<figure><img width="1918" height="973" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cb39c7e80680e0af373jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Shri Mananka, circa 5th Century AD. The obverse shows a lion while the reverse a seated goddess. Photo: OLDCOINSTAMPNOTE</figcaption></figure>On the walkway leading to the Pashupatinath Temple, vendors sit on cold stone slabs with stacks of glittering red and yellow coins before them. Some devotees stop by to buy bunches of the Re1 or Rs 2 coins for a little more than their value to offer to the gods inside.The transaction happens quickly. One side produces paper cash and the other hands over the metal coins in exchange. Chances are, some of the coins will find their way back to the vendors again, to be ‘recycled’.With lower currency denominations nearly worthless, one of the few places in Nepal where coins are still used are temples like Pashupatinath. These days, one does not pay in coins but for coins — the medium of exchange has become the object of trade itself.Bibash Shrestha, a shopkeeper in Kirtipur, cannot recall the last time he handled a coin in his store. “There is rarely any loose change to return,” he remarks. “Before we used to give out candies to make up for the difference, now even they are worth more than Re1 or Rs2.”Coins are still integral in Hindu and Buddhist puja, marriages and other rituals. During the Hindu chaurasi puja, for instance, bundles of gold coins are handed out to attendees at the end. And when building a house, coins need to be ceremonially placed on the foundation.But coins bear clues to Nepal’s historical and economic past, and carry great anthropological significance. Govinda Neupane, a student of archaeology, remarks that in the digital world of today, coins are the new kinds of intangible heritage.He says: “Coins are the witnesses that justify our history, they have archaeological and historical value. They provide a window to understanding our past and present, and function as markers to specific historical periods.”Indeed, letters and markings on coins inform us about the king or queen at the time of their minting. The alloys of copper, silver or gold used tell us about the state of the economy of that time and place. The figures on the coin reveal the religious beliefs and influences of the period. <figure><img width="1600" height="1200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cb69c7e80680e0af374jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>As for metal coins, the oldest excavated in Nepal are punch-marked ones from the 5th century BCE from Kapilvastu in Lumbini. Currently in display at the <a href="https://numismaticsmuseum.gov.np">National Numismatics Museum</a> in Chhauni, there coins are originally from what is now India and have various symbols ‘punched’ on them. These coins prove that trade had moved beyond the barter system in the region.Historian Satyamohan Joshi writes in his book नेपाली राष्ट्रिय मुद्रा (National Currencies of Nepal) that coinage in Nepal can be divided into three eras starting in the 5th century AD during the Lichhavi, Malla and Shah dynasties in the Valley.The earliest coins found in Kathmandu was issued by the first Lichhavi king, Mandev (pictured above). Minted during his reign from 464AD to 505AD, the obverse has a lion with its paw raised and ‘Sri Mananka’ written above it, while the reverse shows a figure of a goddess seated on lotus with ‘Bhogini’ inscribed on it. The script used is Brahmi, the forerunner of almost all writing systems found in South Asia. The current writing system of Nepal, the Devnagari, is a descendant of Brahmi.The figure of the goddess recalls influence of the ancient Indo-Greek kingdom from the 1st century BCE. All Lichhavi coins are made of copper and have on them the king’s name, the figure of a god or goddess, with flowers, vajra, trisul, kalas, the sun, the moon, or animals such as the bull, lion, cow and elephant. There is consistency in their shapes and sizes, and are handmade, but there is no date inscribed on them.Lichhav kings Gunakamdev and Anshuvarma have similar coins to their predecessors, while coins issued by King Jisnugupta (635 - ?) show a bull on one side, and a vajra or a trisul on the reverse. Satyamohan Joshi takes this as proof of the king’s devotion to both Shiva and the Buddha.Suman Basnet, an avid collector of Nepali coins for the past 20 years, says that in addition to the metal used, the different symbols and depictions are in themselves records of history and the attitudes of people.