Translated transcript of the testimony of Devyani Rana recorded by Nepal’s Ambassador India Bhekh Bahadur Thapa on 11 June 2001, and dispatched to the High-level Investigation Committee chaired by House Speaker Taranath Ranabhat in Kathmandu. The tape arrived in a sealed envelope and was opened in the presence of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and other members of the committee: Devyani Rajya Laxmi Rana&nbsp; BBT: It is 8:15pm on 11 June 2001 in New Delhi and I am Royal Nepalese Ambassador Bhekh Bahadur Thapa and I am speaking to you, Devyanai Rana. I request you to state your name. DR: Devyani Rajya Laxmi Rana BBT: Also present at Mohan Bahadur Silwal, Counsellor Royal Nepalese Embassy and Dr Jain, Please identify yourself.&nbsp; Dr Jain: Doctor S K Jain. BBT: He is here for Miss Devyani Rana’s medical treatment. On instruction of the investigating committee, I am asking you some questions about the event that transpired at the Royal palace in Kathmandu on the night of 1 June. Please answer whatever you know in the best possible way. Why are you in Delhi, and what are you doing here? DR: I am not well. And the Doctor (weeping) … treatment … BBT: What do you know about the event I described earlier? DR: I do not know anything more about this. I had never imagined such a thing could happen. BBT: What do you have to say about the relationship between you and the then His royal Highness the Crown Prince?&nbsp; DR: (weeping) … it was personal and I would not like to talk about it… (weeping) BBT: Telephone logs show that you had a long conversation between 8 to 9 in the evening with the royal palace. Try to remember with whom you had that conversation and what you talked about. I would request you to provide this information. DR: What I remember is that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince called me after 8pm. He asked if I was coming for the inauguration of the National Sports Day on Sunday. He was calling on his mobile and my mobile was not very clear (weeping). I said I did not understand. He asked again, but before I could reply he hung up. I tried to call His Royal Highness back. His phone rang and rang, but he did not pick up. If he did not pick up a call, the mobile would automatically transfer the call to his ADC. The duty ADC picked up the phone. I told him that His Royal Highness had slurred speech and if he was ok … I requested him to go upstairs to his room and check up on him. And I hung up.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240601120640_f3083a8687b9f18d9775d225d17e0141e67c8ccac4890aa60d26df679bf416fb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240601120640_f3083a8687b9f18d9775d225d17e0141e67c8ccac4890aa60d26df679bf416fb" data-rendition-name="original" width="713" height="1024" loading="lazy" alt="Dipendra Shah"> <figcaption>Crown Prince Dipendra on 31 May 2001 at the Sports Academy at Satdobato in Lalitpur. Photo: RABI MANANDHAR </figcaption> </figure>  After a while His Royal Highness called back. He said he would call me back the next morning, and wished me good night. I also said good night. Again, he said I am about to go to bed and repeated good night. BBT: During your conversation with His Royal Highness, did you find him as usual or did you hear or feel anything specifically different? DR: His Royal Highness’ voice was slurred. As I said earlier, I had a feeling he may not be well. &nbsp;Which is why (weeping) during his contact with the ADC I requested him to go upstairs to his room. (weeping, coughing) BBT: Aside from this, is there any other information you can share, or not?&nbsp; DR: I do not know anything more (weeping, sobbing)&nbsp; BBT: Thank you. Dr Jain … Devyani … As instructed, this tape was prepared as per the above questions. It will now be sent to Kathmandu. (Based on the report of the High-level Investigation Committee on the event at the Royal Palace on 1 June 2001. The Nepali text is <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/114662?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3dMsT_2NVILQe-Racn6n6HnJhlL7LcQvHGwpk9EgqAzFjxr6xRRxYaiXo_aem_ATDnRQVZnuGAviiCwMKgruPje_7dzjSTNNR-_uEXbBF-dv-AdFvyIOiinkUbB_k_zbGz1OIvbjPJ1vSJ3BXXep-E" target="_blank">here</a>.)

