https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXxxTSU5ubgTo Pratima Sherpa, the golf course is home, literally. She was born and raised in a small storage shed on the <a href="https://www.golfadvisor.com/courses/21820-royal-nepal-golf-club" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royal Nepal Golf Course</a> in Kathmandu.Growing up, Sherpa watched men dressed smartly in polo shirts and white pants swing shiny golf clubs on the vast grassy course below the airport. She wanted to do the same and so her father, a security guard at the course, crafted a makeshift club for her out of wood and Sherpa spent hours practicing her swing. There has been no looking back.Sherpa was just finding her footing in Nepal’s golf scene when the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/on-course-to-be-champion-golf,3390" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali Times first profiled her</a> four years ago. She went on to win national golf competitions and attract the attention of international media like the Los Angeles Times, Golf Digest, and ESPN.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=41633&amp;preview_nonce=1a5fef970e&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trail-running trail blazer</a>, Sanghamitra Subba<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=41606&amp;preview_nonce=6d2bb56d9f&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coming Soon: Ani Choying, the movie</a>,  Alisha SijapatiSherpa moved to California a year and a half ago and her life there is a world apart from the golf shed behind the third hole in Sinamangal, where her parents still live. In her second year at Santa Barbara City College, Sherpa  attends public speaking, business and math classes, practices golf for three hours, goes to the gym for two hours and does homework before bed. On weekends, she frequents a nearby beach with her friends and host family.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77c69c7e80680e064657jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1323"/><figcaption>Photo: MICHAEL MONTANO</figcaption></figure>Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/golfing-in-nepals-monsoon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Golfing in Nepal's monsoon</a>“Sometimes I have a tournament and a midterm exam on the same day and those days can be very hectic,” she laughed during a recent phone interview with Nepali Times.When she met him, Sherpa’s idol Tiger Woods advised her to work on her course management. “I still remember him saying ‘Hi Pratima!’ when we first met,” recalls Sherpa. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that or the fact that he said that my swing was perfect.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77c99c7e80680e064658jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="744" height="800"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>During her meeting with Woods, Sherpa was filming for an ESPN documentary, A Mountain to Climb, which chronicled her journey from the 2017 Qualifying School tournament in Kathmandu to her stay in California, where she is hosted by a couple eager to support her golfing career.Tanya and Michael Montano had read Oliver Horowitz’s article about Sherpa in Golf Digest in late 2016 and had soon after travelled to Nepal to visit their daughter Sophia, who was in the country for a semester abroad. While in Kathmandu they decided to reach out to the young golfer.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=41677&amp;preview_nonce=28a6e8e67c&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A goddess among people</a>, Shristi Karki<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=41700&amp;preview_nonce=6d0139bd58&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From kamlari to MP</a>, Alisha SijapatiSherpa stayed with the Montanos in Santa Barbara, California for two months in 2017 and trained there in preparation for the Q School tournament that would take place back in Kathmandu that September. “They are my family,” Sherpa says of her hosts. “They’ve supported me, loved me and cared for me as much as my own parents have.”With the help of her host family, Sherpa became the first Nepali to compete in the The Symetra Tour in 2019, a tournament organised by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). After she finishes college in 2022, Sherpa will be eligible again to compete in the Q School tournament and thereby try for professional status in Nepal. No matter what changes in her life, Sherpa has her eyes set on one goal: to be Nepal’s first female professional golfer.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1364#.W1GkTtUzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Women play too</a>, Deepak Acharya

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Pratima Sherpa swings for pro

