<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cdb9c7e80680e0b7890jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"/><figcaption>Photo: NAMRATA SHARMA</figcaption></figure>"I am who I am today because my father raised me as if he would a son and encouraged me to do what I wanted,” says Bimita Bhandari, one of the first women tour operators in the Chitwan National Park as she takes visitors around on a safari.The theme of International Women’s Day this year is #BreakTheBias, something Bhandari was already doing on her own, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/hop-over-the-gender-gap/">breaking gender norms and stereotypes</a>. But every girl should be allowed the same and given the right kind of support, she says.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cde9c7e80680e0b7891jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="126" height="150">“Girls should not be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-the-climate-crisis-adds-to-child-marriage-in-nepal/">married off early</a> and allowed to pursue a career they want. Both recognition and money would help them to overcome discrimination,” adds 27-year-old Bhandari, who was one of the first three women to receive a jungle guide license at the Park.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cdf9c7e80680e0b7892jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption>Photo: NAMRATA SHARMA</figcaption></figure>A daughter of a forest guard herself, Bhandari grew up loving nature. She was adventurous from a young age, which also got her into a lot of trouble. One of her earliest memories is of a close encounter with a rhino that she managed to outrun.After this, she developed a sixth sense that has since helped her and her companions to steer clear of the wildlife in case of an encounter, something that would come in handy when she took tourists out on jungle safari.Early on she also saw how boys and men in her community were earning both money and respect as forest guides, instilling in her a desire to become one too. So when her classmates were being married off, her father encouraged her to pursue her dream, eventually allowing her to be a professional of her choice.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720ce29c7e80680e0b7893jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">But it was not always so rosy for Bhandari, who was only 16 when she became a forest guide. She was initially not taken seriously and had to serve as an assistant guide. Her male colleagues constantly ridiculed her and doubted her ability to take tourists on jungle safari.But when they saw her skillfully handle tourists with her knowledge of the forest and the wildlife, and save them from dangerous situations in the wild, she gained their trust.Tourists were also impressed with her services, adding to her own confidence. Today, Bhandari is one of the most sought-after and recognised guides in the region. The fact that she can also speak Mandarin, English and Hindi helps.Bhandari does not much remember her mother who passed away while she was still a toddler. She was raised by a supportive father. But neighbours and relatives were against her taking up a career traditionally reserved for men.“But that did not bother me because my father was my strength and helped me to be the first woman in my community to take up such a career,” says Bhandari, who is also a promising wildlife photographer.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720ce59c7e80680e0b7894jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption>Red panda in its habitat in Ilam. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720ce89c7e80680e0b7895jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Bengal Tiger in Chitwan national park. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cec9c7e80680e0b7896jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Bengal tiger enjoying a swim in Bardia Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101136/63720cef9c7e80680e0b7897jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>A pair of mugger crocodiles mating in Chitwan national park. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720cf39c7e80680e0b7898jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Wild cat. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure>Initially, she used her phone to take pictures but she now has a Nikon G500 she bought with her savings. On a small scale, her photographs are sold in the local market and one even made it to the calendar of the Nepal Tourism Board.Much like many talented youths in rural Nepal, she does not have access to national and international platforms to showcase her wildlife photography. But for now, her pictures can be viewed in her Instagram account @bimitaphotography.Bhandari has made her dreams come true, she has both respect and money. But the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-reopening-for-tourists/">Covid-19 crisis</a> hit her family hard.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101140/63720cf69c7e80680e0b7899jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="996" height="1500"><figcaption>Wild elephant pictured in Chitwan national park. Photo: Bimita Bhandari</figcaption></figure>“I have used up all my savings,” she says, adding that she is in no hurry to marry. She trusts in her abilities to care for her family of her father, stepmother and brother once tourism is up and running.For women to break biases, discover new talents and provide them bigger platforms, Bhandari shows that it is not enough to mark just one day a year with token gestures. We must be committed to working for their welfare throughout the year.Read  also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/women-conservationists-brave-discrimination-and-the-wild/">Women conservationists brave discrimination, and the wild</a>, Nepali Times

