<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Tsum-valley-even-more-difficult-reach-with-earthquake-and-monsoon,2441">The sacred valley of Tsum</a> lies in the Himalayan rain shadow behind Ganesh Himal, and has set an example for harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature. Much of this do no harm philosophy emanates from the belief of the people there in Tibetan Buddhism and in particular the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/bon-voyage">animist Bön faith</a> which they share with many other secluded valleys in the Himalayas. Tsum Valley is only 60km on a straight line northwest of Kathmandu in Upper Gorkha district on the border with China. It comprises two local wards: Chumchet and Chhekampar under the Chum (Tsum) Nubri rural municipality. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nation-road-from-nowhere-to-nowhere,549">Tsum Valley</a> was not always a peaceful place. More than 100 years ago, legend has it, a major conflict arose between two communities and when it became impossible to resolve it internally, the Tsumpa invited a high-profile monk from Dragkar monastery in Tibet. They also summoned the Drukpa Lama Ngawang Palsang from Bhutan who at the time was also residing at Dragkar.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023101912104_216e00b87f56991be20b881b99352305716b628c093c9381cfb1859734f45c5b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2023101912104_216e00b87f56991be20b881b99352305716b628c093c9381cfb1859734f45c5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Tsum Valley in Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Mani walls along the fields of Tsum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Drukpa Rinpoche resolved the conflict successfully, and is also credited for advising local people to adapt to drought, famine and pestilence which was happening frequently at the time. Locals were so pleased that they asked Drukpa Rinpoche to reside permanently in Tsum, who in return got the people to adopt a communal edict for peace and harmony with nature, thereby establishing the tradition of Shargya in 1920. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-courage-and-endurance-of-the-langtangpa">The courage and endurance of the Langtangpa</a>, Austin Lord The term Shargya means (hundreds of) commitments taken by the people or community collectively. It was put into writing on a wood block in Tibetan script and then thumb printed. They were:&nbsp; 1. No to slaughtering (of animals, or humans) 2. No setting traps (hunting) 3. No bee-keeping 4. No selling of domestic animals for commercial purpose (mostly to Tibet and lower valleys)  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023101912108_968ea2c1199f4b4a9cc6bd007a537b4fee1fa6c57721eafef9bd880a894d5562.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2023101912108_968ea2c1199f4b4a9cc6bd007a537b4fee1fa6c57721eafef9bd880a894d5562" data-rendition-name="original" width="1125" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Tsum Valley in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This indigenous knowledge holds its origin from the ethic of Tibetan Buddhism, and is similar to the non-violence practiced in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-greening-of-the-khumbu">Khumbu</a> and other Himalayan valleys. In the few select communities of the neighbouring valley of upper Nubri below <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13693">Mt Manaslu</a>, local monks have intervened to stop the slaughter and consumption of livestock as well as a blanket ban on wildlife hunting. The Shargya tradition in Tsum has withstood the test of time and evolved through different historical phases. It saw war and conflict when Tsum Valley became the launching pad for Khampa guerrilla raids on the Chinese military in the 1960s. The 1966 documentary ‘<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7805632/">Raid into Tibet</a>’ by George Patterson and Adrian Cowell showed the two British journalists sneaking into Tsum to make the film, aided by the Khampa fighters.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231019121016_22033d7474fe455d5524930bbc74b882e2657de3871664aff46057f3a681d76e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20231019121016_22033d7474fe455d5524930bbc74b882e2657de3871664aff46057f3a681d76e" data-rendition-name="original" width="698" height="501" loading="lazy" alt="Tsum Valley in Nepal"> </figure>  Today, surviving elders recall the violence of the time. It did not just affect the livelihood of locals, it also violated the Shargya ethos because the guerrillas slaughtered many yaks and wildlife. Following the defeat of the Khampa by the Royal Nepal Army, Nepal’s border police post was set up in Tsum in the 1970s. But while the move lessened the influence of the guerrillas, there was a language barrier between locals and the lowland police who were unaware of the region's non-violent tradition.