<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb3d9c7e80680e08bbb0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683"/><figcaption>Pokhara's much-delayed new international airport is scheduled to open early next year. Photo: Krishna Mani Baral</figcaption></figure>2020 was a write-off for Nepal’s tourism, and for Pokhara, the country’s prime destination, it was catastrophic. But guess who have come to rescue the city from complete ruin: Nepali travellers.Pokhara’s hotels, bars, paragliding and ultralight clubs for which international tourists were the main source of income have, at least partially, recovered because of domestic visitors.To be sure, Lakeside wears a forlorn look—especially since Phewa has been drained for dam repairs. The trekking trails of Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi, Sikles, or Ghorepani for which Pokhara served as a base camp, are also largely deserted.One year on after the pandemic scare sent visitors home in a hurry, Pokhara has never really recovered. More than 25% of hotels, restaurants and shops that depended on tourism have permanently closed, others are for sale.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb3f9c7e80680e08bbb1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Some Pokhara restaurants like Mughlan are open for business.</figcaption></figure>“Pokhara has more than 700 hotels with 30,000 beds, but the pandemic has affected all of them, including restaurants, paragliding and ultralight companies, zipline,” says Gopi Bhattarai of Pokhara Tourism Council. “They all need a stimulus, tax breaks or debt rescue from the government.”But Pokhara has survived. The city’s hospitality industry now sees light at the end of the tunnel with the new vaccines, a drop in Covid-19 cases in Nepal, the completion of Pokhara’s new international airport. But most of all , it is the arrival of fellow-Nepalis that offers respite.Many urban Nepalis fed up of being locked down for months yearned to escape. For those  planning to get away from Kathmandu’s pollution, or the damp cold of fog-bound Tarai cities, Pokhara became the ideal escape.“We have at least 50-60 Nepali passengers on package tours to Pokhara from Kathmandu every day through our Buddha Holidays subsidiary,” says Buddha Air Managing Director Birendra Bahadur Basnet<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb429c7e80680e08bbb2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720"><figcaption>Photo: Niranjan Shrestha</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb459c7e80680e08bbb3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1778" height="1000"><figcaption>Photo: Tulsi Rauniyar</figcaption></figure>Basnet has big plans to make Pokhara’s new airport the hub for his expansion into western Nepal in 2023 with a new aircraft that can operate in remote airfields with short runways. He also sees huge potential for Indian tourists after the border is re-opened, for which he plans Nepalganj-Pokhara flights.After the lockdown, the tourism industry here realised that internal visitors could sustain the sector until international tourists returned. It launched the Jaun Hai Pokhara campaign in eastern Nepal in December, and in the Western Tarai in April. Pokhara’s businesses also lobbied hard with the government to declare a 5-day work week in an effort to tap weekend visitors.“If the government introduces two-day weekends, that would support internal tourism, while providing Nepalis with a much-needed stress relief caused by the pandemic,” says Bhattarai at the Pokhara Tourism Council. “But now is the time to also diversify our destinations, we cannot depend on the same landmarks like the lake, waterfall and cave.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb489c7e80680e08bbb4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1583" height="776">Airlines, hotels and travel agencies are waiting for the much-delayed Pokhara International Airport opening early next year so that more domestic flights can be accommodated, and international tourists can bypass Kathmandu.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb4b9c7e80680e08bbb5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1688"><figcaption>Drone image of Pokhara's new airport looking east.</figcaption></figure>Says Binesh Munankarmi, manager of the airport project: “Domestic tourists will now be able to come to Pokhara for  weekends, which has not been feasible due to the restricted flights. And Pokhara will be connected directly to the outside world.”Kashi Raj Bhandari, head of Gandaki Province for Nepal Tourism Board thinks that post-pandemic the airport can start flying in tourists from neighbouring countries. He says, “Since Covid-19 is under control, we must open our borders to visitors from China and India. Later, we can also think of European, North American and East Asia visitors. There is  a lot of pent-up demand for wilderness adventures in Nepal.”However, even though the coronavirus numbers are not as frightening as before, some business owners here are not so optimistic about the return of international tourists. Of the two 5-star hotels in Pokhara, only one is functioning, four 4-star hotels are open but they all have only 10% occupancy even with domestic tourists.“Foreign tourism is zero, and it does not look like they will return until the conditions improve,” says Bikal Tulachan of the Paschimanchal Hotel Association. “Even if the Covid-19 numbers are down, political instability is hurting travel and shutdowns have started again.”Some, however, have taken the opportunity of the lockdown to expand, maintain and upgrade their hotels in the hope that travel will pick up and even exceed pre-Covid levels. Raniban resort is spending NRs60 million to add 14 more rooms.“Local tourists have started coming, but until international guests return we will not be able to sustain the business and keep paying staff salaries,” says Raniban’s Aksab Shrestha. ‘Despite all this the future of tourism in Pokhara is bright. That is why we are investing on expansion.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb4e9c7e80680e08bbb6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="1280"><figcaption>Annapurna II and IV by moonlight from the window of Barahi Hotel on Sarangkot. Photo: Niranjan Shrestha</figcaption></figure>At the Shangri-La Village resort in the city occupancy over new year was 90% thanks to Nepali guests. “We would not have had so many Nepalis staying before the pandemic,” says manager Gupta Giri.Along Lakeside, there used to be more than 200 restaurants and bars. Many had been shuttered, but with the return of Nepali tourists, a few have reopened. “We see a glimmer of hope as visitors have started to return to Pokhara,” says Laxman Baral of the Restaurant and Bar Association of Nepal (REBAN, Pokhara).Small clothing and handicraft shop owners at Lakeside note that although domestic tourists do not splurge as much as their foreign counterparts, the purchases are crucial to keep them afloat. Taxi owners like Keshav Raj Baral now makes only five local sightseeing trips, but says there are Nepalis who book his car for the whole day.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb509c7e80680e08bbb7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1778" height="1000"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb539c7e80680e08bbb8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768"><figcaption>Mt Machapuchre (6,990m) from Sarangkot. Photos: Niranjan Shrestha</figcaption></figure>Live music still floats out of numerous bars and restaurants during the evening, but the pandemic has affected Pokhara’s once-vibrant nightlife. “The business is alright during the weekends with Nepalis but there is not much traffic on weekdays,” says Yogesh Bhattarai of the popular Busy Bee bar.Catwalk is also gearing up to open its doors. “We were closed for a year, but did not wait any longer,” says the night club’s Amrit Pahari.Dorjee Lama’s Moondance Restaurant reopened after the lockdown and has been operating with less than 10 staff. He says that although the pandemic wrought havoc in the restaurant business, he has not given up hope. “We survived an insurgency and an economic blockade, so this crisis doesn’t faze us,” says Lama, expressing Pokhara’s indomitable spirit. “We see the hope of brighter days.”Although Nepali visitors have rescued businesses for now, Gopi Bhattarai of Pokhara Tourism Council says: “Because of the investment that has been made by Pokhara’s tourism entrepreneurs, it is clear that we cannot survive just on the income from domestic tourists.”______________________________________________________<h2>Thrills and Spills</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb559c7e80680e08bbb9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1489" height="820">One of the most dramatic growths in Pokhara has been in paragliding off Sarangkot and surrounding hills. There are now 60 paragliding companies which employ 350 licensed pilots. After the lockdown was lifted in September, paragliding took off as companies offered 50% discounts for Nepalis.“There are now young Nepali tourists from Kathmandu, Chitwan, Butwal and other cities making up to 300 flights a day,” says Krishna Bhandari of the Nepal Airsports Association.Even as the streets are emptier than usual, the skies are dotted with the colourful paragliders. Up at the jump-off point in Sarangkot, the excitement is palpable among Nepali tourists lining up to buy tickets. As he checks on his equipment in preparation of a flight, pilot Aayush Shah notes that he has seen more Nepalis lining up to paraglide lately than before the pandemic.Nepalis have been attracted by discounts for flights. Says Krishna Bhandari, “Usually, Nepalis make up 30% of the total paragliders annually, this year it is 100%.”Paragliding companies did a total of 800 flights a day on average during the Dasain holidays after the lockdown, now it averages 300 a day.The three ultralight companies which operate sight-seeing flights to the Annapurna from Pokhara airport have also seen an increase in interest from Nepali guests. Pokhara also has zip-line and bungee jumping, but these have not seen a tourism rebound as the other adventure sports.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb589c7e80680e08bbbajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1778" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb5b9c7e80680e08bbbbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683">HighGround Adventures gets only four to five passengers for its 1,865 meter feet zip-line but is still keeping itself operational. HighGround’s Hari Chapai says, “It is shortsighted to close down a business because of the current situation. We have to send the message that we are up and running.”Because of social media posts, the numbers of Nepalis taking the plunge to bungee jump is picking up. “We have introduced the tandem jump after the lockdown targeting domestic tourists,” says HighGround’s Dinesh Maharjan. “The response has been very encouraging.”______________________________________________________<h2>Hike Hype</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb5d9c7e80680e08bbbcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Dog on the Mardi Ridge Trek. Photo: Tulsi Rauniyar</figcaption></figure>Nepal Tourism Board has used the pandemic period to come up with new trekking trails and destinations, including the Sikles-Tanting Trail, Kapuche Lake Trek and the Maurice Herzog Trail to North Annapurna Base Camp.The best promotion has been Nepalis posting photos and videos of their treks to Mardi Himal, Mulde Peak, or Kapuche Lake – turning these to new destinations besides the usual Poon Hill and Ghandruk.Indeed, Shuvabi Pradhan from Kathmandu decided it would be well worth a visit to the Gurung village of Sikles after having watched travelogues and blog posts. When a video of an avalanche at Kapuche Lake went viral last month, there was a spurt in trekkers to Sikles."The trails around Pokhara has a place for everyone and every adventure,” says Pradhan. “It has always been the perfect getaway location for me, be it solo or with family and friends. Since foreign travel is restricted, Nepalis are discovering Nepal.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb609c7e80680e08bbbdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1189" height="1444"><figcaption>Kapuche Lake near Sikles is the lowest glacial lake in Nepal.</figcaption></figure>Realising this, Nepal Tourism Board is forming a Domestic Tourism Revival Committee that will work towards strategising ways to encourage domestic tourism to destinations like Pokhara. “Domestic tourism needs to be more organised. NTB’s effort will create opportunities for organized trekking and mountaineering among domestic tourists.”There is a silver lining in the absence of international trekkers, the fact that Nepalis are venturing forth where they did not go before.“Revenue wise, the mountain tourism industry is at a zero right now. There’s no revival, only survival,’ says Sushil Poudel, the Chairman of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal. But he says it is encouraging to see adventurous Nepalis on the trails.For domestic backpackers, the pandemic has proven to be an opportunity to discover their country. “With the lockdown, many were seen returning to their villages and ancestral homes. Many started exploring beyond the normal trekking routes and discovered new trekking trails while showcasing them to other Nepali backpackers on social media,” says Rishav, one of the five members of Ghumante, a band of young Nepali travellers based in Pokhara.

