#256 15 - 21 July 2005 16 pages Rs 30

ISSN

181

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Weekly Internet Poll # 257. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ..... Should the ban on news on FM radiosbe lifted?

Total votes:413

Weekly Internet Poll # 256

Q. How confident are you that the newbudget will help Nepal make an economicturnaround?

ere in the denselypopulated Ganga plains, the10-yard strip separating

Nepal and India has never beentreated like a national frontier.

Land is too precious to leaveit as a no-man’s land. Nepali andIndian farmers use it for grazinglivestock, playing cricket or evengrowing vegetables.

But as the Maoist war in theNepal tarai intensifies, the Indianfear of spillover of violence hasbegun to change that relaxedattitude. Along with bordercheck points, the traditionally

Comrades-in-armsopen dasgaja strip too is nowunder close security watch. India’sparamilitary Seema Suraksha Bal(SSB) now pull up rickshawwallas if they park their tricycleson no-man’s land.

Security is stricter than beforeand there is talk here of introduc-ing identity cards and barbed-wirefences to regulate crossbordermovement. Still, the India-Nepalfrontier is probably the mostrelaxed international border in theworld.

The SSB guard does ask youwhere you are headed as yousaunter across but doesn’t evenblink when you answer that you're

going to Panditji’s paan shopdown the road.

On the Nepal side, everyshopkeeper is up to date on thelatest Maoist exploits. In Bihar,despite media hype about theNaxalite ‘menace’ engulfing 160districts in 12 Indian states,people along the border seembarely aware of the activities ofthe Maoist Communist Centre(MCC) in Bihar or the People’sWar Group (PWG) in AndhraPradesh. The two merged lastyear to form the CPI-Maoist buta local teacher isn’t evenaware of it.

Even after last month’s

Naxalite attack on the town ofMadhuban in which 21 peoplewere killed and six governmentbuildings razed (see: ‘Spillover’,#254), there is a surprising lack ofconcern about Maoist activityalong the border.If the local peoplearen’t the least bitinterested, wethought weshould try to track down anIndian Maoist to ask if there wasindeed collaboration with theirNepali comrades during theattack, as alleged by Bihari police.

Continued p2

CK LAL in BIHAR

Looking at Nepal’s Maoist revolution through Indian Naxalite eyes

Press Freedom forPeace and Democracy

Editorial p2Democracy ininstallments

KIRAN PANDAY

H

UPSIDE DOWN WORLD:Pedestrians reflected in a

puddle at Basantapur afterrains on Wednesday afternoon.

UPSIDE DOWN WORLD:Pedestrians reflected in a

puddle at Basantapur afterrains on Wednesday afternoon.

2 15 - 21 JULY 2005 #256EDITORIAL

GUEST COLUMNRajendra Pradhan

I

Published by Himalmedia Pvt Ltd, Chief Editor: Kunda DixitDesk Editors: Abha Eli Phoboo, Aarti BasnyatDesign: Kiran Maharjan Web: Bhushan ShilpakarAdvertising: Sunaina Shah advertising@himalmedia.comSubscription: Pushparaj Sharma, subscription@himalmedia.comSanchaya Kosh Building, Block A-4th Floor, LalitpurGPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, NepalTel: 01-5543333-6, Fax: 01-5521013Printed at Jagadamba Press, Hatiban: 01-5547018editors@nepalitimes.com, www.nepalitimes.com

t was an anguished email froma well-known author andeditor, a pahadi janajati, citing

a small news item whichreported that no journalistturned up for a press conferencecalled by madhesi students. Hewas agitated by this grossdiscrimination. This is myresponse to his fury and distress.

Journalists surely are entitledto decide which pressconferences they want to attendor ignore what they want toconstruct and communicate asnews. They have the right towrite about the antics of a minorstarlet in Kollywood or the news

of a diplomatwho sang at aprivate party orabout humanrights abuses, theactivities andwise words ofour respectedpoliticians andrulers. We maynot agree withtheir choice, butit is their choice.They exercisepress freedom onour behalf.

