Monday is Nag Panchami, a day dedicated to the mythical serpents that were once said to inhabit the lake that was Kathmandu Valley. But although snakes are worshipped, they are also threatened because of public perception that they are dangerous. Asbin Raj Ojha is out to change that. Growing up in Vorletar, Lamjung close to nature, he was curious about wildlife and as a hobby tried to find out more about the slithering reptiles. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hisss">Most snakes in the mountains are non-venomous</a>, even so Ojha was struck by how people felt threatened by them and would kill the animals even when they were harmless. His fascination with snakes grew as he watched YouTube videos of conservationists effortlessly catching and handling even dangerous snakes on the National Geographic channel. He started being called to rescue non-venomous grass snakes from people’s houses. By the time he was a teenager, Ojha’s family moved to Rajahar in Nawalpur and his obsession with snakes travelled with him. But the snakes of the plains were more dangerous, and on his own he studied their habitat and habits and ways to identify different species.&nbsp; Two years ago, he got a call about a King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) on the loose in Nawalpur. News about his snake expertise had got around, and he successfully trapped the 4m long snake and relocated it back into the jungle.&nbsp; “Cobras are sacred, but they are also feared, and rescuing them was a milestone in my life, and increased my confidence in handling such &nbsp;majestic snake species,” recalls Ojha, 30, who later realised the danger he had put himself in by handling the snake without protective gear. Even 12mg of cobra venom will kill an adult human. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/save-snakes-to-save-nature">Save snakes to save nature</a>, Tulsi Rauniyar The video of the dramatic rescue went viral, and many more people found out about his work. But Ojha got to work doing more research about safety protocols in handling venomous snakes, and methods in handling non-poisonous ones without harming them using gloves, tongs, safety pads and hooks. After getting married, Ojha’s wife Anjali Thapaliya has also been infected, as it were, by his snake bug. She comes along on every rescue call, and together they have rescued 15 King Cobras from farms and households and translocated them to Chitwan National Park in coordination with the warden’s office.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230821150824_720b9afba2b2bfca972c77b1a8dfe76fad73d3f070ea6dfeb87c53dc99b5db5e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230821150824_720b9afba2b2bfca972c77b1a8dfe76fad73d3f070ea6dfeb87c53dc99b5db5e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="1440" loading="lazy" alt="Snake rescue"> <figcaption>Asbin Raj Ojha and Anjali Thapaliya.</figcaption> </figure>  But such is the fear of snakes that even non-venomous ones are killed or harmed before the couples reach the site. Some are burnt with kerosene or beaten with sticks. Ojha and Thapaliya are chemistry and environmental science majors respectively and are not trained vets, but they do what they can by trading injured snakes with traditional treatments like mustard oil or turmeric.&nbsp; Anjali Thapaliya was initially not too keen about snakes, but understood her husband’s passion for snakes. She supported him from afar. One day, while rescuing a venomous Krait snake which is 10 times more poisonous than a King Cobra, Ojha was bitten on his hand. Thankfully, he was wearing gloves but Thapaliya was worried sick and decided to accompany her husband to the rescue after that. “In the beginning, I used to look at the rescue from afar, but as I started working more with snakes, I developed a soft corner for them,” says Thapaliya, 29. “I’m really happy he is rescuing snakes but by doing so he is also saving lives, not just of snakes but of humans too.” Snakebites are widespread in the Nepal Tarai during the monsoon and can be lethal because antidotes are often not readily available at health posts. As many as 3,000 people are said to die every year from snake bites according to the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9795130/#:~:text=In%20Nepal%20around%2040,000%20individuals,people%20dying%20as%20a%20result.&amp;text=The%20problem%20is%20most%20common,rural%20areas%20of%20the%20Terai." target="_blank">National Institute of Health</a>. Lack of awareness about snakes and snake bites also end up harming snakes, which is why Ojha and Thapaliya have made it their mission to better educate communities by conducting classes to help reduce snake-human conflict. Says herpetologist Santosh Bhattarai: “Their work in King Cobra conservation is really praiseworthy and has directly contributed to reducing death of snakes as well as in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/snakebite-is-treatable-no-one-need-die-from-it">lethal snakebite cases</a>.” Ojha is a teacher by profession and is often interrupted in class to attend to an emergency rescue. But he has trained some young volunteers to also help in rescues.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230821150828_8afffe0e361a7d7d5c0d43eb78de55281db6fc072aff8f687b3ab92f59f81560.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230821150828_8afffe0e361a7d7d5c0d43eb78de55281db6fc072aff8f687b3ab92f59f81560" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="810" loading="lazy" alt="Snake rescue"> <figcaption>Photo: NATIONAL PARK OFFICIAL</figcaption> </figure>  Ojha says his team needs more support from the Forest Department to spread awareness and invest in snake translocation efforts. The team often faces legal and community issues while relocating snakes. &nbsp; “Sometimes people call us killers because they think we are releasing venomous snakes near their homes,” says Ojha, who wants the same priority in conserving snakes as the protection that tigers and rhinos get. Bishal Prasad Neupane is a zoology undergrad specialising on the amphibians and reptiles of Nepal.

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Snakes on plains

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccc0f9c7e80680e08bc00jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Rohit Giri uses photographs to capture the audience’s attention and share his knowledge of snakes.</figcaption></figure>Unlike those who recoil from the sight of venomous snakes, Rohit Giri thinks these increasingly endangered cold-blooded reptiles need to be protected.At an age when his friends would either run away from snakes or try to kill them with sticks, Giri was fascinated by these creatures that used to slither around in the fields near his home in Pokhara.He thinks his obsession with snakes started with watching National Geographic documentaries endlessly on cable tv. Once a snake was spotted in a neighbour’s garden and there was panic in the locality, but the 14-year-old calmly hooked the snake with the end of a stick took hold of the squirming reptile and released it into nearby bushes.It was a green pit viper, and the young boy’s courage became the talk of the neighbourhood. For Giri, it was the beginning of a strong bond with the animals that have religious and cultural importance in Nepal. Since then he has been summoned to rescue more than 700 snakes.“At that moment, I was thrilled to be holding this amazing creature,” recalls Giri, who is now 22, and like the shy creatures he handles, hides behind his hoodie almost like he is trying to stay undercover. “The best part was, he was not afraid of me either. He was just curious.”Residents of Kaski and surrounding districts call him up several times a day when there is a snake in the vicinity that needs to be removed and rescued. Sub-tropical Pokhara Valley with its many hollows and boulders is an ideal habitat for snakes. Rohit is among a handful of snake rescuers in the country, and always has a snake hook and bag ready<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccc129c7e80680e08bc01jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="843"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In March to July, when snakes are more out and about than usual, he usually rescues five to ten snakes a day. Giri comes across as a quiet, withdrawn man, but he is fearless when it comes to snakes, even if they are the deadly vipers, or king cobra.Just watching a video of how he hooks a writhing snake and shoves it into his bag is chilling enough. But to think that Giri is risking his life every time he catches a snake to save it shows his extreme motivation to the task.“It’s not that I am fearless. I take calculated risks. Knowledge is the key. If you know the type of species you are rescuing, you can decide accordingly. Different snakes behave differently,” explains Giri.The first instinct with most people is to kill a snake, but Giri says that is because the creatures are misunderstood by many. Indeed, snakes get a bad press and snake-like attributes are used to describe humans who are cruel, untrustworthy, or slimy.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccc169c7e80680e08bc02jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Snakes are labelled as dark and uncharismatic, which has caused confusion about these beautiful creatures. I want to be able to change that,’’ Giri says.On his many rescue missions, he makes it a point to explain the value of snakes in maintaining the ecological balance of nature.“Snakes play an important role in the food chains in ecosystems. Areas where snakes are removed often have a population explosion of rodents, and it affects agriculture,” says Giri, who has YouTube videos in which he counsels people about saving snakes. “When people are made aware of the relation of the reptiles to the ecosystem, they prefer to having them removed rather than killing them.”An undergraduate student of biology at Prithvi Narayan Campus, Rohit Giri uses Instagram, YouTube and Facebook to raise awareness and document his rescue missions. His photographs, videos and research papers on snake conservation have encouraged others to walk the same wild terrain.But he has a note of caution: “I don’t want to influence people to do something that they are not equipped to do. There have been instances when people have lost lives while trying to imitate snake handling for the sake of showmanship. That is very risky.”Giri is a loner, and enjoys being in nature by himself. He says he is not after fame, and had to be cajoled into agreeing to do this profile. His drive for conservation is purely led by his compassion for the species.“Snakes are so striking because they are so seemingly unperturbed about everything around them,” he says. “It is just a creature being itself, a pure soul. It doesn’t know that it is so earnestly hated and loved. Which is why I love them.”

