, they have different façades. The temptations on their faces are different. Their attitudes differ as well. Nevertheless, the emotions that they portray may be the same ... in the sense that everyone looking at the same painting will be observing the same feelings. The closeness of the visitor’s expression and emotions with what is depicted in the painting will be unavoidable after a certain time.”He added, “Abstract art depicts something that is expressed without saying a word. It shows what is hidden. It is simultaneously easy and hard to understand. Hence, the power of impression and expression is like walking upon a dark alley without the light and discovering its rare and unique idiosyncrasy. It will have the verity of essence.”MoNA manager Jenisha Maharjan is also moved by what the painting depicts, and the emotions it evokes in her. “At first glance, one can see half a face with its eyes closed,” she says. “They express serenity and tranquillity as the subject is in a deep state of meditation. Then upon deeper reflection, the face looks like the meditating Buddha.”“The other half of the face has a darker coat. We also see brush strokes in the middle of the canvas with a red rectangular shape towards the edges, resembling a thumb with the nail painted red, maybe a woman’s hand. Could this be a modern depiction of Buddha Maar?”<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/lain-singh-bangdels-sigh/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Lain Singh Bangdel’s ‘Sigh’</a>, Rajan SakyaMaharjan says the grip looks very powerful, yet, surprisingly, the face remains calm, peaceful, and unbothered. “A little too dramatic and explosive use of colours,” she says, “yet amazing how even closed eyes can be so expressive.”Ursula Manandhar is head of research at MoNA and says I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N. may actually represent what concentration, or trying to concentrate, may look like. It feels as if a person is struggling, or fighting their inner demons with brighter and more positive thoughts.“The power of our mind and its capacity for imagination is so vast that it could be a joyous journey across, or overwhelming. Sometimes darkness overshadows the mind and at other times a bright light dispels the darkness,” Ursula Manandhar says. “The curiosity for abstract art starts in us before we even know how to speak or write. As toddlers we looked into the sky and interpreted the formation of clouds as we wanted and felt.”But as we grow older our unique creativity is eclipsed by other people’s perceptions, and what is brought in front of us. Individual creativity has been blighted by the transient mass-market visualisations and the decadence of modern-day superficiality.Rajan Sakya is the founder of the <a href="https://www.mona.com.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Museum of Nepali Art</a> at Kathmandu Guest House, Thamel and contributes this monthly column For Art's Sake in Nepali Times.  Turkish Airlines has partnered with Museum of Arts Nepal (MoNA) to bring 33 Nepali artists together for a day-long live art congregation at Kathmandu Guest House, Thamel from 7-9 October. Visitors also have the chance to win a trip to Europe via lucky draw.

Rajan Sakya

I.M.A.G.I.N.A.T.I.O.N by Uttam Nepali

<figure><img width="1500" height="1152" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52c49c7e80680e052314jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: Renuka Khatiwada</figcaption></figure>A recent performance and book/CD launch helped to demystify the singing bowls that are today probably best known as objects for sale in tourist areas.Several metal bowls lined up on the stage were reminiscent of jal tarang, which produces music from ceramic bowls filled with water. However, the music that performer Aman Shahi created from the bowls was distinctly different. A tinkling sound reverberated when he hit the bowls, while a deep vibration ran through the crowd when he stroked them in a circular motion.Shahi performed at the launch of his CD, Meditation vibes, and a book by Salil Subedi, Singing Bowl Sound Healing: The Swoyambhu Method of Aman Shahi, in Kathmandu on Friday. The event also included a discussion that demystified a very new musical instrument.Although singing bowls seem to be popular with tourists as musical instruments, there are few historical records of them being used to make music. Many sellers claim that the bowl is a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-a-high-note/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tibetan</a> healing instrument that also aids meditation, but its actual origins are shrouded in history.Today the bowls are used across Nepal for cooking, eating, and making offerings at monasteries. During the hippie influx of the ’70s, they were sold as souvenirs, and many claimed a Tibetan provenance for them to enhance their mystique. It is widely believed that one of these sellers, Jit Bahadu Shahi, coined the name singing bowl.Though the bowls may be associated with Kathmandu’s Tantric mystique and Tibetan origins, Tibetan communities dissociate themselves from singing bowls. However, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/echoes-of-drum-jatra/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali musicians have been quietly experimenting with them</a>, formulating ways to use singing bowls in music as well as meditation. That is where the book comes in, exploring the bowl's history and practices in Nepal.“It is time we claimed this instrument as ours, and named the various methods and practices in Nepal, or it will be too late. That way we will establish this instrument, as well as musicians who have mastered it,” says the book’s author Salil Subedi.Many methods of playing the bowls have developed in Nepal. The book focuses on the Swoyambhu method, which uses three bells and shamanic beating of the bowl. It was named after Shreekrishna Shahi, who lives in Swoyambhu, and is now popularised by his nephew Aman Shahi in Thailand.“I use this method for many kinds of sound healing,” says Shahi. “Immersion in this sound has been known to cure ailments like insomnia, migraine, etc.”While much research has been done on the singing bowl’s healing properties and its use in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/to-make-up-for-monsoon-slack-nepal-opts-for-spiritual-tourism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meditation</a>, it is rarer to find the bowls used only as a musical instrument. Shahi’s CD includes many kinds of music played on the bowl, including eastern classical ragas and the bowls combined with classical instruments like flutes, and also as a soothing accompaniment to meditation.The event ended with a performance by the Trikaal band, with the singing bowl enhancing the melodious and soothing music, proof that its unique sound and wide range have plenty of potential in modern music.Book: Singing Bowl Sound Healing: The Swoyambhu method of Aman Shahi by Salil Subedi Pages: 108, Price: Rs3,500 Published by: Singing Bowl Centre, ChiangmaiCD: Meditation vibes by Aman Shahi Price: Rs300

