Collectivisation may have earned a bad reputation because of Stalin’s policies in the 1930s that led to widespread famine in the Soviet Union, but in Nepal today it is becoming a way for <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Recharging-the-mountains,3465">women farmers to work together to make up for the absence of men</a>.&nbsp; Sumitra Karki had been observing the worrying trend of young men moving to the cities or abroad, and in the absence of farmhands more terrace fields were fallow. In recent years, even the women had started leaving to take care of their grandchildren in the cities.&nbsp; Baglung in the lap of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/power-to-the-periphery">Mt Dhaulagiri in central Nepal</a> is the district with one of the highest proportion of out-migration of young men. In the scenic village of Galkot, tucked amidst forested mountains in the back of beyond, women like Karki who stayed behind have taken over farming.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231007041028_b461d5de822910754893904e0af877fed6d492f4fa5db816e97ae9445a9ff979.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20231007041028_b461d5de822910754893904e0af877fed6d492f4fa5db816e97ae9445a9ff979" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="973" loading="lazy" alt="Community farming in Nepal"> </figure>  The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/women-and-water">feminisation of farming in Nepal </a>is an example of necessity being the mother of invention, so that women who barely grew enough to feed their families now make up the shortfall with money sent home by their husbands abroad.&nbsp; “Farming was not productive at all,” says Karki. “The women had to wait for the menfolk to send home money even to buy and wear bangles. What kind of a life was that?” But Sumitra Karki had other ideas. During a visit to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/weaving-the-fabric-of-a-new-life">Palpa</a>, she had seen women engaged collectively in agriculture to grow more food and cash crops by putting fallow fields to good use. On return, she put forth the idea at a mothers' group meeting, but the other women did not quite grasp the concept.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231007041024_46bb7e5e8d1150cf582ec86200d4251f356f8c3a5d65970701f310c715430e27.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20231007041024_46bb7e5e8d1150cf582ec86200d4251f356f8c3a5d65970701f310c715430e27" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="976" loading="lazy" alt="Community farming in Nepal"> </figure>  “They had not seen what I had seen. There is a difference between seeing with our own eyes and listening to someone describe it,” she explains.&nbsp; But Karki did not give up, and a few years later the mothers' group applied for a government grant to grow vegetables and onions. The women realised the power of working collectively, where two and two became more than four. Encouraged, the women formed the Melmilap Ekikrit Krishak Samuha collective farmer’s group in 2019 with eleven members and Karki as president. Today, the women of the Dudilabhati settlement of Galkot who were once confined to household chores and dependent on remittances, are growing valuable vegetables, including unseasonal ones in greenhouses.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/access-to-water-changes-the-face-of-rural-nepal">Access to water changes the fac of rural Nepal</a>, Anita Bhetwal “It is easier to work in a group,” says collective member Nirmala Gurung. “We get to learn from each other and it also makes the work more fun when there are more of us.” For Nirmala, there is another reason to be happy: seeing her income rise, her husband has returned from the Gulf.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231007041028_0c8f1db51ac2c35a3f6eee625f19e92fa8555612683531f05913ef917eb1d349.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20231007041028_0c8f1db51ac2c35a3f6eee625f19e92fa8555612683531f05913ef917eb1d349" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="980" loading="lazy" alt="Community farming in Nepal"> </figure>  Nita Gurung is also happy she joined: “The collective farm has given us a sense of collective security. Sumitra has been a good guide and coordinator.”