<figure><img width="2048" height="1365" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0229c7e80680e0d7022jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>A Yeti Airlines ATR72 aircraft from Kathmandu to Pokhara on Sunday morning crashed near its destination. The plane had 68 passengers on board and four cabin crew led by senior captain Kamal KC. Six of the passengers are children, 15 foreigners, of which five are Indians, and 53 Nepali nationals, including eight members of a single family.The 72-seater took off at 10:30AM from Kathmandu before it crashed into <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/setis-gorgeous-gorges/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Seti gorge</a> between the old airport and the Pokhara International Airport in Ward 15 near Sitaram Bridge. The plane was engulfed in fire immediately after.An eyewitness video showed the nose-up plane seemingly in a stall, banking in a steep dive before crashing.According to rescuers, 32 bodies have been recovered so far. But onlookers say it is unlikely anyone survived the crash given the accident site being in a deep narrow gorge. Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police teams had not been able to douse the fire even 2 hours after the crash.A crowd of spectators at the crash taking photos and videos with mobile phones have made the rescue more difficult and added to traffic in the area. <figure><img width="640" height="1241" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0269c7e80680e0d7023jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="750" height="796" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a02a9c7e80680e0d7024jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This is a rare instance where a plane on a trunk route crashed during a good weather. The plane was landing at Pokhara's new international airport that was only inaugurated on 1 January 2023. One aviation expert who did not want to be named, told Nepali Times: "It is too early to pinpoint the cause of the crash, but from the eyewitness video the plane appears to be in a nose-up altitude prior to a stall."The expert said what needs to be determined is what caused the stall: either a bird strike, mechanical issue, or a steep nose-up that bled air speed at low altitude.One of the reasons the inauguration of the new airport was delayed was because Pokhara's landfill site, which is located in the Seti River near the runway, posed birdstrike danger to landing aircraft. <figure><img width="843" height="483" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a02c9c7e80680e0d7025jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a02f9c7e80680e0d7026jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0339c7e80680e0d7027jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="2048" height="1536" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e3a0379c7e80680e0d7028jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-opposition-less-parliament/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal</a> and Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane who had visited Kathmandu airport's control room for the details are going to Pokhara on Sunday itself. Dahal had previously called an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers while Lamichhane has directed authorities for immediate rescue and relief. Nepal is one of the most challenging countries in the world for aviation because of treacherous terrain and weather. It has seen 67 fatal air crashes in the last 60 years. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/pokhara-jomsom-flight-with-22-missing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The most recent accident</a> was the May 2022 Tara Air flight from Pokhara to Jomsom crash killing 22 passengers. But the nature of Saturday's tragedy would make it a crash with the highest number of casualties on a domestic flight in Nepal's aviation history. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/60-years-of-living-dangerously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">See: 60 years of Nepal's aviation history</a>. Most <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/60-years-of-living-dangerously/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">aviation accidents in Nepal</a> between 1952-2022 were caused by planes flying into mountains hidden in clouds, known as Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT). But this was in broad daylight, in good weather, near a new airport with modern navigation facilities.

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Pokhara bound flight crashes in Nepal