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Cleared to land

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb30b9c7e80680e07bb18jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: ROBIC UPADHYAY</figcaption></figure>The complete ban on the sale of alcohol in India’s Bihar state had fostered a booming business in bars and entertainment on the Nepal side of the border. The pandemic lockdown has reduced business, but some of the clandestine trade still persists.These photographs were taken before the lockdown, and show bhattis and fancy restaurants packed with Indian customers of various socio-economic strata. Taking advantage of the open border, the flow of tipplers is open and unregulated.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb30e9c7e80680e07bb19jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Responding to this overwhelming demand, Nepal’s border cities are crammed with liquor shops, and their shelves are overflowing with wine, beer and spirits. Anyone caught selling alcohol in Bihar gets a five year jail term, so Nepal is an easy outlet.A whole range of liquors is available; from branded spirits to cheaper alternatives like locally brewed raxi, depending on the budget and preferences.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3119c7e80680e07bb1ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1022" height="666"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3139c7e80680e07bb1bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">It is evening and a bunch of young men have already arrived from the other side. They are talking loudly about ex-lovers, older men talking about the difficulties at work, and there are older men in a corner reminiscing about the time they were young.There are even Indian government officials and policemen who come in from time to time, and try to keep a low profile in the corner. They can lose their jobs back home if caught drinking.<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/getting-over-the-influence,1134">Getting over the influence</a>, Hariz Baharudin and Sunir PandeyThe noise level is high, there is boisterous laughter, punctuated by someone yelling: “Saauni, arko ek bottle!” (One more bottle, please!). A full bottle is a delivered immediately to the table.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3169c7e80680e07bb1cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Even after they have had enough and are unsteady in their feet, some customers hire locals as human mules to smuggle over a few more bottles of alcohol across less-guarded border points.Some shops in Nepal can have bottles home-delivered to doorsteps in Bihar, but there is a hefty markup. For some festivals, weddings or celebrations the entire party swarms across the border and whole restaurants or banquet halls are booked. Some Indian weddings have moved to Nepal so guests can be served alcohol with their buffets.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb31a9c7e80680e07bb1djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb31c9c7e80680e07bb1ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">Before the lockdown, it was the alcohol tourism that was helping the economy of Province 2. But it comes with social impact – there are frequent drunken brawls, deaths related to alcohol poisoning, and constant scuffles with police.But this does not dampen the spirits of the visitors from across the border. The Bihari revelers even have a song now: ‘Surya Asta toh Nepal Masta‘ (When the sun sets, the fun starts in Nepal).<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb31f9c7e80680e07bb1fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb3229c7e80680e07bb20jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">This photo story was made during the International Storytelling Workshop 2020, hosted by photo.circle (Nepal) in collaboration with Oslo Metropolitan University (Norway), Pathshala South Asian Media Academy (Bangladesh), and VII Academy (USA).