&nbsp; Besides vegetables, the women also leased 5,000 sq m to grow millet this season, a native crop which is falling out of favour because it is more labour intensive and has been displaced by rice and wheat. But Karki wants to make this a model farm for the revival of the nutritious and climate-hardy indigenous crop. “We want to give priority to what was traditionally grown here and make an income from that,” she says.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231007041028_2e9e160febce9226a1d13373e646d0ed56ef6fa20b49cfb412f6ce02a5aa4926.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20231007041028_2e9e160febce9226a1d13373e646d0ed56ef6fa20b49cfb412f6ce02a5aa4926" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="931" loading="lazy" alt="Community farming in Nepal"> </figure>  Agriculture in Galkot used to be subsistence, with low yield on steep terrace farms, dependence on rain, limited market, risk of natural disasters and wild animal raids. All these factors have been exacerbated by the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya">impact of climate breakdown in the Himalaya</a>. The first major challenge for the women’s collective was Covid. All members of the group tested positive, the market closed down and lots of vegetables went waste. Not one to give up, Karki took charge as soon as she recovered and started posting photos of vegetables on her Facebook page during the lockdown.&nbsp; The group no longer sells vegetables through social media posts, but has developed contacts in the municipality to take their produce to market.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/agroecology-nepal-s-answer-to-climate-change">Agroecology, Nepal's answer to climate change</a>, Zachery Barton Growing up, Karki never thought she would ever be a farmer-entrepreneur. She had wanted to be a staff nurse. But when she was in Grade 9 at the age of 17, she was married. A year later, her oldest son was born.&nbsp; “Although my in-laws and husband were supportive, I couldn’t go back to school because I wanted to bring up my son myself,” says Karki who missed going to school. When her oldest was in Grade 4 and the younger boy was pre-school, she joined private classes and passed the school exam.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231007041032_82f1f0457fda1c8561b9397c800811b21ccaf01d039a3f1a375199b7e4529a4d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20231007041032_82f1f0457fda1c8561b9397c800811b21ccaf01d039a3f1a375199b7e4529a4d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="986" loading="lazy" alt="Community farming in Nepal"> </figure>  In those days, her husband Padam tried his hand in farming, running a rice mill, poultry and running a shop, Sumitra was always by his side, learning the ropes. There was just one thing she wanted to change: society knew her as someone’s wife, daughter-in-law, sister. But she wanted to carve her own identity. “Setting up a collective farming group has given me my own identity,” she says. “Now people know me as Sumitra Karki,” she says with visible pride. The seven women in the group work together in the fields, dividing time between their own plots and the group’s collective farm. The men come in as consultants and help with physical labour when needed. Profits are equally divided between the women, with some amount going into a savings account to buy seeds, or lease more land. &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/back-to-the-future-of-farming">Back to the future of farming</a>, Anil Chitrakar Karki is aware that running a successful business needs time, but making an agro-business work takes even more effort because of prices, weather, and other changing variables. But the women find their strength in numbers, and this cushions them from hurdles along the way.&nbsp; “Women are often left behind in our society. But when we gain financial independence our voices are heard in the family and larger community,” explains Karki. “So my dream is to add more women to the collective and make them financially independent. For farmers like us, there is no better way.”&nbsp;