https://youtu.be/FXoifG5ba50I t’s either sweat or rain during monsoon season on Nepal’s golf courses. But, we golfers are a specific sucker-for-punishment breed.Rain, shine, snow, hail; we will keep playing no matter what nature throws at us. My first experience on a golf course in Nepal was during the monsoon’s humid heat, and it would be fair to say I was a frustrated hacker by the end of the round. Not only are the courses in this wonderful country exquisitely difficult, they are even harder and potentially more hazardous during monsoon.The key to enjoying golfing in the rain is being prepared, using common sense and timing it right. Seasoned players are in the habit of waking early to beat the heat and rain, while some play later in the day. But because it rains mainly at night, the course is soggy in the mornings. The afternoons may be hotter, but they are drier. While the weaker ones resign golf bags to the broom closet during the monsoon, those playing continue to improve their games.Just visit the Royal Nepal Golf Course in Kathmandu on Saturdays, Sundays or Wednesdays, to see the vibrant culture continuing through the dreary months. Teeing off at 7am, troops of Gurkhas take to the course for their rounds to beat the heat and, on Saturdays plenty of young aspiring golfers take to the range to hone their swings.The best-known courses in Nepal, Royal Nepal and Gokarna Forest Retreat, are unique, but there are three other courses in Pokhara, Dharan and Devachuli.Having played in four of these to write this review, it is fair to say each has its own challenges and charm (see map).Golf is simultaneously frustrating and rewarding at the best of times, but more than usual when playing during the monsoon season. Squelching down the fairways, players have to not just contend with the heat and rain which are not unique by international standards, but also leeches, mosquitos, livestock and wildlife in the greens. (And watch out for the snakes.)The balls plug into the turf, but courses typically allow for placement and cleaning of the balls. It is a hassle many have to contend with and getting the ball to run down the fairway is almost impossible.Also read: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/indoor-golf-range-in-nepal,1904" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Practice golf</a>, Claire Li Yingxue<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121144/6368f0389c7e80680e0359c2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934"/>With impromptu and intermittent downpours, those who are game should pack a rain jacket and umbrella, and a pair of waterproof shoes. There is also a lot of long grass in the monsoon, which makes the stakes of the game a little higher as the pressure to hit the perfect shot is even more important. Even still, it’s sometimes hard to find the ball on the fairway.During high season, the Himalayan Golf Course in Pokhara offers stunning views of the Annapurnas. During monsoon you play among few, if any, other players. Hitting over rivers and gulleys, shooting blind over trees and across the Bijaypur Canyon, the course is stunningly vertiginous and there is plenty of cover when Pokhara’s legendary rains come pouring down.Billionaire Binod Chaudary’s personal course in Devachuli of Nawalparasi opened to the public eight months ago, and is as well kept as Gokarna Forest Resort. The short 9-hole CG Retreat course is arguably the most forgiving of Nepal’s courses, with plenty of clear ground for mishits to fly, and has some of the best greens in the country. When it rains, however, it is a different story, and thankfully there is a spa and gym to keep you occupied.The heat, while it might seem unbearable to some, is really quite temperate in comparison to tropical southeast Asia. Gokarna Forest Resort senior golf director Deepak Acharya believes Nepal’s relatively temperate climes, even during monsoon, makes for a potentially lucrative attraction.“But you need to have a product that will actually get you to stay one extra day or night in the city, but we are not catered to do that. We need to put our heads together, because we have the potential,” he says.Indeed, golfing in the monsoon could be an attractive package for golfers from the Gulf who only have sandstorms for excitement. It is just a matter of time until not only Nepal twigs, but the rest of the world does too.The most unfortunate thing about golf, but what makes it great, is that we must play to the conditions. In Nepal, the US or Europe, rain or shine it is well worth being out there no matter how pitiful the score. It is going to be our fault for not being out there or not scoring well, just don’t blame the weather.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121144/6368f03b9c7e80680e0359c3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"><h2>Pratima prepares to tee off again</h2>She has met golf great Tiger Woods and played at some of the best courses in the world after gaining international media attention. ESPN featured the young golfer in a dedicated documentary: A Mountain to Climb.