<img width="1110" height="735" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723bff9c7e80680e0c95f3jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Nepal’s domestic aviation has not just recovered from the pandemic, but has overtaken pre-Covid numbers in terms of total passengers carried as well as operating revenue for most carriers.But they are flying through turbulence as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/airlines-hit-hardest-by-nepals-fuel-hike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">high fuel price</a>s due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have suppressed profitability for the three main domestic carriers -- Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, and Shree.“Domestic aviation in Nepal was just beginning to rebound to pre Covid-19 levels, but recent geopolitical crises have had multiplier effects on fuel prices, the key driver of inflation,” says Dipendra Karna of Buddha Air.A strong dollar, and consecutive second quarter losses this year in US stock exchange have raised fears of a recession. Interest rates on borrowings are high as Europe battles inflation, and the GBP and Euro are both at par with the USD. This global effect is already sending aftershocks in Asian economies and affecting tourism.“Geopolitical instability remains the top cited threat to global economy and inflation has overtaken volatile energy prices to become second most cited concern,” Karna adds.Even so, Nepal’s domestic airlines have seen a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/post-covid-rebound-for-nepals-airlines/">15% growth in traffic</a> with nearly 4 million passengers on routes in fiscal year 2021-22, even as Nepal’s limited airport infrastructure struggled to cope.  <img width="1038" height="516" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723c029c7e80680e0c95f4jpeg.jpg" alt="">A recent report by the credit ratings agency ICRA Nepal of domestic operators gives Buddha Air an A- score for long-term credit, which means the company is considered to be servicing its financial obligations in a timely manner, and has low credit risk. Yeti and Shree have scored B+, meaning they are at higher risk of default. The airlines’ standings for short-term credit ratings gives Buddha an A2+, and Yeti and Shree at A4.Indeed, key financial indicators show that all three airlines are doing as well as, if not better, than pre-Covid years. Buddha Air’s operating income was Rs6.8 billion in 2018-19, dropped to Rs4.9 billion in 2019-2020, and further to only Rs3.3 billion last year.In 2021-22, operating income has rebounded to Rs7.7 billion. The OPBIDTA operating margin for Buddha Air was also a healthy 14%, although it is down from the peak of 31.8% in 2017-18 when fuel prices are lower.Buddha Air is marking 25 years of operation this week. It started operations on 11 October 1997 with a Raytheon 1900D flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Today, it is the biggest airline in Nepal with 16 aircraft. This Dasain saw record numbers of passengers – the unseasonal rains affected flights, but there was a higher demand for tickets because landslides blocked many highways during the holidays. Buddha Air, set a record of flying 8,835 passengers on a single day on 8 October.Yeti Airlines has also added another aircraft bought from Virgin Australia to its fleet, bringing the total to five ATR-500s. But the carrier is facing pressure from maturing debt repayment schedules for which the strong USD has not helped. The high interest rate on borrowings from Nepali banks has made the situation more precarious.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/sky-high-fuel-price-hits-nepals-tourism-airlines/">Sky high fuel price hits Nepal’s tourism, airlines</a>, Nepali Times <figure><img width="624" height="321" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414110/63723c049c7e80680e0c95f5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Operating Income in NPR Millions</figcaption></figure>Buddha Air has the best total debt/tangible net worth ratio among domestic airlines, although its ratio increased in 2019-20. Yeti has negative ratio in the last two consecutive years, and Shree Airlines ratio is not satisfactory either. Buddha Air also has the best ratio for total outside liabilities.Buddha Air has the best debt/OPBDITA ratio (2.21 in 2021-22) among the three operators with best financial capability on debt repayment. Buddha Air cleared all its IFC World Bank loans two years ago.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/airlines-hit-hardest-by-nepals-fuel-hike/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Airlines hit hardest by Nepal's fuel hike</a>, Nepali Times

Nepal’s airlines fly high despite turbulence

<figure><img width="1800" height="1200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110911110/636b7a539c7e80680e064754jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Sunday's Cabinet meeting in Baluwatar where ministers and the prime minister maintained physical distancing. Photo RSS</figcaption></figure>The Nepal government decided on Sunday to extend its national lockdown by another week till midnight 7 April, and to continue the ban on all domestic and international flights till 15 April.The Cabinet made the decision on recommendation of the Coronavirus Control High-level Task Force headed by Defence Minister Ishwar Pokhrel based on the WHO criteria of a safe 14 day incubation period for the virus.The government may have first announced only a weeklong nationwide lockdown so as to soften the blow on the public, and to dissuade hoarders and black marketeers. Public health experts had said the lockdown would not make sense unless it was for a total of two weeks.They said the 14-day period was to prevent imported infections and also to isolate those people coming into Nepal and the people they had come in contact with. A further five day extension after 7 April would help control community transmission within Nepal. However, government sources told Nepali Times, no decision has been made yet on extended the lockdown beyond 7 April. They did not rule out local lockdowns even after mid-April if there were outbreaks of local clusters within Nepal.Sunday’s Cabinet meeting also decided to allow into the country hundred of Nepalis stuck at no-man’s land on the Indian border for the past four days on condition that they self-isolate themselves. It also advised all Nepalis still in India to remain where they are for now. There are reports of 300 Nepali workers stranded in Pune without money and any way to get back to Nepal. Nepal’s lockdown has not affected the transportation of food, fuel and essential supplies from India into Nepal through four border crossings, and Nepal has also opened two of its checkpoints with China for imports.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/lockdown-likely-to-be-extended/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lockdown likely to be extended</a><a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lockdown-fallout/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lockdown fallout</a>, Editorial