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1250x600

1084x550

Strength in numbers for female farmers

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8de9c7e80680e0801e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="540"/><figcaption>All photos and videos: MUKESH POKHREL</figcaption></figure>Women members of the Chisapani Community Forest in Bardaghat in this district in Nepal’s Tarai plains used to spend much of their day in the forest. They still do, but it is no longer to gather fodder or firewood .They are busy in the care, weeding and production of herbs including citronella and lemongrass in 40 hectares of degraded community forest land. The women have formed the Laligurans Mahila Herbal Farmers Group, and harvest the valuable essential oils from the aromatic plants once every three months.Mankumari Khatri leads the women’s group and says it is a win-win-win situation – they can put degraded land to good use, increase the household income of members, and return greenery to the margins of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the community forests</a>."Women used to spend time at home watching television or chatting with neighbours once done with their household chores. Now we use our free time tending to our herb gardens at the edge of the forests, and we now earn money from selling the oils,” adds Khatri.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171144/636bd8e19c7e80680e0801e4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360">Just this group produced 220 litres of citronella and lemongrass oil every year. Lemongrass can be sold at Rs2,200 per liter and citronella at Rs1,900. Given its economical value, some have now planted the herbs also on their private land. The group has also segregated a hectare of land for the even more lucrative mint, which produces 100 litres of oil annually, and sells at Rs4,000 per litre.The group has Rs200,000 in savings after distributing rest of the sales money among the women since they started growing the herbs for oil eight years ago. Many of the families have their <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Recharging-the-mountains,3465" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">men folk working overseas</a> or in the cities, but this income has given the women confidence and spending power.The plantation site once used to be degraded and used for open grazing. The chair of the Federation of Community Forest User Groups of Nawalparasi West, Kamal Pariyar is also a member of the community forest and says the area has become healthier and greener with the cultivation of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-grass-is-greener-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">medicinal plants</a>.“The community forest had agreed to the proposal to cultivate herbs in order to empower women economically, but this has also allowed for natural regeneration in our forests,” Pariyar adds.The community forest user group does not charge any fee from the women for cultivating herbs art the edge of the forest. Instead, in collaboration with <a href="https://wcn.org.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN)</a>, it has installed oil processing equipment and is helping market the herbal oils for export to Europe.While <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/taking-away-forests-from-communities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s community forestry program</a> is widely acclaimed internationally for doubling Nepal’s forest cover in the past 25 years, WCN is adding value to that achievement. By supporting women's enterprises in community forests in various parts of Nepal, it augments family income while increasing Nepal’s carbon sink capacity."Conservation alone is not enough, we should involve people in livelihood which is why we have launched a campaign to also engage them in economic activities," says Sanjeevani Yonjan of WCN. “Often times we think of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17226#.X3cHaWgzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">timber</a> as the only forest product, but there are valuable herbs too which can be sustainably cultivated. We want to export Nepal's forest products to the international market as a brand.”The WCN has collaborated with companies to find a market for the herbal oil produced in Nawalparasi. In fact, Nepal-made oil is now sold throughout Europe, marketed as the Himalayan Biotrade brand.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mjXwWnuWFg&amp;feature=youtu.behttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcTeTES85JI&amp;feature=youtu.beTen additional <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/who-now-owns-nepals-forests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">community forest</a> groups in Nawalparasi have started similar initiatives to the one in Chisapani, one of them being Sitapokhari Community Forest where 38 women have been planting lemongrass for the last three years.Apart from its ecological and economic benefits, these ventures have also helped develop women leadership in local communities. In the 2017 local election, 10 women involved in the forest group contested from different wards of Bardaghat municipality, two of them were elected.Says Kamal Pariyar: “Cultivating herbs in the forest has many benefits, we haven’t even realised all of its true potential. Women have become financially capable, and are now in leadership position. And we have helped green the planet in a small way.”