“These coins are concrete evidence of how people lived in those specific times and places,” he says. “I wanted to delve deep into our history through something concrete and ubiquitous as coins. These coins could have been handled by farmers, merchants, kings, men women and children in the past.”Indeed, the pre-Lichhavi period and the 800 years between Lichhavi and Malla rule in Kathmandu’s history are less well-known largely because there are no coins from those eras. After the Lichhavi period, the oldest coins and Nepal’s first ever silver ones, were issued by King Indra Dev of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/heritage-conservation-outside-kathmandu,3487">Dolakha</a> in 1545AD.Then in 1566 King Mahendra Malla, who built Kathmandu’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-nepali-antiquities-got-to-chicago-museum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Taleju Temple</a> two years previously, issued silver coins in the Valley. Various historical sources mention that he presented a swan and a hawk to the Mughal Emperor Akbar in Delhi (some say it was Humayun) who in turn granted Mahendra Malla permission to mint silver coins of 6 masa (~5.8 grams) in his name. These coins are also known as Mahendra malli and according to historian Balchandra Sharma, the practice of calling silver coins Mohar began with them.While both the Lichhavi and the Malla coins show cross-cultural influences — Indo-Greek, Mughal and Tibetan, among others, for example — the medieval designs of Malla coins are much more elaborate, with tantric and Vajrayani motifs, and do not depict figures of deities. The coins themselves are either square or circular. Even animals (other than the lion) are absent, and more importantly, the name of the ruler with the year is inscribed legibly, written in Ranjana, Persian or Arabic alphabets. <img width="2059" height="2053" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cb99c7e80680e0af375jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1280" height="1280" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cbd9c7e80680e0af376jpeg.jpg" alt="">Mohar from Pratap Malla's reign. Photo: HERITAGE AUCTIONSSeveral stamped clay and leather 'tokens' with illegible writings on them have been discovered from these times as well, but not enough research has been done regarding their purpose and use as media of exchange, and historians are cautious to call them 'coins' literally. In fact, while coins have been metallic historically, some of the earliest-known tokens of exchange were kaudis, essentially small shells used as circulation currency in Ancient India before metallurgy became widespread. Malla coins contain a confluence of Hindu and Buddhist symbols. Geometry is prominent and each coin is decorated with various artifacts (kalas, vajra, trisul, clubs and astamangal) in triangles, squares, hexagons and octagons. The symbols and letters represented the kings’ names, their queens and family members. They also etched on the metal their interests, their lofty aspirations, with their various epithets. Satyamohan Joshi writes that these aesthetic choices were intended to attract the public’s imagination and devotion towards the rulers and their families. The smallest silver coin in the world is in fact a Malla coin — called Jawa in Newari, or Fukkadam — minted during the reign of Jaya Prakash Malla, the last king of Kathmandu, and weighing 0.004 grams. <figure><img width="640" height="480" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cc19c7e80680e0af377jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Malla period ended with Prithvi Narayan Shah’s annexation of the three kingdoms of the Valley. Historian Dinesh Raj Panta says that before Prithvi Narayan, there is hardly any concrete evidence of Shah coins. But after his conquest of the Valley, unified Nepal’s first king began to issue silver mohar in his own name.The first one with Prithvi Narayan Shah’s name inscribed on it had a trisul on the obverse surrounded by ‘Sri Sri Prithvi Narayan Shahdev’ written within gaps made by a swastik on a square. The sun and the moon sat on each top corner and at the bottom was inscribed the date in the Saka calendar: 1692 (1770AD).On the reverse is a wheel at the centre divided in three sections, on which is written ‘Sri Sri Bhawani’. There is a khadga at the centre of this wheel decorated by dots in a bell-like arrangement. Around the edge are letters श्री, श्री, श्री, गो, र, ष, ना and थ (‘Sri Sri Sri Gorakhnath) after the patron deity of the Shah dynasty. <figure><img width="1500" height="745" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cc49c7e80680e0af378jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Shah