Save snakes to save nature

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53049c7e80680e05232ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="534"/><figcaption>Bardia National Park 1994</figcaption></figure>“Mum, Mum, Sangjay’s been playing with a python.” Rinchen was hoping to get one up on his elder sibling, but he knew he had to come up with something pretty spectacular to get my attention.“That’s nice, darling.”<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/So-far-so-good/fire-in-the-afternoon-tiger-tops,846" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tiger Tops</a>’ rustic ‘office’ had a thatched roof, wood rafters and mesh windows, and I was distracted by a guest relations manual update and tomorrow’s rooming list. I trusted my teenage boys to read jungle lore, and to know the difference between <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hisss/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harmless and dangerous snakes</a>.On a shelf above me, dusty glass jars of formaldehyde contained some of the more lethal varieties preserved for science: sinister yellow banded kraits and a lurid green pit viper. A deer barked in the distance and the cooks clattered in the adjacent kitchen.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/chitlang-chitwan-and-children/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chitlan, Chitwan and children</a>, Lisa ChoegyalHe tried again: “And it wasn’t a very small one. Tim and Jack dared him to pick it up.” The four boys were just back from one of their elephant-back expeditions through the Chitwan grasslands, this time up the Surung Khola valley – an unruly quartet close in age and fast friends since infancy. Disturbed from its winter torpor, the python did not appear bothered by its rude manhandling and was soon safely restored back into its <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/So-far-so-good/back-to-Chitwan,1075" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chitwan</a> freedom.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53079c7e80680e05232bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="528" height="747">My two sons were dragged up in the wake of my own enthusiasms Bardia National Park 1994<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53099c7e80680e05232cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="491" height="695">Tenzin and I trekking with the boys 1993I like to consider myself an exemplary parent, but probably all mothers think that. The truth is that my two sons were dragged into the wake of my own enthusiasms. Lucky their father seldom left home, as my selfish priorities may not have always featured family first. Our photo books support me in providing a peripatetic and sometimes idyllic childhood, but always to suit my travels, my schedule and my work in wildlife, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">conservation</a> and adventure.Two little boys posing in checked shirts on a Khumbu chorten, peering out of a tent on a remote terraced hillside with early morning peaks behind, bundled in life jackets hanging on through the white water, and embracing an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-humans-can-live-with-wild-elephants/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">elephant</a> deep in the jungle grasslands. There were many years of birthday cakes for Tim Jack Sangjay or Rinchen, moulded out of elephant dung, elaborately iced and delivered by a decorated hati, a perennial delight with everyone valiantly keeping up the well-worn joke to please the grown-ups.Brought up in Kathmandu, our boys attended the British School until their early teens, both speak Nepali like natives, and both consider this Valley their home. As children they were forced to follow me on various missions – the picture albums show coconut throwing competitions in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/recreating-tiger-tops-in-the-tropics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sabah</a>, canoeing in the back blocks of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hanging-out-with-the-headhunters/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sarawak</a>, volcano trekking in Indonesia, horse-riding in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/so-far-so-good/wintering-in-mongolia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mongolia</a>, cycling in Vietnam, rock climbing in Kenya and abseiling in Wyoming. After a particularly arduous trek recce wading rivers and lost in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-walk-back-in-time-chandragiri-hatiban/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chandragiri hills</a>, Rinchen declared: “Never again, Mum.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a530b9c7e80680e05232djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="768"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>One result of their upbringing was an early affinity with animals. Sangjay’s first spoken word was “hati”. Stopping for a break at the riverside village of Malekhu, its fish delicacies hung skewered ready for the barbecue at the shop front. “Doesn’t it hurt the fish?” asked Sangjay, aged three. I was stuck for a glib answer.He showed the same concern for a pig on the solid iron spit roasting over a pit of burning coals in front of the Lodge – a favourite for special celebrations that could take 24 hours to cook, laboriously turned by relays of men through the night.Rinchen’s self-possession served him well as a pageboy, aged two, at my brother’s wedding in Chelsea Old Church. Both boys made it down the aisle behind the beautiful bride in their purple silk Khampa chubas, white tights and ballet shoes (promising they’d look “just like Ninja Turtles”, when Sangjay aged four refused to put his on). But during the service Rinchen was last to remain standing alone in attendance behind the happy couple, all the other older bridesmaids and pageboys having fled back to their parents in the pews.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-eyes-of-truth/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Eyes of Truth</a>, Lisa ChoegyalThere were the usual close shaves as toddlers. Sangjay tumbling down a flight of stairs, almost being swept into a flooded stream, crashing from the top steps of a slide, and falling backwards off a sofa through our sitting room window; the ensuing wound’s 12 stitches still show as a white scarred patch when his thick dark hair is cut short.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a530e9c7e80680e05232ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="958" height="728"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Rinchen must have been less reckless as I recall few childhood mishaps, but instead a healthy curiosity and keen observation. Driving to school one morning a small voice from the back seat asked: “What are those dogs doing Mummy.”“Mating, darling,” I replied, with an attempt at insouciance. There was a long pause. “Looks like awfully hard work to me!”I can hardly bear to recollect the time they went missing at my mother’s home on that same British visit. (‘They’ll be absolutely safe playing out in the garden,’ she had said, never dreaming they would venture beyond the hawthorn hedges.) After an agonising half hour, they were found wandering near the main Oxford London railway line a couple of fields away. I was never sure I believed their story about a passing train driver who stopped for a friendly chat, as all the locomotives I saw hurtled past at horrifying speed.Probably the depth of my attempts at responsible motherhood was when I misplaced them in Christchurch Airport. Stopping to change planes after a trip exploring New Zealand’s West Coast, I was absorbed chatting with mountaineering friends when we noticed they were gone.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53119c7e80680e05232fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2816" height="2112"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>After a frantic search with thudding heart, we heard the humiliating announcement: “Would the mother of two small boys please collect them from lost property.” A kindly old Kiwi couple had found them on the sidewalk outside and handed them in.Rinchen had his own python encounter during a gap year job at a river running camp near Rishikesh, but it did not end so happily. Finding a python being burned by villagers mistakenly to protect their livestock, they reported this violation of an endangered species to the Indian wildlife authorities. Three of the team were arrested for their pains, and the poor snake died anyway.

