<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95049c7e80680e05dbe7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"/><figcaption>Photos: BIKRAM RAI AND MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Chhath is an important festival in Nepal’s Tarai plains dedicated to the Sun God and his sister Chhathi Maiya. The festival concluded on Saturday with ritual bathing in rivers and ponds and worshipping the setting and rising suns.Bikram Rai and Monika Deupala record the observance of the festival in Kathmandu.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95089c7e80680e05dbe8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a950c9c7e80680e05dbe9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4069" height="2713"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95109c7e80680e05dbeajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95139c7e80680e05dbebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95179c7e80680e05dbecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a951a9c7e80680e05dbedjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a951d9c7e80680e05dbeejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95219c7e80680e05dbefjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95249c7e80680e05dbf0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95279c7e80680e05dbf1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a952b9c7e80680e05dbf2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a952e9c7e80680e05dbf3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95319c7e80680e05dbf4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95359c7e80680e05dbf5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108181140/636a95399c7e80680e05dbf6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4096" height="2730">Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/chhath-market-in-biratnagar/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chhath market in Biratnagar</a>, Kamal Rimal

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Chhath Parva

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56c49c7e80680e0547a3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>The late monsoon calendar in Kathmandu Valley is filled with festivals: there was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/my-sweet-lord/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Krishna’s birthday</a> last week, then <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/women-celebrate-tij/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rishi Panchami and Tij</a> this week. But none is more important than the week-long Indra Jatra — the chariot festival presided over by none other than the Living Goddess Kumari.Indra Jatra, which falls on Friday the 13th this year, is traditionally when Nepal’s rulers congregate at Hanuman Dhoka to be blessed by the Kumari as she is pulled past on her chariot.This is the annual festival dedicated to Indra, the god of rain. But it also honours Taleju Bhawani, the powerful goddess and protector of Kathmandu, who will manifest herself in the Kumari to empower the government and citizens of Nepal with divine powers.Interestingly, Taleju is supposed to be the family deity of Ravana, the demon king of mythic Lanka, and the Taleju of Kathmandu is said to have been brought from India in ancient times.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10881#.XXDXnC4zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">When Indra was caught stealing</a>, Desmon Doig<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/parodying-patriarchy-at-tij/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parodying patriarchy at Tij</a>, Sewa Bhattaraihttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqjg2X00SCQPrithvi Narayan Shah in 1770 entered Kathmandu on the day of Indra Jatra, and is said to have won over the local population by kneeling at the feet of the Kumari.The Kumari House courtyard bears the most exotic of all wood carvings in the area, and was built in 1757 during the reign of king Jaya Prakash Malla, the last Malla king, who was deposed by the invading army of Prithvi Narayan.History books tell us that Jaya Prakash Malla was pulling the Kumari chariot himself, and enjoying every bit of it. But by the time the chariot reached the Lagan neighbourhood, Gorkha forces had captured his palace at Hanuman Dhoka. He then fled across the swollen Bagmati river to seek refuge in the neighbouring kingdom of Patan.Indra Jatra is marked with much enthusiasm and devotion by both Hindus and Buddhists in the Kathmandu Valley, and celebrated for eight days by singing, dancing, feasting and rejoicing.People throng excitedly to see the chariot and to watch the ritual dances — featuring masked demons, gods and goddesses. Kathmandu’s famous Lakhey dancers are also part of the chariot procession.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=5869#.XXDXmS4zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Let the jatra begin</a><a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/the-boy-gods-of-kathmandu,4158" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boy gods of Kathmandu</a>, Sahina Shrestha<h2 style="letter-spacing: 0.15px;" data-elementor-setting-key="title" data-pen-placeholder="Type Here...">Indra Jatra re-enacted at Dwarika’s</h2><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56c89c7e80680e0547a4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="422">Nepal’s Dwarika’s Hotel has won many international awards for its preservation of Kathmandu’s Newa architecture. But it is also involved in preserving the Valley’s intangible heritage: its festivals.As in 2018, the Hotel will mark Indra Jatra this year. On Friday 13 September, Dwarika’s will feature a re-enactment of the real-life procession in the city, with a stand-in Goddess Kumari on hand throughout the celebration.Guests can witness the Living Goddess regally seated in the hotel’s resplendent courtyard with artefacts and carvings (some of them 800 years old) observing the series of performances, replicated exactly from the original Indra Jatra celebration in Kathmandu Darbar Square earlier that day.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a56cb9c7e80680e0547a5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="428">Another major attraction of the evening will be a display of the lavish assortment of the famous Samay Baji and other food of the Indra Jatra feast. Even the Kumari chariot festival, with Bhairav and Ganesh, as well as the Lakhe dance, Kumari dance, Bajrayogini and Bhairab-Kali dances, will be performed.Guests can also savour a special Indra Jatra buffet with exotic items of Newari cuisine, washed down with the traditional aila spirit, while they watch the Dhimey dance and other classical masked dances.Dwarika’s Hotel6:30-9pm, Friday 13 Septembersales@dwarikas.com+977 1 4479488,  4470770.Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/cultural-evolution" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cultural evolution</a>, Kunda Dixit