The mediainfluencespublicknowledge andopinion both bywhat it reportsand what itleaves out. While

many of us pay attention towhat is covered, we oftenoverlook what they deliberatelyexclude due to the media’scollective self-censorship. Thesubject matters that journalistsleave out reveal either theirignorance or more ominously,their bias.

It could be argued that thegrievances of a handful ofmadhesi university studentsbeing beaten up is hardly worthreporting during a period ofvery grave political turmoil.Other happenings are morenewsworthy and of interest tothe public. Or is it one moreexample of the perhapsunconscious collective effort ofthe pahadia dominated press toerase madhesis from the mediaand thus from publicknowledge and nationaldiscourse?

The press invariably reportson all workshops andconferences held inKathmandu, even the mostinsignificant ones, especially ifinaugurated by a public figure(the public figure being thenews and not the meeting). Butthe press on the whole did notreport on the first ever nationalconference on the tarai,focusing especially on themadhesis.

The conference was held ina well-known hotel, pressreleases were faxed and it wasattended by several journalists.Two columnists (one amadhesi) wrote about theconference and a popularmagazine published a photo of

Madhesis are Nepalis and not just residents of the southern plains

The media’s ethnic gapDEMOCRACY IN INSTALLMENTSBillboards on the city’s intersections have been painted over withsoundbites from King Gyanendra’s recent proclamations. The oneoutside Singha Darbar stands out, it reads in translation: ‘We firmlybelieve that centralisation of power is against the spirit ofdemocracy.’

No, it’s not a spoof. But we don’t blame people for beingbemused because that has been the problem all along since October2002: the gap between words and deeds.

The current regime’s detrimental defiance of domesticaspirations and needless needling of the international communityisn’t helping it win any friends. It should have realised long ago thatthe public’s apathy towards the political parties doesn’t mean thereis support for its authoritarian tendencies. If the royal-appointedcouncil of ministers had been able to take a great leap forward inrestoring peace or service delivery to the people, there may havebeen some support. We have looked but haven’t discerned any suchdramatic improvement. On the contrary, there are daily reports ofinspection teams behaving high-handedly, political witch-hunts,inconsistency and contradictions in the state’s functioning.

Many people went along with the royal move nearly six monthsago because they thought there was A Plan. But the only planseems to have been a systematic and premeditated plot to use theinsurgency as an ploy todisassemble democracy, gagthe free press and put civilliberties into deep freeze.

What really worries us noware feelings being expressedpublicly by genuine well-wishers of monarchy. They areaghast at the ways of theextremist right who are runningthe show and are concernedthat this will ultimatelyundermine the institution ofmonarchy as a symbol ofNepali nationhood. Beware ofthose who are more royal thanthe king, they say.

This is democracy ininstallments: release a fewdetainees here, allow bannedtv stations back, relax presscontrols somewhat. The ideaseems to be to stretch this outfor three years. Problem is,there isn’t that much time.

After three days of persistent enquiry atvarious tea, paan and cycle repair shops, ayoung man claiming to be a local labourorganiser sympathetic to the Maoist causecomes up outside a drugstore. He callshimself Bidrohi. He wears a huntedlook, refusing to talk anywhere exceptin his battered Maruti.

Comrade Bidrohi is surprisinglywell-informed and excessively paranoid ashe drives randomly across the dry farms ofnorthern Bihar. He believes that a capitalistconspiracy has encouraged casteconfrontation in Bihar to undermine aninevitable class war. That seems logicalenough, and other than his unrealisticportrayal of a global capitalist conspiracyto defeat Maoism worldwide, the comradesounds quite articulate and convincing.

He dismisses outright the allegationthat Indian Naxalites and Nepali Maoiststrain together in Bihar and is even morecategorical in denying Nepali Maoistinvolvement in the Naxalite attack on thepolice station in Madhuban. “The Biharpolice was just trying to hide itsincompetence,” he says.

Bidrohi thinks state governments inUttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and Biharroutinely exaggerate the threat of Naxaliteactivity to get more funds from New Delhifor their police forces. “Unlike in Nepal,

the Maoist movement in north India hasnot yet acquired a critical mass,” he says inHindi, skirting potholes, “they wouldn’trisk ruthless reprisals by random attacks.”