&nbsp; This was eventually resolved after the Shargya edict was translated into Nepali. The 2015 Constitution drafting exercise and the introduction of the ILO convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention also played a role in the local people embracing their century–old tradition. People of Tsum consider Shargya an everyday practice handed down over generations. It is a way of living that brings positive change within individuals, as well as in the external environment.&nbsp; The idea is not to commit harm on other sentient beings and nature on which they depend. Shargya is a communal edict, a certain set of oaths taken by people. If violated, people will need to pay a fine.&nbsp; The decision to declare Chumchet (lower Tsum) as Shargya territory and the 2012 Tsum Shargya Festival cemented the tradition. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai attended the festival to sign the Shargya ethos declaring Chumchet and Chhekamapar as zones of non-violence, and a Shargya preservation committee was formed.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231019121012_0cbd9f2b1afacc421550ccdcdb8c74a357af71fdbd58e0f0f21daf1b5a7e8d9a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20231019121012_0cbd9f2b1afacc421550ccdcdb8c74a357af71fdbd58e0f0f21daf1b5a7e8d9a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Tsum Valley in Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Tsum festival signing ceremony by founder reincarnate Drukpa Rinpoche in 2012.</figcaption> </figure>  The committee teaches the younger generation about the tradition, and also patrols the area to prevent hunting, animal slaughter, deforestation, and wildfires. If there is an extreme violation of the norms, an individual can even be exiled from the valley. Committee members are rotated every five years, and a centennial celebration slated for 2020 had to be postponed due to the pandemic.&nbsp; Locals say the indigenous edict in creating a peaceful, harmonious and resilient community has helped adapt to the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya">climate crisis</a>.&nbsp; They say the region has never suffered a severe drought, famine or major conflict after the introduction of Shargya. They say individual behaviour change from Shargya ethos has helped create a balanced coexistence between humans, &nbsp;nature and sentient beings. Farmers in Tsum do not use chemical pesticides, they minimise the use of plastic. Locals also worship the mountains and rocky cliffs as their protectors, and treat water, forest and wildlife as invaluable divine treasures.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-organic-uncle-of-chitwan">The 'Organic Uncle' of Chitwan</a>, Anita Bhetwal As a result, trekkers and visitors to Tsum Valley today see freely roaming wildlife such as the Blue Sheep, the Himalayan Tahr, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/trekking-to-save-nepals-snow-leopards">Snow Leopard</a> and Black Bears in the villages and farms, unafraid of humans.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231019121012_f8da4618c7f0484fc9aff18b95059f55218086a6832a85ba6f0f522125553c5f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20231019121012_f8da4618c7f0484fc9aff18b95059f55218086a6832a85ba6f0f522125553c5f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="967" loading="lazy" alt="Tsum Valley in Nepal NT"> </figure>  However, despite its remoteness, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/building-back-a-beyul-in-tsum">Beyul Kyimolun</a> is not a hidden valley anymore. There are challenges arising from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/new-high-way-to-dolpo">haphazard tourism and road construction</a>.&nbsp; But people are also promoting homestays and small guesthouses over modern amenities. Responsible tourism complemented by the indigenous culture has further cemented Shargya as a unique and resilient tradition. Tsum Valley today teaches us how an intergenerational commitment can change the world for the better at a time when people are more individualistic than ever before. It is a perfect blend of religious practice and a social construct, preparing the community for the changes and crises to come.&nbsp; Pema Norbu Lama is a research associate and social entrepreneur from Tsum Valley.&nbsp; This article was written prior to the recently held Tsum Centenary Festival and therefore might lack certain updated information of the communal edict. Please refer to pocket book prepared by the organising community for updated information.