Reclaiming singing bowls

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ee49c7e80680e04fcddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>Photos: Himalayan Hermitage</figcaption></figure>Whenever tourism in Nepal suffers a slump, it is young westerners seeking enlightenment that compensate for fewer visitor numbers.After every political upheaval, like the <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/three-kings-in-four-days-nepal-massacre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2001 royal massacre</a> or the decade-long conflict, or disasters like the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2015/05/27/a-month-that-felt-like-a-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2015 earthquake</a>, meditation students kept Nepal’s tourism economy afloat.Tourists seeking spiritual upliftment and detox from the stress of modern life and materialism, have flocked to Nepal ever since the <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/feeling-groovy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hippie days</a>. But lately, there are monasteries and temples that cater specifically to customers who come to Nepal to learn meditation techniques like <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Vipassana-meditation-technique-for-post-disaster-psychological-recovery%20,2472" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vipassana,</a> take intensive yoga classes, or to seek solitude and communion with nature.Indeed, the word gompa is derived from the Tibetan word for meditation, and it is where devotees go to pray, train their mind to concentrate on a positive mental attitude,  and attain a blissful state. Meditation allows people to gain mindfulness, consciousness, and detoxify their desires and negative thoughts like jealousy, anger and greed.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ee89c7e80680e04fcdejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050">As global headlines about the coming climate apocalypse, wars and political unraveling bombard people every minute of every day through the social web and the mass media, people need to take time off to be with their inner selves.“This is the path to regain mental equilibrium and restore one's healthy mental state as meditation pushes out feelings of jealousy, anger and greed,” explains Geshe Lobsang Sherap at <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19805#.XScX_uszbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kopan Monastery</a> near Kathmandu, one of the pioneers of meditation tourism in Nepal. (See box.)There are now customised meditation tours and packages, spiritual and spa trekking that combine yoga for the purification of both the body and mind. After all, the Himalaya is where Hindu and Buddhist sages have gone for millennia to meditate, cleanse their souls and even attain nirvana.Himalayan Hermitage is one agency working with local partners to facilitate meditation tours and pilgrims inside Kathmandu and around various sacred places in the Himalaya.Alex d’Artois and Sisse Budolfsen started Himalayan Hermitage after spending many years in Nepal studying Buddhism, philosophy and meditation, and found many blessings during their stay here.“Meditation is all about mind practice, cultivating sanity, becoming better human beings, attaining innate compassion and wisdom,” explains d’Artois. "It is not about trying to be something or someone. It is cleaning up our mess, and connecting with reality. Nepal is the perfect place for meditation because life here is less hurried and people are simple, relaxed and at peace.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4eeb9c7e80680e04fcdfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1098"><a href="https://himalayanhermitage.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Himalayan Hermitage</a> works with local partners to facilitate meditation pilgrimages in Nepal, India, Bhutan with spiritual journeys into sacred valleys like Tsum, Solu Khumbu, Dolpo, Mustang and Manang where they practice mediation amidst sublime scenery.“These sacred valleys of the beyul have a sanctity that is hard to explain, they have healing properties,” adds d’Artois, a Canadian who has studied Buddhist philosophy.Himalayan Hermitage combines western and eastern perspectives, and prefers to call its Nepal package ‘pilgrimage’ and the tourists ‘pilgrims’, explaining that the idea of a pilgrimage is non-religious and an inclination of self-introspection that allows pilgrims from around the world to immerse into the culture of Himalaya.“If I do not meditate, I feel like something is missing, I do not feel fully cleansed and taken care of. A feeling that I didn’t take time for myself,” explains Sisse Budolfsen, who is from Denmark and has been travelling to Nepal and Tibet ever since she first came to Kopan at the age of 20.According to airport arrival figures, 17% of tourists visiting Nepal last year (some 65,850) said they were here for meditation and spiritual tourism.“We have specifically prioritised meditation tourism since this is a new concept and a trend,” shares Kabitra Bhatt at Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).<h2>Kopan’s Russian-Hollywood connection</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ef09c7e80680e04fce0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="1119">One of the first centres to popularise meditation tourism in Kathmandu Valley is Kopan Monastery which now gets more than 1,500 students every year for its 10-15 day classes.The history of Kopan is closely tied to the legendary daughter of Russian émigré Zina Rachevsky, whose family fled Russia during the communist revolution, became a Hollywood actress, and arrived in Nepal with the hippies in the 1960s to seek enlightenment.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ef39c7e80680e04fce1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="973">In 1968, the Russian-French- American socialite became Anila Thubten Chub Palmo (above, left) and was ordained in Dharmashala by Trijang Rimpoche. She bought the land on which Kopan Monastery now stands in Kathmandu Valley for the Nepal Mahayana Gompa Retreat that she set up with Lama Yeshe, (above, right) whom Rachevsky met in Darjeeling.“Kopan became a refuge for those fleeing materialism and artificial modern lifestyles,” explains Geshe Lobsang Sherap. “Among them was Zina. She  met our gurus, Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche and became their first disciple in 1968.”The first of 15 American tourists came to Kopan in 1968 to attend a medication course taught by Jamyang Wangmo. Zina Rachevsky died of cholera while on a meditation retreat in Thame in Khumbu in 1973 at the age of 42.