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Nepali safari guide breaks the bias

<img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151120/636d08b69c7e80680e0a6032jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>The Tarai Arc Landscape, a shared transboundary protected zone between Nepal and India is spread across 25,000 sq km on the Nepal side, roughly 17% of the country's total area. It is home to 7 million people, half of them women, making their <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/empowering-nepalis-during-covid-19-crisis/">stake in conservation efforts</a> significant.In Nepal’s agrarian society, rural women are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/women-conservationists-brave-discrimination-and-the-wild/">often relegated to household roles</a> and spend much of their time in the forest searching for fuelwood and fodder, or grazing livestock.  This consequently places them at a higher risk of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/">human-wildlife interactions,</a> with research showing that more females than males have been injured or killed by tigers. Women and marginalised communities are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/women-leaders-set-example-for-rest-of-nepal/">custodians of Nepal’s natural heritage, </a>and have played an important role in safeguarding natural resources, especially in tiger conservation. Their contribution is valuable in every aspect of conservation: vulnerability, mobilisation and benefits. Take Sapika Magar, the first female coordinator of the Thori Rapid Response Team in Parsa National Park, who believes that youth and women play a meaningful part in biodiversity conservation, particularly in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal/">reducing human-wildlife contact</a> on the fringes of the park that is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/">home to many tigers. </a>Magar also leads behavioural change communication classes, a volunteer group that discusses challenges that communities face in the hope of changing the negative attitude towards wildlife. She has restricted local herders from illegally entering the forest to motivating villages into <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/champions-of-nepals-conservation-movement/">mainstream conservation.</a> It is no surprise that girls in her buffer zone areas look up to her and wish to pursue a career in conservation.  <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/winners-of-celebrating-womanhood-navadevi-awards,1183">Nanda Devi Kunwar,</a> former chairperson of Madhumalati Community Forest in Kailali district lost her right hand trying to protect the forest and wildlife. After she set up a metal fence to bar entry into the community forest, encroachers retaliated by physically attacking her.Despite the injury and the traumatic experience, Kunwar carries on as before with her conservation activism. In 2018, the Nepal government recognised her contribution and named a newly found rare orchid species, Odanchilas Nandeyi, after her.Many female <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/villagers-step-up-to-protect-nepals-tigers/">grassroots activists</a> have now been elected to local governments and are working to engage women in decision-making bodies, dialogue, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/villagers-step-up-to-protect-nepals-tigers/">conservation mechanisms.</a> This in turn has brought the opportunity to expand women’s access to natural resources and support their livelihoods. Bharati Pathak is chair of the Federation of Community Forest User Groups, under whose leadership Nepal has rolled out group insurance schemes to mitigate human-wildlife contact in community forests across 77 districts in the country. She has advocated for equitable rights for community forest users, and for the representation of women — particularly from poor, vulnerable, and socially excluded Natural Resource Management groups — in decision-making bodies. Premiere schools such as the Institute of Forestry at Pokhara Campus are dedicated