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/on-course-to-be-champion-golf,3390" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The 18-year-old golfer</a>, having grown up in a shed on the third hole of Royal Nepal Golf Course, acknowledges it’s been a crazy year. Back in Kathmandu, the self-assured yet self-effacing Sherpa continues to work hard on her golf and schooling in hopes of making a career in the game. The goodwill of the Nepal Golf Association, and several others, has seen her kitted out and benefiting from a good education.On a rare afternoon off training, she sits outside her home on the third hole and reflects on the past year. She has gained attention from golfing greats, touched by her story, and is now working hard to do well in her TOEFL and SAT exams in three months time, having been encouraged to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue higher studies in the US.“It’s a great opportunity, for me and the upcoming ladies,” she says.In October Sherpa is travelling to speak at the ESPN Women + Sport Summit in the US.To lower her handicap by 5, to become Nepal’s first female pro, she is focusing on her course management – a piece of advice from Tiger Woods himself.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1364#.W1GkTtUzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Women play too</a>, Deepak Acharya<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121144/6368f03e9c7e80680e0359c4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Nothing’s impossible. It’s difficult, it’s not impossible,” she says.And, if all goes according to plan, Sherpa wants to come back to Nepal to continue feeding the burgeoning game. There are many young people striking the ball well, however, not just Sherpa.Sachin Battarai, her coach, says there are eight determined girls playing at the Royal Nepal Golf Course, and there is plenty of talent in the ranks. Among the best are Prativa Rai, 17, Kashmira Shah, 18, and Bhumi Banaya, 15.Sherpa says she hopes there will one day be enough women serious about the game to justify a women’s tour. She also hopes to represent Nepal at the Olympics one day.There are many young men making a go of the sport as well.Nepal Golf Association’s Deepak Acharya says many underprivileged young golfers are coming through the ranks. Every Saturday, the courses host youth development sessions for them. Typically Royal Nepal Golf Club hosts about 40 young players, while Nirvana Golf Club and Resort, Himalayan Golf Club and Gokarna host 10 players each.One such player, 20-year-old Sukra Bahadur Rai, has shown both willingness and talent. NGA has helped him further his education, like many other young golfers–. There are plenty of golfers hitting the range in the hopes of making a career out of the sport. Names to look out for will be Binod Tamang, 15, Subash Ghising, 15 and Bipin Tamang, 19. Rai scored himself a place in the top 10 at the Thailand Amateur Open last year, while Tanka Bahadur Karki won the Bhutan Amateur Open recently. Both these players were found through the NGA’s youth development programme, and there is obviously more talent to come.Also read: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=5085#.W1GkTNUzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal's own Tiger Woods</a>, Deepak Acharya<h2>Himalayan Golf Course, Pokhara</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121144/6368f0419c7e80680e0359c5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934">Considered among the most unique courses in the world, it currently has 16 holes. Par-73 over 18 holes (players play the first and second twice) it was opened in 1994. The course is vertical, and built in a valley of the Bijaypur Khola 80m directly below the clubhouse.Majeri Patan, Pokhara, (061) 521882<h2>CG Retreat, Devachuli</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121144/6368f0449c7e80680e0359c6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050">Opened to the public eight months ago, this was used as a private course of billionaire Binod Chaudhary. Located in an Industrial Park, this 9-hole course (par-64 over 18 holes) is maintained to an exceptional standard.Devchuli - 02, Nawalparasi, 9826444611, 9805442901, <a href="http://cg-retreat.com/">www.cg-retreat.com</a><h2>Royal Nepal Golf Club, Kathmandu</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121144/6368f0489c7e80680e0359c7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1154">Located adjacent to Kathmandu airport, this course may be only nine-holes but is challenging with plenty of hazards. However, there are some forgiving holes, the caddies have a good knowledge of the terrain and there is a vibrant member culture.Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, (01) 4494247​​<h2>Gokarna Forest Resort, Gokarna</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121144/6368f04b9c7e80680e0359c8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934">Ten km from Kathmandu city centre, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/teeing-off-turkish-airlines-world-golf-cup-in-gokarna/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">this well-kept par-72 course</a> offers a varied 18-hole experience. Part of an ancient native forest and opened in 1999 at a former royal hunting resort. It has plenty of water hazards and some of the best putting greens in the country. Warning: bad roads to get there.Thali, Kathmandu, (01) 4451212, <a href="http://gokarna.com/golf">www.gokarna.com</a><h2>Nirvana Country Club Health &amp; Golf Resorts, Dharan</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121144/6368f04e9c7e80680e0359c9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="703">Forty-five minutes from Biratnagar Airport, this <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NCCHGR/">9-hole course in Dharan</a> was built at a former recruitment and pension base for the British Brigade of Gurkhas in 1962. The course is par-70 over 18 holes.Ghopa Camp, Dharan, (025) 525555

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Golfing in Nepal’s monsoon

This is the 91st episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. I have still not come to terms with the reality that my daughter Ruby Thakur is now the Deputy Speaker of Nepal’s Parliament. Sometimes, when I am walking, the thought hits me, and I cannot believe it.&nbsp; Things changed for my daughter in a very short time. I had dreamt that the best my daughter could achieve was a good engineering job. Fate had bigger plans for her. She is no longer just my daughter, she is the nation’s daughter. Nepal’s daughter.&nbsp; My children’s education was always my foremost priority. That is the main reason I went overseas for employment. I realised the value of education while working in Saudi Arabia. In my office, colleagues with good education earn $8,000 per month working on computers. Those with low education toil outdoors in the heat for much lower wages. A good education or skills can change everything. I am in Nepal on vacation and will soon return to my job. Ruby is all set now. But I still have to take care of my other children's education. As the eldest son, I myself never got a chance to prioritise my own education. I dropped out in Grade 7 because I had to take care of my ageing parents and younger siblings. I have done all kinds of jobs. I worked in a landlord’s field for a share of the harvest. Even now my wife and I farm for the land owner and have to give away half of what we grow.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120444_051b61e01a5189af538aa1e011acd3e2b38d5f42825116b2afd325d93d0c519b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260413120444_051b61e01a5189af538aa1e011acd3e2b38d5f42825116b2afd325d93d0c519b" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="2268" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> <figcaption>Sogarath Thakur during a break in Nepal with wife tending to his farm.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120448_8a1c3ac3fd559026bc6f981cc8dc82cb8ad09a3a4f55fb9f6f7fd5f49c3d5571.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260413120448_8a1c3ac3fd559026bc6f981cc8dc82cb8ad09a3a4f55fb9f6f7fd5f49c3d5571" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="2268" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> </figure>  Then I worked as a barber, my family’s line of occupation. I went door to door cutting people’s hair and later worked in a relative’s saloon. Hairstyles were simple back then, and I got to keep half the fee. I also worked in a brick factory where I was paid weekly. &nbsp; I married when I was 16, and my wife was a year younger. As my family and responsibilities grew, I had to migrate leaving behind my three children including Ruby who was just three months old.&nbsp; I went to Qatar where I continued working as a barber. It was a large saloon and the standards for cleanliness and professionalism were higher. I had to hand over 70% of my daily earnings to the employer. I had to rely on my colleague to translate what the customer wanted. But I slowly became fluent in Arabic. I used to jot down words in Nepali and Arabic and memorise them. In Qatar, customers even came at night for haircuts, and people stayed up late. I would work till 3AM.&nbsp; Communicating with my family was one-way. I would go to Bismillah and ask someone to type out questions to my family about their whereabouts, how the harvest was that season. I would offer very little information about my life in Qatar because it was not easy. What was the point of getting them all worried? What could they do? I never received a letter in return, so throughout my time in Qatar, I never knew how my family was faring. When I appeared in the village after five years without any advance notice, it was a bittersweet reunion, and I had no gifts. I still remember how unfamiliar my village felt when I came home after so many years. I had to ask for directions. When I came home, Ruby was already in school. I had left her in my wife’s arms five years prior. I missed her growing up, and did not even see her pictures. My wife had to introduce her to me as her father. But it took just 15 minutes for her to warm up to me.