Nepal COVID-19 lockdown extended till 7 April

<figure><img width="1100" height="549" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a57359c7e80680e0547cbjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>CARBON NEUTRAL: Yeti Airlines has a policy to cut carbon use with more fuel-efficient ATR-72 aircraft, and battery-powered vans.</figcaption></figure>Last month, young climate change activist Greta Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic Ocean for 15 days on a zero-carbon yacht. After the UN <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate Action Summit</a>, she will sail on to Chile for another climate meeting. Thunberg is trying to show people around the world that reducing one’s carbon footprint may be difficult, but it is possible. But for the 2 million tourists expected to arrive in Nepal next year, sailing is not an option. Road travel is not feasible. Their only mode of entry into Nepal? Flying.With growing global awareness about the climate emergency, many air travellers have started thinking about cutting down on travel. Those who do take to the skies can shop on Google for carbon credits to offset the fossil fuel they burn.A roundtrip flight on a modern wide body airliner from Europe to Kathmandu emits nearly 3 tons of carbon dioxide per passenger. With Nepal expecting 2 million tourists arriving in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/yetis-electric-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Nepal Year 2020</a>, passengers could be emitting a total of more than 4 million tons of carbon next year. Read Also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32892&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tree-mendous,</a> Peter Gill<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32877&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">It's a jungle out there,</a> Ajaya Dixit<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32887&amp;preview_nonce=fd922bf38d&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trees, politics and greed,</a> Mukesh Pokharel <img width="200" height="200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a57379c7e80680e0547ccjpeg.jpg" alt="">Although civil aviation contributes only 3% of the carbon dioxide that is blamed for the greenhouse effect heating the planet, the proportion is growing at 5-10% a year. Airlines like Emirates, Jetstar, Qantas and Delta are at the forefront of offsetting carbon emissions with bio-fuels or by buying carbon credits to offset their emissions. Qantas claims it has been carbon neutral since 2007 by offseting 2.5 million tons of carbon.However, many environmentalists say <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19901#.XXoaQS4zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">carbon offsetting</a> does not go to the heart of the problem: cutting consumption, and being less wasteful. Besides, they question carbon offsetting itself, which has become a big business.In Nepal, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2018/01/28/yeti-reduces-carbon-footprint/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yeti Airlines has made an effort to offset its carbon emission</a> by fulfilling the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/05/19/yeti-pushes-global-goals/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #8</a>, which targets climate action to reduce carbon emissions.With help from the UN Development Programme, Yeti conducted a carbon audit, then implemented CO2 reduction measures with help from Impacti Solutions, which designs sustainability solutions for businesses.Yeti Airlines had to offset 19,655 metric tons of CO2 emitted by its aircraft, ground vehicles and buildings. The company created a three-fold <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/carbon-neutral-yeti/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">carbon neutrality plan</a>, which includes buying carbon credits, reducing fuel consumption for vehicles and replacing its fuel-guzzling BAe Jetstream 41s with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/yeti-adds-atr-72/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ATR-72-500s</a>, cutting emissions per flight by 20%. Yeti bought carbon credits from a hydropower company in Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh in India at 50 cents per metric ton of carbon. Both companies used the funds to plant trees around their project site and improve their operational efficiency.While Yeti says it would have preferred to purchase UN certified credits locally, the ones available in Nepal have hefty price tags and are limited.“Buying carbon credit at $15 per metric ton of carbon from REDD at $5 per metric ton of carbon from the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) was not viable for us,” explained Yeti Airlines CEO Umesh Rai.One problem with carbon credits is that there is no guarantee funds will be used for the activities they are designed for. The credits may go to credible companies, but planting trees and commitments to energy efficiency need to be monitored.Read Also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-third-pole-is-warming-faster-than-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Third Pole is warming faster than expected</a>, Kunda Dixit<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-kathmandus-historic-roofscape/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Protecting Kathmandu’s historic roofscape</a>, Anne FeenstraYeti Airlines is also moving to reduce plastic use, and has replaced half a million plastic cups with paper ones and donated its tyres to Shanti Sewa Griha, a non-profit group that that recycles and upcycles them. It is also trying out <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/yetis-electric-future/" data-wplink-edit="true">Mahindra electric vans</a> to replace its petrol ones.Adds Rai: “Each of our vans travels 150km a day and emit 5 tons of greenhouse gases a year. If we convert all our vans into electric, we will not just save money but reduce our carbon footprint as well.”While these efforts are admirable and set a precedent for other airlines in Nepal, environmental activists say offsetting carbon emissions offer only a band-aid solution. However, Yeti’s Rai says: “Once you start the journey to go green, you gain momentum. There is a shift to a greener mindset in the company, but real change will only come with greater public awareness.”  This story is part of <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/world-joins-to-cover-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Covering Climate Now</a>, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.  Read Also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32805&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate-health emergency,</a> Sonia Awale<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32856&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate Summit leads packed UN agenda,</a> Thalif Deen<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=32868&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mosquitoes move up mountains as the earth warms,</a> Sonia Awale