Now, Nepal’s herbal oil in Europe

Nepal has shut down dozens of social media platforms in a move that is widely seen as an effort to tax the revenue they generate in the country, and to control content critical of government. The sites were blocked as of midnight on Thursday, 4 September and affects all Meta products including WhatsApp and Messenger, Threads, and others. Although YouTube, Google and X are also on the government’s list, they were still working as of Friday midday.&nbsp; The government says it took the action after repeated warnings to the platforms to open offices in Nepal, a Cabinet decision last month setting a deadline, as well as a 17 August Supreme Court ruling also requiring them to register and pay requisite taxes. However, the Bill cited in the ban, ‘The Operation, Use, and Regulation of Social Media in Nepal’ has not yet been passed by Parliament. Some social media platforms which were already paying taxes in Nepal even though they are not officially registered, have also been blocked. The move is the latest in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/big-beautiful-bills" target="_blank">a slew of draft legislations</a> designed to undermine Nepal’s open society. A Bill amending the Print and Publications Act would allow district bureaucrats to shut down media. Another draft Bill would allow political appointees to head a new Media Council with the power to revoke the licenses of journalists.&nbsp; A counter-intelligence Bill would let just about anyone in government to arbitrarily tap phones, read emails and trail citizens. On Wednesday the government announced new immigration requirements that would allow it to track the movement of all foreigners in the country. Yet another draft Bill has been set to Parliament to dissolve the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10675" target="_blank">Social Welfare Council (SWC)</a> and move registration and monitoring of non-governmental organisations, nonprofits and charities to the Ministry of Social Welfare. Seen in this light, the blockage of social media platforms this week is seen as the latest government attempt to constrict freedom of press. Nepal is one of the few remaining open societies in Asia, and now appears to be drifting towards authoritarianism. The government’s sudden shutdown of social media has been greeted with howls of protest on platforms that still remain open, like Viber and TikTok, as well as in Nepal’s mainstream press. Even senior members of the ruling UML-NC coalition have sharply criticised the move, asking if the government is trying to “turn Nepal into North Korea”.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025090508098_a2ab330e403e8418a7006cd5e915607382628dd6984524332bf7b99c74743656.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025090508098_a2ab330e403e8418a7006cd5e915607382628dd6984524332bf7b99c74743656" data-rendition-name="original" width="4280" height="5187" loading="lazy" alt="social media ban in Nepal"> </figure>  The Regional Director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Beh Lih Yi said in a statement: ‘Nepal’s sweeping ban on social media sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom. Blocking online news platforms vital to journalists will undermine reporting and the public’s right to information. The government must immediately rescind this order and restore access to social media platforms, which are essential tools for exercising press freedom.’ Besides undermining press freedom, blocking social media platforms will also hurt commerce and the economy since so many small and medium business trade through Instagram, Facebook and other platforms. Nepal’s vibrant social media has also been a boost or citizens to assert identity, build solidarity against injustice and play an adversarial role when the mainstream media does not do it. Social media platforms have also become the tenuous link for Nepali families scattered across the world to keep in touch with each other — its importance growing with the increasing size of the diaspora. The government wants social media platforms to register, pay taxes and remove posts on their sites that ‘undermine the national interest and Nepal’s territorial integrity, disturb social and religious harmony’.&nbsp; In response, rights activists have said while there is need for the government to regulate extreme content and hate speech, officials appear to be more intent on clamping down on free speech and trying to force platforms to share the revenue. On Friday, the government had allowed WhatsApp back online, but there were reports that it had instructed the Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) to instruct mobile and internet service providers to block by Friday night all platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit, Threads, Snapchat, Pinterest, Signal, Clubhouse, Rumble.&nbsp; Platforms that have registered and are allowed include TikTok, Viber, Nimbuzz, Popo Live, WeTalk, Global Diary and the Nepali portal Hamro Patro. TikTok was banned last year for ‘disturbing social harmony’ and it was lifted after the platform registered its office in Nepal. But even while it was banned, many users simply switched to VPN. Telegram was also banned for ‘financial crimes’ and it has since also been allowed back. NTA officials confirmed that some Asia-Pacific regional offices of platforms, including Meta had been in touch overnight inquiring about the registration process.&nbsp; Nepal is not alone in regulating social media. China bans most Western platforms, Russia and Turkey regulate their and require platforms to locate their data servers in the country. Gulf countries allow social media but keep a tight control on dissent.&nbsp; Experts have said even the government will not dare close down YouTube since so many Nepali individuals and companies make money with posts on that platform, and closing it would also impact on Google and Gmail. Facebook had also just launched a monetisation scheme for videos and reels, and Nepalis uploading content would lose revenue.&nbsp; Blocking the platforms has already hit content creators, influencers and cut small businesses from reaching customers. A survey of social media use in Nepal by Sharecast Initiative showed that 94% of those with smart phones used YouTube, followed by Facebook (92%) while TikTok was in the 50-60% range. X and Instagram were in the single digits. A YouTube ban will also hurt the mainstream media since up to 20% of the revenue of Nepal’s main tv channels came through YouTube. Some 11.1 million Nepalis watch YouTube content every day, the survey showed. ‘For global giants like Meta or Google, Nepal is a small market, and they may not even flinch — but for millions of Nepalis, these platforms are central to daily life, livelihoods, and connections across the world,’ wrote AI consultant Naresh Newar in a LinkedIn post. Some experts said the government’s sweeping ban on social media networks was untenable and the government would be forced to rollback sooner or later. Said editor Shiva Gaunle: “The platforms had given citizens a voice and broken the monopoly of the government, legislators, the courts and journalists over public opinion. This is an effort to reassert that monopoly, but Nepal can never be turned into a North Korea.”