How does that explain the landmineattack on a police van in UP last Novemberthat killed 16 people? Or the attacks inMadhuban and Bairgania? “They may havebeen executed for tactical gain rather thanstrategic reasons.” What he means is thatthe attacks could have been criminal ratherthan ideological in nature.

Bihari Naxals would be wary of joininghands with Nepali Maoists for threereasons, Bidrohi says. First, the Nepalis arebetter motivated, better armed and are morebattle hardened. The Naxals would have toaccept a secondary role in any joint exerciseand that is not something the Indiancomrades would relish.

Second, if the Naxalites were to be asreckless as Nepali Maoists they would bedecimated in Bihar. “In Nepal, securityforces look the other way when Maoistsmove around and do nothing as long asthey aren’t directly under attack. But BihariNaxals have simultaneously fought on twofronts for decades—the police and theprivate armies of landlords,” explainsBidrohi. Indeed, as we drive past mangoorchards and parched paddy fields, itlooks like Bidrohi is more nervous aboutvigilantes than the police.

Third, Bidrohi thinks the brutality of

Nepali Maoists is too shocking even forIndia’s hardened Naxalites. “The Maoistsseem to have no qualms in killinginnocents, we never do that,” he argues,adding, “affinity between Maoist groups ofthe world over is natural and mutualcooperation between the Maoists andNaxals can’t be ruled out. But we never dojoint exercises or training.”

Indian Naxalites are expecting theruling coalition in New Delhi to launch amassive coordinated offensive againstNaxalite groups all over India. “Whereverthere is a Marxist government, Maoistssuffer the most,” explains Bidrohi,“capitalist conspirators want to use thecover of a Marxist government in New Delhito hit at all leftist groups.”

The Nepali Maoists seem to inspire aweand fear among Naxalite groups in India.But how come Indian Marxists arefriendlier to Nepali Maoists even whilethey fight their own Naxals on home turf?“Perhaps they want to watch and wait forthe outcome of the political experiment inNepal before they make up their mindabout armed rebellion in India,” saysBidrohi, as we make a U-turn and head backto Panditji’s paan shop.

What would his advice be to comradesin Nepal? Bidrohi replies without hesita-tion: “Make common cause with otherpolitical parties, without bourgeoisiedemocracy, a proletarian revolution is

impossible. That is the reason Naxalites inIndia support political parties representingthe downtrodden.”

With Girija Prasad Koirala’s offer oftalks eliciting tempting responses fromChairman Prachanda this week, it appearsthat the possibility of Nepal’s mainstreampolitical parties working with the Maoistsare now higher than a unity between twofraternal Maoist parties on either side ofthe border.

It is also clear that the Indian establish-ment needs to listen to the peasants ofnorthern Bihar and learn from Nepal’swildfire insurgency for proof of what couldhappen in its soil, too. If sparks from Nepalignite the tinder-dry Ganga plains, a full-blown Maoist rebellion could spreadrapidly to Andhra Pradesh and beyond.Given the objective conditions forrevolution in these badlands, that futureconflagration is not just an alarmistprediction. And it could be the fearhaunting ‘capitalist conspirators’pushing the theory of a Maoist-Naxalitemilitary alliance.

Otherwise Comrade Bidrohi’sarguments are quite sound: a common causebetween Nepali Maoists and Indian Naxalswill harm both of them. They may becomrades-at-arms but for now they want tofight their wars separately. Some details have been omitted to protect identitiesand localities.

…but they want to fight their wars separatelyfrom p1

the madhesi musical evening butthere was no serious reporting onthe discussions of the conferencenor even a mention of thedukkha of being a madhesi inNepal.

Journalists do write or speakabout the madhesh or tarai butmainly as a location down southwhere negative events occur. Themadhesis themselves hardlyfigure in the stories. Or as onemadhesi journalist bitterlycomplained during a conference,the national press usuallyignores madhesis except toportray them in bad light. Areputed organisation which haspublished a series of landmarkbooks on the media’s coverage ofdalits and janajatis has not yetbrought out a publication on themedia and madhesis.