Prepping  for Indra Jatra

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36e19c7e80680e048331jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="507"/><figcaption>Panauti in 2013. Photo: PRASANT SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure>The 13-century town of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10973#.XMai0zAzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Panauti</a> has the ambience of a place that has been bypassed by history. The fertile valley along the Rosi Khola was given by the king of Bhaktapur as dowry to his newly-married sister.  However, archaeological finds prove that Panauti was settled much sooner, in the early Kirat period 1,500 years ago.It escaped the Gorkha invasion of the Valley, 30km to the west, and was annexed into the unified Kingdom of Nepal by default. Situated astride the India-Tibet trade route, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/electing-better-future,3714" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Panauti</a> was set back far enough from it not to be tainted by commerce. In 1964, the Kodari Highway linking Nepal with China once more circumvented Panauti. Today, a new alternative road from Lalitpur to the B P Highway in Kavre passes through the town, but it is still not a major highway.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36e49c7e80680e048332jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="170" height="250"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36e49c7e80680e048333jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="426"><figcaption>Panauti in 1970s. Photo: GERARD TOFFIN</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36e89c7e80680e048334jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="426"><figcaption>Panauti today. Photo: PRASANT SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36ec9c7e80680e048335jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="426"><figcaption>Photo: GERARD TOFFIN</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36ef9c7e80680e048336jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="426"><figcaption>Photo: PRASANT SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure>All this has meant that despite the march of modernity and the non-traditional reconstruction after many of its monuments were brought down by the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2015/05/27/a-month-that-felt-like-a-year/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2015 earthquake</a>, Panauti still retains much of its quaint and bucolic charm. The town has a sacred location at the confluence of the Rosi Khola and the Punyamati, as well as a third mythological river, Lilawati. Panauti is also the seat of the famous Indreswar Temple – one of Nepal’s oldest standing pagoda shrines, built in 1294 to honour Lord Shiva. The temple grounds now house a museum as well.Panauti also has intangible heritage: it is still a largely cohesive town, which has preserved its Newa culture that has similarities, but also differences, to Kathmandu Valley traditions. Piles of newly harvested paddy are still spread out to dry in golden circles along the brick-paved square of the old palace. Next month, on full moon day, the town will mark the three-day chariot festival and the exciting mass-crossing of the Punyamati by devotees.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36f29c7e80680e048337jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="434"><figcaption>Picture taken in 1974. Photo: GERARD TOFFIN</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36f59c7e80680e048338jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="390"><figcaption>Harvested paddy is still spread out to dry in golden circles along the old palace today. Photo: PRASANT SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure>This year will also see the Makar Mela, which happens every 12 years in Panauti, when tens of thousands of people from surrounding districts -- including Kathmandu Valley -- will converge on the town to take a dip in the holy confluence of the rivers.  The month-long festival will be held in January.It was at the last Makar Mela in 2010 that Panauti native and photographer Prasant Shrestha met <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13550#.XMZ2d8Mza70">Gerard Toffin</a>, the French anthropologist who has researched Nepal’s Newa civilisation. Toffin is now emeritus professor at the <a href="http://www.cnrs.fr/en/research">Centre national de recherche scientifique (CNRS)</a> and was involved in detailed research of Panauti’s culture and architecture with Vincent Barré, Patrick Berger and Laurence Feveile. This led to French Government involvement in the restoration of Panauti and its urban renewal from 1979-1989, just as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/clash-of-cultures-in-bhaktapur/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Germans were involved in restoring Bhaktapur</a>.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36f89c7e80680e048339jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="1016"><figcaption>Bramhayani temple in 1970s. Photo: GERARD TOFFIN</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36fb9c7e80680e04833ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="1021"><figcaption>Bramhayani temple today. Photo: PRASANT SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure>To find out more about Panauti’s past, present and perhaps even the future, Shrestha and Toffin have collaborated on an exhibition of old and new photographs at the Alliance Française in Jhamsikhel, on display till 6 May. The exhibition is part of events to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and Nepal.Toffin’s photographs of Panauti from the 1970s are juxtaposed with Shrestha’s recent images from the same spot. The before-and-after photography depicts the changes that have taken place in the town in the past four decades, but it is also heartening to see how much of the core area of Panauti is preserved. In fact, a temple that is in ruins after the 1934 earthquake in Toffin’s photograph, has been meticulously restored in Shrestha’s image of the same shrine.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a36fe9c7e80680e04833bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="426"><figcaption>Photo: GERARD TOFFIN</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a37019c7e80680e04833cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="426"><figcaption>Photo: PRASANT SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure>Says Shrestha: “We have managed to restore and salvage much of Panauti’s history and culture, and now we need to get the younger generation to value our heritage. That is why this exhibition is important: to prove that our past is precious.”Changes in PanautiPhoto ExhibitionTill 6 May, 9am-5pm<a href="http://www.alliancefrancaise.org.np/event/photo-exhibition-changes-in-panauti/">Alliance Française Kathmandu</a>Jhamsikhel  01 5009221Free Entry<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110812110/636a37049c7e80680e04833djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="283">