&nbsp; The Arabic skills I had picked up in Qatar came in handy when I remigrated two years later to Saudi Arabia. I worked as a labourer in the desert heat, but once my company found out I spoke Arabic, I was hired for an indoor job as an office boy. The struggle in Qatar had paid off. I worked in an air conditioned office serving tea or coffee, doing bank runs or getting documents signed and photocopied. I have worked in the same company for the past 20 years, sending money home.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120448_f083fa873a6d77b19c8b0bdde623415c643a151fb550c57ff4e52b3c2431355f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260413120448_f083fa873a6d77b19c8b0bdde623415c643a151fb550c57ff4e52b3c2431355f" data-rendition-name="original" width="5712" height="3213" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260413120452_5ccd9a01ee05ce26b71381725108215d0f0d3806508b0cb482aabcfea09bbaef.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260413120452_5ccd9a01ee05ce26b71381725108215d0f0d3806508b0cb482aabcfea09bbaef" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="3024" loading="lazy" alt="DD"> </figure>  My wife is not just my children’s guardian, but also mine throughout the two decades I was away. I trust her with all my earnings, and she manages our household finances well. She makes sure that the children’s school fees and other expenses are paid on time. These days, with video calls, things have become much easier for me to stay in touch with home.&nbsp; When Ruby told me she wanted to do an engineering diploma, I was happy. Later, her friends inspired her to join politics so she started getting involved with Shram Sanskriti Party. I first found out she got the proportional representation nomination through social media while on my work duty in Saudi Arabia. I was so excited, but even more so when she was elected Deputy Speaker. I was back home in Dhanusha on my vacation at the time.&nbsp; We are overjoyed and waiting for her to come back to the village for a visit when she gets a chance so we can celebrate properly with everyone. I plan to go back to Saudi Arabia as originally planned, I have a good job and will work for maybe five more years. Ruby has taken 75% of the load off my back. She can help take care of her siblings.&nbsp; I sleep at 8PM every day and wake up at 5AM to exercise before my day in Saudi Arabia begins – I have stuck to the same routine for the last two decades and it has worked well for me and my health. I have a good rapport with my boss who is an Egyptian. My requests to resign have often been met with counter-offers to stay on. My honesty and hard work have won me the company's trust. I will go back and resume working as I have, despite my daughter’s huge achievements. I am still a farmer’s son, a simple man who has to fulfil his family responsibilities. My colleagues in Saudi Arabia are aware that Ruby is Deputy Speaker in Nepal’s Parliament, they are all happy for me and have congratulated me. This time, when I go back, I have promised them that I will throw a bakhri party to celebrate my daughter’s achievement.

The nation’s daughter

At 6 feet and one inch, Hira Bahadur Ghalan was exceptionally tall for a Nepali. In 1936, when people came to his Tamang village near Tistung looking for porters, they recruited him on the spot. This was no ordinary job, Hira Bahadur would lead gangs of 30 or more porters to carry cars bought by Rana rulers from Bhimphedi to Kathmandu.&nbsp; Those were the days when the only motorable roads in Nepal were in Kathmandu, but the capital was not connected to anywhere else by road. So, before cars could carry people, people had to carry cars. More Nepalis had carried cars than ridden in one. The porters were paid Rs5 for the job, and sometimes the Rana owners gave Hira Bahadur a Rs25 baksheesh. One of the cars his community helped carry was a 1939 Daimler Benz gifted by Adolf Hitler to King Tribhuvan to woo Nepal away from the British. The rusted dusty vehicle is now in the Narayanhiti Palace Museum.&nbsp; Hira Bahadur hauled cars for 25 years until his knees gave way, he died at age 90 eight years ago — the last surviving car porters of Nepal from Chitlang Valley.&nbsp; Hira Bahadur Ghalan had three sons and three daughters, one of them is Maila Kaji Lama, who at age 68, is a chauffeur in Kathmandu. His son, Manjil Lama is a pilot with Summit Air, flying to remote Himalayan airstrips. Three generations of one family worked in professions that followed a century of transportation history in Nepal. &nbsp; After the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-long-and-winding-road-to-india">Tribhuvan Rajpath was finished in 1957</a> and the ropeway upgraded, Hira Bahadur was out of a job. He tilled the family farm, watching trucks and buses headed to and from Kathmandu on the hairpins.