We often complain thatNepal is almost totally ignoredby the world media except whenthere are stories about poverty,violence, political instabilityand natural disasters. In asimilar manner, pahadi mediagatekeepers are doing injustice tomadhesis (and many othergroups) by what they cover, moreimportantly by what they omit.The violence of erasure isperhaps even more painful forthe madhesis for they are fellowNepalis–and they would liketheir compatriots to know them,to have their voices heard andtheir dukkha discussednationally just like otherNepalis.

Madhesis are Nepalis and notjust the residents of the southernplains.

m

MIN BAJRACHARYA

315 - 21 JULY 2005 #256

LLLLL E T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SWFP REPLIESWorld Food Program (WFP)Nepal wishes to disagree andargue certain statements madeby James Shikwati in aninterview from Der Spiegelreprinted in your paper (“Forgod’s sake, please stop the aid”,#255). JS: ‘WFP is a massive agencyof apparatchiks.’

WFP is a United Nationsdevelopment agency guided byhumanitarian principles ofhumanity, neutrality andimpartiality (to whichtransparency and accountabilityare often added). Therefore, it isnot political but rather apolitical.JS: ‘WFP demands more moneythan the respective hostgovernments’ request.’

WFP estimatedrequirements are based oncomprehensive food needassessments which areconducted by food securityexperts in consultation andcoordination with hostgovernments and relevantnational civil society actors(ie NGOs).JS: ‘WFP assistance comespredominantly from highlysubsidised European andAmerican farmers.’

A large portion of WFP’sglobal food purchases (69percent) is made in developingcountries. In Nepal, 85 percentof WFP food assistance islocally purchased from Nepaliproducers and suppliers.JS: ‘A portion of WFPassistance goes directly into thehands of unscrupulouspoliticians while another portionends up on the black market.’

WFP’s food assistance isentirely intended for its targetedbeneficiaries, mainly hungry/poor rural populations. WFP hasset up extensive monitoring andcontrol mechanisms ensuringthat the food reaches foodinsecure households. Suchmechanisms also prevent WFPfood assistance from being soldin markets. Less than 0.5percent of WFP food assistanceis misappropriated or ends up onmarkets.

WFP Nepal Country Office,Patan

MUSEUM PIECEAs a founder member of TamuPye Lhu Sangh and the firstdirector of the Kohinbo Museum Iwas delighted to see the review

of our museum in your paper(‘Museum town’, #255). But itcontained some inaccuracies.Tamu Pye Lhu Sangh wasfounded in 1990 and our museumwas opened in 1997. It provides aguide to Tamu cultural heritageand in particular to our shamanictraditions. It does not offer ‘adetailed description of thedifferent subclasses of the Tamupeople’. This statement is amisrepresentation of ourexhibition and has the potential tocreate bad feelings. There aredifferent clans in Tamu society,all of whom are equal but thereare no ‘subclasses’.

Yarjung K Tamu,director, Tamu Pye Lhu Sangh

Museum, Pokhara.

TERRORISMWhile it is sad that more than 50innocent people died in Londonblasts, as a Nepali I am temptedto ask the British AmbassadorKeith Bloomfield what is thedifference between a bomb blastin a passenger bus in Chitwanand the blast in a double-deckerbus in London? If the tragedieswere equivalent, there is norationale for the Britishgovernment to keep arm-twistingNepal to negotiate with the Maoistrebels while it has vowed to“eliminate terrorism throughdetermination and resoluteness”?Shouldn’t we issue a travel warning to Nepali tourists not tomake unimportant trips toLondon? Shouldn’t we also issuea formal statement calling on theBritish government to negotiateand accept the genuine demandsof Osama bin Laden in thecontext of the British army andthe British intelligence totallyfailing to curb terrorism?

Preeti Koirala, Baneswor

The terrorist attack in Madi(‘Sorry.’, #251) and the terroristattack in London are both verysimilar. The terrorists have onlyone objective and that is toterrorise innocent people toattract attention of the public. Wejoin millions of others to expressour sympathies to the families ofthe grieved people. After theLondon bombs, King Gyanendrawas reported to have sent amessage of condolence to QueenElizabeth. Yet, we did not hear asingle word from him after theMadi carnage even though bothhad about the same number ofcasualties. Why the double

standard? Queen Elizabeth andPrince Philip both visited victimsin hospitals and made a publicstatement. In Nepal, not even theRoyal Palace issued a publicstatement after Madi.