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Do no harm

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131120/6372333a9c7e80680e0c48d0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3264" height="1472"/><figcaption>Photos: ROSHAN MISHRA</figcaption></figure>Among the many legends about the Boudhanath Stupa, one involves a poor poultry keeper Jhazima and the buffalo skin.Boudhanatha is in fact the Sanskritised Panchayat-era renaming of the chaitya which was originally called <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-temple-by-another-name/">Khasti Mahachaitya</a> (‘great stupa of the dew drops’). However, the chaitya had another name too according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition –– the Great Jarung Kashor (‘Let it be done, Slip of the tongue’) Stupa.Many years before the birth of the Shakyamuni Buddha, Jhazima, lived with her four sons in the village where Boudha sits today. After the demise of the Kasyapa Buddha, she petitioned the king to grant her land the size of a buffalo’s skin to build a stupa and inter the Buddha’s remains. The king, thinking it would be a measly piece of land, gave her permission.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131120/6372333d9c7e80680e0c48d1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>However, Jhazima carefully cut the buffalo skin in a long strip, like a rope, and circumscribed a larger area – where the great Boudhanath Stupa stands today.This symbol of devotion quickly took on a political significance, as the wealthy people of the country were humbled by Jhazima’s faithful act.If a poor woman like her can build a stupa of such magnificence, they thought, they would have to build shrines equal to the mountains.“Stop the building,” they implored the king: “If this construction continues, then each and every one of us will be harshly criticised.”But the king would not hear of it. “This poor, single poultry-woman, through gathering earnings from raising chickens, established her four sons born of four fathers as respectable householders. Not only that, with her remaining wealth she builds a stupa such as this. I thought this to be truly amazing, and so the words <a href="https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/ngakchang-shakya-zangpo/great-history-of-jarung-kashor-stupa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.lotsawahouse.org/tibetan-masters/ngakchang-shakya-zangpo/great-history-of-jarung-kashor-stupa&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1660101181265000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1wvhhCg-Bb6IhKdfptWV4l">‘Let it be done’ (jarung) slipped from my tongue (kashor)</a>. Kings speak but once!” he said in response.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131120/637233409c7e80680e0c48d2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1750" height="1055"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This charming and extraordinary story is the subject of Object in Focus #5: Invocation at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TaragaonMuseum">Taragaon Museum</a> situated next door to Boudhnath itself by contemporary visual artists Koka Vashakidze from Georgia and Alicia Junissaliyeva from Kazakhstan and curated by Roshan Mishra.At the centre of the room is a dark-coloured rope-like object spiraling – almost like a dizzying solar system, with what looks like a vague triangle standing in for the Sun – and surrounded by a rectangle of red ropes.But as one walks around, observes the work with an unfaltering gaze, the circle of the base quickly stands out. Then, with a little change in the angle, one can imagine a dome rising from it, followed by the ever-watching eyes and the finial.Here is the Boudhanath Stupa, translated, stripped down to its backbone – an abstraction. Like a cosmic bridge, it brings together the myth and the monument, looking both ways into the past and present.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131120/637233439c7e80680e0c48d3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4000" height="1800">All this may not be entirely conspicuous at first, but when one realises that the whorl is in fact real buffalo skin, the pieces fall in place. The rectangle outlines the block of land upon which the Mandala sits today. Take a step back outside the building and the doors represent the streets opening around the complex.The artists spent several weeks in Boudhanath, measuring the circumference of the stupa. Since animal skin is not permitted inside, they used the red rope for the purpose. People would come and watch them at work, perhaps wondering what they were up to. But the story of Jhazima, Vashakidze believes, was one of undefeated courage and creativity.Jhazima defied expectation, says Vashakidze. And instead of just putting the skin on the ground, she cut it in narrow strips to cover more area, demonstrating her boundless imagination. “And the king in the end has to say, ‘No, she has to continue making the stupa’,” he adds.Vashakidze, whose extensive contemporary body of work ranges from site-specific pieces to media installations, sees this as the moment when the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, are equal – because one woman with devotion for the Buddha stood up against the system and built an unprecedented monument, anticipating perhaps even the Shakyamuni.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131120/637233479c7e80680e0c48d4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="750">The artwork, in this sense, is an invocation to memory, to history and to Jhazima. Along with Junissaliyeva’s experience in healing and energy exploration, the trio of the artists and curator Mishra has created a poignant piece that is equally contemplative and dramatic, reminding us that despite the overwhelming restrictions – political, social, professional – and widespread philosophical, spiritual lethargy around us, we can still create what we want to, for the realm of possibility is boundless.Says Mishra: “I think it is a brilliant notion to sit with one object, one narrative.” This has much to do with the fact that the viewers can spend time with this echo from the past under an extended spell.Leaving the exhibition, one is filled with a striking desire to visit the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-stupa-of-a-million-dewdrops/">Boudhanath Stupa</a>, where the remains of Kasyapa Buddha are believed to be entombed, to compare, to recall. There too, prayers and invocations from all around bounce off the white dome and fill the air with sweet music, as though the voices of good will have never ceased and promise to echo into the future – in the same way that Object in focus #5: Invocation is an echo itself, of the enduring legacy of Jhazima.The artwork will also travel to the Tbilisi Triennial in Georgia in October 2022.Object in focus #5: InvocationBy Koka Vashakidze and Alicia JunissaliyevaCurated by Roshan MishraTaragaon Museum,BoudhaOpen 10:00am – 5:00pmTill 18 August 2022.

Ashish Dhakal

Echoes of myth and monument

Samsung Nepal has opened pre-orders for the Galaxy A57 5G and A37 5G. Both phones run Samsung’s One UI 8.5, featuring AI capabilities like voice transcription, Circle to Search, and photo editing. They feature a 50MP triple-camera system, a Super AMOLED display, and six years of OS and security updates.