to producing top-notch forestry professionals. Each year roughly 40% of graduates who  enter the field are female, and they have been making a significant contribution in ecology and natural resource management.Without their involvement, Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/close-encounters-with-tigers-in-nepal/">conservation efforts</a> risk overlooking root causes of biodiversity loss, as well as potential solutions all while perpetuating gender inequality. The statute of community forestry envisions that half the executive positions be held by women. However, we are far from achieving it. There are structural and behavioural barriers that prevent women from climbing up the socio-economic ladder. Having them in leadership positions will change that. Bishnu Shrestha, Chief Warden of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/So-far-so-good/bardiya-beginnings-Lisa-Choegyal,1085">Bardia National Park</a> and co-author of the paper ‘Women in protected area and buffer zone management’ highlights the low representation of women in the workforce (less than 15%) despite supportive policies on women empowerment and engagement. The paper recommends policy intervention and sufficient resource allocation to generate awareness and promote gender inclusivity at all levels of the conservation movement. Radha Wagle, Nepal’s first female joint secretary and division head at the Climate Change Management Division at the Ministry of Forest and Environment, is from the forestry batch of 1998-2002. She is working to make the forestry sector more equitable and inclusive for women and marginalised groups. She recently helped draft the Ministry of Forest and Environment’s Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Strategy and Action Plan, which is now awaiting endorsement from the government. This policy document highlights best practices for implementation and promises to empower all the beneficiaries and Natural Resource Management groups and aspires to mainstream GESI provisions in Forestry and Environmental Sectors. Research has shown that including women in forestry and fisheries management can <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/women-leaders-set-example-for-rest-of-nepal/">lead to better governance</a> and conservation outcomes, with Rwanda being a fine example. Representation of women, and their meaningful participation in the executive committee of Natural Resource Management groups, particularly in the buffer zones and corridors, can influence decisions which will be conducive to women and biodiversity conservation in general. Challenges such as equitable access to natural resources, benefit-sharing, mitigating negative human-wildlife interactions, including building management and intellectual capacity, have been shown to have a better chance at success under <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/women-leaders-seen-but-not-heard/">female leadership. </a>Female conservation leaders like Sapika Magar and Nanda Devi Kunwar have helped motivate countless individuals and communities to work towards establishing a cordial relationship between communities, natural resource management groups, and divisional forest and protected areas authorities. The next step would be to also include <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/unsung-heroes-of-nepals-tiger-recovery/">women from indigenous groups</a> who have traditional knowledge of conservation efforts. This is especially true for indigenous women, who are even more marginalised in decision-making processes. More attention and resources must be allocated, primarily at the local level, to ensure that Nepal’s conservation successes are efforts that are implemented in ways that address gender issues. Their efforts have shown that protecting the habitat of tigers protects its entire ecosystem.  <img width="267" height="267" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151120/636d08b99c7e80680e0a6033jpeg.jpg" alt="">Kanchan Thapa, PhD, is head of Wildlife Programs at WWF Nepal. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the organisation.