G Pokharel,West Virginia, USA

The interviewer of MinisterRamesh Nath Pandey failed to askseveral important questions (‘Eslejanata lai dukkha huna hundaina’,#255). Granted that His Majesty isqualified, intelligent, hardworkingand has all the qualities of avisionary leader but these thingsonly speak about the king, not hiscabinet of ridiculous clowns likeTulsi Giri, Tanka Dhakal, BuddhiRaj Bajracharya or Dan BahadurShahi. With their antics, theymake a joke out of democracy anddevelopment. Our problems ofmass poverty and politicalhypocrisy are so serious andsolutions are required so urgentlythat these inefficient people areincapable of rescuing us from thecrisis. To do so, we need peopleat the top, decision-makers whohave foresight and good minds,who are open to ideas, who canseize opportunities like DengXiaoping, Lee Kuan Yew andMahathir Mohamad. What say,Ramesh Nathji?

Salini Johnson, Melbourne

Our country has grownwithout a dynamic architect. Theking has come forward to fill thevacuum but he has done it bydismantling democracy. This willmake the road to modernisationand the nation even more difficult.

LETTERSNepali Times welcomes allfeedback. Letters should be briefand may be edited for space. Whilepseudonyms can be accepted,writers who provide their realnames and contact details will begiven preference. Email lettersshould be in text format withoutattachments with ‘letter to theeditor’ in the subject line.

Email: letters@nepalitimes.comFax: 977-1-5521013Mail: Letters, Nepali Times, GPOBox 7251, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Only through representativegovernment can this country moveforward. The king has to help itsformation and work closely with it.This is a participatory process inwhich the country will need notonly political parties but also othersocial institutions. People want tosee democracy in action, not inwords. They want to feel that thecountry is in safe hands. That isnot happening either. RameshNath Pandey and his colleaguesin the cabinet belong to a schoolof thought which believes thatdemocracy has to be in abeyancewhile concentrating on economicdevelopment. The country cannotgo ahead with this naya sandeshtype of historical baggage.

Raj Bahadur Chand, Seoul

CASTE ASIDEI agree with Manjushree Thapathat the caste system is still verymuch a part of Nepali society(‘Let’s talk about caste’, #254) butI don’t agree with categorisingpeople on the basis of their casteand then forming an opinionwhether they are capable or not. Itis ok to be a Chetteri and hold ahigh position if that person is therebecause of his knowledge andexperience. Just being from a so-called ‘under-represented caste’does not entitle someone specialtreatment irrespective of capabil-ity. Let us have a merit-basedsociety, not a caste-based one.

Bhumika Ghimire, email

Having seen AshminaRanjit’s performance at mycollege here in the US I am verydissappointed to say it wasnothing close to the hype that itreceived in your review (‘Into theheart of darkness’, #254). It is adull, unoriginal, and highly boringperformance and I am quitesurprised that a newspaper ofyour stature has stooped so low.Ms Ranjit’s performance wasdevoid of any of the specialmentions that your reviewerportrays and in no way can werelate her description of a cow tothe current situation in Nepal. Itis an affront to our country and itsartistic community to have suchfeeble performances.

Nripesh Dhungel,Bard College, USA

CK Lal got a little carriedaway by alliteration in ‘Our 3Ms’(State of the State, #255).Nevertheless, I’d like to build onthe theme:

MIN BAJRACHARYA

Modern MarvelsMP: Member of Parliament.MP 1: Military Police #1.MP 2: Maoists Parties PalaceAll have forgottenthe most important part,the people.MP 3: More Power (to the)People Period.

Plug it inPlug in onPlug it on your headto the beat ofHear no evilto the sound ofDo no evilto the rhythm ofSay no evil.Lord have mercyHare Pasupatinath.