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When the sun sets, it is fun time in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141148/636a5eff9c7e80680e056dfdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="925"/><figcaption>Photo: DWARIKA'S HOTEL</figcaption></figure>With so many Nepalis living outside of the country, those of us who remain are often asked what keeps us here. The standard answer is: home food. Which is why it is sad to see many menus featuring the same momos, chowmein and fried rice, when we have so much culinary heritage on offer.We live a country where food is regarded as sustenance, and not a luxury. We eat to live. We eat when we arrive at a place where food is being served, not necessarily when we are hungry.Nepal is synonymous with the Himalaya, and more recently the world has woken up to the fact that we also have plains in the south and a plateau to the north. It is our unique location the gives Nepal its ethnic and culinary diversity. Which is why we must position our food as a product, service and a true lifetime experience.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=34079&amp;preview_nonce=2924ca6ef5&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Exploring Nepal’s culinary diversity,</a> Kedar Sharma and Kiran Sharma<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/tharu-escargots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tharu escargots</a>, Sewa BhattaraiWe have so much more than dal bhat -- why have we kept all those dishes hidden from the world? Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Thai and Vietnamese food are now served all over the world why have we not  branded Nepali cuisine? Thakali and Newari restaurants are doing well, others should follow.At Lakeside in Pokhara, there is a restaurant called Fresh Elements that sources local ingredients to create world-class meals. At Dhakhwa House in Patan visitors prepare, cook and enjoy a great meal as part of the homestay package. Bhojan Griha in Dillibazar has been serving Nepali food with local music and folk dances for many years now.At the award-winning Dwarika's Hotel, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/review/food-review-Krishnarpan-Dwarikas,2542">the Krishnarpan 18-course dinner </a>(pictured above) is now a global brand and a lifetime experience. The yogurt of Bhaktapur, the sisno (nettle) soup on trek routes, millet, buckwheat and Tibetan bread, are all part of many menus now.We need to involve creative chefs who will help transform these and many more local ingredients into world-class dining experiences. We could develop our own Nepali version of Masterchef Australia.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=33917&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The superfoods of the Andes and the Himalaya,</a> Sonia Awale<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141152/636a5f039c7e80680e056dfejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="393" height="377">We want to see Nepal’s globally unique culinary heritage featured as a separate and stand-alone tourism offering. It can be done with a bit of creativity and entrepreneurial skills from tour operators, such as the growing trend of cooking classes for tourists.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-superfoods-of-the-andes-and-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Exploring Nepal’s culinary diversity,</a> Kedar Sharma and Kiran Sharma<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/tharu-escargots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tharu escargots,</a> Sewa BhattaraiDal bhat is all well and good but Nepal can offer so much more. We have some of the most unique spices and ingredients found nowhere else in the world. In Humla, for example, you can walk a whole morning across a meadow where thyme grows as far as the eye can see. Jhimbu gives Nepali dal the aroma and taste that Indian lentil cannot match. Mustang potatoes and lapsi are now much sought after.Global and domestic visitors travel to experiment, learn, have new and unique experiences, take photos, show off to friends and family back home, and then tell stories for the rest of their lives. A few may even write articles, or even a book, depending on how the experiences impacts them. Let us make Nepali food one of their ‘unforgettables’.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/satisfying-trekker-appetite-for-adventure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Satisfying trekker appetite for adventure,</a> Sanghamitra Subba<a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/could-nepali-cuisine-go-global/">Could Nepali cuisine go global?</a>, Thomas HeatenBranding Nepal as a culinary destination will create new jobs, help our farmers grow high-value ingredients, keep tourists here longer longer and spend more. It will also give Chainpur and Palpa brass dishes a boost, along with dhaka napkins and tablecloth.Many local ingredients will find their way to the global marketplace along with the handcrafted serving plates and pans, ranging from clay to silverware. Everyone has to eat, why not make it a very unique truly Nepali experience?Anil Chitrakar is the President of Siddharthinc