To make up for monsoon slack, Nepal opts for spiritual tourism

This week at the National Population Policy launch Prime Minister K P Oli exhorted Nepalis to get married by age 20 and have three babies by the time they are 30. This was the first indication that the highest office in the land has understood the need to address Nepal’s dramatically <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepals-demographic-window-is-closing">falling birth rate</a>, but Oli’s statement was greeted with ridicule on<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/avoiding-the-quicksand-of-social-media"> social media</a> — especially by women. Most urban young are already grappling with economic pressures and shifting life priorities. Even with a university degree,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/workers-return-to-jobless-nepal?%2F"> many cannot find jobs</a>, and are taking the first flight out for overseas employment. Having a child is now a fraught decision shaped by income, individual autonomy, and family pressure. The <a href="https://www.unfpa.org/swp2025">UNFPA’s State of the World Population report </a>released last month, highlighted a significant <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/migrating-males-and-population-decline">decline in fertility rates </a>around the world. The global average fertility rate is 2.25 children per woman, and 18% of the reproductive adults said they will not be able to have the number of children they desire. The total fertility rate in Nepal has plummeted to 2.1 births per woman — down from 5 just 30 years ago. This is considered replacement level, meaning the newborns will replace their parents.&nbsp; However, birth rates are not declining as rapidly everywhere. The Tarai in has a total fertility rate of 2.20, and northwestern mountains is still 2.24.&nbsp; There are multiple factors in play, and the report broadly divides them into four categories: health issues, economic concerns, fears about the future, and lack of a supportive partner or their absence. More than half of the respondents said finance, which includes unemployment and increased cost of housing, as well as parenthood, was a barrier to having children. “More and more people prefer one or two children at maximum. Many women also decide to have children at a much later age,” says Kamala Devi Lamichhane of Tribhuvan University. “The opportunity cost is far higher for women.” But there is also a cost for the country, as the National Population Policy notes. At the rate the total fertility rate is falling it will soon be below replacement level — meaning that in the next three decades Nepal will be confronted with an <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-future-is-older">ageing population</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250714140740_bac3e5a284b69a77d97b3b99daf2e7fd3019bc48f1a399fb2771381c751d8291.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250714140740_bac3e5a284b69a77d97b3b99daf2e7fd3019bc48f1a399fb2771381c751d8291" data-rendition-name="original" width="1302" height="501" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis having fewer babies. Why?"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250714140740_251115b0a88d4e82be70245c43cb74477f3be18042ef1aa3b904c597d815f13b.png" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250714140740_251115b0a88d4e82be70245c43cb74477f3be18042ef1aa3b904c597d815f13b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1125" height="500" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis having fewer babies. Why?"> </figure>  Besides income, there are also cultural factors at play in women having fewer babies — they are expected to do all the childcare duties, even putting their careers on hold. In general, there is little help from spouses, and with more nuclear families there is less support from relatives. “Women today are well educated, career-oriented, and economically independent, allowing them to delay marriage as well as being conscious about their body and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/nepal-far-from-hitting-contraceptive-target?%2F">reproductive rights</a>,” says Laxmi Tamang of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM). Also present at the policy launch was demographer Yagya Bahadur Karki, who said that women are more educated and hence, empowered to take their own informed decisions regarding having children.&nbsp; He adds, “But the fertility rates have reached replacement rate, and that stands as a warning for the future.”&nbsp; Fertility rates have fallen in inverse proportion to the rise in female literacy. The regions of Nepal where couples have more babies is where women are less educated. Couples in Madhes and Sudur Paschim provinces, where child marriage, gender-based discrimination, menstrual huts and dowry are still widespread are where the fertility rate is still high.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250717120740_ababfd31ed5ff79ded427e1f1adfff02e6af2384bd541e51dfe05e52fbbccb39.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250717120740_ababfd31ed5ff79ded427e1f1adfff02e6af2384bd541e51dfe05e52fbbccb39" data-rendition-name="original" width="994" height="682" loading="lazy" alt="TFR Map"> </figure>  And because female literacy also has a direct correlation with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/fatal-discrimination">infant and child mortality</a>, couples in those regions tend to have more babies so some of them survive.