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

thumbnail

viewImage

1 June 2001

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b934f9c7e80680e06f19ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: KRISHNAMANI BARAL</figcaption></figure>After Nepal's monarchy was abolished in 2008, most of the property of the royal family was nationalised, and some of them like the Ratna Mandir in Pokhara have reverted back to nature.Located at the edge of Phewa Lake, the property has become a sanctuary for a large flock of cattle egrets which now nest on bamboo groves in the abandoned garden.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b93539c7e80680e06f19bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b93569c7e80680e06f19cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">The compound is named after Queen Mother Ratna, King Mahendra's wife, who is still alive and lives in a part of the former Naryanhiti Palace in Kathmandu.Located at Pokhara's Lakeside and opposite the thick forested slope of Raniban on the other side of the lake, the neighbourhood has seen a resurgence of birdlife.Kings, queens and their entourage do not visit anymore, the cattle egrets have made it their palace. And since the streets below leading to the boat hiring area are deserted now because of the lockdown, the egrets seem to find the location even more appealing.Local birders say that although some egrets have always nested at Ratna Mandir, their numbers have risen dramatically in recent years because of urban expansion in Pokhara's lakeside and the proximity to the lake where the egrets like to fish.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b935a9c7e80680e06f19djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="633"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b935d9c7e80680e06f19ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1808" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b93609c7e80680e06f19fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b93649c7e80680e06f1a0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b93679c7e80680e06f1a1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b936a9c7e80680e06f1a2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b936e9c7e80680e06f1a3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121148/636b93719c7e80680e06f1a4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">And as the monsoon rains arrive, the cattle egrets have put on their tan plumage for the breeding season. They nest by the hundreds, on the upper branches with adult birds flicking back and forth bringing insets and small fish for the hatchlings, or twigs and leaves to maintain the nests.The cattle egrets are breeding undisturbed because the bamboo forest is next to a Nepal Army sentry post, which means the soldiers are also guarding the birds.While some birds fish, others fly further afield to pick insects off grazing water buffaloes and plough oxen, often riding on their shoulders.The egrets also face natural disasters like thunderstorms and hail which break their eggs and kill the chicks. The mother egrets do not leave their nests, guarding their young through wind rain, or hail.