Anil Chitrakar

Much more than dal bhat

<figure><img width="4032" height="3016" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108111152/636a34e89c7e80680e048280jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: NAMRATA SHARMA</figcaption></figure> A Helsingin Sanomat <a href="https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/daily_modern-day_slavery_pervasive_in_nepalese_restaurants/10715495?fbclid=IwAR00MnqJ7bP6k2rj3IziE3b6Ln2VWwGgmJF9vqiHm76JGng3a5aEQ4zahpo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">follow-up series this week </a>of a human trafficking ring operated by some Nepali restaurant owners in Helsinki has created an uproar in Finland, recently named the happiest country in the world. The investigative story by Paavo Teittinen builds on an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-restaurateurs-fined-in-finland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expose published in this newspaper in January</a> in which a Nepali cook, who uses the pseudonym Maila, mustered the courage to report injustices he faced to Finnish Police.  Maila is named ‘Suman’ in the Helsingin Sanomat story since he still wants his identity concealed because of threats after the Nepali Times story came out. Finland’s largest-circulation newspaper has now revealed widespread exploitation of Nepalis by Nepali employers in Finland.  The story in this paper had named four Nepalis (Basanta Adhikari, Purna Adhikari, Srijana Ghimire and Ava Pokhrel) who were found guilty by the North Sawo District Court in Finland. They had €227,199 confiscated, were fined for tax fraud and fake accounts, and forced to pay compensation to Maila, and co-workers Kancha and Saila. The main accused got a conditional sentence of one year eight months.  Helsingin Sanomat has now gone deeper into the story and exposed how a closely-knit circle of employers brought desperate Nepalis to Finland, and violated Finnish <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Nepal-not-reforming-labour-laws,2687" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labour laws</a> by under-paying them and evading taxes.  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-restaurateurs-fined-in-finland/" data-elementor-open-lightbox="" target="_blank"> <img width="640" height="547" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108111152/636a34ec9c7e80680e048281jpeg.jpg" alt=""></a> After the Nepali Times story came out in January, Maila was threatened and this journalist was cautioned that powerful Nepalis named in the story could retaliate.  In fact, this reporter refrained from naming two others, Devi Sharma and Hemraj Sharma, who many Nepali workers had accused of being involved.   A Nepali woman brought to Finland as a maid was made to work 24 hours a day in the home and restaurants without proper salary. She complained to Finnish Police after being sexually abused. She had asked this reporter last year not to mention her case, fearing retaliation.   Now, Helsingin Sanomat has disclosed that after an investigating lasting two years Helsinki Police suspect the couple Devi and Manju Sharma of trafficking the woman.  Both are from Gulmi, and set up the first Nepali restaurants, of which there are now more than 70 all over Finland. Most of these are owned by a handful of Nepalis settled here, mainly from Gulmi.   The first Nepali restaurant, Himalaya, was established in Helsinki in 1993 by Devi Sharma who with his wife Manju now also own Lali Gurans, Gurkha and Yeti restaurants. Hemraj Sharma runs Mount Everest restaurant. Maila’s complaint to Police was against Purna Adhikary of another restaurant, Mount Sherpa.  During a visit to Helsinki in 2018, cooks and waiters told this reporter of exploitation, threats and slave-like working conditions. But they were afraid of being named  because the powerful restaurant owners could have them fired, or even deported. Despite meagre pay, they needed their jobs to pay back loans and send money home to families in Nepal. Many restaurant workers suffer depression, and some have attempted suicide. <figure><img width="640" height="479" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108111152/636a34ee9c7e80680e048282jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>  Sources said up to 2,000 Nepalis have been brought to Finland on work visas in the past 20 years by restaurant owners. Besides flouting Finland’s labour laws, some Nepali restauranteurs are also involved in money laundering and tax evasion. Hemraj Sharma told this reporter during a visit to his Mount Everest restaurant in Helsinki in 2018 that Nepalis were doing well in Finland, and denied that they were involved in anything illegal.  However, the Helsingin Sanomat quotes the maid who used to work for Devi Sharma as telling police he under-reported earnings, evaded tax and stashed cash in his house which he regularly sent with Nepalis travelling to Kathmandu.  Juha Rekola, the International Ombudsman of the Union of Journalists in Finland, who has frequently visited Nepal to train journalists, says he often dined at the Nepali restaurants mentioned in the Helsingin Sanomat report, but did not notice signs of trafficking or tax evasion.   Said Rekola: “When I first read the piece in Nepali Times in January, I thought that it is good that the problem has been uncovered and brought to court. But when Helsingin Sanomat exposed just how widespread it was, I thought, oh no, it cannot be this bad, not in Finland. It hits you worse when you see it in your own language morning paper.” <img width="1500" height="1086" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108111152/636a34f19c7e80680e048283jpeg.jpg" alt=""> Rekola considers himself a well-wisher of Nepal, and says the blame has to be shared with Finns who ignore warnings that a cheap meal is proof of a grey economy.  “Nepali lunches are much cheaper given their quality and size, but people still go there trusting that it is ok,” Rekola adds, “our government has not put enough safeguards in place, making tax evasion easy. Tightened immigration laws also put many people in a vulnerable position to such blackmail.”  As for Maila, he feels vindicated after Finland’s most prestigious newspaper printed the plight of workers like him. “The risk I took by reporting his case to the police has yielded results, and this will help me and other like me,” said Maila, who still has not received the compensation that the court ordered the restaurant owners to give him.  <img width="1241" height="1754" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108111152/636a34f49c7e80680e048284jpeg.jpg" alt=""> The Helsingin Sanomat report has tarnished the image of Nepal, Nepalis and Nepali restaurants in Finland, and many Finns are said to be in a dilemma about whether to eat in Nepali-owned restaurants or not. On the one hand they want to help Nepal and do not want law-abiding Nepalis to suffer, and on the other they do not want to support traffickers. The Non-Resident Nepali Association of Finland has been accused on social media of protecting powerful restaurant owners, and not helping the exploited workers. In response, the Association’s National Coordination Council released a statement this week saying it had not protected anyone accused of wrong-doing.  Asked what is next, Rekola told Nepali Times: “I just hope the genuine Nepali restaurants do not suffer, and the customers return. There should also be closer contact between restaurant owners and their Finnish customers who love Nepal and Nepali food.”  Helsingin Sanomat will be putting up an English and Nepali translation of the series by Paavo Teittinen on its digital edition this weekend.   (The original text of this story was updated at 10:00 Nepal Time 3 April)