Lisa Choegyal

A working mother’s guilt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Cvph_7Sjc&amp;feature=youtu.beLike every monsoon, this year has also seen a spike in snakebite deaths across the country. In the Tarai, emergency wards are crowded with patients as doctors try to cope. At least 15 people have died so far in Saptari, Sarlahi, Morang and Rautahat, districts that were also hardest hit by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/flood-of-recrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">floods</a> last month.There are at least 40,000 cases of snakebite every year in Nepal, with some 3,000 fatalities in the Tarai alone. But a recent epidemiological study found the death rate from <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-a%20pound-of-prevention,575" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">snakebite</a> has come down from 18.7% 20 years ago to 6.62%, largely because of awareness and anti-venom treatment.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/snakebite-is-treatable-no-one-need-die-from-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"Snakebite is treatable, no one need die from it."</a>Globally, 5.5 million snakebites occur every year, with up to 138,000 deaths. Another 400,000 people require amputations and suffer severe injuries. Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka together account for 70% of global snakebite mortality. But it was not until 2017 that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised snakebite as a neglected tropical disease, and came up with a roadmap to reduce risk.In Nepal too, snakebite never received the attention it deserved. It is not communicable or infectious, is rare and tropical and affects the poorest people.“Snakebite is a severely neglected public health burden in Nepal. There is so much we don’t know about snakes and their venoms, and there are signs it is going to get worse with climate change,” warned Sher Bahadur Pun of Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Diseases Hospital in Kathmandu. (See box) <figure><img width="1400" height="939" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52599c7e80680e0522ecjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY</figcaption></figure>High Level Meeting and Workshop on Snakebite in Nepal on 2-3 August in Kathmandu, is the first international conference on snakebite in the country. Taking part are 20 of the world's foremost  authorities on snakebite including David Warrell of Oxford, David Williams, head of the Global Snakebite Initiative (see interview, page 7), Ulrich Kuch of Goethe University in Frankfurt, and Priyanka Kadam from India, and 50 Nepali scientists are taking part.Nepal is aiming to be one of 11 member countries on WHO’s roadmap for snakebites, and is trying to muster serious commitment from the government for research and treatment.“We hope to sensitise policymakers and the public about the hidden burden of this neglected tropical disease,” said Sanjib K Sharma, a doctor at the BP Koirala Institute for Health Science in Dharan, one of the conference organisers. “We also want to start working on developing anti-venoms in Nepal instead of depending on imports.”Of the four types of anti-venom imported for the 21 types of poisonous snakes in Nepal, one doesn’t work and three others are not reliable. In fact, 80% of people here who are administered anti-venom suffer from reactions, 12% of which are fatal. Activists in India are now lobbying to stop the export of anti-venom because of unmet domestic need.Anti-venom is produced by injecting donor animals such as horses and sheep with venom, and then extracting the antigen from the blood. But the procedure is expensive – a vial of anti-venom costs up to $2,200. Since snakebite requires between 20-25 vials to neutralise the venom, the pharmacy bill alone would total $30,000 per patient. Global production is limited, and most snake bites can only be cured with anti-venom from that particular species.WHO’s target is to halve the numbers of deaths and disability from snakebite by 2030, and the Wellcome Trust and UK Department for International Development (Dfid) have announced £80 million and £9 million respectively for the development of a universal anti-venom. However, clinical trials will take decades.Nepal’s challenge is at ground level. Awareness about preventing snakebite is still low, people prefer to visit traditional healers if bitten, and many patients get to anti-venom centres too late. Even so, snakebite fatalities fell from 10.5% to 0.5% after motorcycle volunteers were deployed in a pilot project in 2013. (see box)Diana Barr of the Australian Venom Research Institute at the University of Melbourne says Nepal and Bangladesh are best equipped to take the WHO strategy forward. “You’ve got some of the key things, like local expertise, your health ministry is pushing for change, and there is support from outside organisations,” she told Nepali Times. “Nepal can easily implement the WHO strategy and get dramatic results in a couple of years.”Experts attending the Kathmandu conference this weekend believe the WHO target of halving snakebite deaths is doable. All it needs is effective treatment, trained nurses and doctors who deliver that treatment, educating the community to take simple precautions, and come to hospitals sooner if bitten.Said Sharma of BPKIHS: “The universal vaccine is the holy grail for snakebite treatment, but until then we have to work on anti-venom epidemiology within the country and educate people about snakebites.” <h2>Motorcycle volunteers to the rescue</h2> <figure><img width="1250" height="1068" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a525c9c7e80680e0522edjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> TWO-WHEELS GOOD: Snakebite victim held firmly between motorcycle volunteer driver and relative and being rushed to hospital. The fatality rate fell by ten times in this pilot project in the Eastern Tarai. Pic: SANJIB K SHARMA</figcaption></figure>One of the major barriers to snakebite treatment is the delay in getting victims to a health centre with anti-venom. In many cases, patients die on the way due to an inefficient transportation system.In 2004, a group from BPKHS in Dharan, in collaboration with the University of Geneva, tested a Motorcycle Volunteer Program in four villages in the eastern Tarai with a high incidence of snakebites. The pilot project mobilised motorcycle volunteers in all four villages, which had a total population 62,000. They helped transport snakebite victims to a specialised treatment centre in Damak that had anti-venom and staff trained in snakebite management. The motorcycles combined with community health education sharply reduced the mortality rate from snakebite.Before the experiment, there were 502 bites/100,000 population with a case fatality rate of 10.5%. After the intervention, the incidence decreased to 315 bites/100,000 and the fatality rate fell to 0.5%.‘Simple educational messages and promotion of immediate and rapid transport of victims to a treatment centre decreased the mortality rate and incidence of snake bite in southeastern Nepal,’ stated a study published in The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in 2013. It recommended that the test be replicated elsewhere. <h2>Snakes and Ladders</h2> <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">As global temperatures go up, so do snakes, insects and plants</a>. Not only are venomous snakes now found at altitudes where they were not present before, experts say even their venom may be getting more poisonous.Kathmandu Valley used to experience snake bites, but they were never fatal. Now, there are cobra sightings on the Valley rim, and even in Langtang National Park. And last year, a patient admitted for snakebite at Sukraraj Hospital in Teku died while undergoing treatment.Poisonous snakes may have come up hitchhiking on cargo trucks carrying logs from the Tarai, but health experts say there is evidence climate change may be allowing venomous snakes, and other tropical wildlife, to move to higher areas of the Himalaya.