coinage also saw rise in the use of gold, which had begun sporadically in the medieval period. Despite the rare metal, each Shah king or queen has issued at least a couple Nisar gold coins (named after the commemorative medallions the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan issued at his court in the 17th century) in their name, although for special occasions only.As Nepal had no silver mines, the metal had to be imported from Tibet. As per the 1556 treaty Mahendra Malla signed with Tibet, the coins minted in Nepal would be used there as well, allowing Kathmandu Valley’s trade, art and culture to spread and flourish.The full value of Nepali coins in Tibet was set at a single denomination of 15 karma. But when people needed smaller denominations, the coin could be cut into two-third, half and one-third along its petalled design. These were called chotang in Tibet, meaning ‘cut Mohar’ and a few examples dating to the times of Jaya Prakash Malla and Pratap Singh Shah can be found at the National Numismatic Museum. <img width="1125" height="705" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cc79c7e80680e0af379jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="1125" height="651" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cca9c7e80680e0af37ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figure><img width="4032" height="3024" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1ccd9c7e80680e0af37bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Jaya Prakash Malla had hoped to alleviate the crisis brought by Prithvi Narayan’s blockade of the Valley by minting low quality coins mixed with copper to export to Tibet. When the Shah king wanted to revert to using pure silver coins, the Tibetans asked to have all the older coins replaced as well. The war of annexation had just ended and this would have added further financial burden to the new ruler. The dispute went unresolved, which was in turn inherited by Prithvi Narayan's descendants after his death. Tibet by then had begun to send low quality rock salt to Nepal in retaliation.The Nepali delegation sent to Tibet to resolve these trade issues was rejected, giving the Gorkhali kingdom a pretext to raid rich monasteries north of the border, and in 1788 to invade Tibet itself.The first invasion ended with Gorkhali victory, and Tibet agreed to pay war reparations to Kathmandu and a further Rs50,001 in annual tribute. But after the first year, Tibet stopped paying it and the war continued.During the second invasion, China’s Qing emperor came to the aid of Tibet and chased the Gorkhali forces back over the mountains as far south as Nuwakot, only 30km northwest of Kathmandu. The Sino-Nepal war ended in 1792 with Gorkhali defeat. A treaty was signed at Bhetrawati near Nuwakot Palace, and Nepal started paying a tribute to China in 1792, 1794, 1795, 1823, 1842 and 1865.Following the war, Nepal was no longer able to export its coins to Tibet. A mint was established in Lhasa to supply coins to Tibet which affected the amount of silver coming to Nepal and its economy. The Gorkhalis were also waging a costly war against the East India Company in newly-conquered areas of Garhwal and Kumaon.After <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/beginning-of-the-end-of-the-gorkha-empire/">the Anglo-Gorkha war</a>, rulers in Kathmandu tried to compensate for the shortage of silver coins by prohibiting the import of British coins and turning the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/The-Pashmina-War,1024">East India Company</a> coins into Nepali ones, but even then the supply was not enough.In fact, ‘Company’ coins because so valuable that some elderly women in remote parts of Nepal can still be found wearing garlands made of East India Company silver coins. <figure><img width="1200" height="1002" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cd09c7e80680e0af37cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Later in early 19th century, the second Rana prime minister, Ranoddip Singh brought water-powered machines to help artists and craftsmen mint consistent-looking coins more efficiently.  