Finnish paper exposé on Nepali restaurants

From stone spouts to cast-iron mains, Nepal’s water system and its struggle to provide safe water tells a larger story of power, disease, dependency — and lessons for the future. From 1823 to 1891, the Nepali state made just two notable interventions in Kathmandu’s drinking water system. The first was when Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa commissioned a stone pout (hiti) to tap groundwater within the valley’s traditional supply system. The second came nearly 70 years later with Nepal’s first industrial-era water system, the Bir Water Works in 1891 under Prime Minister Bir Shumsher Rana. Linking these two milestones was the spectre of cholera. From the 19th century on there were seven global cholera pandemics. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X19309995#bb0325" target="_blank">Originating in Asia</a>, the disease reached Europe and the Americas, the Vibrio cholera bacillus breeding in poor sanitation wherever it found it. The first wave erupted in 1817, followed by others in 1829, 1852, 1863, 1881, 1889 and, finally, in 1961, the seventh pandemic which still lingers on. London, the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution, was repeatedly stricken. In Britain ‘miasma’ foul air was blamed. &nbsp;In Nepal, cholera was seen as divine damnation. By the late 19th century, as Nepal’s relationship with Britain deepened, the Bir Water Works was inaugurated in 1891 as a defence against cholera. Whether cholera also shaped Bhimsen Thapa’s decision in 1823 is less clear. Contemporary records note the commissioning of Sundhara, but do not refer to the cholera epidemic raging at the time. The silence itself is telling: Nepal’s elites were ruling in the shadow of the disease. Bhimsen Thapa first resided in Thapathali Palace, which was built in 1802 by Nain Singh Thapa, father of Mathabarsingh Thapa, who would briefly become prime minister in the 1840s. In 1806, Bhimsen Thapa moved to Bagh Durbar, a new complex on the western edge of Tundikhel. Historians are vague about the water supply in the residences of the nobility, but wells and water hauled from rivers, ponds, canals, and other sources were likely the primary sources. A small hiti north of Bagh Durbar, near today’s Sun Dhara, may have supplied the palace. In 1823, Bhimsen Thapa had it enlarged, making it the last and largest state-built hiti in Kathmandu. Even as Bhimsen Thapa was involved in palace intrigues and border conflicts, Britain was engineering pipelines. By the late 18th century, Sir Thomas Simpson had invented the bell-and-spigot joint, making long-distance pipes viable. Fluid dynamics, dealing with pumps, pipes, and filters, was becoming a foundational discipline. In Kathmandu, the scourge continued. Cholera struck Kathmandu repeatedly, in 1862, 1867, 1872, 1874 and 1875. The 1872 epidemic, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-in-the-time-of-cholera" target="_blank">according to historian Tom Robertson</a>, claimed between 200 and 250 lives a day. On average, cholera killed between 1,200 and 1,500 people annually in Kathmandu Valley, an enormous toll for its small population. The summer of 1885 was especially calamitous: a cholera epidemic ravaged Kathmandu and its periphery from the beginning of June until late August. The disease even breached the royal palace, reportedly killing 23 people, mostly young girls. Records show that 909 people received treatment at the British Residency dispensary, and estimates suggest that as many as 10,000 people perished in a city of 50,000. In November that year, Bir Shumsher seized power in a coup. He inherited not only a premiership but a Valley ridden with disease. Cholera was endemic, and it was accompanied by typhoid, smallpox, goitre, syphilis, and chronic dyspepsia. The The British Residency dispensary at Lainchaur was inadequate. “In a poor country like ours, wealth means health,” Bir Shumsher remarked, an unusually pragmatic admission that epidemics were not divine punishment but structural afflictions of urban life. He soon pledged to expand health care. In 1889, he opened Bir Hospital and staffed it with Indian doctors to treat cholera, typhoid, smallpox, and other prevalent illnesses. PIPED WATER Bir Shumsher also recognised the need for safe drinking water. Between 1866 and 1872, he had served as Nepal’s ambassador in Calcutta, and he must have seen water mains already in operation there, and a filtration plant inaugurated in 1870. Madras had installed such a system as early as 1800, Bombay constructed the Vihar and Tulsi reservoirs in the mid-19th century. In Kathmandu British Residency personalities such as George Gimlette must have urged Bir’s government to quicken the construction of the hospital and water system, yet the archival traces of such exchanges still await historical scrutiny. By the late 19th century, the British had developed a technological ecosystem for water supply, intakes, pipes, fittings, reservoirs, and trained engineers. Bir Shumsher appealed to the British Government in India for engineering assistance. A British engineer named Mr Feigneur surveyed Kathmandu to prepare maps, and estimated the volume of water that could be brought from the Rudramati River. In 1889, a more experienced engineer, Lockhart Matthew Sinclair arrived. He was a Scotsman educated at Wellington College and the Royal Indian Engineering College, with prior experience in constructing waterworks in Jubbulpore and the Viceregal Palace in Shimla. Appointed State Engineer of Nepal (1889–1892), Sinclair reviewed Feigneur’s plans, updated them, and chose the Bishnumati River as the source of the city’s drinking water. Sinclair’s design included a reservoir at Panipokhari, at 1,330m elevation and 30m above &nbsp;Tundikhel, thereby enabling gravity-fed distribution in pipes. With a capacity of 7,327 cubic metres, the reservoir could store nine days of supply.&nbsp; The system was designed to serve about 70,000 residents through both private connections and public standpipes. The reservoir was a single-compartment tank with an arched brick roof covered in earth and turf. Its brick walls were bonded with lime mortar and aggregate, and its floor was dressed with fly stone. Work on the valley’s water supply began in 1888, three years after Bir Shumsher seized power. The following year, Bir Hospital and the Bir Water Works took shape. The project involved some 40km of imported cast-iron pipes, weighing 1.866 million kg and inscribed with the marks of Scottish foundries ‘Ally and McLean’ and ‘Glasgow’. Construction required 620,000 man-days of labour and cost over Rs600,000. Transport costs inflated prices: <a href="https://commons-nepal.com/the-first-kaldhara-in-the-four-cities-of-the-valley/" target="_blank">a load of cement</a> costing Rs10 in Calcutta was worth Rs33 by the time it reached Kathmandu. Bir Water Works was inaugurated in September 1891, six years after the cholera epidemic. Water flowed out of 131 taps, including eight in Lainchaur, six in the royal palace, eleven in the prime minister’s palace, sixteen around Tundikhel, thirteen in Thapathali, seven in Thamel, and two in Naxal. The system’s designation, the term ‘works’ , echoes the Chelsea, Calcutta, and Glasgow Water Works, underlining its industrial pedigree. Water was also supplied to Phora Durbar, Bir Shumsher’s palace of music and dance whose fountains sprayed rose-scented water in a display of opulence. The <a href="https://commons-nepal.com/the-first-kaldhara-in-" target="_blank">Bir Dhara Works</a> was more than an engineering scheme: it was Nepal’s first modern public-health intervention. Safer drinking water curbed waterborne disease, and the number of cholera outbreaks declined, but were not eliminated.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260103020144_d5c22de54c0eaab680a166c5a7482839fdc09b60679109021d0504252a810254.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260103020144_d5c22de54c0eaab680a166c5a7482839fdc09b60679109021d0504252a810254" data-rendition-name="original" width="865" height="535" loading="lazy" alt="Cholera and drinking water in Kathmandu"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260103020144_a46075b6d759585df56a2bb8e5a07d85de7d9a69406165c32784fe30012c9971.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260103020144_a46075b6d759585df56a2bb8e5a07d85de7d9a69406165c32784fe30012c9971" data-rendition-name="original" width="2791" height="3859" loading="lazy" alt="Cholera and drinking water in Kathmandu"> </figure>  “Now we have water to fight cholera, and I believe cholera will no longer prevail. After four years of piped water, the benefits have been greater than expected,” Bir Shumsher said in a proclamation. Despite this, the prevalence of poor sanitation, open defecation, cramped housing, and malnutrition meant that typhoid, smallpox, and dyspepsia remained endemic. The Bir Dhara system marked Kathmandu’s transition from reliance on wells, rivers, springs, and hiti to piped water, operating for several decades and laying the foundation for the expansion of drinking water services across the country in the late twentieth century. <a href="https://commons-nepal.com/the-first-kaldhara-in-the-four-cities-of-the-valley/" target="_blank">Extensions followed in Patan</a> under Chandra Shumsher, and Bhim Shumsher later added the Tri Bhim Dhara. Piped water systems were subsequently constructed in towns such as Kirtipur, Bhaktapur, Dhankuta, Pokhara, Dhulikhel, and Jajarkot which itself saw a deadly cholera outbreak in 2009.&nbsp; CHOLERA METAPHOR In 1933, Nepal’s first water bureaucracy, the Pani Goswara, was established, formalising state involvement in urban water supply. Yet even till the late 20th century, households continue to rely on a mix of sources, including public water networks, private vendors, rooftop storage tanks, borewells, wells, hiti, and household filtration. The lack of reliable water supply places disproportionate financial, physical, and psychological burdens on low-income households, underscoring how decades of infrastructure expansion have not translated into universal, reliable service. during challenges in governance, investment priorities, and regulation. Bir Shumsher also attempted to introduce <a href="https://www.ukaalo.com/news/cholera-in-kathmandu-1958/" target="_blank">basic hygiene measures</a>, such as pit latrines with squatting slabs. However, there is no record of these facilities being built in his palaces, later built palaces, or elsewhere. Sanitation conditions remained poor for both the elite and the general population. Open defecation or the use of crude pit latrines without proper waste disposal was common. With no drainage or sewer systems, human waste accumulated near homes, contributing to the spread of waterborne diseases. In 2019, Nepal declared itself ‘open defecation free’, a policy milestone, but this achievement masks the persistence of deeper problems. Urban areas generate some 867 million litres of wastewater daily, yet only 7% of it is treated before being discharged. Sewage flows untreated into rivers and streams, spreading cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and other diseases, particularly among children and vulnerable communities. Safe disposal of faecal sludge continues to be a major struggle for many communities and local governments. Besides Jajarkot, Godavari in Kathmandu Valley had a localised outbreak in 2024. This year, Birganj was struck by a cholera outbreak caused by a lethal combination of unreliable water supply, groundwater overpumping, poor drainage and hygiene, and unsafe waste disposal. And Nepal’s peacekeepers deployed after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 were blamed for spreading cholera that ultimately killed 30,000 people in the Caribbean nation. The Bir Water Works was more than a reservoir and pipes. It was Nepal’s first brush with modernity, mediated through engineering and haunted by cholera. More than 134 years on, cholera remains a threat and a reminder of Nepal’s challenges in water and sanitation governance. The issue is not merely ensuring access to safe water but also building public trust that quality essential services can be delivered equitably, sustainably, and with resilience. Ajaya Dixit is a Kathmandu-based researcher exploring Nepal’s water history since the mid-eighteenth century to inform ethical water and river management in a changing climate.