S N Singh,All in the same boat

JIRI ROADI just had a visit to Jiri andCharikot last month. This wasmy fourth visit to Jiri since 1992.I can easily see the meaningfulimpacts of the road to the wholeDolakha and neighbouringdistricts as mentioned in PragyaShrestha’s article (‘The greatgreen road’, #254). My conclu-sion is that building the roadwith development and economyof the area in mind as the Swissdid was the key to this success.I am happy to hear that thedistrict rural road project isexpanding to 18 other districtswhich is another sign of theroad’s positive impact. While inJiri and Charikot last time, Iasked myself if the people herewould be better off without theroad. The answer is definitelynot.

And that’s all that counts.Devi P Dahal,

Training & EmploymentProject

4 15 - 21 JULY 2005 #256NATION

n a recent morning, Ananta Ram Majhiwas getting ready to transplantanother plot of paddy in this tranquil,

green village 30 km east of Biratnagar.The monsoon was late and other farmers

had delayed replanting but Dan Bahadurwas ready. He is one of a dozen farmers inMorang trying out a new method of riceplanting that doesn’t need flooded fields,produces stronger plants that don’t needartificial fertilisers and pesticides, and yetyields bigger harvests.

It’s almost too good to be true. Thisskeptical reporter wants to find a hole inthe story to shatter the myth of this miraclerice. But the miracle is that it’s no miracle.

This is not a high-yield geneticallyengineered rice but the normal mansulivariety of local seed. Only the method ofcultivation is different: instead of waitingsix weeks, the seedlings are transplantedwhen they are only two weeks old. The fielddoesn’t have to be flooded, in fact it needsto be drained of excess water. The seeds areplanted farther apart so that while a normalpaddy field needs 50 kg of seed per hectare,the new method uses less than 10 kg. Andthe harvest? It is more than double.

“I thought, how can this be?” recallsRajendra Uprety, agriculture extensionofficer for Morang when he first read about

The miracle is it’s no miraclethe technique on the Internet and decidedto test it out. “Since 2002, we’ve achieveddouble and triple harvests on test plots. It’sjust amazing.”

Ananta Ram admits he was skeptical.“Initially, I thought to myself if this issuch a great idea why didn’t my ancestorsthink of it,” he tells us, wading ankle-deepin mud to prepare his next field, “but Idecided to take the chance and this is thethird year I’m using the new method.”Ananta Ram used to harvest five tons perhectare in his fields, now he is getting atleast 10 tons. More importantly, he hasachieved those yields with only one-thirdof the seeds he used before and with lesswater.

News of Morang’s amazing harvests havespread quickly by word of mouth. Thisyear, farmers in Sunsari, Dhankuta,Chitwan, Dang and Jhapa are trying out thenew method. Uprety brings many of themon inspection visits here. “Actually, it hasbeen more difficult convincing theagronomists and officials than farmers,” helaughs.

It hasn’t been easy to convinceinternational scientists either. Ever since aFrench Jesuit in Madagascar, Fr Henri deLaulanie discovered the new method in1983, agriculture research institutes havebeen skeptical. It was only after the CornellInternational Institute for Food, Agriculture

and Development in the United Statesstarted pushing the idea that it was takenseriously.

The System of Rice Intensification(SRI), as it is now called, has been tried inTamil Nadu where it has been shown toincrease rice production by 28 percent for 53percent less water. In arid Hyderabad,farmers have reported 85 percent less seeduse for double the harvests. In Sri Lanka,farmers earned 44 percent more and inChina and Laos there were harvest increasesof 35-50 percent. The German aid group,GTZ is pushing SRI in Cambodia whereharvest have increased by 41 percent.

However, field trials at the InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI) in thePhilippines weren’t as successful. To besure, SRI demands skilful farming,conscientious planting, good timing andcareful drainage. Since the traditionalmethod of planting on flooded paddy fieldswas a weed-control technique, the drier SRIfields need to be weeded several timesduring the harvest cycle.

But the benefits far outweigh theseobstacles and Uprety says the mainchallenge is training. In Morang, he hasturned local farmers like 28-year-oldKishore Luitel, who are now total convertsto SRI, into trainers. Dan Bahadur Rajbansithought Luitel had gone mad a few years agofor adopting the new technique. But earlier

this month, Luitel was in Dan Bahadur’sfield teaching him how to replant hisseedlings the new way.