Ancient Panauti’s French Connection

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

India and Pakistan are twins separated at birth. Tensions between them have been at a hair trigger ever since independence and has erupted into full scale conflict at least four times in the past 80 years.
The 22 April terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 25 Indian tourists and a Nepali citizen, threatens to escalate tension between the two nuclear-armed nations. India has squarely blamed Pakistan for the attacks, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “operational freedom” to respond. Pakistan has said it has credible intelligence of an Indian military strike and its officials have promised a “full spectrum” response — a code for a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/thinking-the-thinkable">nuclear retaliation</a>.
For Nepal, the killing of its national in the Pahalgam attack comes as another stark reminder that in conflicts from Afghanistan to Iraq, from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-agree-an-armistice-in-ukraine">Ukraine</a> to Israel, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/10-nepalis-from-one-town-fighting-in-ukraine">Nepalis are getting caught in the crossfire</a>. The last time full-scale fighting broke out between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/peacemongers-at-india-pakistan-border">India and Pakistan</a> on Kargil in 1999, at least 22<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-trial-by-fire-for-soldiers-from-nepal?%27%5C%22="> Nepalis fighting for the Indian Army</a> were killed in action.
Three of Nepal’s immediate neighbours (China, India, Pakistan) have nuclear weapons, and they do not have good relations. With China supplying weapons, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/war-and-warming">missile technology</a> and other support to Pakistan, this triangular friction could set off a regional conflagration.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0" target="_blank">Research at Rutgers University</a> has calculated that even a week-long tactical nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would throw up so much smoke and debris into the atmosphere that it would block out the sun for years, and lead to a collapse of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grow-nourish-sustain-together-world-food-day">global food system</a>. This does not take into account the radioactive fallout that prevailing winds would blow up to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">the Himalaya</a>, contaminating glaciers that are the sources of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-what-is-left-of-himalayan-rivers">Asia’s main rivers</a>.
The impact of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>on High Asia was already ringing alarm bells about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/himalayan-icecap-melting-faster-than-thought">shrinking ice cap</a> reducing the dry season flow of water downstream. Water was going to be the next strategic commodity, geopolitical experts warned, and the next wars in Asia would be over water.
That water war is already happening. India retaliated to the Kashmir attack by suspending the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/world/asia/india-pakistan-indus-waters-treaty.html" target="_blank">Indus Waters Treaty</a> of 1960 mediated by the World Bank that has withstood at least three wars between India and Pakistan. The treaty gives India control over the three eastern tributaries of the Indus (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beas_River" target="_blank">Beas</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_River" target="_blank">Ravi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutlej" target="_blank">Sutlej</a>), while Pakistan got water from the Indus and two of its western tributaries (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River" target="_blank">Indus</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenab_River" target="_blank">Chenab</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhelum_River" target="_blank">Jhelum</a>.
Pakistan was assured of 70% of the annual flow, and India could use a reasonable amount of water for<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15231"> irrigation and hydropower</a>. &nbsp;Within days of its threat, India stopped water flowing down to Pakistan from the Chenab river and is reportedly preparing to do the same on the Jhelum.
The sabre-rattling has reached a crescendo. Besides threats and counter-threats there are also symbolic drills, with the Indian Air Force practicing landing on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh by its Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar fighter jets to demonstrate ‘operational readiness’. In response Pakistan test-fired its Abdali ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead and has a range of 450km.&nbsp;
The danger is that with ultra-nationalist rhetoric and the beating the war drums by both sides, India’s government and Pakistan’s military may have to ‘do something’ to appease domestic public opinion. But any tactical strike, an artillery exchange, or territorial incursion could quickly escalate out of control.
Expecting an Indian retaliation for the Pahalgam killings, Pakistan is using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/interfaith-collaboration-for-nuclear-disarmament"> nuclear deterrence </a>and warning of “catastrophic consequences”. The two neighbours came close to a nuclear exchange in 2019 after an attack on the Indian military in Kashmir, and prompt international intervention led by the United States cooled tensions.&nbsp;
This time, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump administration</a> is too distracted and not as engaged. Pakistan has denied it was responsible for the terrorist attack and called on Washington to stop a possible Indian retaliation. India and Pakistan have stopped overflights by each other’s airlines, and some international carriers have even stopped flying over Pakistan fearing an air war.
Washington, Beijing, the UN and the EU have all urged restraint. Iran, which has good relations with both India and Pakistan has sent its foreign minister to urge both countries not to go into a tit-for-tat war. Iran has its own nuclear flashpoint to worry about with tensions in Israel, &nbsp;Yemen and Syria.
India and Pakistan both share similar problems of joblessness, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepal-s-poverty-rate-is-stuck">poverty </a>and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-change-new-threat-to-nepal-s-rhinos">environmental threats</a>. Neither side needs the threat of a senseless war, and we in the neighbourhood do not need it either.&nbsp;
Kunda Dixit
This Editorial is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.