These machines would flatten the metal and etch designs on both sides.Ranoddip’s nephew and successor Bhim Shamsher then brought coal-powered machines to mint coins. This gift of industrialisation would mint around 12,000 alloy coins daily in Dharara Taksar in Kathmandu. Today, the mint has shifted to Babermahal and only makes commemorative coins.The designs of Shah coins have been more or less the same since 1770, with similar symbols and motifs. However, when democracy was established, silver-alloy coins were issued that showed King Tribhuvan wearing a Dhaka topi as opposed to a crown against a five-pointed star. <figure><img width="1200" height="1200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161144/636d1cd39c7e80680e0af37djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>‘This design, in light of the end of the Rana rule, was meant to signify that the king was no different from a commoner,’ Satyamohan Joshi explains in his book. Tribhuvan’s successors Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra were similarly depicted.When monarchy was formally abolished by the Constituent Assembly in 2008, the figures of the kings were replaced by the डाँफे (Impeyan pheasant) and the cow. Only Re1 and Rs2 were in circulation, and even those are now falling out of use.“In the digital age where all our transactions are invisible in the internet, it is important that focus be given to the cultural, religious, social and political significance of coins,” says Suman Basnet.He compares this changing attitude towards physical money and especially coins to postage stamps: “Perhaps this is what progress looks like, but as we move to a cash-less society, there is a possibility that we lose connection with our heritage and our past. This calls attention to the fact that it is important now more than ever that we retain and remember our history.”The Nepal Numismatic Society holds meetings regularly in Thapathali, and there are more and more younger attendees, meaning that coin-collecting is still popular. “Traditionally, it had been the elderly and the tourists who collected coins,” says Basnet. “But there are a few young people who show great promise.”Says Govinda Neupane: “Coins bring several different avenues of our society together. We can study economics, language, history through coins, and we should preserve them for our future generations to look back and develop their own analyses and understanding.”

Ashish Dhakal

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Violations of Nepal’s airspace during WWII

At Budhanilkantha School Ujwal Thapa was a few years my senior. He was a quiet person who kept to himself; I didn’t know him very well despite being related to him because of that introversion and natural shyness. What we did have in common, coming of age in the 1990s, is our generation, GenX, which became weary, inured for the most part, to Nepal’s famously unstable politics.&nbsp; Counting the events of this past September, GenX has, astonishingly, lived through three people’s revolutions, one armed conflict, a flawed but hard won constitution, and a major earthquake. Ujwal Thapa, one of Nepal’s most cherished Gen Xers, despite his previous, youthful reticence, did not long remain a complaisant bystander against the backdrop of these extreme upheavals.&nbsp; By the mid 2000s he had become deeply political, but without the equivocation that so often accompanies politics. Thanks to his lived experience, he came to believe that the youth of Nepal are the key to our future. He believed in discerning wisdom (bibeksheelta), innovation, and nurture. He inspired entire generations, young and old, including GenZ, before his untimely death due to Covid in 2021. He was only 44.&nbsp; By the time of his passing he had started a tech company, and employed and mentored scores of youth. It is important to note that only after he had made a significant contribution to civil society did he turn towards politics, founding and then stepping back from the Bibeksheel Nepali party, which has now, after several complicated mergers and splits, been integrated into the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP). When the Ujwal Thapa Foundation set out to make a documentary on his life three years ago, no one could have known that it would premiere at such a crucial point in Nepal’s social and political history.&nbsp; Everything that Ujwal Thapa believed in still holds true. I think he would have been proud to see the youth of our country, GenZ, stand up for themselves, peacefully. He would have been grieved at the state condoned bloodshed, and, believing in non-violent protest himself, been deeply shocked by the savage revolution that followed.&nbsp; Most of all, I wonder how he would have reacted to the publishing of the blatantly elitist RSP proportional representation list - the party that many had pinned their hopes on, and that Bibeksheel Nepali has ultimately been absorbed into. That party now seems like it may be a chip off the rotten old block, ruled by men endorsing rampant nepotism, and outnumbered by people without scruples.