&nbsp; As a child, Maila Kaji was fascinated by cars and wished one day to be able to drive one. After he failed Grade 8, he came to Kathmandu in 1975 and got a Rs20/month job at a petrol station in Maiti Devi. “I watched King Birendra’s coronation and was impressed by the glamour of Kathmandu, and decided to stay here,” Maila Kaji says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041816040_a1a41e47dec8500727702f700e43af625f059043cbcd283f13b247344b3a20aa.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026041816040_a1a41e47dec8500727702f700e43af625f059043cbcd283f13b247344b3a20aa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1974" height="1608" loading="lazy" alt="car carriers"> <figcaption>Maila Kaji</figcaption> </figure>  Former minister Ramesh Nath Pandey used to bring his Volkswagen Beetle to the station, and Maila Kaji started taking care of his car. Later, he drove a Russian Jeep for former minister and geographer Harka Gurung. Along the way, he fell in love with the daughter of a Brahmin colleague, and married her. “My father back in Tistung did not approve of our inter-ethnic marriage, and not speak to me for five years,” Maila Kaji recalls. Manjil Lama grew up in Kathmandu, and did well in science in school. He had wanted to go the US to become a pilot like his friends, but was denied a visa.&nbsp; “The visa officer told him I did not earn enough,” says Maila Kaji, “so I sold some property and sent Manjil to flying school in the Philippines.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041816040_e9091162840baa6d182de2d7cc6f09e43ec9cfd9a9b6e71e7e7b14bc72da3537.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026041816040_e9091162840baa6d182de2d7cc6f09e43ec9cfd9a9b6e71e7e7b14bc72da3537" data-rendition-name="original" width="1434" height="1754" loading="lazy" alt="car carriers"> <figcaption>Manjil Lama</figcaption> </figure>  After returning to Nepal, Manjil Lama now flies Let 410s of Summit Air to difficult air strips like Lukla and Simkot, and has logged over 2,000 hours. He has to go to the Czech Republic regularly for simulator training. Says Maila Kaji Lama: “My father worked hard carrying cars to raise us, I started from scratch to become a driver to support my family, and my son is now a pilot with experience in flying in the world’s toughest terrain.” &nbsp; Watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvT3iTi8yw4" target="_blank">video clip from S Dillon Ripley here</a>.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260419020448_40f8b1bdaace08106ca5c24819b6e7a34fb2109a9a3ec5c6ac179b3309e686ed.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260419020448_40f8b1bdaace08106ca5c24819b6e7a34fb2109a9a3ec5c6ac179b3309e686ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="900" height="1582" loading="lazy" alt="car carriers"> </figure>

Grandfather carried cars, son drives cars, grandson flies planes

Nepalis are insured but not covered

The series Nepal Made profiles Nepali products and the people who make them possible. Named after the mythical bird-like creature, GarudX is Nepal’s first precision manufacturer of UAV platforms. They offer a wide range of drone products and services. Last month, GarudX won first place at the US-Nepal Startup Weekend Challenge, a three-day accelerator-style program that gathered 25 of Nepal’s most promising early-stage companies. These include custom drones, cinematography, virtual tours, first-person-view (FPV), drone racing, 3D reconstruction, ground control software, and drone light shows. “I think they liked that we pitched the company as a Drone Enterprise System, as a company providing large-scale, integrated drone services,” says Dipawoli Malla, an AI software engineer with GarudX. The company sees a lot of potential in AI-based aerial computer vision, which is already used for infrastructure planning and land surveys, and could be vital in tracking wildlife poachers and assisting search and rescue during disasters. “Our vision for the company has always been to be the one stop solution for every drone problem,” says GarudX CEO Avash Thapa, who also oversees video production. Drones have gained high profile in the past five years due to their widespread adoption in war. While they do work with the Nepali army, GarudX wants to focus on the idea of drone for good. For Nepal, the potential is great for civilian applications especially because of the country’s terrain. Past efforts have been experimental, like a project to deliver tuberculosis treatment in Piuthan in 2019, and for wildlife censuses in Chitwan. Journalists now regularly use drone footage to get a bird’s-eye view for investigative stories on illegal sand-mining or delays in infrastructure projects. Drones were vital during the GenZ protests last September, in which aerial videos provided clues about what actually happened when the crowd surged towards Parliament. They also captured the dramatic aftermath of the destruction of government buildings featured in this paper. “A