Protest grows against Nepal’s social media ban

Unlike many countries, there is not much incentive in Nepal for the private sector to fund charities and non-profits. Donations and grants are not tax-deductible.
Yet there are corporate entities that have Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their portfolio of activities through foundations that they have set up. Some do it loudly to gain public relations mileage, while others are quiet about their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/norway-supports-himalayan-climate-research?mdrv=www.nepalitimes.com&amp;=1">generous support</a>.
The CSR outlay of factories and manufacturing companies is regulated by Industrial Enterprise Act (IEA), while the Nepal Rastra Bank oversees grants banks and financial institutions contribute and requires them to set aside 1% of their net profit for CSR activities.
The guideline requires banks and financial institutions to donate to activities covering education, health, environment and financial literacy, among others. Recently, the Supreme Court directed the government to formulate a Bill in the parliament to standardise and regulate the private sector’s CSR activities.
“We receive guidelines from Nepal Rastra Bank and follow them,” says Pranisha Shrestha who heads the CSR Department at NMB Bank. “We have got a notice about updates on those guidelines, and we will adapt accordingly.”
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/greening-nepal-s-tourism">Environmental sustainability </a>is one of the important components of CSR for Nepali companies, and there have been many initiatives aimed at urban renewal. One of the most visible is of the telecommunication company Ncell, which is among Nepal’s largest taxpayers.
Five years ago, Ncell adopted a 6km stretch of the Ring Road from Ekantakuna to Koteswor-Kalanki, planting 12,000 saplings. They have now grown into<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/seeing-the-forest-and-trees-in-nepal"> a thick forest</a> along the embankment of the road.
Not only is the lush greenery in an overbuilt part of Lalitpur soothing to the eye, it also helps in reducing temperature within <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/in-the-heat-of-the-moment-5xcycyot">the urban heat bubble</a>, and also contributes to reducing air pollution and traffic noise.
“We started a pilot project along 600m of the Ekantakuna section of the Ring Road during the pandemic,” recalls Bishakha Lakshmi Khadka, Director of Corporate Communications and Sustainability at Ncell. “It went really well, and after that we extended the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-cities-with-trees"> tree planting</a> and upkeep to Kalanki.”
Sustainability also means making younger Nepalis aware of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">the value of nature </a>and environmental sustainability, which is why Ncell has also undertaken a Green School initiative in and around Kathmandu Valley. Besides its One-Tree-One-Youth and 1 Million Trees campaigns, the initiative also aims at behavior change about littering with its waste hackathon in schools.
“The young students can be catalysts with a multiplier effect beyond their schools to society at large, and it has inter-generational impact into the future,” explains Khadka.
Indeed, while <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous">Nepal has doubled its forest cover </a>in the past 30 years to 46% of the country’s area, urban centres like Kathmandu do not have much open spaces and greenery left. And that is where companies like Ncell, Jawalakhel Group of Industries, and others have focused on CSRs.
NMB Bank also runs financial literacy programs for youth where they can learn more about social media safeguards, digital payment systems, with a focus on safety and security. Such training not only helps build skills for the future but also protects young Nepalis from online crime.
“<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/protecting-children-from-anti-social-media">Threats to young minds through social media</a> use are growing as platforms feed algorithm-driven content,” says Shrestha. “We felt media and digital literacy are important in all seven provinces not just to protect young people, but also give them the confidence to use digital financial systems.”
The bank has a special focus on women in leadership programs, and provides scholarships provided in schools across Nepal on environment and sustainability in higher education. Health is another sector where private companies have worked with donating medical equipment, sponsoring health camps and conducting blood donation drives.
CSR or PR?
Other companies heavily involved in CSR include NIMB Bank which contributes to heritage conservation and education, Buddha Air helps farmers in Morang to increase productivity, VOITH with its motto ‘Little things We Do’ provides scholarships to students and has gifted &nbsp;vehicles to hospitals and nature conservation groups, Dwarika’s Hotel promotes organic farming and zero waste initiatives, heritage conservation and helps revive traditional handicrafts.
Although some CSR activities have been criticised for masquerading as PR and for greenwashing, many Nepali companies are actually contributing to improve the situation for individuals in need and underserved communities.
It also brings a sense of accountability to the corporate sector so they look beyond shareholder profit with greater involvement in the public good. In Nepal, where government delivery mechanisms are not up to speed in the social sector and environmental sustainability, CSR is a vehicle for public-private partnerships.
Collaboration with the government is an important aspect of these initiatives since that allows localised campaigns to be scaled up by showing what is possible. For example, the three Metropolitan Cities of the Valley and other private companies are trying to emulate what Ncell has achieved on the Ring Road.
“The Ring Road plantation project has been massively successful,” says Khadka “We were recognised by the Lalitpur Metropolitan City and the Forestry Department for adding greenery to what would have been just an asphalt strip.”