Nepali women at forefront of saving tigers

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171144/636936969c7e80680e03fdebjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2814" height="1808"/><figcaption>The Interns: Visit to Tiger Tops by then-U.S First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, flanked by guest relations Arati Rai and Sam Vincent.</figcaption></figure>Somewhere along the way at Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge, it was decided that we needed a gentle female hand to look after guests, to reassure them in the remote jungle setting, and to balance the macho effect of the wildlife naturalists who swaggered through tiger and rhino country.The result was a succession of guest relations girls (gals), most of whom did not last more than a couple of seasons -- such was the intensity of the task and isolation of life within Nepal’s Tarai national parks.When I first <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/So-far-so-good/back-to-Chitwan,1075" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worked in Chitwan in 1974</a>, we all did everything. I could be found in my khaki shirt not only on airport duty and briefing the guests on arrival, but also escorting barefoot visits to the tiger blinds, explaining the careful husbandry of the elephant camp, or pointing out crocodiles and birds whilst floating down the Narayani river in local wood boats with only the dip of a paddle or the call of an osprey to spoil the silence.Most thrilling was driving guests in the battered green Land Rovers on afternoon excursions across the rickety bridges, through shallow streams and along the rough tracks carved each year out of the encroaching <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jungle</a>. I could change one of the heavy tread tyres in less than eight minutes, and had to do so on more than one occasion -- usually on some distant stretch of rutted road, never quite sure what creature might emerge out of the forest and grassland.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171144/6369369a9c7e80680e03fdecjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2092" height="2716"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Early evening tigers would use the same roads to patrol their territory and spray-mark trees, leaving pungent cat-scent hanging in the air, and impossibly large pug marks imprinted in the dust.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/recreating-tiger-tops-in-the-tropics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Recreating tiger tops in the tropics</a>, Lisa ChoegyalAfter I moved to the Kathmandu office, the boundaries became less blurred and the guest relations job description tightened to exclude driving – prompted by one enthusiastic dark-haired American gal colliding head on around a jungle corner with the only other vehicle for miles.<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/City-safari-in-rickshaw,2784" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Safaris</a>, drives, boat trips and walks were deemed the masculine domain of operations staff, naturalists and nature guides. Guest relations’ focus was entirely on the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/leave-no-one-behind-gender-roles,858" target="_blank" rel="noopener">feminine</a> duties of housekeeping and the kitchen, planning menus, assigning tree-top rooms, arranging tents, and ensuring guests felt at home – more systematic perhaps, but not nearly so much fun.I suffered the ultimate feminist indignity when, during a glossy London magazine fashion shoot that I had arranged in 1977 with top models and a celebrity photographer, and me posing at the wheel of an open safari jeep, a moustache was later photo-shopped onto my upper lip. If not women’s liberation, we did achieve 10 valuable pages of publicity for <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Conservation-and-tourism-Chitwan-National-Park,2957" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chitwan’s wildlife tourism</a>.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171144/6369369d9c7e80680e03fdedjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="880" height="638"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Our guest relations girls were mainly recruited from friends of friends, meaning we had a bias of Western gals (and the occasional guy) from the wide-open spaces of North America, and the more specialised British habitat of Sloane Square, the Pony Club and titled country house parties. Double-barrelled surnames proliferated, and at one point we had a Lavinia, a Philippa, a Venetia and a Samantha in close succession.In those conservative times, few Nepali or Indian girls were permitted by their families to work in the mostly male atmosphere of the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/More-trouble-in-Chitwan-National-Park,2956" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lodges</a> and camps, although we did find a few individuals who gained traction as attitudes relaxed. By definition, they were mavericks, pushing the boundaries; Asha moved on to Disney in the US, Pramoda still campaigns for animal rights, Christabel from Darjeeling now lives in Melbourne, and Gauree has risen to international lodge manager status in her own right.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/pilgrimage-to-copenhagen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pilgrimage to Copenhagen</a>, Lisa ChoegyalOver the decades, Tiger Tops gals came and went, and many are still in touch. Those that did not succumb to suburbia discovered their destiny – many still work in hospitality and conservation. Some fell foul of the system (or the boss’ kids) and had to leave in a hurry. A few left their heart in the jungle and there were several Tiger Tops marriages.One English blond had to be rescued from an enamoured royal prince who was found installed in a Soaltee suite – that was tricky to explain to her mother in Surrey. Many took an interest in the food. A lovely lady from Tasmania would greet guests with “Have a nice cup of tea!” and an older lady returned regularly to teach new European recipes. Nodding patiently, the eyes of the Nepali cooks would glaze over with years of conflicting instructions.Such was the allure of adventure in the jungle that Tiger Tops developed a clever category of young kids whose parents actually paid for them to work with us. Un-catchily named the Youth Trainee Programme, YTPs would spend a month or two traipsing around, shadowing guides, and ostensibly helping out in Chitwan and Bardia, often in their gap year between school and university (yes, gap yah!).Other than a few casualties -- usually related to love, drink or homesickness -- an ‘amazing’ time was had by all. One chap overdid the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/elephants-born-free,3302" target="_blank" rel="noopener">elephant</a> camp ganja, one misjudged the Khukri rum, and another got no further than the Thamel throngs before being nursed back to Oxfordshire, but they were the exception.Most of our guest relations’ gals and the transitory gap yah kids claim that the experience in Nepal changed their lives, and I have no doubt that it did.

Lisa Choegyal

Gap yah gals in the jungle

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

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

Turkish to Seville

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