&nbsp; Many of the names on the list and the rankings, in particular, disrespect the very spirit of a provision that was created for those competent individuals who would not otherwise be able to contest elections, due to lack of monetary and social capital, but whose marginalised voices are vital for inclusive policy making. There is still time for real inclusion, to embrace a more bibeksheel path, before the March elections.&nbsp; Ujwal Thapa’s own, firm, ethical stances are clear in the The Man Who Shook Our Minds, translated loosely from the Nepali title Dimaag Ghhochne Manchhe. While long, at almost two hours, it is filled with thought-provoking and sage counsel. The film also offers very real insight into how Ujwal Thapa evolved into the icon he is today.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_eb596eb063dcaf0f67840bfa4ffa39eb27df2bf9ec1a3f9a1f531824c1b7a569.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026011111018_eb596eb063dcaf0f67840bfa4ffa39eb27df2bf9ec1a3f9a1f531824c1b7a569" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> <figcaption>Stills from the documentary.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_65d9625d3a4865ca228425b7ce7b7b186ae5009313bbfab0ee65eada276aebd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026011111018_65d9625d3a4865ca228425b7ce7b7b186ae5009313bbfab0ee65eada276aebd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026011111018_2ff455c55722d153cafbd2d650e19584e38d7c098b109271bd106a55201f4fa0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026011111018_2ff455c55722d153cafbd2d650e19584e38d7c098b109271bd106a55201f4fa0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="670" loading="lazy" alt="Ujwal Thapa"> </figure>  It isn’t easy making a documentary after the passing of the primary subject. While there are many talking heads, the people featured, friends, family, fellow activists and senior politicians are all eloquent in their descriptions of Ujwal Thapa and his transformation from an engaged, civic minded entrepreneur into a committed political leader who among many other commendable things, believed in putting women first, and understood the crucial necessity for a welfare state that would serve its people. The main man is not deified, he is humanised.&nbsp; The feature is punctuated, and leavened, with moments of real humour as his infamous bluntness and occasional domestic haplessness are gently exposed. Another strength of the film is the profound love story between Ujwal Thapa and his brave, brilliant, incredibly resilient wife, Erica Adhikary, the heroine to a real life hero, and a major force behind the making of this film, alongside many of his stalwart wellwishers and friends, old and new.&nbsp; Sushila Karki, the Prime Minister, was present at the premiere of the film with members of her Cabinet. Candid and sincere in her opening remarks, she said she had wanted to attend the moment she heard about the film. She had known Ujwal Thapa, and she had mourned his loss, praying for him during his illness. She wished that leaders like him were here today to show us the way forward in a time of need. The film opened in theatres on the 9th of January, and is an essential viewing experience for anyone who cares about Nepal’s future and wants some insight into how they might make a difference.&nbsp; Ujwal Thapa was not perfect, but he was remarkable. He realised that being a civic minded citizen just isn’t enough. To make a real difference, one also needs to be principled, insightful, entrepreneurial, creative, self motivated, able to speak truth to power, uncorruptible, practical, well prepared, and, perhaps, most importantly, able to step back from holding power even after attaining it.&nbsp; The saying by Plato that goes “He who does not desire power is fit to hold it” was surely meant for people like Ujwal Thapa. One can only hope that in the near future more people embodying this description will, however reluctantly, come forward to lead Nepal. Ujwal Thapa worked hard to enable this, they must be out there. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/veO1yVM4pS4?si=f0Lcbs1wasyqfnK1" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> The Man Who Shook Our Minds is being screened at QFX cinemas across town. Sophia L Pandé is on the Ujwal Thapa Foundation Advisory Board. She is a writer, art-historian and filmmaker, advising on the economic and social potential of the Cultural and Creative Industries. She is Director of Development at the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, and Founding Director of The Kalā Salon, a non-profit space for the arts.