&nbsp; But it is Nepal’s urban centres among the educated where the increased choices in reproductive health, including alternative methods of conception like IVF and treatment for infertility, as well as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/implant-service-providers-take-contraception-to-nepals-poor">contraceptives</a> offer more options for family planning. “There are more choices regarding reproductive health, and there is more awareness as well, which is why people decide carefully on whether or not to bear a child,” says population expert Yogendra Gurung. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/migrants-returning-from-the-gulf-with-infertility">Migration is another factor</a> adding to the decline in fertility rates. Many young Nepalis of reproductive age leave every day in pursuit of better jobs overseas. Spousal separation means fewer children.&nbsp; “Once away, even if not educated, they realise that child-rearing costs are high, and try to have fewer and even no children in some cases,” Gurung adds. Recent studies have also shown that men returning after their stint in the Gulf and Malaysia, where they are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/gulf-workers-need-protection-from-heat">exposed to extreme heat </a>for extended periods as well as various chemicals and toxins in their work environment &nbsp;have a range of health problems, including infertility. To increase the birth rate, Nepal will have to reverse its family planning strategy of the past 40 years. Complicating this is that some regions of Nepal will need measures to control the birth rate, while urban areas will need a strategy to help parents have more babies. One way to help families have more children is to develop more <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/future-proofing-nepal-s-population-strategy?s=04&amp;fbclid=IwY2xjawFQf-NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRxSwwGPfm7_2cBhDVAowPxEmFXP0Os-KRs1DXqIW_84wDhciExtZuNi1g_aem_jzRqN2cEVAppfwr5qedxRg">family-friendly policies</a> that favour women and youth as the Nordic countries, which also have falling birth rates, have done. They have introduced flexible parental leaves for both parents, including financial and health incentives. China, also concerned about its declining birth rate and an ageing population, now has a three-child policy as well as tax deductions, expanded childcare services, and leave policies to encourage couples to have more children. “We must work towards childbirth and childcare policies and plans that are suitable for Nepal, so that couples planning for children do not have to think twice about it because of finances or other reasons,” adds Gurung. Tamang of the International Confederation of Midwives says a gender transformative approach is needed to address the issues of the gender gap which is adding to the decline in childbirth. Husbands need to play a more important role in child-rearing. Instead of increasing fertility for the sake of it, the objective should be to assist young people to start the families they desire, at a point and time of their choice. Respect for everyone’s rights and dignity lays a foundation for a more balanced demographic trend. Lamichhane sums it up: “If fertility rates are to be sustained, it requires changes in the gender roles and behaviour, keeping the youth’s aspirations in mind.”

Nepalis are having fewer babies. Why?

Does anyone know that 2023-33 was declared the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/visit-nepal-again">Visit Nepal</a> Decade? Or that Pokhara announced that 2025 is a Special Tourism Year? The fuselage of Nepal Airlines jets still carry the Visit Nepal Year 2020 logos. Such ad hoc and unnoticed promotion is emblematic of the way Nepal has tried to increase visitor arrivals <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-hopes-for-tourism-rebound-in-2021-rk4dlo9t">post-Covid</a> — and of the country’s wider political disarray. Deepak Raj Joshi of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has his work cut out to coordinate various agencies of the government to boost arrivals.&nbsp; He says, “We have been working on marketing strategies to revive the tourism sector, and are hopeful that this year will mark a 8-10% increase in arrivals compared to the pre-pandemic times.” On paper, tourist numbers have rebounded to pre-Covid numbers with over 1 million last year, but official figures do not give a true picture of duration of stay, average spending, and the fact every visitor is counted as a ‘tourist’, even repeat visitors who come on business. The few bright spots are largely a result of private sector promotion of niche tourism products, individual social media posts of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/top-10-treks">adventurous treks in Nepal</a>, or the fact that Indians are allowed to enter China again to visit Lake Mansarovar and Mt Kailash via Nepal. Indeed, Simkot airport has up to 15 flights a day from Nepalganj bringing in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds">Indian pilgrims</a> who are then ferried by helicopter to the border in Hilsa, or Lapcha Pass from where the holy sites in Tibet are visible. The rudimentary hotels and rest houses along the route in Humla have been bursting at the seams for the past month, to the point that some establishments are no longer able to provide patrons basic amenities.