1250x600

1084x550

Pokhara's royal egret sanctuary

<img width="640" height="694" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131128/636ceef49c7e80680e09ae5cjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Twenty years ago on 1 June, 2001, Nepal witnessed an unimaginably shocking tragedy. King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and eight other members of the royal family were killed during regular monthly family dinner at the Naryanhiti Palace.People at the centre of Kathmandu all heard the sound of automatic gunfire at 8:45pm, and feared that the Maoists were attacking the palace. It turned out that Prince Dipendra had killed his father, mother, brother, sister, an uncle, aunts, and other relatives before killing himself.The massacre shocked not just Nepal, but the world — a regicide, patricide, matricide, fratricide, sororicide, multiple homicides and a suicide -- all within minutes.Nepal was in the midst of the Maoist insurrection which had the aim of abolishing the monarchy, and the monarchy itself had imploded. Within five months, the rebels attacked the Royal Nepal Army bases, intensifying the conflict which was to drag on for another five years with much loss of life. Dipendra was in a coma for four days, and proclaimed king. After he died, his uncle Gyanendra became king. Nepal had three kings in four days. On Tuesday, it will be exactly 20 years since that fateful Friday night. Many who knew King Birendra still mourn him, and say that perhaps Nepal would still be a constitutional monarchy today if he had not died. <figure><img width="574" height="713" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131128/636ceef79c7e80680e09ae5djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>For some, he was “Maharaj Sarkar”, to others their beloved “Biren Dai”, Birendra was the perfect gentleman king, and for many Nepalis he was also an incarnation of Vishnu. From palace colleagues to civil servants, relatives to politicians most have nothing but nice things to say about the man. Since he was a child, Birendra was always known for his calm demeanour, mild manners, and a soft-spoken kind hearted personality. Educated in Darjeeling, Eton, Harvard and Tokyo, Birendra was never comfortable being an absolute monarch. So, when the first People’s Movement of 1990 took place, he relinquished powers to be a constitutional king despite misgivings from hardliners in the palace, including his own family.He was devoted to his country, and wanted to make things better. His leadership skills differed from all the preceding kings as well as his brother who succeeded him to the throne. A man of frugal tastes, he wanted nothing but peace and development for his country. But critics say he was not assertive enough to follow through, and get things done. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa was Nepal’s ambassador to India when the massacre took place. He found out from breaking news on television at the Barakhamba Road embassy residence in New Delhi. In interviews with the media the next day, he broke into tears.Even after two decades, Thapa’s voice falters when he remembers the king who appointed him to be Nepal’s youngest ever Finance Minister. He remembers how deftly Birendra defused the crisis of the People’s Movement in 1990, and his state visit to India on Republic Day in 2001 when it was clear that he was a man without airs or arrogance. "He had made peace with the idea of taking a back seat,” Thapa recalls. “King Birendra hated war and violence, and knowing that the Maoist insurgency was on the rise, he was keen on finding a peaceful solution. He was actually working on a peace plan when the massacre happened.”   <figure><img width="640" height="993" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131128/636ceef99c7e80680e09ae5ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>King Mahendra instructed Thapa, whom he had brought back from college in the United States to become the governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, to have weekly sessions with Crown Prince Birendra to instruct him about the country’s economy and development.“One of the most memorable things he said to me once was, ‘You know, I am not like my father, I have my own vision for my country’. That sentence still rings in my ears till today,” Thapa recalls. As crown prince, and after returning from abroad, Birendra travelled all over Nepal in disguise to understand the socio-economic situation of his people. Thapa says, “In his mind, he knew that there was Nepal beyond Kathmandu and his love and devotion for his people showed in his deep sense of patriotism.” Vivek Shah worked with Birendra as his military secretary for more than 27 years, and has similar memories of the king. He remembers King Birendra as being very calm, someone who did not get flustered in a crisis.  <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131128/636ceefb9c7e80680e09ae5fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“He did not speak much, but when he did, it was deep and considered opinion, and he showed great compassion to people around him,” Shah recalls. “He loved and admired the Nepali people and worried constantly about the country’s resource limitation in moving forward.”Shah remembers King Birendra always had a strategy in handling any grave situation, and he regarded the Nepali people as his family. So much so that he perhaps did not devote as much time to his own family.Shah says, “If King Birendra was alive today, Nepal would still be a monarchy and he would have devoted all his time and energy to confront a challenge like the Covid-19 pandemic.” Ketaki Chester, first cousin"I have never met a more genuine person than King Birendra. As a person, he was a wonderful, good human being.  