Corporates responsible to society

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2fZXyjsE28" target="_blank">Yog Narendra Malla</a> became king at age 18, and ruled Patan from 1684-1705 — his reign marked by a cultural and architectural renaissance of the city state. He put up a statue of himself in the palace square with a little bronze bird sitting on the guardian serpent above his head. It is said he told his subjects that he would look after their welfare till the day the bird flew off. During<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu"> the 2015 earthquake</a>, the pedestal collapsed and the statue was damaged. The bird was lost, only to be located in a pile of debris and reinstated when the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/piece-by-piece-patan-darbar-square-reconstruction,3782" target="_blank">statue was consecrated</a> two years later. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x2fZXyjsE28?si=jYfIb4p6zCLXYQ1T" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> History remembers Yog Narendra Malla as a wise king, but like most<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/preserving-king-birendra-s-family-home"> royalty of the day</a>, he had a weakness for women. He is supposed to have consorted with 30 queens and numerous concubines. At least 33 of them self-immolated themselves on the king's funeral pyre when he died, adhering to the prevailing <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/review/Jhola,947">practice of sati</a>. When Yog Narendra Malla’s favourite queen found out that he was carrying on with yet another woman, she got the local community of the Kwelachhi neighbourhood to stage a shadow sex play to quite literally expose his unfaithfulness. Actors enacted the explicit exploits of the king and his mistress, a bright butter lamp projecting the moving shadows of their lovemaking on a thin white drape to entertain those gathered in the square below. The queen made sure that the show was designed to face the home of the king’s paramour to shame them both. She also paid for a group to chant a bhajan with lyrics that ridiculed the king’s extramarital affair. The Jhyalcha Guthi community trust that the queen set up three-and-half century ago is still active to this day, and performs the annual shadow play in the same building in Kwelachhi the day before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-legend-behind-the-myth-of-indra-jatra">Indra Jatra </a>every year. This year’s show is on Friday evening, 5 September. The opening lines of the chants that accompany the play are the same words approved by the queen all those years ago: “Raja Yog Narendra ya aparadh…” (King Yog Narendra’s crime…) The community leader of the Kwelachhi neighbourhood, 62-year-old Baburaja Awale, explains the importance of the event: “This Jhyalcha is our<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/saving-the-intangible,3303"> intangible heritage</a> and oral history. We do not have a written format, it has been passed down from generation to generation. Every word of the bhajan is the story of King Yog Narendra Malla.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250904070952_249e85b32cbd99bb8515151557e0ec1a65d44a34ef1aacabaaeb469622d12664.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250904070952_249e85b32cbd99bb8515151557e0ec1a65d44a34ef1aacabaaeb469622d12664" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1167" loading="lazy" alt="Sex and the city of Patan"> <figcaption>The statue of Yog Narendra Malla being reinstated after it toppled in the 2015 earthquake. Photo: GOPEN RAI/ NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption> </figure>  Jhyalcha Pyankha, as the ceremony is called, starts with a puja for the Bhimsen — the god of wealth and prosperity, a popular <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-homecoming-of-nepal-s-gods">deity in Patan</a> who has a temple dedicated just to him in the palace square. This is immediately followed by a bhajan of Bhairab performed with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-house,670">traditional Newa musical instruments</a>. Community members serve snacks consisting of samay baji beaten rice, water buffalo chunks, soybean, green veggies, lentils, ginger, garlic and aila liquor. “In the first act of the shadow play, the man initiates the lovemaking, and in the third it is the woman,” says Laxmi Lal Awale, also a member of the trust that organises the show. The shadow action is all uncensored, but interspersed with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">scenes of everyday life</a>: the woman is spinning a thread, the king is going about his royal chores, and the two sit down to share sanacha fermented pickle that is popular this time of year. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qZ3twuG1wNQ?si=yRfkoC3A-X9cIl8r" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> “Back then, there was no tv, films or YouTube, and yet we managed to stage the shadow play using our own resourcefulness,” says Baburaja Awale. “It is important to continue the tradition.” The challenge now is to ensure that the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-reign-of-the-god-of-rain"> younger generation takes over</a>, learning the lyrics of the ancient bhajan. The dafa khala group that performs all over Patan during festivals and religious events is now training teenagers to play the musical instruments and act in the shadow play. The Jhyalcha was staged even after the 2015 earthquake when the falcha where the bhajan is performed collapsed and they made-do in a tin shed. The structure was later rebuilt with a grant from the group, Photo Circle. Lalitpur Metropolitan City sets aside a budget of Rs50,000 to organise the Jhyalcha Pyankha every year, but this is not enough and is supplemented by individual donations. The performers including musicians and actors are all volunteers, and take part in it because it is their community duty. The erotic shadow play was way ahead of its time, not just in its graphic content but the use of contemporary local technology as well as improvisation and pure imagination. Says Laxmi Lal: “Whatever its origin in the legend of King Yog Narendra Malla and his queen, Jhyalcha also served as a medium of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lets-talk-about-it">sex education</a>. In the past, women were discouraged from watching the shadow play, but today everyone is welcome, we all watch it together.” Jhyalcha Pyankha Kwelachhi, Chyasal, Patan 7PM onwards Friday, 5 September