“Elsewhere we are starting to see the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-damage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">movement of various species with the warming of the earth</a>, so the case of snakes should be no different,” explains Sher Bahadur Pun of Sukraraj Topical and Infectious Disease Hospital in Kathmandu, which has seen a rise in the number of patients from the Valley and surrounding districts with severe snakebites.Pun adds that more research needs to be done to find the exact correlation between venomous snakes and climate change.In addition, snakebites that were previously poisonous only in the immediate tissue surrounding a bite can now be more venomous or even fatal. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/turning-on-the-heat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A warmer climate</a> appears to affect the physiology of the venom glands and the chemical composition of snakes' secretions.“When people got bitten by snakes in the past, they only developed swelling, but now I see cases where victims are bleeding from bites by the same type of snake,” says Sanjib K Sharma of the Department of Internal Medicine at BPKHS in Dharan. Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17330#.XULEUvIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Snakebite!</a>, Buddha Basnyat<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-a%20pound-of-prevention,575" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">An ounce of venom</a>, Buddha Basnyat<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=30821&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Snakebite is treatable,</a> Nepali Times <h2>Know Your Snakes</h2> Snakes look similar but their colour, scales, eyes and head shape can be useful in distinguishing dangerous species from harmless ones. Some snakes found in Nepal:Green Snakes (Orthriophis hodgsonii) have a few large scales on the top of the head and round pupils. These snakes are non-venomous and harmless. Cat-eyed Green Snakes (Boiga cyanea) have no pit organ between nostril and eye, which distinguishes them from venomous pit vipers.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a525f9c7e80680e0522eejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="492"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52619c7e80680e0522efjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667">Green Pit Viper (Trimeresurus septentrionalis) are the only venomous species of green snakes in Nepal. They have a pit organ between the eye and the nostril, which is an infrared detector used to find prey in the dark. Bites are painful but not fatal.Russel Viper (Daboia russelii) is one of the most dangerous snakes in Nepal, found in the Tarai only. Its head is covered by numerous small symmetrical, oval scales, it has a long tail and long venom fangs that fold back into its mouth.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52649c7e80680e0522f0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="581"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52669c7e80680e0522f1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="739">Tibet Pit Viper (Trimeresurus tibetanus) can be found in oak and rhododendron forests on Phulchoki, Helambu and in Tibet, up to 3,200m. Bites can be painful, but not dangerous.Himalayan Pit Viper (Gloydius himalayanus) has a few large scales on the top of its head, like some non-venomous viper lookalikes. But it has a pit organ and a dark stripe from eye to mouth. Found at 1,600-3,000m in the mountains, it is active in the daytime hunting rodents. Bites can be painful but not fatal. Has been found in Mustang.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52699c7e80680e0522f2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="605"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a526b9c7e80680e0522f3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="851">Cobra and King Cobra are common and dangerous causes of snake bite envenoming in Nepal. Most bite at dawn, injecting a large quantity of venom that leads to paralysis of the peripheral nervous system, and then death by asphyxia. Raises forebody, displays extended neck skin hood and hisses when disturbed. Found in the Tarai and up to 3,500m.Python (Python molurus) have no venom but kill prey by constriction. They can bite if disturbed. Found mainly in the Tarai and low valleys.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a526e9c7e80680e0522f4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="798"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52709c7e80680e0522f5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="545">Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus), Greater Black Krait (Bungarus niger), Lesser Black Krait (Bungarus lividus) and Wall’s Krait (Bungarus walli) are the most common and dangerous causes of snake envenoming in Nepal. They differ from all other snakes in having one row of hexagonal scales along the middle of their back from neck to tail, which are much larger than other scales. Active at night, some victims do not know they have been bitten while asleep. Respiratory paralysis can kill even after 12 hours. Found up to 1,450m.Himalayan Krait (Bungarus bungaroides) found at higher altitudes, their bites cause death due to asphyxia. Banded Krait (Bungarus fasciatus) are also highly venomous and found in the Tarai.Cat Snake (Boiga trigonata) look like most Kraits but differ in having laterally compressed bodies, unlike Kraits, which have rounded or triangular cross-sections. Mildly venomous.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52729c7e80680e0522f6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="470"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52759c7e80680e0522f7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="426">Kukri Snake (Oligodon arnensis) differs from Russell Pit Viper in having pupils that are round, large scales on top of the head and no pit organ. Unlike Kraits, it has scales on the back that are all of similar size and shape.Common Wolf Snake (Lycodon aulicus) is a small snake that often enters homes at night to hunt geckos and mice. Unlike more dangerous Kraits, it has scales of the same size all over its body, and is harmless.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52779c7e80680e0522f8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="646"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52799c7e80680e0522f9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="553">Coral Snake (Calliophis beddomei) are rare and found up to 2,200m. If cornered, it responds by flattening its body and lifting and curling its tail. Bites are rare, sometimes fatal.Tawny Cat Snake (Boiga ochracea) are widely distributed in the Tarai and mid-hills. They are often reddish brown and active at night, but unlike Kraits are not venomous.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a527b9c7e80680e0522fajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="518"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a527d9c7e80680e0522fbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="558">Water Snake are common in paddy fields and ponds, but are not venomous. The Striped Keelback (Amphiesma stolatum) is active by day and rarely bite. It has prominent and distinct spots and stripes on the body.Adapted from: Venomous Snakes of Nepal: A Photographic Guide by SK Sharma, DP Pandey, KB Shah, F Tillack, F Chappius, CL Thapa, E Alirol and U KuchBP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, 2013 ISBN number : 978-9937-2-6003-9<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52809c7e80680e0522fcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1037"> <img width="2500" height="1890" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52829c7e80680e0522fdjpeg.jpg" alt="">IF A SNAKE BITESReassure victims, lay them down sidewaysIdentify snake if possibleImmobilise bitten limb with splintDo not cut, use tourniquets, ice on wound Wash wound with soapTransport victim quickly to a health centre with anti-venomSymptomsEnvenoming due to cobra and krait bites lead to neuromuscular paralysis with the following effects: Inability to open the eyes on looking upInability to open the mouthInability to protrude the tongue from the mouthInability to swallowParalysis of the muscles of the hands and feetDifficulty breathing