He was kind to everybody. I seldom heard his voice raised in anger. There was a stage in our lives, when we climbed in the garden and we got into a lot of trouble for it. As a young boy, he was quite naughty. We have two-and-a-half years of difference. He was very friendly with all of us cousins.  <img width="400" height="300" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131128/636ceefe9c7e80680e09ae60jpeg.jpg" alt="">Once he had become the reigning monarch, he was a very popular person who everyone loved, and I am sure the country would have been in much better hands today had he still been around. I was wounded in the massacre and even 20 years on, I have to live with the terrible memory. I was hit in the shoulder. It seems like a bad dream. I was hit in the shoulder. I have not forgotten even the tiniest detail of that night." Rajni Singh, first cousin"King Birendra and I have roughly 10 to 12 years of age difference. He was either in school or college when I was growing up. Of whatever I can recollect of him, he was a very calm and good-hearted person. During those days, we had a trend of collecting autographs, and I remember how sweetly he signed an autograph for me and drew my sketch. Not everyone knows that he was a very good artist, too. He often took us for drives when I was a child. He didn’t talk much, but was a good listener. We used to be on the same flight to school in Darjeeling as well. <img width="640" height="592" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131128/636ceeff9c7e80680e09ae61jpeg.jpg" alt="">He always made sure that he came along for dinner and movie sessions with our grannies and whenever he returned from his trip abroad, he always brought presents for the whole family. I was lucky to receive a few presents. He was a very thoughtful person and quite different from the rest of the family."Bhekh Bahadur Thapa Former minister and diplomat. "He was an excellent human being. A nationalist and a decent gentleman. His approach to people and country was of a very high order. When he asked me to be his Cabinet Minister, I politely refused the offer but suggested that he wanted someone with a specialisation in economics and finance to help him. It was then I got to know him, and when I was in the Planning Commission, King Mahendra asked me to have sessions with him. So, I started getting in touch with him on a weekly basis. During those meetings, he once mentioned  ‘My father has his own vision and I have my own’. I developed a strong sense of respect for him after that, and it is still very fresh in my mind. <img width="400" height="263" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131128/636cef029c7e80680e09ae62jpeg.jpg" alt="">King Birendra was devoted to the national interest, and was very mild-mannered, and he must have been under pressure from his family and society. His mild manners meant that some in his family and core advisers may not have taken him as seriously as they should have. The moment he succeeded his father, he started the process to know people and the Nepali landscape. He believed in seeing things for himself rather than relying on others. Instead of listening to experts, he started listening directly to the people."Vivek Shah, King Birendra's military secretary"If the tragic massacre had not happened, perhaps Nepal could still be a constitutional monarchy and the state of the country would have been far different from what it is now. I worked with him for over 27 years and he was so down to earth, simple and kind-hearted. Working with him for so long, there is one thing that he always abided by: "Whatever it is, I have to do everything in my capacity to be there for my people." Nepal was not just his homeland, it was his whole reason for being. He often worried about the lack of resources to develop the country, and the political turmoil and insurgency. Violence and war really troubled him. <img width="175" height="251" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131128/636cef039c7e80680e09ae63jpeg.jpg" alt="">After the 1990’s movement, King Birendra was very well aware that things were not going too well, but he wanted to do the best he could to bring peace. The only goal he had in mind was to end the conflict with a political resolution. He was always looking for solutions, he wanted to bring change to the country and for that he knew the country needed to be at peace.Towards the end, he had a lot of things in mind. He was under a lot of stress, but he was always working towards his end goal. As a person King Birendra was a devoted family man, but he regarded all Nepalis as his family. And perhaps he did not give as much time to his own family that he wanted to. I remember during the People's Movement of 1990 how violence had gone beyond control, and how difficult it was for him to handle it all. He wanted a truce, and later when the conflict started he worked tirelessly to bring about a peaceful resolution."