Sex and the city of Patan

The world’s largest corporations now rival most governments – not only in terms of revenue and assets, but also in their ability to shape political outcomes. Their power is reinforced by the immense personal fortunes of billionaires, which enable them to wield disproportionate influence over <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/big-beautiful-bills">public policies, laws, and regulations</a>.
Crucially, extreme concentrations of wealth and power could not have developed without the active support of policymakers, whether tacit or explicit. Consequently, being an oligarch is inherently precarious.
Crony capitalism may grant enormous advantages, but it also carries built-in risks. Chief among them is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/slapping-democracy">political change</a>: new leadership, whether elected or imposed, may not extend the same protections or privileges to elites favored by the previous government.
That danger is especially acute in authoritarian or personality-driven regimes, where leaders’ whims often override institutional checks. The <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/business/timeline-elon-musk-trump-x-dg">on-again, off-again bromance</a> between US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk is an obvious example.
As <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-geopolitics-of-nepal-s-politics">geopolitical tensions</a> escalate, however, oligarchs are no longer contending solely with domestic challenges. Increasingly caught in global power struggles, they have become convenient targets for hostile foreign powers seeking to pressure or undermine the leaders they support.
The <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/12/us-and-uk-announce-new-sanctions-targeting-russian-ultra-wealthy">sanctions</a> imposed by the United States and the European Union on oligarchs linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine are a case in point. While these measures have done little to change the course of the war, they have profoundly disrupted the lives and businesses of those affected.
Indian billionaires Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani have also found themselves in America’s crosshairs. Both have profited enormously from their ties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi – a fellow Gujarati – with their fortunes growing in tandem with his political ascent. This has made them useful bargaining chips in the ongoing trade negotiations between the US and India.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-and-the-us-india-tariff-tiff">Nepal and the US-India tariff tiff</a>, Sudiksha Tuladhar
To be sure, Ambani’s Reliance Group had already mastered the art of leveraging political influence to advance its business interests well before Modi rose to power. But Ambani’s alliance with Modi has pushed Reliance’s dominance to new heights. Adani’s rise, by contrast, is <a href="https://thewire.in/political-economy/why-gautam-adani-is-a-factor-in-india-us-ties">inextricably tied to Modi</a>, dating back to the latter’s tenure as chief minister of Gujarat.
Both oligarchs, particularly Adani, have relied on their proximity to Modi to expand their business empires, benefiting from regulatory reforms tailored to their interests and <a href="https://www.cnbctv18.com/aviation/adani-winning-bids-for-six-airports-former-head-of-privatisation-panel-explains-key-policy-changes-15898141.htm">acquiring state assets</a> through lucrative privatization deals, often without a public tender. They have also moved into new sectors by <a href="https://www.freepressjournal.in/business/full-timeline-of-how-gvk-and-adanis-changing-fortunes-sealed-mumbai-airports-fate">purchasing successful firms</a> targeted by Modi’s administration, effectively neutralizing potential competitors.