Nukes in the neighbourhood

Most Nepalis thought they had seen the last of it after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the 25 April 7.8 magnitude </a>earthquake ten years ago. But the Himalaya had more surprises in store. On 12 May, another 7.3 magnitude tremor that some said was an aftershock, but was strong enough to itself be a major earthquake, struck Dolakha.&nbsp; Not many people had heard of Singati till then — a cluster of houses by the Tama Kosi River along a narrow gorge that is the roadhead to Rolwaling Valley.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  It was here that dozens were killed on 25 April in the first earthquake. Hundreds of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati-rising-from-rubble-rebuilding,3703">Singati survivors</a> had lined up for food and relief supplies in the morning of 12 May when the second earthquake triggered a rock slide that buried a nearby camp. At least 50 people were killed. &nbsp; Three hours later, a US Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter landed in a nearby cornfield to pick up the wounded, and flew off. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control in Kathmandu and its wreckage was located high on Kalinchok four days later. Six American servicemen, two Nepal Army soldiers, and five wounded civilians from Singati were killed. Today, Singati bears little physical scar of the multiple tragedies that struck the town ten years ago. Most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bungamati-builds-back">houses have been rebuilt</a> as urban-style concrete structures, and Singati has become an economic hub on the road leading up to several hydropower plants and a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/off-the-beaten-trek-in-nepal"> popular trekking destination</a>.&nbsp; The town looks less like a village and more like a suburb of the Dolakha district headquarter of Charikot, 47km away.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  “The demand for construction material, cement, iron rods and bricks peaked after the earthquakes,” says Suresh Khadka, who owns a hardware business here and now supplies material to the 456MW Upper Tama Kosi hydropower project that is undergoing repairs after it was damaged by a landslide last year. The demand for cement boomed since most residents believe, not necessarily correctly, that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">cement houses are safer</a>. Although Khadka did well selling construction material after the earthquake, he worries that most new structures do not follow seismic-resistant building codes.&nbsp; The construction boom financed by bank loans has in turn forced many from Singati to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better">migrate overseas for work</a> so they can service their debt.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Suresh Khadka</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Phu Doma Sherpa (right)</figcaption> </figure>  “My family had no choice but to borrow money to rebuild our home since the government compensation was not enough, and ten years later we are still paying off the loan,” says Phu Doma Sherpa, 60. Because of the shortage of qualified masons and proper seismic engineering, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/structural-problems">many of the buildings are of questionable building standards </a>and the traditional architecture has been abandoned, admits Kul Bahadur Budathoki, deputy chair of the municipality. “But these buildings were more expensive than what the government grants could cover, many people here are heavily in debt and the men have <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/every-day-is-closer-to-pay-day">migrated to the Gulf to pay their loans</a>,” Budathoki says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480" data-rendition-name="original" width="1501" height="1079" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Kul Bahadur Budathoki</figcaption> </figure>  Singati is in a multi-hazard zone. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati,3091">12 May 2015 earthquake </a>could have led to the collapse of Nepal’s largest glacial lake, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/stairway-to-heaven">Tso Rolpa</a>, upstream. Due to global warming, the glacier has turned into an expanding lake 3.5km long, and its collapse would have unleashed a catastrophic Himalayan tsunami down the Tama Kosi Valley, with Singati directly in its path. Singati has literally risen from the ashes of 2015, with its residents beginning to recover from the trauma and financial toll. But it is not out of danger as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>magnifies the risk from future earthquakes.

Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

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Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village

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