Life in a time of cholera

As someone born and raised in Patan, I knew that the city was rich in art, architecture and intangible heritage. But I never realised just how rich, and how little I knew about its hidden treasures until this book. Yala Mhasika/Exploring Lalitpur/Lalitpurko Chinari is published by the Lalitpur Chamber of Commerce &amp; Industry and introduces the city to the world, as well as to its own inhabitants. Lalitpur is popularly known as Patan, probably because of the pastures for livestock in its outskirts. Its original name in Nepal Bhasa is Yala, and is a blend of urban and rural, old and new.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_700fb4c7b27d78813f69347846403c492cd1d54e2f62e4ec097013714c4a2022.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260101120152_700fb4c7b27d78813f69347846403c492cd1d54e2f62e4ec097013714c4a2022" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Patan Dhoka</figcaption> </figure>  Like other kingdoms in the valley of Swoniga, the dense urban cluster of houses, temples, monasteries were situated along the higher ground, while the farmlands were on the slopes leading to the rivers below. This unique townscape combined an urban lifestyle within a distinctly agriculture-based rural setting. The fertile soil, replenished by organic nutrients washed down from the streets above, as well as Kathmandu’s location on the ancient trade route between India and Tibet, provided the Valley’s kingdoms with prosperity – and thus the flourishing of art and culture over centuries. Most of Yala’s residents were farmers, traders, or artisans. Chinese visitors who came to Nepal in the 6th century saw that there were more traders than farmers, and more temples than houses. An entire street is inhabited by the descendants of Lhasa traders. Arniko is supposed to have been born in Yala.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_0fb490355fac9b8252c9abfbf5ef1bbac844b29103744a421eb6ef6dbc77dff7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260101120152_0fb490355fac9b8252c9abfbf5ef1bbac844b29103744a421eb6ef6dbc77dff7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1332" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Kwonti area which houses five-storey Kumbeshwar temple dedicated to Shiva and Baglamukhi temple dedicated to Dasa Mahavidya shakti peeth.</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal exported goods and even minted coins for Tibet, and had a virtual monopoly of the major trans-Himalayan trade routes. This prosperity was reflected in monuments and shrines like the Kwa Baha Golden Temple. More so than the other three kingdoms of Swoniga, architecture flourished in Yala making it the centre for metal, stone and wood craft. The name Lalitpur means ‘city of fine art’ but with its sense of community, it might as well be a city of fine living. Legend also has it that the name Lalitpur comes from a farmer called Lalit who helped bring the rain god Karunamaya from Assam when the Valley was suffering a prolonged drought. Lalit’s shoulder beam stands to this day in Jhatapol. Disasters, invasion and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-in-a-time-of-cholera">epidemics</a> were a recurring theme in Patan.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_b33b1024cb7a46f49fea35ecc9afa2740895907059d7a43c8bd6c463b1be05e7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260101120152_b33b1024cb7a46f49fea35ecc9afa2740895907059d7a43c8bd6c463b1be05e7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Ajima of Haugal Tole which is the oldest stone scripture in Nepal with the Gaja Laxmi in Chyasal.</figcaption> </figure>  The book was put together by the heritage expert team of Rosha Bajracharya, Sunil Pandey and Anil Chitrakar and provides a socio-economic and political history of Patan – how it was always food surplus, thanks to sustainable farming until recently. Ground and drone images by Photo Venture Nepal in the book give us a rare new perspective on Patan. There is an entire chapter on the chariot festival of Karunamaya (Machhindranath), a community-managed festival with Barahi carpenters assembling the woodwork, vine engineers Yamva weaving rope and rattan for the 25m tall chariot, and Ghaku drivers controlling the speed and brakes as the structure rolls through narrow streets in the annual festival.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_d27b23aeb4548b0b64ab8ed20f40baa331060498c6b5443e2cb999b876c670af.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260101120152_d27b23aeb4548b0b64ab8ed20f40baa331060498c6b5443e2cb999b876c670af" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Te Bahal in Patan which houses Karunamaya six months a year.</figcaption> </figure>  WALKING, WORSHIPPING The book can help in exploring Patan along five routes starting in Patan Dhoka, Pulchok, Shankhamul, Mahaboudha and Lagankhel with maps and details of the baha and bahil, shrines, ponds, open spaces, dhyochenn, courtyards and phalcha along the way. Because of its coffee-table size and heft, however, the guidebook is not practical to carry around. And despite detailed descriptions of the past and present of each site, readers are left wanting to know more about those places. It is proof of Patan’s vast treasures that even this book barely scratches the surface.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_31a597b7dc1bcc9f67b4f6a66b8c1c0e0a9406727389699e6aed9ac6c3c50901.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260101120152_31a597b7dc1bcc9f67b4f6a66b8c1c0e0a9406727389699e6aed9ac6c3c50901" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1332" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Patukodom where visitors can view what remains of the ancient Kirant palace.</figcaption> </figure>  Some of the lesser-known must-visit sites include Patukodom which is all that remains of a palace of the original Kirat inhabitants of Patan. An archaeological dig here would surely unearth hitherto unknown facets of pre-Newa Patan. Then there are the slightly out of the way shrines like Mahabouha, a replica of a temple in Bodhgaya which houses 3,341 terracotta Buddhas with 90 big statues and which took 35 years and four generations to complete.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_ffb657dc254f707dc1755f6f13b1ef67bb7183b6573da9678c54482129fb3878.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260101120152_ffb657dc254f707dc1755f6f13b1ef67bb7183b6573da9678c54482129fb3878" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Mahaboudha is a replica of a temple in Bodhgaya.</figcaption> </figure>  In a recent Patan by Night heritage walk, we learnt that Pim Bahal was the labour of love of a lakhe demon (now popularised as masked dancer) who had fallen for a local girl, and he dug the pond so she would not have to walk to a faraway spout to collect water. Nearby is the Charumati Chaitya, built by the daughter of Emperor Ashoka when she visited the Valley in the 3rd century BCE to spread Buddhism in Nepal. Interestingly, if Kathmandu is a city of temples, Patan is the centre of monasteries which represent a unique Tantric melding of Buddhist and Hindu forms. Examples are: the Tadham Cuka with relocated Licchavi-era chaityas symbolic of the four major events in Buddha’s life, Ajima of Haugal Tole which is the oldest stone scripture in Nepal with the Gaja Laxmi in Chyasal, and Bignantak Ganesa temple which is a manifestation of Shiva mingled with Vajrayana Buddhism.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_17a500e77f06b9881f684329e41d3482f6f6a639ffb929d8bb44e5af7934c61c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260101120152_17a500e77f06b9881f684329e41d3482f6f6a639ffb929d8bb44e5af7934c61c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Bignantak Ganesa temple.</figcaption> </figure>  &nbsp;Besides spatial descriptions, the book also explains the temporal by curating a detailed cultural calendar of Lalitpur with dates and places of jatra, rituals, devotional dances and festivals that weave the agricultural cycle with the zodiac.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_b8e1cc03653fea85dec84a7abee4fd594c35c6ad553769f37905eb5b38774e08.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260101120152_b8e1cc03653fea85dec84a7abee4fd594c35c6ad553769f37905eb5b38774e08" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Mipwa Lakhe of Patan which create fire in mid aid during performance.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_442e10bff842214e8c7522ebf6e63663599768db73bb57d999deff9de1b59375.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20260101120152_442e10bff842214e8c7522ebf6e63663599768db73bb57d999deff9de1b59375" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Gan pyakhan or Astamatrika dance which is performed in Patan Darbar Squre during Dasain. </figcaption> </figure>  The very last chapter is dedicated to water and nature, what sustains lives and civilisations, and how Lalitpur continues to be the city it is because of the water supply system our ancestors left behind which function still, despite encroachment and pollution. ‘In the history of the world cities have been built, they thrived for some time and then became archaeological sites because they were not able to maintain the quality of air, water, and its soil,’ the authors write. ‘This led these cities to depopulate and ultimately die and are only referred to in history books. Lalitpur is not going to make the same mistake.’ &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260104080132_3f403388d57da82b499d6c489a8f095002bf69f11e515e92fa96fb5ca3af69e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20260104080132_3f403388d57da82b499d6c489a8f095002bf69f11e515e92fa96fb5ca3af69e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur"> </figure>