HISSS

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52509c7e80680e0522e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="787"/><figcaption>Pic: DIANA BARR</figcaption></figure>David Williams grew up in rural Australia among all kinds of creepy crawlies. He kept lizards and snakes as pets, even venomous ones. He has been bitten six times, but that has not put him off research into finding a cheaper and more effective anti-venom to treat bites.Williams now heads the Global Snakebite Initiative and has been helping in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17330#.XULEUvIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">snakebite</a> management in Cambodia and Papua New Guinea. He is in Kathmandu for the first international conference on snakebite in Nepal this weekend, and spoke to Nepali Times.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=30833&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HISS</a>, Sonia AwaleNepali Times: Why hold a snakebite conference in Kathmandu?   David Williams: One of the main reasons the conference is being held here is that Nepal has got a lot of expertise, doctors who are very interested in research and want to fix the problem and initiatives like the motorcycle volunteers. There are many diseases that have no cure or treatment, but snakebite is something that is eminently treatable, nobody should have to die from it. So with a reasonably modest amount of investment by health ministries and supporting organisations, we can solve the problem of snakebite. Nepal has all the elements necessary to tackle its snakebite epidemic, and save lives.What are the main challenges?There is a solution to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-a%20pound-of-prevention,575" target="_blank" rel="noopener">snakebite problems</a>, but it is largely a matter of investment. Production of anti-venom requires putting the money into establishing manufacturing facilities, having a proper quality control and a regulatory agency that is able to provide oversight of manufacturing. The same goes for collecting venom. So it is a matter of commitment, and spending the money to do it in the right way. The things that hospitals need to have in order to effectively treat snakebite patients are often the same types of medical consumables that are needed for a lot of other diseases. So if you have a strong health care system that is functioning well with the right drugs and treatment, then we are likely to achieve better outcomes.But are these <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/tips-for-surviving-snakebites,1471" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interventions</a> possible in Nepal? It is a lot easier and cheaper to prevent snakebite than to deal with consequences, so community education and awareness for behavioural change is probably the most important aspect. Another is having sufficient stock of effective anti-venoms. Countries have to ensure that reliable supply, and one way to go about is to ask for World Health Organization (WHO) assistance. The good thing is that there has been some strong research in this area with which Nepal should be able to take an initiative to be able to make anti-venom within the country and not rely so much on India. It is especially important to have addition supply of anti-venom this time of the year, when snakebite becomes an epidemic.The WHO wants to halve snakebite deaths by 2030. Is this realistic? It is fairly easy to achieve and there is good evidence to back this up. In Ghana it was found that if you introduce effective treatment, train nurses and doctors who deliver the treatment, and educate the community to come to the hospital sooner, fatalities can be reduced by as much as 80% in a very short period. It took Ghana only 18 months. So I think having 12 years from now to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19557#.XULEV_IzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut the fatality</a> and disability by 50% is quite a reasonable target. At core it is about effective treatment, health workers who know how to give treatment and communities that prioritise getting that treatment.Is climate change pushing venomous snakes up the mountains? If the world keeps warming, yes. As the weather warms up here in Nepal with climate change, you will start finding venomous snakes in areas where they were never found before because it was too cold. Another aspect that can contribute is changes in the habitat. For example, with deforestation you create open habitats that a lot of venomous snakes, such as the cobras and the Russell vipers, actually find more conducive to their lifestyle.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17330#.XULEUvIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Snakebite!</a>, Buddha Basnyat<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-a%20pound-of-prevention,575" target="_blank" rel="noopener">An ounce of venom</a>, Buddha Basnyat<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/tips-for-surviving-snakebites,1471" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Snakebite Survival,</a> Buddha Basnyat

“Snakebite is treatable,  no one need die from it.”

Architecture can be a powerful agent of change, shaping not just spaces but the way people live, connect, and experience the world.&nbsp; For Nepal, which is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">gifted by nature</a> and rich in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/ambassador-fund-cultural-preservation-nepal,2092">cultural heritage</a>, &nbsp;reviving rural architecture with modern amenities could hold the key to more <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-sustainable-tourism-means-in-practice">sustainable tourism </a>that benefits local people more. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/bayalpata-hospital-in-nepal-wins-global-design-award">Design and architecture</a> are amazing tools to create a unique experience for visitors,” says Spanish architect Tomeu Esteva of Esteva i Esteva Architecture Studio. “Difficult destinations have beautiful hotels with design and comfort.” Esteva was in Kathmandu with his colleagues at an event organised by the Spanish Honorary Consulate at Dwarika’s Hotel last week to showcase buildings which Nepali architects can adapt with local material and design inputs.&nbsp; Rural architecture holds a unique significance: it is more than a shelter and must reflect <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/inking-an-idenity">local identity, culture</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-humla-from-heritage-loss">heritage</a>. An area’s natural and cultural harmony can be upset by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-protected-areas-from-infrastructure?fbclid=IwAR1wK0MDFlFST_2EYb3f54LS4-fPt6rYfLG1DJ1JaQsU3w8-ezyXIxGOqzk">poorly planned development</a>, speakers at the event said, but the environment can be improved and revitalised by well-integrated structures.&nbsp; Another Spanish architect, Belen Moneo, has designed hotels at elevations of 3,700m in her home country Spain that supply natural spring water spas. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/lost-in-reconstruction">Creativity in construction</a> must be encouraged. Rural architecture always shows possibilities of what we can do better,” Moneo explains, adding that designs must enhance <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-healing-power-of-nature">the beauty of nature</a> and give a natural feel at a time when steel, glass and cement dominate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/rebuilding-kathmandu-after-the-1934-quake">urban design</a>.