If Birendra was alive, Nepal could still be a monarchy

<img width="640" height="694" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86ee9c7e80680e06787fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Twenty years ago on 1 June, 2001, Nepal witnessed an unimaginably shocking tragedy. King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and eight other members of the royal family were killed during regular monthly family dinner at the Naryanhiti Palace.People at the centre of Kathmandu all heard the sound of automatic gunfire at 8:45pm, and feared that the Maoists were attacking the palace. It turned out that Prince Dipendra had killed his father, mother, brother, sister, an uncle, aunts, and other relatives before killing himself.The massacre shocked not just Nepal, but the world — a regicide, patricide, matricide, fratricide, sororicide, multiple homicides and a suicide -- all within minutes.Nepal was in the midst of the Maoist insurrection which had the aim of abolishing the monarchy, and the monarchy itself had imploded. Within five months, the rebels attacked the Royal Nepal Army bases, intensifying the conflict which was to drag on for another five years with much loss of life. Dipendra was in a coma for four days, and proclaimed king. After he died, his uncle Gyanendra became king. Nepal had three kings in four days. On Tuesday, it will be exactly 20 years since that fateful Friday night. Many who knew King Birendra still mourn him, and say that perhaps Nepal would still be a constitutional monarchy today if he had not died. <figure><img width="574" height="713" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86f19c7e80680e067880jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>For some, he was “Maharaj Sarkar”, to others their beloved “Biren Dai”, Birendra was the perfect gentleman king, and for many Nepalis he was also an incarnation of Vishnu. From palace colleagues to civil servants, relatives to politicians most have nothing but nice things to say about the man. Since he was a child, Birendra was always known for his calm demeanour, mild manners, and a soft-spoken kind hearted personality. Educated in Darjeeling, Eton, Harvard and Tokyo, Birendra was never comfortable being an absolute monarch. So, when the first People’s Movement of 1990 took place, he relinquished powers to be a constitutional king despite misgivings from hardliners in the palace, including his own family.He was devoted to his country, and wanted to make things better. His leadership skills differed from all the preceding kings as well as his brother who succeeded him to the throne. A man of frugal tastes, he wanted nothing but peace and development for his country. But critics say he was not assertive enough to follow through, and get things done. Bhekh Bahadur Thapa was Nepal’s ambassador to India when the massacre took place. He found out from breaking news on television at the Barakhamba Road embassy residence in New Delhi. In interviews with the media the next day, he broke into tears.Even after two decades, Thapa’s voice falters when he remembers the king who appointed him to be Nepal’s youngest ever Finance Minister. He remembers how deftly Birendra defused the crisis of the People’s Movement in 1990, and his state visit to India on Republic Day in 2001 when it was clear that he was a man without airs or arrogance. "He had made peace with the idea of taking a back seat,” Thapa recalls. “King Birendra hated war and violence, and knowing that the Maoist insurgency was on the rise, he was keen on finding a peaceful solution. He was actually working on a peace plan when the massacre happened.”   <figure><img width="640" height="993" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86f39c7e80680e067881jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>King Mahendra instructed Thapa, whom he had brought back from college in the United States to become the governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, to have weekly sessions with Crown Prince Birendra to instruct him about the country’s economy and development.“One of the most memorable things he said to me once was, ‘You know, I am not like my father, I have my own vision for my country’. That sentence still rings in my ears till today,” Thapa recalls. As crown prince, and after returning from abroad, Birendra travelled all over Nepal in disguise to understand the socio-economic situation of his people. Thapa says, “In his mind, he knew that there was Nepal beyond Kathmandu and his love and devotion for his people showed in his deep sense of patriotism.” Vivek Shah worked with Birendra as his military secretary for more than 27 years, and has similar memories of the king. He remembers King Birendra as being very calm, someone who did not get flustered in a crisis.  <figure><img width="960" height="640" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86f69c7e80680e067882jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“He did not speak much, but when he did, it was deep and considered opinion, and he showed great compassion to people around him,” Shah recalls. “He loved and admired the Nepali people and worried constantly about the country’s resource limitation in moving forward.”Shah remembers King Birendra always had a strategy in handling any grave situation, and he regarded the Nepali people as his family. So much so that he perhaps did not devote as much time to his own family.Shah says, “If King Birendra was alive today, Nepal would still be a monarchy and he would have devoted all his time and energy to confront a challenge like the Covid-19 pandemic.” Ketaki Chester, first cousin"I have never met a more genuine person than King Birendra. As a person, he was a wonderful, good human being.  