Tourism, aviation and carbon

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121136/636a3fe09c7e80680e04a5edjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="600"/>Yeti Airlines says it has become the first carbon-neutral airline in Nepal by reducing and offseting its greenhouse gas emissions after undertaking an independent carbon audit facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).The audit revealed that the airline produced 19,665 tons of CO2 equivalent in 2018, including from its flights, ground vehicles and other facilities. In the previous year the airline reduced its carbon emission by 20% per passenger and by a further 12% with more fuel-efficient aircraft. The airline inducted its fourth ATR72-500 this week, and expects another next month.Yeti also offset its greenhouse gas emissions by procuring Certified Emission Reductions carbon credits through its green forests project. “UNDP would like to congratulate Yeti Airlines on becoming the first carbon neutral airline in Nepal after having successfully met the international UN approach on carbon neutrality,” said UNDP Nepal Representative Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labe.

Carbon-neutral Yeti

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101152/636a270f9c7e80680e043a4fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="363"/>Update 2: All seven on board (six passengers and one pilot) have been confirmed dead in the Air Dynasty helicopter crash at 1:30 pm today at Sisne Khola area of Pathibhara, Taplejung. Nepal Police has found all seven bodies at the accident site. Only the bodies of Rabindra Adhikari and his aide Yuavaraj Dahal are in an identifiable state.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101152/636a27119c7e80680e043a50jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1050" height="657"><figcaption>Crash site. Photo: AP1, TV</figcaption></figure>Update 1:  Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed the accident through a press release, which further notes that Nepal Army and Nepal Police teams have been mobilised for rescue.An air dynasty helicopter carrying Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari among others, is suspected to have crashed in Taplejung, according to Ramkrishna Subedi, spokesperson of Home Ministry.Among the six passengers were minister Adhikari's private secretary Yuvaraj Dahal, Yeti Airlines' director Ang Tshiring Sherpa, and one security personnel. They were headed to Athrai rural municipality at Chuhandanda in Tehrathum to study about a proposed airport.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101152/636a27139c7e80680e043a51jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="378"><figcaption>Photo: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>Police and local residents heard a loud explosion from the accident site in Taplejung which was ablaze with fire. A Simrik Air helicopter from Itahari and another helicopter from Kathmandu have been deputed for rescue and relief, according to Balkrishna Pandit, operations manager of Air dynasty.The Prime Minister's office has called for an emergency meeting with the cabinet after the news broke.

Helicopter carrying Tourism Minister crashes

<img width="2000" height="1017" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121148/6368f0929c7e80680e0359dfjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><a href="http://www.taraair.com/">Tara Air</a> has announced the addition of a new Viking DHC6-400 Twin Otter aircraft to its fleet which arrived on the morning of 20th July at Kathmandu after its ferry flight from Seychelles via Maldives and India. Tara Air took delivery of the aircraft with MSN 846 from Air Seychelles. The crew members on board were Captain Prabhakar Ghimire, Captain Pawan Singh Nagarkoti and Jagat Lama for technical assistance. The Viking 400s are the latest series of Twin Otters that can operate out of the most challenging airports in the world such as Lukla, Dolpo or Rara. This latest addition to Tara Air’s fleet of STOL aircraft will enable Tara Air to service remote airports in the mountainous regions of Nepal where road travel is either very arduous or impossible. <figure><img width="2000" height="1387" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121148/6368f0959c7e80680e0359e0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>All photos: Yeti Airlines</figcaption></figure><img width="2000" height="1264" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107121148/6368f0999c7e80680e0359e1jpeg.jpg" alt="">