Galaxy A series

Know your Ministers

Prime Minister Balendra Shah on Wednesday broke tradition and met with 17 foreign envoys collectively, a move that was a notable departure from how his predecessors operated.&nbsp;
Shah had already set himself apart by talking less, listening more, and delegating to trusted friends. But by meeting all ambassadors at one go in the presence of the Foreign Ministry, he signalled a paradigm shift in how he wants Nepal to be seen: no longer just balancing India and China, but as a country confident about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/tripolar-contestation-over-nepal">strategic importance and place in the world</a>.
In just two weeks, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rsp-dos-and-don-ts">RSP has sprung into action </a>on multiple fronts to implement its ambitious 100-point, 100-days action plan. It has taken short-term measures to mitigate the impact of the Gulf war, as well as medium- and long- term measures to streamline the bureaucracy. A few high-profile figures have been made examples of to drive the message home.
Earlier this week, the government recalled six politically appointed ambassadors, the most notable being long-serving Shankar Sharma from New Delhi. The Kathmandu District Court issued arrest warrants against former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his former foreign minister wife Arzu Rana on charges of money laundering and corruption.
Each ministry has been trying to clean up the accumulated rot from the past three decades: regulatory overhaul of microfinance, education, health and service delivery.&nbsp;
These actions widely disseminated campaign-style on YouTube and TikTok have made most Nepalis hopeful that the party they installed in power means business.
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BACKLASH
But such attempts to overhaul a long-entrenched political culture were bound to face backlash. In their impatience and enthusiasm to get things done, some of Prime Minister Shah’s ministers have over-reached.
It was common knowledge that government-paid advertising in the mainstream press was kickback-driven, but the PMO’s directive that official notices be published or broadcast only on state-run media has been denounced — especially as the media industry struggles to stay afloat.
More serious are some recent appointments by ministers of relatives and figures closely associated with the RSP to key positions. This has rankled because this party built its political plank on ending nepotism and graft.&nbsp;
News that Home Minister Sudan Gurung allegedly had not paid rent on leased land, which illegally encroached on the lake in Pokhara did not help. &nbsp;
Prime Minister Shah himself has come under scrutiny for appointing a kitchen cabinet full of male buddies from his time as Kathmandu mayor. To douse criticism he brought in as adviser investigative journalist Deepa Dahal, who has exposed corruption in high places of the previous coalitions.&nbsp;
Shah’s appointment of another political adviser Asim Shah to the head Constitution Amendment Task Force, is also seen as problematic. He is a filmmaker and former lawmaker, but does not have a background in constitutional law.&nbsp;
Even more controversial is the Cabinet’s decision to appoint RSP Chair Rabi Lamichhane’s legal counsel, Narayan Kandel, as Attorney General. Kandel used to be a UK permanent resident, and does not have as much experience practicing law in Nepal.&nbsp;
Kandel’s appointment drew flak and raised eyebrows, and with the pending legal cases against Lamichhane this appointment represents a flagrant conflict of interest.
Health Minister Nisha Mehta was also accused of favouritism after reappointing Junu Shrestha, wife of Labour Minister Dipak Kumar Shah, as member of the Health Insurance Board which had earlier suspended her. The Labour Minister’s rambling rant at the Board’s meeting on Tuesday has not helped the RSP’s image.&nbsp;
(UPDATE: On Thursday, Prime Minister Shah sacked the Labour Minister after the RSP found him in breach of the party's code of conduct and discipline. He served 14 days in the Cabinet, one of the shortest tenures for a minister in Nepal )
It is hard to know what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ball-in-balen-s-court">Balendra Shah is thinking</a>, and how Rabi Lamichhane is going to justify some of these moves. After all, making politics, governance, and bureaucracy a meritocracy has been the core tenet of the RSP, and it risks alienating its mainly youth base if these missteps persist.
But at least for now, most RSP supporters seem to be giving the party the benefit of doubt.