&nbsp; This is why the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/weaving-nature-into-craft">use of natural products</a> such as bamboo, local timber, straw and rammed earth are in demand from customers who want a fresh eco-friendly look encouraged in construction of rural architectural structures. The demand for boutique hotels has increased world over, with &nbsp;more and more tourists favouring aesthetics, experience and comfort over price. While creativity is an important part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/architecture-for-mountains">construction and architecture</a>, incentives to build and use <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Building,370">rural construction materials</a> still remain minimal, and Moneo emphasises the significance of design and execution.&nbsp; Esteva helped design the Vana Retreat in Dehradun that kept the natural environment in focus, with the structure giving an elaborate aesthetic experience to visitors. Another example is Hotel Las Mercedes in the Dominican Republic which was designed and constructed by Moneo and the company she co-founded Moneo Brock, respecting and revaluing the traditional architecture of the area. Hotels providing such experience could attract tourists and revenue. The Spanish ambassador to Nepal Juan Antonio March Pujol said, “The role of architecture and architects in developing tourism is crucial, not only in urban areas but rural settings as well.”&nbsp; The concept of rural boutique hotels gained traction in Spain during the 1990s, particularly in regions like Majorca with economic and environmental sustainability as the main focus. In Nepal <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/guiding-nepal-s-tourism-industry">the tourism industry</a> directly employs about 1 million people, and makes up about 8% of the country’s GDP. In Nepal, the stone homes of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/reviving-himalayan-vulture-and-culture">Mustang and Manang</a>, bamboo and mud structures of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-tarai-s-shrinking-forests">the Tarai</a>, and the Kathmandu Valley’s terra cotta tile skylines, graceful temples, and tranquil bahal courtyards are all examples of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-traditional-seismic-resistant-designs">Nepal’s traditional architecture</a>.&nbsp; Nepali architect Sarosh Pradhan has been working for the past eight years on the Brakka Village project in Manang Valley north of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/municipalities-want-to-manage-annapurna">the Annapurnas</a>. Other examples of this kind of rural architecture for high-end tourism are the Shinta Mani Hotel in Mustang and Khumbu Lodge below <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a>. Says Pradhan, “There are places in Nepal that radiate purity and embrace simplicity. Creating projects in such settings require deep reflection and thoughtful planning.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421030444_a07a23f6b60fa89c0f35b9dc1aaf19937da4881e6bfb2e1858f3c27dff91729f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="20250421030444_a07a23f6b60fa89c0f35b9dc1aaf19937da4881e6bfb2e1858f3c27dff91729f" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="2184" loading="lazy" alt="A new architecture for Nepal's tourism"> </figure>  Rural architecture is not easy, and sometimes more expensive. Inflation, energy efficiency, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/those-who-stay">the climate crisis</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">increased costs of living</a> pose obstacles to sustainable rural architecture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/forgotten-international-starchitects-in-nepal">Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal</a>, Anne Feenstra and Varun S Bapu Esteva says faith and trust between client and architect is necessary for any project to be successful. He adds that architects must practice being humble, the process of designing always involves learning and not imposing their ideas on clients. Nepal is uniquely positioned for the growth of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hiking-up-the-benefits-of-tourism">rural tourism</a> because of its stunning countryside as well as its internationally renowned traditions in holistic wellness. Creating infrastructure that is small, thoughtfully planned and that respects both tradition and contemporary hospitality standards is crucial. “Projects in Nepal can be made cost effective by using materials from houses that have been brought down,” says Esteva. “Pilot projects involving <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/local-government-by-the-people-for-the-people-of-the-people">local people </a>and simple designing also helps the process.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/vacant-homes-become-homestays-in-nepal">The growth of homestays in Nepal</a> is a step in the right direction, but they are still a bit too rustic for the international traveller who also wants comfort and is willing to pay extra for it. Upgrading the facilities in homestays and ensuring that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-archive-of-nepali-heritage">architectural heritage</a> of the locality is preserved using locally sourced building material could allow owners to charge more. Says Sangita Shrestha of Dwarika’s Hotel, “Our effort is to build upon rural architecture by empowering local communities and using what is available locally. We can fine tune and encourage indigenous design and training.” The vision goes beyond just boosting the economy, it is about building a future where tourism helps villages grow in a healthy and lasting way. Instead of using up resources, it gives back to the land and the people. It supports local communities by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/staying-in-nepal-to-create-jobs"> creating jobs</a>, improving infrastructure, and protecting natural beauty. When done right, tourism can be a tool for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/progress-and-or-preservation">preserving culture and nature</a>, not harming them. Architects must therefore see their work as more than just designing buildings, they also need to care deeply about people and places, especially in rural areas that can benefit the most.&nbsp; With global interest in sustainable and off-the-beaten-path travel increasing, Nepal stands at the cusp of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/missing-out-on-nepal-s-tourism-potential">tourism transformation</a> that values community-driven, eco-conscious hospitality. A mix of modern ideas and traditional knowledge could transform rural tourism in Nepal. Says Shrestha, “Young architects should spend time with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/the-unsung-heroes-of-conservation">local and indigenous communities</a>, listen to their stories, and learn from their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/life-and-livelihood-in-remote-nepal">ways of living</a>. These communities have deep knowledge about the land, materials, and climate. If this wisdom is used in new designs, it can help create tourism spaces that truly benefit everyone.” &nbsp;