He was kind to everybody. I seldom heard his voice raised in anger. There was a stage in our lives, when we climbed in the garden and we got into a lot of trouble for it. As a young boy, he was quite naughty. We have two-and-a-half years of difference. He was very friendly with all of us cousins.  <img width="400" height="300" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86f99c7e80680e067883jpeg.jpg" alt="">Once he had become the reigning monarch, he was a very popular person who everyone loved, and I am sure the country would have been in much better hands today had he still been around. I was wounded in the massacre and even 20 years on, I have to live with the terrible memory. I was hit in the shoulder. It seems like a bad dream. I was hit in the shoulder. I have not forgotten even the tiniest detail of that night." Rajni Singh, first cousin"King Birendra and I have roughly 10 to 12 years of age difference. He was either in school or college when I was growing up. Of whatever I can recollect of him, he was a very calm and good-hearted person. During those days, we had a trend of collecting autographs, and I remember how sweetly he signed an autograph for me and drew my sketch. Not everyone knows that he was a very good artist, too. He often took us for drives when I was a child. He didn’t talk much, but was a good listener. We used to be on the same flight to school in Darjeeling as well. <img width="640" height="592" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86fa9c7e80680e067884jpeg.jpg" alt="">He always made sure that he came along for dinner and movie sessions with our grannies and whenever he returned from his trip abroad, he always brought presents for the whole family. I was lucky to receive a few presents. He was a very thoughtful person and quite different from the rest of the family."Bhekh Bahadur Thapa Former minister and diplomat. "He was an excellent human being. A nationalist and a decent gentleman. His approach to people and country was of a very high order. When he asked me to be his Cabinet Minister, I politely refused the offer but suggested that he wanted someone with a specialisation in economics and finance to help him. It was then I got to know him, and when I was in the Planning Commission, King Mahendra asked me to have sessions with him. So, I started getting in touch with him on a weekly basis. During those meetings, he once mentioned  ‘My father has his own vision and I have my own’. I developed a strong sense of respect for him after that, and it is still very fresh in my mind. <img width="400" height="263" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86fd9c7e80680e067885jpeg.jpg" alt="">King Birendra was devoted to the national interest, and was very mild-mannered, and he must have been under pressure from his family and society. His mild manners meant that some in his family and core advisers may not have taken him as seriously as they should have. The moment he succeeded his father, he started the process to know people and the Nepali landscape. He believed in seeing things for himself rather than relying on others. Instead of listening to experts, he started listening directly to the people."Vivek Shah, King Birendra's military secretary"If the tragic massacre had not happened, perhaps Nepal could still be a constitutional monarchy and the state of the country would have been far different from what it is now. I worked with him for over 27 years and he was so down to earth, simple and kind-hearted. Working with him for so long, there is one thing that he always abided by: "Whatever it is, I have to do everything in my capacity to be there for my people." Nepal was not just his homeland, it was his whole reason for being. He often worried about the lack of resources to develop the country, and the political turmoil and insurgency. Violence and war really troubled him. <img width="175" height="251" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109111152/636b86ff9c7e80680e067886jpeg.jpg" alt="">After the 1990’s movement, King Birendra was very well aware that things were not going too well, but he wanted to do the best he could to bring peace. The only goal he had in mind was to end the conflict with a political resolution. He was always looking for solutions, he wanted to bring change to the country and for that he knew the country needed to be at peace.Towards the end, he had a lot of things in mind. He was under a lot of stress, but he was always working towards his end goal. As a person King Birendra was a devoted family man, but he regarded all Nepalis as his family. And perhaps he did not give as much time to his own family that he wanted to. I remember during the People's Movement of 1990 how violence had gone beyond control, and how difficult it was for him to handle it all. He wanted a truce, and later when the conflict started he worked tirelessly to bring about a peaceful resolution."