&nbsp; Last year, 1.14 million tourists visited Nepal, and the government has projected up to 10% increase in tourist arrivals this year. International tourist arrivals to Nepal have been steadily increasing, especially from the US, Europe, and India. Domestic and regional travel has also increased after the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/lockdown-5-utlzqtvs">Covid lockdowns</a>.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250717120756_e1c8f08e7e26496d2b2394e0be776e147fb46c415347b781ed9e5c64d9c9e505.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250717120756_e1c8f08e7e26496d2b2394e0be776e147fb46c415347b781ed9e5c64d9c9e505" data-rendition-name="original" width="1145" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="Tourist numbers"> </figure>  The tourism industry employs at least 1 million people, trekking injects money directly into the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/not-rising-nepal">rural economy </a>and sustains ancillary sectors like handicrafts and domestic aviation. In the last fiscal year, tourism brought in Rs82.33 billion, according to Nepal Rastra Bank. But the industry has been affected by negative publicity about poor infrastructure, air pollution in Kathmandu, travel safety and news of disasters like the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rasuwa-flood-likely-a-glof">China-Nepal flood last week</a> that made international headlines. Growing worries about the climate crisis is also affecting youth travel, especially from Europe. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/missing-out-on-nepal-s-tourism-potential">Missing out on Nepal’s tourism potential</a> “The limitations of airport and road infrastructure has hindered the development of the tourism sector,” admits Joshi. “And many are put off by the appalling state of our road network, especially during <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/managing-the-monsoon">the monsoon season</a>.” Nepal is home to 20 protected areas, 10 heritage sites, and eight out of the world’s 10 highest mountains, and despite all the obstacles it is still the perfect destination for the modern social media savvy traveller, who are experience-driven and inclined to look for itineraries that emphasise wellness and cultural immersion.&nbsp; Some hotels around Kathmandu, Pokhara, Jomsom and the Khumbu have strived to adapt to this new tourism landscape, expanding facilities with significant international investment. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/a-thamel-within-thamel">Luxury hotels like Aloft Kathmandu</a> in Thamel were inaugurated just before the pandemic lockdowns, survived the crisis and thrived as it. Says General Manager Vikram Singh (pictured, below): “Our prime location in Thamel enhances the guest experience, especially for those seeking convenience and immersion in the local scene and travellers who want to be in the centre of it all.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071805070_8d29803e8b52bcd4439422e7b7a0bc25aa68ef3d227b9130bd0e079af626677d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="2025071805070_8d29803e8b52bcd4439422e7b7a0bc25aa68ef3d227b9130bd0e079af626677d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1066" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Aloft GM"> </figure>  <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-sustainable-tourism-means-in-practice">Sustainability </a>and environmental consciousness has also become an integral part of the hospitality industry. ISO certifications as well as sustainability initiatives like the Travelife sustainability certification for eco-friendly resorts validate credibility of hotels. Aloft is the first five-star hotel in Nepal to have earned the Waste Smart Certificate, and it has also been awarded the ISO 14001:2015 certification, which is the internationally recognised standard for environmental management systems (EMS). But such investments will not amount to much unless Nepal makes serious efforts to promote itself as a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-tourism-in-2023-9ukoi8iz?utm="> tourism destination</a>, especially to its two giant neighbours. More importantly, the country needs to increase activities in which tourists can spend the money they want to. “While <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-pushes-mountain-bike-tourism?fbclid=IwAR1MNH0iFGv1vRz5G9uZ4AzUlKxB6nY7JKq0qT6je_FV4_SuxPZqviwKGn0">mountaineering and adventure tourism</a> are extensively promoted, we have fallen short of marketing other elements such as wildlife, pilgrimage and cultural heritage,” says Joshi. “There is a need to diversify promotion to increase income from the tourism sector.” Meanwhile, making Nepal more accessible to international and domestic visitors, must also be a priority. Kathmandu remains the sole aerial gateway despite new airports in Pokhara and Bhairawa. “International airlines have shown interest, and if access and flights are increased these airports can be fully functional,” says Joshi. But Sichuan Airlines has stopped flying to Pokhara, and there does not seem to be much interest from Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian carriers to fly directly to Lumbini. Says Singh: “There’s tremendous opportunity to strengthen Nepal’s destination marketing by telling richer, more compelling stories that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/culture-cannot-be-an-afterthought">connect travellers with our culture</a>, nature, and people.”