The tiny two-week-old seedlings lookfragile in Luitel’s hands as he picks themone by one and plants them 20 cm apart inthe pasty mud, not 10 cm apart in slushymuck needed for normal rice planting.Luitel shows us his own field where Aprilrice now grows in thick tufts with morethan 80 tillers from one seed. “In the oldmethod, you plant three or four seedlingsin one spot and you only get about 10tillers per seed,” he says.

Uprety and Luitel are happy farmersnow and don’t need any convincingbecause seeing is believing. They areconvinced that no part of Nepal need befood deficit anymore if SRI is promoted asa national campaign. Every year, Nepalneeds 93,000 tons of rice seeds but withSRI it will save 80,000 tons and inaddition, harvests nationwide could bedoubled. Kathmandu Valley farmerspresently grow 5.2 tons of rice per hectare,with SRI they could grow up to 12 tons,save most of their seeds and use lesschemicals and water.

Uprety sums it up: “Sometimes the bestsolutions are the simplest solutions.”

http://ciifad.cornell.edu/sri/http://www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/3-3/grain3-3.pdf

Seeing is believing for rice farmers in eastern Nepal who are reaping bumper paddy harvests from fewer seedsKUNDA DIXIT in MORANG

O

LESS SEEDS, MORE HARVESTS: Ananta RamMajhi points to week-old rice seedlings, whileagriculture extension officer, Rajendra Uprety,

examines copious tillers on a field Majhiplanted with the new technique in April (right).

PICS: KUNDA DIXIT

515 - 21 JULY 2005 #256BUSINESS

NEW PRODUCT

ECONOMIC SENSEArtha Beed

athmandu: Doug Bandow, aSenior Fellow at the CatoInstitute, speaks about

economic freedom and why Nepalshould also not curtail it.

London: The Middle EastSymposium focuses mainly on

why countries should pursuereforms else run the risk of losingout in the global race for economicsupremacy.

Scotland: The G8 urgescountries to open up theireconomies more,emphasising on the directcorrelation between povertyreduction and economicfreedom.

Beijing: Condoleeza Ricetells Chinese leaders topursue the path of economicfreedom.

Studies have shown thereis direct correlation betweeneconomic freedom and economicgrowth. The collapse of the SovietUnion and the state of easternEuropean economies as well asthat of most African countriesdemonstrate this adequately.

Economic freedom also hasdirect correlation with the systemof governance. Again, studies havesuggested that countries whichpursue pluralism in their political

The economics of freedomCurtailment of economic freedom is detrimental to a nation’s growth

structure provide more economicfreedom. The perusal of economicfreedom mandates leastinterference from the state and thathappens best perhaps in ademocratic political structure.With plural political forces, thereis constant check on thegovernment in power.

In South Asia, we have seenthat democratic India has moreeconomic freedom than military-ruled Pakistan. That perhaps alsoexplains the economic growth ofIndia outstripping Pakistan.

Academia has always locked hornsin the debate of whether Chinawith its single party rule mightlose its momentum of economicgrowth to India which has morepolitical freedom.

Nepal’s experiment withfreeing parts of control on theeconomy in the early 1990s didlead to positive results. The GDPgrowth rates early in the decadewere good but as the momentum

on reforms dwindled, the growthrates fell. While the insurgency canbe held responsible for lowergrowth rates, lagging off on reformswas more of a factor. In Sri Lankathe state has been engaged indomestic warfare for the past twodecades but has still managed tokeep growth rates steady. SriLanka’s continuous pursuance ofreforms and loosening of statecontrol was the reason forsustained growth.

This Beed believes economicfreedom integrates a large part of

the informal economy that neverconverts to the mainstreamformal economy. For instance,allowing money transfer firmsto compete for remittance fromabroad has brought remittancesunder the legitimate economythat was otherwise languishingin the hundi trade. However,not allowing Nepalis to investabroad legitimately has kept thehundi business going. Opening

this in a regulated manner wouldsurely provide better returns to thetons of foreign exchange sitting onstate coffers.