Nepal’s new government springs into action

‘One early morning, we heard the ambassador’s wife cry out, “Ram, Ram, Ram!” A disaster has befallen Nepal!” She had heard on the radio that a fire had consumed Singha Durbar." This is not about the arson attack on 9 September 2025, but the one on 8 July, 1973. It started in the South Wing of the then single-largest building in all of Nepal. It took two days to bring the blaze under control, requiring the use of explosives to demolish one wing to protect the imposing western facade. As Bhekh Bahadur Thapa recalls in the English translation of his memoir A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy, he was then on leave from the Nepal government serving with the IDRC in Ottawa.&nbsp; He had already served as Nepal’s Finance Secretary at age 25, went on to be Finance Minister and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank. He was already younger than some of the GenZ ministers in Nepal’s present RSP government. Thapa, now 89, was at the launch of the book in February which was attended by former diplomats and bureaucrats. After speeches by panelists, there was a question from the audience about how Thapa had managed to be the diplomat he was, managing Nepal’s international relations on the world stage.&nbsp; Writer and journalist Akhilesh Upadhyay, who was moderating the panel, responded by going into the section of the book where we see Thapa as an ambassador to the US, playing tennis with White House officials, cultivating a network of contacts to project the identity and welfare of Nepal, and making it possible for a state visit by King Birendra to Ronald Reagan’s America. The book is full of anecdotes that suggest Thapa was a clever and strategic diplomat, always calm and unruffled, easily making friends in high places with his maturity and engaging sense of humour. Thapa’s memoir is heavy on details about Nepal’s administrative history during the years he was active in public service, serving as minister and ambassador under three kings: Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, and alongside five prime ministers.&nbsp; Aside from an insider look on how certain treaties, development deals and research projects in Nepal came into fruition, Thapa goes into great detail about his personal and professional relationships with the kings, ministers, ambassadors, foreign leaders and politicians.&nbsp; As a reader, one is struck by the level of detail around the events that unfolded in Nepal over the years during Thapa’s tenure. Was Thapa recording a journal over the years of the events and the conversations that transpired, or were they committed to his phenomenal memory? Either way, the reader gets a glimpse of Nepal’s recent history from the early days of the Panchayat, through the People’s Movement and the democracy period, the Maoist insurgency, Royal Palace massacre of 2001, and Gyanendra’s coup of 2005.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026041204048_125dc8ae300a1e33124f394abe724d42727f83e067b0201d2008b58d60c459a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How to win friends and influence nations NT"> </figure>  Not enough is said about the political parties of the time whose presence led to the way Nepal’s multiparty democracy came to be shaped. The book keeps its focus on the administration and the key figures around it, mostly those in the Panchayat era. Towards the second half of the book, we do start to hear about political parties, but not in great depth. Another figure whose presence in the book is conspicuously less prominent is that of his wife, Rita Thapa — the person who seems to have rescued him every time financial quandary or family care became a challenge. Yet, we do not see her as a full person. Perhaps because of the personal tragedies in his life, the children are also barely mentioned.&nbsp; The book is therefore less personal and more technical. Throughout, we learn about Thapa’s thinking as he navigated the world of diplomacy to win him the trust of those who mattered. There are tips here for a new generation of Nepali officials and diplomats about how much commitment and focus is needed to be good at one’s job and serve the national interest. This book adds to tomes that have been written on Nepal’s fragile relationship with India. ‘India has always wished for Nepal to remain dependent on it,’ writes Thapa, who served as Nepal’s ambassador to India and later in the Eminent Persons Group &nbsp;on Indo-Nepal relations that has been allowed to languish. The book has several insights into the Indo-Nepal trysts with diplomacy and agency.&nbsp; China’s role is also recorded, viewed through conversations during a visit to Beijing, but all that was before Nepal’s neighbour to the north emerged as a world economic and military power. The book also has such sudden instances of quirkiness and humour. For instance, we see a young Thapa in America explaining to a government official why he would like to return to Nepal instead of settling down in the US. “Because, Nepal is beautiful,” he said. The text is immaculate and does not read much like a translation, credit for which clearly goes to the team that put the edition together: translator Prawin Adhikari, &nbsp;Anagha Neelakanthan and Bhekh Thapa’s daughter, Manjushree. As Nepal enters a new era of governance and diplomacy, A Life in Public Service: Nepal from Autocracy to Democracy should be essential reading for students of political science, economics and foreign affairs who can gain a fresh perspective on the country’s trajectory.&nbsp; There are dozens of forgotten state secrets recorded in the book, but the reader must also remember this is a story told from one person’s perspective and there may be others.&nbsp; So, what really made Thapa the diplomat he was? I met him in 2004 at the Kantipur TV studio when he was serving as king Gyanendra’s foreign minister. He was there for a studio interview, and I was just done with my English newscast.&nbsp; He surprised me at the door: “Pratibha! I’ve been reading your articles in The Kathmandu Post. You must keep writing.” I thanked him, glad to have been noticed for my work by a stranger. That was perhaps one of the things that set Thapa apart — he excelled at staying close to those in power, while also noticing those who were not.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260412040412_213e706136a038ec9f5e2b8c6d7f7c1e9ceed9479e22fe2884872ad7bd20955f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Book details"> </figure>

tibetan-buddhism

Do no harm

Echoes of myth and monument

Galaxy A series

Know your Ministers

Nepal’s new government springs into action

How to win friends and influence nations