The Man Who Shook Our Minds

Did <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/1921-rendezvous-mallory-pumori-and-everest">George Mallory</a> and Andrew Irvine of the 1924 British Expedition reach the top of the highest mountain in the world? It has been more than a century after the two climbers were last seen just 300m below the summit. And 26 years ago Mallory’s remains were found on the North Face of Everest, while Irvine’s boot was located at its base.&nbsp; Some doubt that the two could have reached the top with the level of equipment and clothing of the time, but others are convinced that at least one of them made it but had an accident on the way down.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260108110148_26b4f6883ce3362c6f0c312d35422a57384c04aeb673f578d3ddb660761747fc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260108110148_26b4f6883ce3362c6f0c312d35422a57384c04aeb673f578d3ddb660761747fc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="George Mallory and Everest"> <figcaption>Panuru Sherpa on the top of Mt Everest with a client in 2002. He has climbed the peak 16 times.</figcaption> </figure>  Among those who believe Mallory and Irvine were the first to climb Mt Everest, and not <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-70-years-on">Hillary and Tenzing in 1953</a>, are the Nepali guides who took part in the research expeditions in 1999, 2001 and 2004 to find clues about Mallory and Irvine. Mallory’s body was found 8,125m on the North Face in 1999, and Irvine’s detached foot and sock with his initials inside a leather hob-nailed boot was found in 2024 in the Rongbuk Glacier below the North Face. Various expeditions have recovered a mitten, an oxygen cylinder, and ice axe from that expedition. “I believe they reached the summit, and fell on the way down in the dark and bad weather,” says <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/sherpaland-co-usa">Panuru Sherpa</a>, who has climbed Mt Everest 16 times, including on the northern route taken by four British expeditions in 1921, 1922, 1924 and 1933. “They were making good progress past the Second Step from where it is a much easier hour-and-half to the summit. A climber who reaches that point below the final pyramid does not turn back.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260108110148_bdbdd01c5c12cb5bb022857f7ca871cc4ff95e02c2305f6bbf1a63d1d15de8e4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260108110148_bdbdd01c5c12cb5bb022857f7ca871cc4ff95e02c2305f6bbf1a63d1d15de8e4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="864" loading="lazy" alt="George Mallory and Everest"> <figcaption>Mt Everest North Face in China which early expeditions took because Nepal was closed till 1950. The red line is the classic route to the peak, the dotted line is probably what George Mallory and Sandy Irvine took in 1924 to avoid the formidable obstacle of the Second Step.</figcaption> </figure>  Panuru is convinced that the location of Mallory’s body and Irvine’s ice axe shows that the two had not lost their way on their descent. He told Nepali Times in Denver, where he now lives: “Mallory’s body was not decomposed even after 75 years, and his exposed back was white like marble. One of legs was broken, and there was an altimeter and letters written to his wife Ruth in his pocket.” He remembers the search team was happy to locate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/mountains-of-books">Mallory</a>, but it was unable to find one of the three cameras believed to be with the duo that could have held the proof that the two, or at least one of them, had indeed been the first to climb Everest.&nbsp; There was a deep wound around Mallory’s waist, which could have been caused during the fall by the rope which was still found tied around his body. Mallory’s remains were covered in stone slabs at the site after a brief ritual, Panuru recalls. A 1975 Chinese expedition reported seeing the body of a Western climber, which was probably Mallory, near their Camp VI. There are rumours in climbing circles that the Chinese also found a camera, but that the negative could not be developed. Everest summiteers have said the Second Step’s 45m overhanging cliff at 8,610m would have been “essentially insurmountable”, and it is only possible today because the Chinese fixed aluminium ladders to the rock face in 1975.&nbsp; But Panuru agrees with other mountaineering historians who believe Mallory could have decided to take a route below the northeast ridge and bypass the Second Step, following the advice of fellow team member Ed Norton who set the then world record by reaching 8,572m. The other finding that could indicate that Mallory reached the top was that a photograph of his wife Ruth which he intended to place at the summit was not in his pocket.