Tourism needs a new push

Local residents of Mustang, including a sitting MP and several politicians, submitted a petition to Prime Minister KP Oli in Kathmandu this week urging the government to lift the region’s ‘restricted’ status. This is not the first time such a demand has been raised, and as infrastructure the region’s accessibility improved over the years, calls to remove the long-standing restriction have grown louder.&nbsp; Upper Mustang is no longer weeks away <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/postcards-from-kathmandu">from Kathmandu.</a> Nearly 85% of the road from Beni to Kagbeni has been blacktopped, and one can drive from Kathmandu to Lo Manthang with an overnight stop in Pokhara. Between April 2024 and April 2025, Lower Mustang received 144,745 international tourists, a near 50% increase compared to the previous year. Most of these were <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds">Indian pilgrims </a>travelling to Muktinath. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a> is also gaining popularity among Nepali visitors, with 700,000 visiting the region in 2024. A hotel operator in Kagbeni estimated that about 20% of Nepali visitors to Muktinath also travel to Korala, the trade and transit checkpoint on the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/north-of-the-border">China border</a>. That would mean that nearly 100,000 domestic tourists visit Upper Mustang annually. In stark contrast, international tourist numbers to Upper Mustang (north of Kagbeni) have remained stagnant, hovering around 4,000 visitors per year. The primary reason is the continued enforcement of the region’s restricted status. Foreign visitors must pay a steep permit fee: a minimum of $500 for 10 days, with an additional $50 per day thereafter. Tourism some entrepreneurs, politicians, and residents want these fees to be abolished so Upper Mustang can attract a broader range of international travellers. The success of Lower Mustang, where relaxed restrictions have led to a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/boom-time-in-central-tarai"> tourism boom</a>, is often cited as proof of what lifting restrictions could achieve. Upper Mustang is not the only region in Nepal with a restricted status. Several northern areas prefixed with ‘Upper’ (Upper Manaslu, Upper Dolpo, Upper Kanchenjunga, and Upper Arun) also need similar permits and fees. Although no clear official explanation exists, these areas were primarily restricted due to historical inaccessibility, ecological and cultural fragility and security concerns. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/upper-mustang-opposes-prohibited-areas">Call to scrap Upper Mustang tourist fee</a> In the 1960s and 1970s, these remote regions served as shelters for Khampa guerrilla fighters who launched cross border ambushes on the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-last-days-of-the-khampa">Chinese military </a>across the border.&nbsp; Though the Khampa have long gone, security concerns rooted in that era seem to persist. The government in Kathmandu is seemingly unaware of the changed political and security landscape. If concerns do remain, they are not made public. One of the main reasons for maintaining the restricted designation is to limit visitor numbers. But with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-road-out-of-nepal">improved road access and services</a>, as Upper Mustang has seen, this justification no longer holds. When Upper Mustang first opened to international tourists in 1992, it had no formal lodges or hotels, and it took four to five days of trekking from Jomsom to Lo Manthang.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250716120744_4e4405cf10e6f127f90a1cd40feda0b9d8d69efd13093a2563530ca31489ba9f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250716120744_4e4405cf10e6f127f90a1cd40feda0b9d8d69efd13093a2563530ca31489ba9f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="509" loading="lazy" alt="Lift restrictions on Upper Mustang"> <figcaption>Photo: SHRIJAN PANDEY / NT ARCHIVE</figcaption> </figure>  Without a nechyang (a household with traditional friendship), it was difficult to find a place to stay or get a proper meal. Only a few elite households offered accommodation. Today, there are now more than 80 lodges and hotels above Kagbeni, spread across nearly every village. Several upmarket hotels now struggle to stay afloat during the off-season, relying on low-spending domestic visitors to survive. Lo Manthang, once a remote destination, is now just a few hours’ drive from Jomsom, easily reachable by lunchtime for early starters. Once the remaining road sections are blacktopped, travel time will be further reduced. Yet, the government still charges a flat $500 fee for a 10-day permit based on outdated &nbsp;assumptions from a bygone era. There has been no serious review of the permit structure to align with current realities, nor any response to local aspirations to attract more international tourists and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-tourism-in-2023-9ukoi8iz">harness tourism for economic development</a>. Concerns about over tourism are valid. There is a risk that increasing visitor numbers could erode Upper Mustang’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-million-mantras-in-mustang">cultural heritage</a>, social fabric, and fragile natural environment, precisely the features that make it special. However, the region’s 33 years of tourism experience have been largely positive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250716120744_5c7e5e05097cd0e5a1027b51c7e3db3be0bd67e0f7cbaea6d2c447b1dacafc8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250716120744_5c7e5e05097cd0e5a1027b51c7e3db3be0bd67e0f7cbaea6d2c447b1dacafc8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="1050" loading="lazy" alt="Lift restrictions on Upper Mustang"> <figcaption>Photo: MUKESH POKHREL / NT ARCHIVE</figcaption> </figure>  Tourism has contributed significantly to the restoration and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-history-of-heritage?%2F">preservation of religious and historical sites</a> like the Thubchen and Jampa monasteries in Lo Manthang, the ongoing conversion of the old palace in Ghami into a premium hotel, and the rehabilitation of many monasteries and chortens.&nbsp; These efforts, supported by international donors and heritage experts, demonstrate that tourism—when well managed—can be a powerful driver of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/shrinking-tourism-s-ecological-footprint">conservation</a>. The high permit fees have been somewhat effective in limiting international visitors, but they have no influence on the growing number of domestic tourists, particularly during the Dasain and Tihar holidays. The most pressing need now is for all levels of government—federal, provincial, and local—to<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/why-invest-in-nepal"> invest in </a>managing tourist flows and maintaining tourist sites. These efforts are essential not only to enhance visitor experience but also to build long-term resilience and sustainability for the destination. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/greening-nepal-s-tourism">Greening Nepal’s tourism</a>, Hanna Wells Visitor numbers are central to any tourism development strategy that aims to balance economic, social, and environmental goals. Clinging to obsolete policies and concerns to justify Upper Mustang’s restricted status is not only unfair, it also suggests an undemocratic and discriminatory attitude toward a remote district.&nbsp; Shailendra Thakali, PhD, is from Jomsom and is a freelance consultant on protected areas, tourism, conservation, and sustainable livelihoods.