A new architecture for Nepal's tourism

Extract from an addendum to Nepal's Two Wars, Chapter 2 in the updated edition of Essays on Nepal: Past and Present by Sam Cowan, a retired British Army general with a long association with the Gurkhas. The book was first published in 2018, and republished earlier this month by FinePrint exclusively on Amazon. The addendum details a one-to-one conversation the author had in the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8884">Royal Palace </a>with the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8371">King Gyanendra</a> in November 2002 just after he had taken his initial steps on the road that ultimately led to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14681">the abolition of the monarchy</a> in Nepal in 2008. In the early evening of September 16, 2002, in my role as Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas, I had my second and last official audience with King Gyanendra to give him an update on the Brigade’s activities over the previous 12 months. I had some 6 or 7 such audiences with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/preserving-king-birendra-s-family-home">King Birendra</a>.&nbsp; These were official affairs with the British ambassador of the day present, along with key <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12233">palace officials</a> and a representative from Nepal's Foreign Ministry. The two monarchs were very different in character and temperament, but both treated me with the utmost civility and made the audiences as relaxed and easy for me as possible.&nbsp; It is, however, worth recording that when the official business had been covered, King Birendra, with a twinkle in his eye, often ended by asking, “Now General, what’s the gossip in London?” The second audience with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8026">King Gyanendra </a>was my last official act in uniform. We came back to Kathmandu in the first week of November (after treks) to stay for a few nights with our Defence Attaché before heading back to the UK. Waiting for me was a message from the Palace saying that King Gyanendra would like to meet me informally: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=6933">no uniform</a> and no ambassador.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080420_f9046f9882d4481781d14f2b64f18c7fbbea62562e1d74e3465de6d01fb43750.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250421080420_f9046f9882d4481781d14f2b64f18c7fbbea62562e1d74e3465de6d01fb43750" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="2406" loading="lazy" alt="Gyanendra crowned page 1"> <figcaption>Nepali Times Special Edition of 6-14 June 2001 with enthronement of Gyanendra. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080424_21333d6ae21828eb47fe3f849438d215fe2804460d47bb2896ef4aee4e895ad2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250421080424_21333d6ae21828eb47fe3f849438d215fe2804460d47bb2896ef4aee4e895ad2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1857" loading="lazy" alt="Royal massacre"> <figcaption>Nepali Times 22-29 June 2001 covering the royal massacre after which Gyanendra became king. </figcaption> </figure>  Although I had no idea what the purpose of the meeting might be, events in Kathmandu since I last saw the king put me on edge. On October 4, 2002, Gyanendra had dismissed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, allegedly for failing to hold <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-goes-on-in-nepal-s-elections">elections</a>. He had put in place a new prime minister and a cabinet personally selected by him. When I heard the news on my travels, the people I met were generally supportive of the king’s actions. There was a general view that something had to be done, the country was going nowhere, and the king deserved his chance, not least to solve<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/14-years-after-conflict-no-closure-in-nepal"> the Maoist </a>problem. Back in Kathmandu, views were not so sanguine. The chosen prime minister, Lokendra Bahadur Chand, was a relic from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mob-movement-and-mayhem">the Panchayat period</a> whose party had failed to win a single seat in the last elections held in 1999. Some of the chosen cabinet ministers had, to put it mildly, dubious reputations, and others had no record of proven competence in any field. There was a fear that the king’s real motive in dismissing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/deubas-denouement">Deuba</a> was to start to reverse the democratic gains made since 1990. I informed <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-britain-mark-centenary-of-1923-treaty">the British ambassador</a> about the invitation. He was strongly against accepting it, which was probably the clinching reason for my decision to do the polite thing and accept it. On the evening of November 7, 2002, I presented myself at the royal palace, alone and in civilian attire.&nbsp; As in the past, the Military Secretary, Major General Vivek Shah, met and escorted me into the presence of the monarch. This time, however, he was politely asked to leave the room and shut the door behind him. King Gyanendra greeted me warmly and invited me to sit down.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-ghost-of-monarchy-returns-to-haunt-nepal"> The ghost of monarchy returns to haunt Nepal</a>, Shristi Karki  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080424_e382af945d0ad2a04ae41fabe5393f793dd10f54cb1220f111c7c9e7423eb558.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250421080424_e382af945d0ad2a04ae41fabe5393f793dd10f54cb1220f111c7c9e7423eb558" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="993" loading="lazy" alt="Gyanendra coup"> <figcaption>Nepali Times 4-10 February 2005 after king Gyanendra's coup imposed media censorship. anendra became king. </figcaption> </figure>  I had wondered, and to be truthful, had worried, not just about the purpose of the meeting, but about how the conversation might start and develop. I reduced my resolve to two points: be polite but speak candidly. The latter resolve was quickly put to the test with the king’s opening words: “Sam, [in previous meetings it had been ‘General’, you walk the highways and byways of this land more than most, tell me what the common man is thinking?” &nbsp;“Your Majesty, I have no idea what they are thinking, but they are waiting.” “Waiting?” “Yes, Your Majesty, they are waiting to see whether what you did some weeks ago in appointing your own prime minister and cabinet ministers is going to make any difference to their lives or whether it is just going to be more Kathmandu hot air.” “Everything is going to be difficult and is going to take time, a lot of time.” “Your Majesty, time is the one thing you don’t have. You must act quickly and decisively to take advantage of the opportunity you have created. Everyone knows that you have appointed these new ministers. Why don’t you get them in here one by one and tell them that they have three months to deliver a programme in their area of responsibility that is going to make a difference to people’s lives? Most will fail to do so. Sack them! It will be a powerful signal of your strong intent to deliver real change.” I can express the opening of our conversation in this way because just about every word is still etched in my mind. The king’s response to my last quoted words was to challenge me to give an example of something that could be delivered quickly. I can give a verbatim record of what I said in response to this unexpected challenge: “Health posts, Your Majesty, there is no shortage of them throughout the country as building them has been one of the sources of local corruption, but very few have any medicine to issue at present or have skilled people to assess and meet medical needs. Your Majesty, children are dying for lack of a few pills. Given the right priority, over a period, say of six months, every health post could be fully stocked with medicine and manned with trained people. This is something I could help to lead for you as I know it would have strong international backing. At last, people would know that you mean business.” As I warmed to the theme, I could see no sign of the king having any enthusiasm for the idea, and I quickly disengaged as it dawned on me, as it had clearly dawned on the king, that the reason for the deficiencies in health posts was to prevent any Maoist combatant from gaining access to any <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/tech-away/nepal-s-health-tech-industry-is-here-to-stay">medical support</a>, and if this meant people suffering, so be it. The subject of the Maoist insurgency inevitably came up, and I took the opportunity to elaborate on what is written in the final four paragraphs of the article above. I advised King Gyanendra that, self-evidently, since there were three parties in the conflict—him, the Maoists, and the political parties—it was imperative that he form an alliance with one of them, preferably the political parties; otherwise, he would find himself isolated, as the other two parties would inevitably, at some stage, form their own alliance. However, it quickly became apparent that the king’s mind was on a totally different track. On the Maoists, he told me that he had channels open to them, but he was scathing about the political party leaders. He made it clear that they would be waiting for a very long time before he gave any power back to them, and that is a polite way of expressing the actual words he used, but “crawling through the door” is a phrase which has stuck in my mind.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080424_5403455ff6168f0d202a96cb53edea69136d74d59b989cfcc7cc4a1d57672cb5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250421080424_5403455ff6168f0d202a96cb53edea69136d74d59b989cfcc7cc4a1d57672cb5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1317" loading="lazy" alt="fall of monarchy"> <figcaption>Nepali Times 28 April-3 May 2005 with cover image by Ajay Joshi of jubilant protesters after street demonstrations sidelined king Gyanendra, paving the way for a ceasfire and restoration of democracy. </figcaption> </figure>  As the conversation developed, it became ever clearer that King Gyanendra had decided to go in alone, relying on the misleading assurances he was constantly receiving from <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=14954">the army</a>, and no doubt his close advisers, that the Maoists could and would be quickly defeated militarily, and taken out of the equation. This would obviate the need for him to do any deal with the political parties.&nbsp; Thus, the way would be clear for him to establish a version of his father’s Panchayat system, under a constitution that would be granted to the people by him, their sovereign, as his father and brother had done in 1962 and 1990. As in those constitutions, ultimate power would have remained in the sovereign’s hands. This proposed direction of travel was very clear from what the king said to me. In sum, King Gyanendra was motivated by a desire to emulate his immediate predecessors by granting his people a constitution that would restore his father’s Panchayat system in a modern form and give him a central role in decision-making. What was particularly dispiriting was that beyond this single objective he had no plan worthy of the name, nor demonstrably did he have the people with the skills to implement an appropriate plan even if one had existed. Crucially and depressingly, there was little or no indication from the king that he realised that such a course of action could put Nepal’s monarchy into serious jeopardy, as indeed proved to be the case. <h2>King Twice</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250420110436_315d519fe3d68d2406ebe1480fed54720fbf21b8907a4da5cde751fdc623d445.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="20250420110436_315d519fe3d68d2406ebe1480fed54720fbf21b8907a4da5cde751fdc623d445" data-rendition-name="original" width="1302" height="632" loading="lazy" alt="“Tell me what the common man is thinking!”"> </figure>  <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8371">Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah has been king twice</a>. In 1950 he was enthroned briefly as a child king (left, above) by the Rana Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher when his grandfather, King Tribhuvan, fled to exile in India. In 2001 he was crowned king again after the massacre in the royal palace in which his brother King Birendra and nine other members of his family were killed by Crown Prince Dipendra.&nbsp; During his second reign, Gyanendra gradually asserted power by sacking Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in 2002, and then taking full control after the 1 February 2005 coup. He was sidelined after the ceasefire in April 2006, and became a commoner after the Constituent Assembly finally <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Ftnp-abolishing,624">abolished the monarchy in 2008</a>. In the past year, Gyanendra has tried to exploit public dissatisfaction with the political parties to restore the monarchy.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250421080432_26ef4a4b0e3cee9fdc6794446702efe16550d293904b4f6dd46fe35d4d10c788.jpg" data-media-id="editor_22" data-image-id="20250421080432_26ef4a4b0e3cee9fdc6794446702efe16550d293904b4f6dd46fe35d4d10c788" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Essays on Nepal by Sam Cowen"> </figure>

“Tell me what the common man is thinking!”