&nbsp; EVEREST CONNECTION Panuru is the son of Nima Tsering Sherpa, who was a part of the 1953 expedition to Mt Everest that made Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay the first climbers on the world’s highest peak. Nima carried loads for that expedition up to the South Col. Nima had eight sons and a daughter, Panuru is the sixth, and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-most-prolific-mountaineering-clan"> most of his siblings are also climbers</a>. After the successful 1953 expedition, Nima spent time grazing yaks, growing potatoes and raising his family in Phortse. He joined expeditions to support the family. The young Panuru would meet mountaineers who stopped by at the family’s tea house in Phortse. He has walked the Jiri route to Kathmandu many times, and his eldest brother who worked for Mountain Travel Nepal got him a job as a trekking guide. Panuru ended up joining expeditions, climbing Everest from both sides multiple times. Panuru Sherpa’s brother Danuru was the youngest member of the 1999 expedition, and a year earlier had first climbed Everest from the Nepal side when he was only 18. The siblings are now chefs at the Sherpa House in Colorado.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260108110152_9275f617585d33f7324d087455de7c61fd3759fe4d44a7ebe604fa2eefc047df.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260108110152_9275f617585d33f7324d087455de7c61fd3759fe4d44a7ebe604fa2eefc047df" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="523" loading="lazy" alt="George Mallory and Everest"> <figcaption>Brothers Panuru and Danuru Sherpa are now working in Golden, Colorado, and lead occasional climbing trips in the Rockies and Alaska.</figcaption> </figure>  In 2001, both brothers were members of another expedition composed of 20 foreign and 21 Nepali climbers led by David Hahn that tried to find Irvine in the same area of the North Face, guided by the discovery of Irvine’s ice axe in a 1933 expedition as well as sightings of what was believed to be his body near the ridge above. No more clues were found then, or in 2004 when Danuru returned for another search expedition. Remnants of Irvine and Mallory’s Camp VI were found at 8,600m during the 2001 expedition, only about 300m from where Mallory’s body was located.&nbsp; “It was probably dark when Mallory fell because his snow goggles were in his pocket,” says Danuru, who has taken part in the three search expeditions on the north side and is also convinced the two fell on their way down after reaching the summit. Altogether 13 people died on Everest during the three expeditions that Mallory was involved in, of which nine were Nepali porters, cooks and guides who were hired in Darjeeling before the march-in. “Chomolungma and Sherpa are synonymous,” says Danuru. “It was Chomolungma that made the Sherpa people famous globally, and it was Sherpas who made it possible to climb Everest.” Konrad Anker, who led the 1999 team that found Mallory’s body, doubts that one or both the climbers reached the summit in 1924, mainly because of the difficulty of climbing a cliff at 8,600m with the kind of gear they had.&nbsp; “It is possible, but unlikely they climbed the Second Step with 1920s equipment, but even getting to that altitude back then was an incredible accomplishment,” he has said. After the expedition, Anker and Panuru worked together to set up the Khumbu Climbing Center to upgrade the technical skills of Nepali guides. Panuru has also trained hundreds of fellow Nepali guides, and many of them regard him as a mentor. Panuru knew the need for better training because he himself had been badly wounded during a fall into a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall in one of his early expeditions in 1992 and had to be evacuated by helicopter to Kathmandu.&nbsp; But the very next year, he was back on the mountain. He climbed Everest from the north with a Korean team in 1994, and a year later got to the top again from the north side with an American expedition. He summited again from the Nepal side in 1996, and nearly died in an avalanche on the north side that killed a fellow Sherpa in 1997.&nbsp; So far, Panuru has climbed Everest 16 times, Cho Oyu 14 times from both sides, Xixapangma four times, five other eight-thousanders in Nepal, and Ama Dablam six times. He was the first Nepali to ascend Gurla Mandhata in Tibet. After emigrating to the United States, he has climbed Mt Denali (6,190m) in Alaska three times while also being a part of a volunteer rescue team.&nbsp; Irvine’s boot was found by an expedition led by American climber Jimmy Chin in the Rongbuk Glacier, probably transported there from the base of the face by the movement of ice in the past 100 years. Asked why he climbed Everest 16 times, Panuru echoes George Mallory: “Because I was there.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Finding George Mallory

The 12-day political partnership of Kulman Ghising with Rabi Lamichhane and Balen Shah that ended on Saturday was brief even by Nepali standards.&nbsp;
The Ujyalo Nepal Party backed by Ghising and Lamichhane’s RSP had inked a deal to unite on 29 December, one day after Balen Shah formed an agreement with the RSP to contest the election under the party’s banner.