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

Turkish Basketball

Thousands of Nepali students dreaming of an American education have been forced to look elsewhere as the Trump administration’s visa restrictions make their future uncertain.
The US was long considered a top destination for higher studies, making Nepal the 10th biggest country of origin for international students in America.&nbsp;
However, that number has seen a significant decline with the total for Nepali students now at 16,482. Some 8,000 Nepali students obtained no-objection certificates to study in the US from the Ministry of Education in the past year.&nbsp;
India, Australia, Canada, South Korea, United Kingdom and Japan are the other popular destinations for Nepali students. There are no clear numbers for Nepalis going to India, but a slight decline was noted this year after the deaths of two female students.
The US State Department has issued a circular to its embassies not to issue new visas to applicants until further notice. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the directive stated that the department planned to expand the screening of applicants' social media.&nbsp;
While new applicants are barred including those applying for visitor visas, students with scheduled interviews are allowed to proceed.
“Many of our students are affected by the new restrictions, but those who had applied for student visas earlier have got interview dates,” one Kathmandu-based college counsellor told us.
Meanwhile, even foreign students with spotless records already in the US have not been spared, as visa scrutiny intensifies under the new policy. In a move that underscores the growing sense of insecurity, many US colleges advised international students to carry their passports and documents at all times, even when traveling locally.
“Me and my friends did not go home this summer because we were not sure we would be allowed back, so we just went to Niagara Falls,” said a Nepali undergrad in Ohio, who like many interviewed for this report did not want her name used for fear of repercussion.
<div class="embed-block"><iframe title="MORE NO OBJECTIONS" aria-label="Column Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-a7y6L" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/a7y6L/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="600" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); </script></div>
Nepali students have adopted a cautious stance, with many choosing not to return home during summer vacation due to fear of visa revocations as well as travel bans. Meanwhile, over 7,000 Nepalis with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will have to come back to Nepal by 5 August or face deportation. Thirty-seven were flown back to Kathmandu on Omni Air last week.
“The US is one of the most sought-after destinations for higher education, and the ban will definitely impact bright students,” says Narottam Aryal of the King’s College in Kathmandu.
Indeed, Nepali undergraduates admitted into Ivy League colleges for the 2025 academic year have been asked to look for alternatives. The entire Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board resigned on Wednesday citing interference from the Trump administration on the selection of this year’s cohort. Some Nepali students already on Fulbright scholarships have noted disruptions, delays and even cancellation of stipends.&nbsp;
The student visa restrictions were initially just for foreign students admitted to Harvard University, but it was later extended to all Chinese students and now to all students. Universities like Columbia which actively recruit foreign students, face sharp enrolment declines, threatening their financial stability and diversity.
An Indian female PhD candidate at Columbia University had her visa revoked by the US State Department, and said she was targeted on the basis of her social media posts on Israeli military attacks in Gaza. Social media vetting of political activism has raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression in a country where such rights were a given.
Many students have been informed via email that their visas have been revoked for getting speeding or parking tickets, but even others with no criminal record have been affected. The fear of deportation looms large amongst international students, including those from Nepal.&nbsp;
For most Nepalis who migrate to the US for education, the journey is a high-stakes investment. They come largely from middle-class families, often rely on a patchwork of scholarships, work-study programs, loans, or even the sale of family assets to afford fees.
Most Nepali students pursue STEM subjects which offer extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) periods that help fund their education. But with the US backsliding on education and humanitarian matters, countries like the UK and Canada are becoming more attractive despite their own recent stricter controls on student visas.&nbsp;
The UK universities saw a 63% rise in Nepali students’ admissions in 2024. Japan is another popular destination with 64,816 Nepali students enrolled as of 2024.
<div class="embed-block"><iframe title="WHERE WE WENT" aria-label="Map" id="datawrapper-chart-yUABv" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/yUABv/3/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="500" data-external="1"></iframe><script type="text/javascript">!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}))}(); </script></div>
Already, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia are poised to benefit from the increased scrutiny of US student visas. Several Hong Kong universities are offering unconditional admission to affected students, while Malaysian institutions are targeting previously US-bound Asian students. China and India have 330,000 and 280,000 students respectively in America, but the numbers for China have seen a sharp drop in the past year.
Elsewhere, branch campuses of American institutions such as NYU in Abu Dhabi, Georgetown in Dubai and Northwestern in Doha are getting more admission applications, and universities in the Gulf region are expanding infrastructure to accommodate those who would otherwise have gone to the US.&nbsp;
Even educational institutions in Nepal are hopeful that the US visa restrictions can be an opportunity to at least keep Nepali undergrads in Nepal, and also attract foreign students from the region.&nbsp;
“Many students might choose to complete their undergraduate degree here in Nepal and then move abroad for their Master’s degree later,” says Aryal of King’s College. “There was a need for quality higher education in Nepal anyway in terms of innovation and opportunities, so this could be the time to reduce our dependence on other countries.”
Nepal’s strategic position between India and China makes it sensitive to US policy shifts. India, a key ally, is also under US scrutiny for potential student travel restrictions. Chinese universities are already offering more scholarships to Nepali talent to capitalise on the US retreat.
American universities have challenged student visa restrictions in the courts. A federal court in Boston revoked the blanket ban on Harvard, and the State Department has ordered the resumption of processing student and exchange visitor visas.&nbsp;
Some are still hoping that President Trump will backtrack on the student visa restrictions, just like he has done with many of his more drastic executive orders.
Even so, the visa see-saw and longer-term uncertainties about living in the United States and its education system means students across the world are making alternative plans.
Says Aryal: “Policies of foreign countries change according to their needs, so excessive dependence was never a good idea. We should work to create different opportunities and choices of higher education within Nepal, so students are retained.” &nbsp;

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

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

The Everest Industry

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.

nepal-royal-family

1 June 2001

Pokhara's royal egret sanctuary

If Birendra was alive, Nepal could still be a monarchy

If Birendra was alive, Nepal could still be a monarchy

Turkish Basketball

America no longer prime destination for Nepali students

The Everest Industry

Everest summiteers find new life in the US