Tara Air’s new Viking Twin Otter

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

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prabalgurung/" target="_blank">Prabal Gurung</a> left Nepal for New York in 1999 to escape years of bullying, sexism and homophobia, and to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqN0VaoAI5w" target="_blank">realised his dream</a>, but did not escape discrimination and racism in the new world. Propelled by passion for fashion, Gurung overcame everything America threw at him. He has attained <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/prabal-gurung-recalls-his-first-met-gala-when-zoe-saldana-was-at-his-side?srsltid=AfmBOooy-H0oGgxMit864FnW_Pmw8mUnV8rYrh-co-f6OyYK6m2ip5hP" target="_blank">fame and recognition</a> for his haute couture dress designs while remaining true to his Nepali roots, and is even more resolute in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmNauyzACk" target="_blank">fighting prejudice</a> in all its forms. Prabal Gurung’s newly-released memoir <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Walk-Like-Girl-Memoir/dp/B0DG11HCDQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZfpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuZcIJO2OXyXcRm1oq1iG6wzeoF7VJFrQ7GXOFI0YxuZZ4id_CNvSZSZZIna_aem_pG_mOKG73RTnYvN8JaC4fA">Walk Like a Girl</a> is a saga of harrowing abuse in boarding schools in Nepal and India, only finding himself facing a different kind of bullying in the US. He prevails over it all to be where he is today: an award-winning American fashion designer with his own label. Walk Like a Girl was launched last week in New York at a time when everything Gurung fought for — tolerance, inclusion and diversity — are in retreat in his adopted country because of a president who has espoused a culture of bullying. The book is a searing, raw exposé of how cruel and abusive people can be even at a young age in school. On the other hand, it also shows that there are generous, compassionate and open-minded souls out there. In his book, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4le_uWX7YE">Prabal Gurung</a> calls out those who tormented and tried to hold him back (some of their names have been altered). The moral of his story is: resist, never stop believing in yourself, do not let others define you, never lose sight of your dream, and help those who have been kept out. “Walk like a girl” was a slur used by bullies back in school in Nepal and India for Gurung’s effeminate ways. He fought back then, and he is still resisting by turning those words into something to be proud of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1253" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung NT"> <figcaption>Prabal Gurung at home in Kathmandu in the 1990s.</figcaption> </figure>  “Living through it all was one thing, but writing about it is one of the hardest things I have done in my life,” admitted Gurung during the launch. “I broke down constantly during the six-year writing process.” He continues: “I did not want this to be a victim’s book. I did not want to burden my readers with my emotions. I wanted my struggle to be an inspiration for others facing what I faced. I am grateful to those who bullied me in school, they made me a stronger person ready to face the world.” Indeed, this book is a departure from his earlier one titled simply, Prabal Gurung (Abrams, 2019), which was a lush pictorial autobiography of his career in fashion. Walk Like a Girl is not a typical fashion book, it is an intimate tale of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16997">Gurung’s travails and triumphs</a>, and how he willed himself to succeed. Prabal pays a lavish tribute to his mother Durga Rana. We find out she is a descendant of the first wife of the eldest son of Jang Bahadur Rana who was banished to Palpa in the late 19th century. Prabal’s father served in the Singapore Police and that is where he was born before the family returned to Nepal when he was four. Gurung relates with brutal honesty about the violence his mother endured from his father. Durga raises three children as a single mother in Nepal, and Prabal credits her for his fierce determination to resist patriarchy and injustice, which in time manifests itself in his hyper-feminine and subversive dress designs. Writing the book has been a cathartic experience for Gurung, who says he is now relieved of the burdens of his past. It no longer haunts him, and he does not have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Walk Like a Girl has life lessons not just for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmOcSgxdWz/" target="_blank">fashion industry</a>, but for every other profession. How can my job serve a greater cause? Gurung tells us his work is <a href="https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-designer-prabal-gurung-doesnt-want-just-stick-fashion" target="_blank">bigger than just making clothes</a>, it is about making the world a better place because it could do with a lot of improvement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1516" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung"> </figure>  This story of chasing the American dream may sound familiar to many immigrants: knocking on doors for jobs, rejections, trying to survive from day to day on expensive rent, and dealing with subtle racism in white America. Gurung finds racism is rife, and he is often mockingly called ‘gaysian’. He writes: ‘There was a strong hypocrisy — this idea of independence felt like a marketting ruse … and for all the talk of feminism in America, these high society women were trapped by the patriarchy just like in Nepal and India.’ After a trek to the Khumbu region in 2013, Gurung is inspired to use the colours, palette and textures of Nepal for his collection exhibited on Manhattan’s 8th Avenue. A major buyer tells him bluntly: “Stick to making pretty dresses … if I need to see a collection like this, I could buy a copy of National Geographic.” The New York Times was equally dismissive: ‘The designer tries to draw connections between blistered techo-fabric used to construct it and the topography of his homeland, Nepal. But, at the moment, he has lost his map.’ One potential investor tells Gurung he cannot design for Americana because “you do not look American”. Gurung wants to use expletives, but restrains himself. After a fundraiser in New York for the Nepal earthquake in 2015, some belittled his effort, saying: “Here comes the saviour."&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/prabal-gurung-by-prabal-gurung">Prabal Gurung by Prabal Gurung</a>, Kunda Dixit The Gurkha DNA must be dominant in Prabal Gurung’s genes because he does not take such mistreatment lying down. When asked by a fashion publicist why he was designing clothes for fat people, he snaps back: “Because of people like you.” He joins the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, launches the Shikshya Foundation charity in Nepal, and has powerful allies among celebrities who wear clothes he designed: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Sara Jessica Parker, Kamala Harris, Deepika Padukone … it is a long list.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="1534" loading="lazy" alt="Being Prabal Gurung by design"> <figcaption>Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wearing Atelier Prabal Gurung’s design for Met Gala 2025 in which the theme was ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’. </figcaption> </figure>  “I don’t dress women to look beautiful, they already are,” Gurung says. “I try to bring out their innate strength and grace.” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17908766880140171/" target="_blank">Admirers</a> tell Gurung he makes it all look so easy, but he used to put up a strong facade to not show his own vulnerabilities in public. “I was closed because of my childhood experiences,” he says. “I was always on guard to defend myself because I never knew where the next punch would come from.” But in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVepzPA210" target="_blank">Walk Like a Girl,</a> Gurung comes to terms with his vulnerability, and bares his soul. It has not been easy, it took sustained will power and support from his mother, sister Kumudini and a circle of close friends. “I made unbelonging my power,” he says. “Nepal is where I still have my heart and soul. Nepal grounds you. It is where people go to find themselves. But I escaped.” Recently appointed vice-chair of the <a href="https://cfda.com/about-cfda" target="_blank">Council of American Fashion Designers</a>, Gurung says: “I can’t believe I am here, it feels like it is happening to someone else. Writing this book, the healing has finally begun.” <h2>‘Everything is better in color’</h2> The Met Gala was two weeks later, and my table was an example of everything I’d been fighting for all these years as my guests represented everything I believed in: dynamic, powerful, influential women who were unapologetically original and unabashedly graceful. I was grateful to Anna for inviting me to host and dress a table that reflected my ethos—and for her guidance in doing so. I was also aware of the privilege as one of the first-­ever Asian fashion designers—not just from Nepal, but from the entire continent— to get the opportunity to do so. That fact was not lost on me. I reached out beyond the expected Hollywood celebrities and well-­known socialites to curate a table of exceptional women who inspired me. I invited Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for their first-­ever Met Galas, as well as Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Camila Cabello, Ashley Park, Denée Benton, KiKi Layne, Quannah Chasinghorse, and Grace Elizabeth. Together we checked many boxes: Asian, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous, each woman undeniably chic and powerful, a dazzling array of skin tones and experiences that proved my decades‑in‑the-­making hypothesis: everything is better in color. Excerpt from Walk Like a Girl Viking © 2025 by Prabal Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;

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