The alliance between the RSP and Ghising is said to have fallen apart after Ghising asked for institutional and ideological changes within the party, and for members of his team to be given key positions including senior vice-chair and general secretary, as well his stipulation that more than two dozen of his camp be appointed members of RSP’s central committee.&nbsp;
Ghising had also been less than happy about some of his 18 proposed candidates being left off RSP’s Proportional Representation list, and had taken issue with the priority order of those from his camp on the docket.&nbsp;
The merger between Ghising and Lamichhane happened after last minute negotiation before the deadline for the submission of the PR candidate list after multiple previous rounds of discussions between BRK had failed. Ghising had agreed to sit down one final time with the two leaders following a last-ditch effort by youth leaders including Sudan Gurung.
Ghising following his resignation last week had told the press that his partnership with Lamichhane and Shah had not come into effect even though his UNP had formally signed to merge with RSP. The party, which has been hailed as a formidable alternative political foil to legacy outfits in the March polls, had come under considerable criticism for its PR list, most of which included influential public figures as opposed to qualified people who would represent the nation’s socio-culture, socio-economy, diverse ethnic makeup, and geography.&nbsp;
On Saturday, following news of the RSP-UNP dissolution, Ghising was announced as the chair of the UNP, of which he had only remained the patron so far.
That Ghising broke away from Lamichhane and Shah does not come as a shock. Analysts had already predicted the clash of egos between the three figures who have gained popularity through personality rather than ideology driven politics.&nbsp;
It is also not surprising that the new trio has been following the playbook of make-up and break-politics written by the Oli-Deuba Dahal trio that has defined Nepali politics for the last decade.&nbsp;
As the RSP deals with its growing pains, Nepal’s established parties are busy preparing for the polls even as they confront infighting within their own institutions. The Nepali Congress is seeing widening rifts between factions brought on by power struggles between old and newer leadership within the party. The &nbsp;special general convention called by General Secretaries Gagan Thapa and Bishwo Prakash Sharma began on Sunday amid party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and other senior leaders’ refusal to endorse and attend the event.&nbsp;
The special general convention was called after it was endorsed by 54% of NC’s general convention delegates, but the party leadership has been adamant about holding the general convention to choose a new party head after the election.
The decision to go ahead with the special general convention has been opposed by numerous NC district chapters for going over the head of party leadership. Even so, leaders of the Thapa-Sharma faction expect 60% of the party’s delegates to attend the event.&nbsp;
The Thapa and Sharma faction want the party to contest the election under a new leadership, seeming to have a better grasp on the sheer lack of popularity of the party, especially after GenZ protests. The leaders are banking on having a better outcome at the March polls if there is a change in party leadership.&nbsp;
Leftist leaders like Pushpa Kamal Dahal of the NCP and Baburam Bhattarai have also been busy reaching out to Indian leadership in the weeks leading up to the election.
And while pro-monarchy leaders like Durga Prasai—while initially calling for a royalist mobilisation following the September protests—seem to be laying low lately, only emerging after the Balen-Rabi merger to call them “political actors groomed by foreign powers”, former king Gyanendra during his Prithvi Jayanti address on Saturday took the opportunity to deliver a particularly somber address to the nation.&nbsp;
Gyanendra commented on the youth frustration that led to the September revolt, linking it to the ongoing exodus of young people and capital, as well as geopolitics, and criticising Nepal’s political leadership of “repeatedly using the youth but not understanding their needs”.
“Yesterday, there was concern that there was no development in the country, but today there is a bigger worry that the country itself might not survive,” Gyanendra said in his remarks. “This country was not built, nor will it be built, by speeches, magic or miracles.”

numismatic

Losing loose change in Nepal

Violations of Nepal’s airspace during WWII

The Man Who Shook Our Minds

Finding George Mallory

BRK break up