YALA

For daring to demand democracy, the Rana regime hanged activist Shukra Raj Shastri at midnight on 24 January 1941 by the side of the road at Teku. Across town in Siphal, Dharma Bhakta Mathema was also hanged. Four days later, Dasrath Chand and Gangalal Shrestha were executed by firing squad. These four young revolutionaries were members of the underground Nepal Praja Parishad that led the anti-Rana revolution with plans to assassinate key figures of the dynasty. The four martyrs sacrificed their lives for an unfulfilled cause. Monuments were put up in their honour (Shahid Gate) and their names glorified by the Shah monarchy that itself went on to ban political parties and persecute democracy activists. In 1950, the newly-formed Nepal National Congress launched an armed uprising against Rana rule after King Tribhuvan sought refuge at the Indian embassy to flee from the Rana regime. In 1951, the Ranas, Nepali Congress and King Tribhuvan signed a tripartite agreement that brought an end to 104 years of Rana rule.&nbsp; Thus began contemporary Nepal’s cycles of unfinished revolutions. Some 75 years later, on a sunny September morning, Nepal’s young and hopeful took to the streets demanding an end to the nation’s corrupt polity, envisioning a better democracy. They organised through digital platforms, played songs, danced, and chanted slogans. A few hours later, commandos fired on the protesters, massacring dozens. Over 8 and 9 September 2025, the government was overthrown, constitutional bodies were literally reduced to ashes, and 74 Nepalis were martyred.&nbsp; Nepal’s periodic revolutions have been ignited by anger against rulers, they have begun with great promise, spread with enthusiastic popular support despite rulers trying to crush them — but ultimately they have always fallen short of the expectations of citizens demanding reform. Through decades of dissent, Nepal’s periodic revolutions have remained incomplete, with the nation caught up in a cyclical search for stability.&nbsp; In 1960, king Mahendra staged a coup and overthrew an elected government led by prime minister B P Koirala -- a royal revolution against democracy. Mahendra is reported to have famously said to Koirala: “Nepal is not big enough for the two of us.” For the next 30 years Nepal resembled a one-party state under the absolute monarchy of the Panchayat. Elected leaders languished in jail or exile, political parties were banned, and the press controlled. This was the most frigid period of the Cold War, with Nepal’s neighbours India and China at war. Geopolitics was bound to have an impact. “After the 1816 Sugauli Treaty with British India, external forces magnified internal power struggles as outsiders played divide and rule,” explains editor and political analyst Rajendra Dahal. “Movements did not reach a logical conclusion because domestic politicians were forced to compromise.” Indeed, the departure of the British from India in 1947 meant that the days of the Anglophile Rana regime were numbered. Successive prime ministers sought patronage in Delhi, and the monarchy tried to counterbalance it with a policy of equidistance with China. The neighbours showed a keen strategic interest in Nepal’s domestic politics. “The Panchayat system did not deliver what it promised,” says Santosh Sharma Poudel of Nepal Institute of Policy and Research. “Nepalis suffered administrative and governance failure, politics was centralised in Kathmandu, leaving out the rest of Nepal.” With mainstream political parties and leaders were &nbsp;underground between 1961 till 1990, student activists became proxies for political parties. As pressure for change grew, a student-led pro-democracy movement spread across Nepal in 1979. In response, King Birendra announced a referendum to allow Nepalis to choose between the status quo and a ‘reformed’ Panchayat &nbsp;system.&nbsp; The Panchayat won by a slim margin with questions about the legitimacy of the plebiscite. The reforms never materialised and it would be another decade before street anger boiled over again. As the People’s Movement for democracy spread, king Birendra again relented, unbanning political parties and Nepal became a constitutional monarchy. Inspired by Mao Zedong, a faction of Nepal’s Communists felt that western-style parliamentary democracy was too slow to end a feudalist monarchy. They launched an armed struggle in 1996, and the war lasted ten years (editorial, page 2). “If the democratic government post-1990 had performed better, and brought real reform, the Maoists would not have a reason to launch a revolution,” says Poudel. After nearly a decade of bloodshed that left 17,000 dead and thousands still missing, the Maoists joined forces with the democratic parties that they had been fighting, to pressure king Gyanendra through street protests in 2006 to restore democracy. In 2008, an elected Constituent Assembly abolished the monarchy. &nbsp;Recalls Rajendra Dahal: “The second people’s movement did not aim to abolish the monarchy. In fact, the reinstated parliament even granted equal rights for royal daughters to be crowned queen. But eventually, the monarchy no longer fit the political framework that the parties envisioned.” It took two elections over the next eight years to draft a new Constitution that reflected Nepal’s socio-cultural and geographic diversity and met the demands of the Maoists. The new federal Constitution was finally promulgated in 2015, but failed to satisfy India and the aspirations of the Madhes communities for autonomy. The state’s effort to crush the Madhes movement cost 45 lives. The promise of the new Constitution was squandered over the next decade with rotating leadership of the NC, UML and the Maoists — all of whom had forgotten the sacrifices made in the name of revolution. Cronyism and corruption was the order of the day. And it was this never-ending cycle of political opportunism and malgovernance that brought Nepal’s youth to the streets on 8 September.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120128_bc50f6370ff80a6758199ea7ba9f4c214656a9322a8d2ba1c97e6cdfb88f7f62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260101120128_bc50f6370ff80a6758199ea7ba9f4c214656a9322a8d2ba1c97e6cdfb88f7f62" data-rendition-name="original" width="3372" height="1371" loading="lazy" alt="timeline"> </figure>  1951 Revolution against the &nbsp;Rana regime 1960 King Mahendra's coup, jails B P Koirala and launches the partyless Panchayat system 1979 Student protests for democracy, King Birendra announces referendum&nbsp; 1980 Continuation of the partyless Panchayat system narrowly wins plebiscite&nbsp; 1990 People’s Movement I 1996 Maoists launch armed struggle&nbsp; 2000 Royal Massacre 2005 King Gyanendra's military-backed coup&nbsp; 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accord and Parliament restored 2008 Monarchy is abolished 2015 Madhes Movement, New Constitution promulgated 2017 First 3-tier election under federal system 2022 Second elections under federal Constitution&nbsp; 2025 GenZ protests BRK ALLIANCE “The socio-political change sought in all these movements never matched the people’s expectations, because the central issue of clean and efficient government never materialised,” says Poudel. The post-September political landscape has injected new personalities and alliances still relatively new to politics, as evidenced by the new electoral partnership of the BRK — Balen Shah, Rabi Lamichhane, and Kulman Ghising (page 1).&nbsp; These leaders are not without flaws, but they have become the effective flag-bearers of the GenZ movement, hoping to represent Nepalis disillusioned by decades of democratic decay. The March election will pit them against the legacy parties. There is already criticism that BRK is behaving just like male-dominated opportunists of old parties. The troika is resembling the triumvirate of Oli, Deuba and Dahal and its culture of patronage and quid-pro-quo power-sharing between alpha males. Will this also be another unfinished revolution? Says political scientist Sucheta Pyakuryal: &nbsp;“The kind of destruction that happened after the revolution should have been followed by a ground-breaking shift in Nepal’s political ecosystem, but that did not happen. Today the situation is a lot grimmer because we have players who have learned how to use the democratic facade to sound ‘equitable’ and ‘accountable’. But look closely and you see how the same political chauvinism, cronyism and nepotism still continue.”&nbsp;