lot of people do not know or appreciate that drones are also made in Nepal,” notes Malla. “We export a lot of technology as software. It is a big achievement that we can also export hardware.” GarudX was informally started and active on social media since 2018, and officially registered as GarudX Multipurpose in 2024. Founder and Managing Director Adarsha Raj Bhusal had experience working with robotics and FPV drones when he launched the company, as an engineering group interested in custom-built high-performance aerial robotics. “I design our products,” says Bhusal. “We send designs to China where they are manufactured as individual parts. Costs are low when importing from China. Then we assemble and sell them here. It's a system that works well for us.” Among the UAVs GarudX makes include the Skyreaper, which is a long-range drone with advanced obstacle sensing; the GX8 Pyro which is Nepal’s first cinema-grade cinelifter; and the Aether Zoom which is a 4K UAV camera designed for tactical, industrial, or reconnaissance missions.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260417150440_d9f36b32e0b4d65dedded3e705aa7bf8769fd72417fc53669e77ce7a32f8ccd1.webp" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260417150440_d9f36b32e0b4d65dedded3e705aa7bf8769fd72417fc53669e77ce7a32f8ccd1" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="1280" loading="lazy" alt="garudx"></figure>  NO CERTIFICATION The main obstacle to GarudX's growth has been the lack of a national certification system. Permits to use drones are convoluted and require applications to various government agencies. “We miss out on so many international projects, for national park footage for example, since there is no way to get our drones registered — even after the army thoroughly checks our craft,” says Adarsha Raj Bhusal. GarudX says it now has the capacity to export its drones overseas at competitive prices, but Nepal does not have a registration system in place. “We can’t legally ship them,” says Avaya Pokharel, Chief Operating Officer who oversees service and repairs. With a new RSP government in place with an ambitious blueprint for digitisation, things could soon change. Relevant bodies are the Home Ministry, the Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Defence because of privacy, aviation safety and national security issues. “There are meetings going on, and there is hope that progress will be made. Of course we want certification to be easy, but it is hard for the government as they have to understand the technology and what is coming in future,” says Bhusal. Legislation could look like a Remote ID system to register every drone. It could also specify pilot verification, placing limitations on what a pilot can do based on their skill level. It could also look at revising drone policies in the capital. Most of Kathmandu Valley is technically a no-fly zone for drones at present because of the concentration of government buildings, army bases and the international airport flight path. To comply with current regulations, GarudX has focused on lightweight FPV drones: small, nimble craft that can be maneuvered at high speed in tight spaces, operated by a pilot wearing immersive goggles. This results in exciting fast-paced footage, particularly useful for clients like Redbull or vehicle companies. “It feels like you are flying,” testifies Bhusal, who has flown FPV for commercials and movies, and ranks way ahead of runner ups in drone races. His work can be seen @adars_fpv on Instagram. The company has built a community of FPV drone racers, and is working with the government to certify it as a sports competition. It holds race events at colleges in Kathmandu and also consults for FPV events in in India.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260417150440_43b27b1b6890e47028c5e780c2ed0147a057f625d9d551221ddbd504dc03a356.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260417150440_43b27b1b6890e47028c5e780c2ed0147a057f625d9d551221ddbd504dc03a356" data-rendition-name="original" width="923" height="619" loading="lazy" alt="garudx"></figure>  MULTIPURPOSE Drones can be versatile tools, but they are particularly helpful in Nepal and the Himalaya. Powerful drones have been used for the last two years to transport ropes and ladders up Mt Everest to reduce the dangers on the Khumbu Icefall, and to bring trash down. If scaled with many pilots and drones, this could be a complete solution to the Everest trash problem while massively reducing risk to human lives. GarudX has also tested its products in the mountains. A recent blog entry on their website is titled, ‘Flying at 6,120m: What We Learned Testing Drones on Lobuche Peak’. They document the process of using different battery tricks and propellers to see what combination allows for more flight time in the thin, cold air. It is refreshing to see a Nepali company making such progress in a unique industry while also documenting advances.

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