“It's Kathmandu.” Just as the family was sitting down for one of its extended lunches, that jubilant cry was from François Driard’s grandfather announcing the next posting for his diplomat parents.&nbsp; Driard (pictured) was 18 in the summer of 1996,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/suburban-tales/chasing-a-nomad"> a bit of a hippie</a> already, and his life was about to change forever with the magical word “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/time-capsule-of-kathmandu">Kathmandu</a>”. “I was awed with that information from my grandfather, nothing else mattered … In France <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/tales-of-courage-and-suffering-cx95f89e">in the 1990s</a>, Kathmandu had a mythical aura,” Driard recalls. He came to Kathmandu for Christmas that year to visit his stepfather, the French Ambassador Michel Lummaux. It was to be the first of many visits during school holidays, before he decided to permanently settle down in Nepal. “Kathmandu, and Nepal, were very different then, it was magical, I liked the nature, the people, civilisation, temples, trees,” says Driard, who explored the country sitting on the top of buses. “Visitors talk about the crazy <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">urbanisation</a>, traffic jams today, and all that is true. But Kathmandu has not <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/loss-of-soul-and-soil">lost its soul</a>.” After his stepfather’s tenure in Nepal ended, Driard worked as a business reporter for international publications but decided he did not want to be anyone’s employee anymore. In 2007 he landed in Kathmandu with €20,000 in savings to invest.&nbsp; He knew a few crucial things about himself: he liked food and nature, which is very much tied up with his upbringing--full of lively conversations during lunch and dinner at the family table between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-yak-cheese-is-on-world-map">abundant cheese, wine and cigars</a>. So he decided it would be cheese, and registered Himalayan French Cheese and went to the French Alps for a month to learn how to make Tomme de Savoie. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-story-of-langtang-cheese">Cheese making is such an ancient craft </a>and so I thought I won’t need much money or studying which I hated and indeed, if you have a tamako bhado and fire you are set,” explains Driard. But Nepal’s temperature and humidity were not ideal, even at higher altitudes. The first customers for his cheese were the Hyatt Regency and Nina and Hager. But he needed to create a market for cheese in a country which only knew hard churpi in the north and soft paneer in the south. He started selling his cheeses at the Summit Hotel weekend market, expanding to his own 1905 Farmer’s Market which later moved to Le Sherpa in Maharajganj, where it is now, and also a market at Labim Mall in Pulchok. He had cow dairies in Nuwakot and Dhulikhel, and finally a yak cheese unit at 3,379m in Ramechhap. It was the yak blue cheese from here that went on to win a Gold Medal in France, putting Nepal’s French cheese on the world map. “People come and try our cheese at the market, they ask questions. There is a lot of education to be done about cheese,” adds Driard, who also has three cheese shops in the Valley. Driard now makes 25 types of cheese. The products are being noticed and every year he has French students coming to Nepal to learn the art of yak cheese making. “In France, one family or company makes one kind of cheese for generations. In that I’m very unique as a cheese artisan,” he says. “The students come in to learn but I tell them to also teach us something too, add another cheese to my collection.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/langtang-after-10-years">Langtang after 10 years</a>, Sonia Awale Being a foodie, Driard is now also dabbling in meat with his own charcuterie at Meatini with bacon, ham, sausage and pâtés. All of this is now served at his Emilio’s Pizza, a leafy hideaway in Lazimpat. His South Side in Moksh is probably the smallest wine bar in the world. “I call the process sublime,” says Driard of his ventures, which have grown organically. “You need the same temperature and humidity of 12°C and 80% for cheese, meat and wine.” Emilio’s speciality is the eight-cheese pizza (which has eight types of cheeses), and a pizza with bhutan topping (not the country but fried intestines and organs Nepali-style). He has opened a small branch at Courtyard in Pokhara.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250426070456_bacae302c040dc18eeecdeafda72ddf06a6d2cec138ea9be7e45fe94cdf8b5b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250426070456_bacae302c040dc18eeecdeafda72ddf06a6d2cec138ea9be7e45fe94cdf8b5b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="8 cheese pizza"> <figcaption>Eight-cheese pizza</figcaption> </figure>  With two artisanal cheese units, two farmers’ markets, a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-meat-of-the-story">meat processing unit</a>, a bakery, and wine bar he now envisions a vineyard so he can add Nepali wine to his repertoire. Another future plan is to start up an agri-tourism business where customers can drink, eat and work in peace. In the past 20 years in Nepal, Driard has not always succeeded in his ventures but this hasn’t curbed his enthusiasm. He is learning as he goes, and like an old wine, Nepal is growing on him. Its slowness suits his French art de vivre with eating slowly outdoors, having conversation, importing less.&nbsp; “I have proven that with even a little money you can do a lot of things in Nepal,” adds Driard. “In the West, they easily invest half a million euros on a cheese factory, I invested 10 times less.”&nbsp;

Fromage, vin et charcuterie Népalais

Bhuthan भुठान starts with Bishnu Bahadur KC played by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/dhuwa-smoke-telefilm,2671">Hari Bansha Acharya</a> on a call, requesting to speak to the visa officer. By this point, he had <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-should-now-allow-visa-on-arrival">applied for a visa </a>to Bhutan 10 times, but was denied each time. KC was a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-women-excel-in-sports-in-2024-z9ramyct">national football player </a>in Bhutan in 1988 before he and other Nepali-speaking Lhotsampa people were forced out of the country in the 1990s as part of the Druk regime’s ‘One Nation One People’ campaign. Over 100,000 Bhutanese Nepalis were forced out, driven across India and dumped in Nepal where they lived in seven<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp"> refugee camps</a> supervised by the United Nations and other charities until they were resettled in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and some European countries starting in 2007. In the fictional movie with the satirical English title The World’s Happiest Man, KC has resettled in the state of Ohio in the US but wishes to visit his home country once before he dies. Between flashbacks, we learn KC has died without having fulfilled his wish. &nbsp; The drama then focuses on KC’s two families from two marriages as they debate whether to cremate him as per <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/muslim-hindu,2996">Hindu rites </a>or give him a Christian burial. A mediator played by Hollywood actor Bruce Dern urges them to take a firm decision before it is too long.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250430140420_b398a08091b866da2b0b8f6c1e6e26781609749aba896bfd2c68a10a519295c3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250430140420_b398a08091b866da2b0b8f6c1e6e26781609749aba896bfd2c68a10a519295c3" data-rendition-name="original" width="945" height="945" loading="lazy" alt="Bhutan, the movie"> </figure>  There are drawn out scenes of KC being baptised and when he is confronted by his first wife from Darjeeling played by Anuradha Majumdar, he says he changed his religion in the hope that he will be <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/bhutan-s-refugees-between-hope-and-despair">allowed back in Bhutan</a>.&nbsp; We find out KC has a second wife, a Christian Nepali played by Puja Chand. Dayahang Rai as the younger son doesn’t have much screen time to flex his acting chops. &nbsp; Acharya competently portrays a man that is equal parts haunted by the memories of and longing for his home country. KC’s pain and loss is acute when he is teaching football to Gungun but between mid-scene, he freezes, perhaps lost in memories of being in Bhutan’s national team. &nbsp; In another scene, KC recalls his mother singing a lullaby in Dzongkha. He also has a box filled with medals, photographs and a football which he deflates with a knife in a powerful depiction of his <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/searching-for-a-homeland-away-from-home?fb_comment_id=1506516030025634">complicated emotions about his homeland</a>. KC keeps checking his mailbox in the hopes that his <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4977">visa application</a> has been accepted. He says in Nepali: “If a tree that has already struck roots in one place is shifted to another, it will not survive.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250430140420_4a9c27410326489576c04dedf40016bda3825e8f9663317f54fbfec4cbda6d34.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250430140420_4a9c27410326489576c04dedf40016bda3825e8f9663317f54fbfec4cbda6d34" data-rendition-name="original" width="1422" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Bhutan, the movie"> </figure>  Dern’s character says that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepal-s-transitional-justice-and-the-west-s-recalibration">western world</a> has become “lonely in pursuit of happiness”, another reference to Bhutan’s obsession with its Gross National Happiness index. Scenes shift quickly throughout making the story difficult to follow at times. The use of symbolism is a trite overdone. Nonetheless, भुठान is a nuanced depiction of raw pain and agony of losing one’s homeland. But one cannot help but leave the theatre feeling deflated. KC dies without having visited <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/small-bhutan-dreams-big">Bhutan</a>, but perhaps he does in his afterlife. It is up to the audience to create its own ending to this sad story of exile. भुठान Mad Monkey Films, 2025 Directed by Binod Paudel 102 minutes In cinemas in Nepal