Nepal’s incomplete revolutions

One of the few Newa towns situated outside Kathmandu Valley, Panauti still evokes the feeling of a place frozen in time.&nbsp; Largely untouched by haphazard urbanisation, this town 32km east of Kathmandu used to be a kingdom revered for the sacred confluence of the Punyamati and Rosi rivers.&nbsp; The Bramhayani temple is the site of a 12 yearly Makar Mela which is attended by devotees from as far away as India.&nbsp; Panauti’s crumbling monuments were restored in the 1990s by the French government. Temples, resting places, traditional homes were rebuilt and locals trained to revive their craft. Panauti and France marked 50 years of cooperation in September.&nbsp; However, the priceless murals on the temple walls are fading and need urgent restitution. Now, these crumbling wall paintings are meticulously documented in the Wall Paintings of Panauti and Their Context.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260106090116_31f6acf06ef879037fec8274b85153eab4468566abf71616490679bf8468b85d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260106090116_31f6acf06ef879037fec8274b85153eab4468566abf71616490679bf8468b85d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1596" height="1074" loading="lazy" alt="Panauti murals"> </figure>  In his foreword, French researcher Gérard Toffin writes about some of the earliest wall paintings from the Malla period in Kathmandu, including a 17th century mural depicting the procession of Rato Machhindranath which has since been restored.&nbsp; Several other pieces still exist but in a pitiful state, defaced by scratches. ‘They were painted on a plaster coating made of soil, husks, or limestone, which were applied to the bricks making up the walls,’ Toffin notes.&nbsp; The book delves into the cult of Asta Matrika among Newa of all castes and classes, the first of which is Bramhayani. These all-pervading deities are linked to Shaktism which focuses on the importance of the female principle and together, combine the forces of life, sex and fertility with that of death and eros. The deities are painted on the wall, carved on the stone or moulded into metallic statues.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260106090120_836efd2b0a569d8ec0fb2c6651a29b8f2dd8f8f75b72e27bb86b0bfc0ad8461f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260106090120_836efd2b0a569d8ec0fb2c6651a29b8f2dd8f8f75b72e27bb86b0bfc0ad8461f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1074" height="1434" loading="lazy" alt="Panauti murals"> </figure>  Riddhi Baba Pradhan, former director general of the Department of Archaeology who oversaw the restoration of Panauti 30 years ago, writes that a colourful wall painting depicting Buddha's past life at the Chabahil Chaitya built or restored during the reign of Lichhavi king Vrisdev in the 3rd century might be the earliest mural in Nepal. As for Panauti, a fragment from a 400-year-old scroll which illustrates a scene of Triveni Ghat with Dalinchok Hill in the background is likely the oldest. But that relic is currently at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in the United States.&nbsp; Pradhan recalls first encountering wall paintings inside Bramhayani temple which were deteriorated by smoke, leaky roof, dust, vermilion, sprinkles of animal blood and lack of maintenance. The team led by chemist Bhimvar Singh Thapa treated the wall paintings and some of the details were recovered including the paintings of Astamatrika and Asta Bhairav on the east, west and southern walls.&nbsp; PAINTINGS ARE NOT VISIBLE The murals were painted during the reign of the last Malla King of Bhaktapur Ranjit Malla and Queen Viswalaxmi Devi 300 years ago. But 40 years after the restoration, Pradhan notes that the murals are again in poor condition: ‘The paintings are not visible, the plaster is severely damaged and the surface has peeled off … electrical wires hang haphazardly inside the temple.’ The second lot of murals at Ghat Sattal are thought to have been commissioned during the late Malla period or the beginning of the Shah dynasty. Exterior walls depict incarnations of Lord Vishnu as well as Sesh Narayan, Ganesh, a scene of Samundra Manthan, of angels Maya, Moha, Ganga. Their attributes, dresses, ornaments, facial expressions, body postures are all skilfully represented but in a deteriorated condition.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260106090116_88d06703ae23a271905d81f35056d41df92cbbc4b9966fac3f34821659e585a8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260106090116_88d06703ae23a271905d81f35056d41df92cbbc4b9966fac3f34821659e585a8" data-rendition-name="original" width="588" height="862" loading="lazy" alt="Panauti murals "> </figure>  The wall paintings of Bramhayani Dyochhen are 90% degraded even though they were restored and repaired 40 years ago by the Panauti Integrated Project. Compared to other artefacts, wall paintings are more delicate to external factors, and if not preserved an important part of Nepal’s heritage will be lost.&nbsp; Furthermore, most of the wall paintings in Nepal are temperas, and not frescos. Tempera is painted with water-soluble mineral or vegetable pigments fixed with glue on the cow dung clay plaster on the brick walls. While Nepal’s focus has been on the repatriation of stolen artefacts from abroad, religious and cultural objects within the country like the Panauti murals need urgent attention.&nbsp; This slim publication by Panauti Municipality is an important call to begin the work before it is too late.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120124_d0efa1e57b2710a206beb37c7e934ac34e694afc278985934eac2fc52124a92c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260101120124_d0efa1e57b2710a206beb37c7e934ac34e694afc278985934eac2fc52124a92c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Wall Paintings of Panauti"> </figure>

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