Moreover, Ambani and Adani have enjoyed privileged access to publicly owned banks, receiving favourable loan terms that allowed them to <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/companies-bought-over-by-the-adani-group-got-haircut-of-96-to-42-on-loans-from-public-sector-banks-congress/article68606029.ece">restructure</a> their debts with minimal scrutiny. Their political connections, evidenced by frequent appearances alongside Modi during his international trips, have helped them secure <a href="https://www.newsclick.in/%E2%80%98Beneficiaries%E2%80%99-Modi%E2%80%99s-Globetrotting-Adani-Ambani">major contracts abroad</a>.
These political alliances have translated into lenient regulatory treatment. In Adani’s case, allegations that he has engaged in stock manipulation through opaque shell companies in offshore tax havens – exposed by US-based <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/adani-vs-hindenburg-research-what-you-need-know-2024-01-03/">short-seller Hindenburg Research</a> – were met with a muted response. Regulatory bodies like the Securities and Exchange Board of India declined to pursue a serious investigation.
Officially, Ambani has come under scrutiny for profiting from the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/business/india-russian-oil-ambani.html">resale of Russian oil</a>, effectively circumventing US sanctions, while Adani is being investigated for <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c748y8e4093o">alleged bribery</a>. But Trump’s actions appear to be a calculated attempt to pressure Modi through his inner circle. Adding insult to injury, they come from a US president whom Modi has long described as a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/world/asia/modi-trump-india-tariffs.html">true friend</a>”.
Modi has claimed that his sole concern is protecting Indian farmers – a statement that would surely come as a surprise to the farmer protest movement, which his government has long vilified and suppressed.
Trump, for his part, insists that his priority is securing a better deal for American producers and workers. In reality, many of his key demands are aimed at advancing the interests of US-based multinationals and those of <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/property-/-cstruction/trump-calls-indias-economy-dead-but-trump-towers-earn-thousands-of-crores-from-gurgaon-mumbai-pune-and-other-cities/articleshow/123164276.cms">his own companies</a>.
But given Trump’s track record, it’s hard to imagine that personal grievances did not play a role. Relations between the two leaders have noticeably cooled since Modi <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/narendra-modi-trump-phone-call-pm-modi-makes-it-clear-to-trump-us-played-no-role-in-india-pakistan-ceasefire-no-talks-on-india-us-trade-deal/articleshow/121922239.cms">refused to endorse</a> Trump’s dubious claim that he helped broker the recent India-Pakistan cease-fire – a narrative Trump had hoped would strengthen his bid for a Nobel Peace Prize. Modi’s refusal to play along effectively derailed that effort.
Trump and Modi are both shrewd and self-interested enough to recognise each other’s true priorities. By attacking Modi’s tycoons, Trump may have found the most effective pressure point to extract significant concessions from the Indian government.
If Modi yields, it won’t just be a costly political blunder but also a tragedy with far-reaching consequences for India and the world economy. © Project Syndicate
Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, is a member of the Club of Rome’s Transformational Economics Commission.&nbsp;

women-farmers

Strength in numbers for female farmers

Now, Nepal’s herbal oil in Europe

Protest grows against Nepal’s social media ban

Corporates responsible to society

Sex and the city of Patan

Trump targets Modi’s tycoons