Lift restrictions on Upper Mustang

Many of us former Nepal Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs) would agree that our time in Nepal changed in significant but very different ways our perspectives on life if not the future paths we chose to follow. Of no one was this truer than Dorothy Mierow. Dorothy was born in 1920, in Colorado Springs. Her father Charles C Mierow was a classics scholar and Latin professor, who served for ten years as president of Colorado College.&nbsp; Dorothy developed an interest in animals as a child, graduated with a BA degree in natural history from Carlton College in 1942, a Master’s in biology from the University of Pittsburgh, and another Master’s in geography from the University of Minnesota.&nbsp; As a young woman, Dorothy traveled with her father throughout Europe, including a visit to ancient Greek ruins, and took a Magellan Tour by cruise ship around the world in 1958.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_0bad133ab22aada319e74bbad95d563e191371db291c08f373839fbd15440262.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025071901074_0bad133ab22aada319e74bbad95d563e191371db291c08f373839fbd15440262" data-rendition-name="original" width="903" height="1178" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Dorothy Mierow as a college student in her native Colorado.</figcaption> </figure>  She was a college teacher during much of the 1940s, also teaching at a girls’ school in Hawaii. Then back to her native Colorado in 1953, where she became a curator and later director of the Colorado College Natural History Museum. She taught geography classes, and in her free time, Dorothy climbed 22 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. Traveling in India in 1960, Dorothy decided to spend two weeks in Nepal. In late 1961, she filled out an application to join the Peace Corps and specified that she wanted to go to Nepal, ‘because I admired the people so much when my father and I were there on our trip’.&nbsp; Dorothy reached Kathmandu in September 1962 as the first group of American Peace Corps volunteers in Nepal. She stood out from the others: one of the few women in that group, surely the oldest at age 41, a world traveler, and a woman who already had established a professional career.&nbsp; One doubts if Dorothy had had a husband and children whether she would ever have gone to work and spend much of the rest of her life in Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901078_68e84ade1ffb0f6c83c7f8fa5c1e7315b5f6c543217f96cde012e4d86f171515.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025071901078_68e84ade1ffb0f6c83c7f8fa5c1e7315b5f6c543217f96cde012e4d86f171515" data-rendition-name="original" width="1259" height="910" loading="lazy" alt="How th Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life NT"> <figcaption>Pokhara Bazar in 1962.</figcaption> </figure>  The Peace Corps assigned Dorothy to teach geography at Tri-Chandra College. After the school closed in the winter due to lack of heating, USAID and the College of Education asked Dorothy to help train general science teachers.&nbsp; She taught for two months and became involved in a textbook-writing project, commenting: ‘I would like the children to know something about public health, conservation (the trees are going fast and so is the soil), and learn the names of some of their common birds, trees, and flowers. They are more impressed with electricity, airplanes, and cell structure.’ When a new college opened in Pokhara in 1963, Dorothy was transferred there and lived with a Nepali family. The college boasted 30 students and no permanent buildings.&nbsp; In October 1963, Dorothy wrote: ‘Pokhara is a town of almost 5,000 people … We are in a fertile valley surrounded by foothills … There is a small Mission Hospital … a Leper Hospital and Tibetan Refugee Camp started by the Red Cross and now run by the Swiss. With winter approaching, more Tibetans are appearing in town, often with pack horses or donkeys. Some have been carrying large boxes of powdered milk,donated (by USAID) to the camp from the airport … There is no electricity, and the transportation problems make many items scarce and expensive. I am really a sort of a museum. The landlord brings all kinds of people in to see how I live and count my shoes and dresses. They express amazement at my books, pictures, tin oven, Nepali dolls from Kathmandu, screened food shelves and curtained closet.’ The standard term for Peace Corps volunteers was two years, but Dorothy extended her term and was still at Prithvi Narayan College at the end of 1965, when she wrote that she had 20 Geography students in the first-year class and 6 in the second year preparing for the IA Examination. The college enrollment was 125 students, and the foundation for a new science building was being excavated.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_c6a80e5e0db0c705b2f8733c6d30dc0386fe3abbd2238ea9d947b7d746f94a29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025071901074_c6a80e5e0db0c705b2f8733c6d30dc0386fe3abbd2238ea9d947b7d746f94a29" data-rendition-name="original" width="902" height="605" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow and friends at Phewa Lake.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy noted that she ate one meal a day at the (Shining Mission) Hospital but otherwise lived on dal-bhat, momo, and potato curry at local shops. However, she had developed a new passion: to build what she initially called the Pokhara Museum of the Himalaya. In commendable Peace Corps fashion, Dorothy always worked with Nepalis and respected the culture. ‘The greatest joy and satisfaction I have had has been from the building of a Museum-Library in memory of my parents … It has been possible to feel like a wealthy benefactor with the money saved by father for the family’s education and now available for the education of others… (Father) would have loved to be in on the founding of a new college and be able to plan a library. Several hundred of the books to be in the museum-library came from his collection and were carefully selected to be of use for students in Nepal…’&nbsp; ‘The museum part is to satisfy my own inclinations and was thought of when I found how little diversion there was for the people of Pokhara… It is part of the University requirements for the college that it should have a geography and biology museum. The museum building is small but adequate.&nbsp; I have tried to design it in harmony with Nepalese architecture and decorate it with some of the art of the best artists or woodcarvers… Posts holding up the porch roof are carved by Cottage Industries to represent different peoples of Nepal in typical costumes. The door was carved by a local wood carver and has typical birds of Nepal around it. Inside are 10 roof-support carvings designed by the retired Director of the National Museum in Kathmandu, Mr. C.M. Maskey.&nbsp; They were carved by the best wood carvers in Patan very skilfully. The building has three rooms: the library, the exhibition room, and a smaller workroom which can be used by our newly formed Woman’s Club as well as other groups or classes.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_03d3359c65389d30a0134e9a4862778994121e7e833b7d28b18e06e36fc76ff8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025071901074_03d3359c65389d30a0134e9a4862778994121e7e833b7d28b18e06e36fc76ff8" data-rendition-name="original" width="629" height="599" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow with local women in Pokhara in 1969.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy promoted her project to influential Nepalis connected with organisations whose support she solicited: The Department of Archaeology, the Department of Agriculture, the Godavari Botanical Gardens; Tribhuvan University’s Science and Education Department, Nature Conservation Society.&nbsp; The museum was opened officially in early 1967. The Annapurna Natural History Museum, the building Dorothy designed and had constructed, is still open and features some exhibits which she created many years ago.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_54326a8a0685e980e782378076de2f5cd02d2426e9b0d94eed972d3dbe83af26.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025071901074_54326a8a0685e980e782378076de2f5cd02d2426e9b0d94eed972d3dbe83af26" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>The Annapurna Natural History Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy returned to America in 1967, but she longed for Nepal. In the spring of 1969, she again tried to enroll as a Peace Corps volunteer but was told that as she had spent more than four years, she would not be eligible for another assignment. Undeterred, she persuaded the college in Pokhara to invite her to return as a teacher.&nbsp; UNICEF and the Forestry Department sponsored Dorothy to prepare charts on trees, birds, animals and flowers in colour for distribution to the schools of Nepal. Dorothy, back in the Peace Corps, returned to Pokhara and the Museum in 1972. She formed a friendship with her former geography student from Sikles, Chandra Prasad Gurung, and in 1974, she brought Chandra to America, where he enrolled in Colorado College and studied cultural anthropology.&nbsp; Chandra subsequently earned his PhD in geography from the University of Hawaii and returned to Pokhara to become director of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project. Gurung actively promoted ecotourism, landscape conservation, and biodiversity conservation in Nepal. His life was cut short along with those of 23 other Nepalis and foreigners who perished in a helicopter crash near Taplejung in September 2006.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_322d3c3ac6f1b08ffa07c44a19998b937a7db9eb43527f7539cf6481e1546314.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025071901074_322d3c3ac6f1b08ffa07c44a19998b937a7db9eb43527f7539cf6481e1546314" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow's four books on Nepal and its biodiversity. </figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy worked with several well-known Nepalis to publish her paintings and photos in beautifully illustrated books. She and Hemanta Mishra of the National Parks and Wildlife Service wrote Wild Animals of Nepal (Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1976). More than 400 photos Dorothy took on treks to the Everest region, Gosaikunda, Muktinath, Jumla and Rara Lake, as well as travels in the Tarai, appeared in Himalayan Flowers and Trees (Sahayogi Prakashan, 1978).&nbsp; The botanist Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha identified the species. Dorothy and Kesar Lall published This Beautiful Nepal (Sahayogi Press, 1981). Birds of the Central Himalayas (1988) contained Dorothy’s paintings of 250 species of birds found along the areas of the Kali Gandaki River, Pokhara, Chitwan and the central Tarai. Dorothy summed up her life and work in Nepal in Thirty Years in Pokhara (Pilgrims Book House, 1997). Dorothy returned to Pokhara and her adopted Gurung family several times during the 1980s and 1990s to celebrate festivals and meet old friends. Her final years were spent at her mountain cottage in Green Mountain Falls north of Colorado Springs. She died at the age of 79 in August, 2000. Nepal gave new meaning and purpose to Dorothy Mierow’s life. Daniel W Edwards was a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966 and is the author of several books on Nepal. The author thanks Special Collections, Tutt Library, Colorado College.

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