So, repeat after me: curtailmentof economic freedom has alwaysproved detrimental to a nation’seconomic growth and economicfreedom is directly correlated topolitical freedom.

www.arthabeed.com

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Nepal’s first flying schoolAs the number of military and civilian aircrafts increase, the RoyalNepali Army has decided to get into flight training from Kathmanduairport. COAS Pyar Jung Thapa inaugurated the Royal Nepali ArmyAviation Training Centre on Wednesday at the premises of the 11th

Brigade on the occasion of the king’s birthday. Six pilots are enrolledin the first batch and instructors will be from the military as well asfrom CAAN. The army will be training its own pilots as well ascharging a fee to train civilian pilots.

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Apartments in PokharaAnnapurnaDevelopers havebuilt FishtailResidency, the firstapartment complexin Pokhara.Sprawled on the

outskits with a magnificient view of Machhapuchhre it consists of 63apartments, three business houses, four community buildings and 70residential houses.

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Easy faresIndian Airlines has started new fares called ‘Easy Fare’ for travel tovarious destinations within India. Under this scheme, it is availablefor sale on four levels of fares with discounts upto 60 percent onpublished fares.

MARKING: NOMARKS, a flagship brand ofOzone Ayurvedics, has launched the herbalcream in 12 gm packs that easily fits intohandbags and pockets. It is available now atretail outlets and pharmacies across Nepal forRs 46.40.

HOT ‘N SOUR: Himalayan Snacksand Noodles Pvt Ltd has introducedMayos Hot & Sour, the instantnoodles’ latest flavour. The product isavailable at all stores.

K

6 15 - 21 JULY 2005 #256FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Batsayan in Kantipur, 9 July

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Innocent targetsSamaya, 15 July

BAGLUNG—Seventeen highschools students from Beni hadgone home to their villages forholidays. They never returned. Onthe way, the Maoists accusedthem of leaving the village to goto school without theirpermission. The rebels had toldthem to study in the villageschool but the classes had beendisrupted because the Maoiststhemselves had forced Grade Nineand 10 students to join theirabhiyan. A group of journalistsran into the students just afterthey had been stopped fromreturning to their schools in thedistrict headquarters. They wereall teary-eyed but there wasnothing they could do against thethreat of Maoist violence. All ofthem were forced to agree to studyin the village school.

Students here are used tobeing force on one abhiyan afteranother where they have to listento long speeches on therevolution, drill and get somemilitary training. The abhiyanlasts five months and the

students are forced to go backevery month for more training.But last month, a group of 600students and Maoists who weretaking them towards theirtraining grounds came face to facewith an army patrol. The soldiershad already taken up firingpositions but a confrontation wasaverted when the Maoists ranaway. A student from BhanuSecondary School who had beenforced away from her classwithout even getting a chance totell her parents trembles as sherecounts the incident. “I wasnever as afraid as I was then,” sherecalls. Her parents were evenmore frightened.

The Maoists are obviouslydoing this as a part of theirrecruitment drive and to tapyoung minds which are moremalleable. But most of the schoolchildren say they only go out offear and if it were up to them,they would just return to theirstudies. The Gulmi Baglung headof the Maoist affiliated studentunion, Sarad Oli, says his groupis in a militarisation phase andthe training of students is a partof that process. The Maoists havealready closed down 49 private

SELECTED MATERIAL TRANSLATED EVERY WEEK FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

schools in the region and onlyone is still running. The Maoistssay the campaign is workingbecause government schools haveimproved their SLC records. Outof the 38 students who appearedin the SLC from the NepalSecondary School, 27 passed. Butthe closure of private schools hasincreased the overcrowding ingovernment schools and there arecases where 185 students study ina single class.

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Abuser of authorityNepal Samacharpatra, 12 July

BIRGANJ—Nepal JournalistFederation’s Parsa DivisionAdviser and Publisher/Editor ofthe Gramin Samachar, BhadranathAdhikari, who was released onSunday has accused the Mid-Zonal Regional AdministratorRabindra Chakraborty of illegallyarresting and mentally torturinghim. Adhikari was released after afew strings were pulled but onlyon the condition that themanaging editor of the paperRaghab Saha would be producedbefore the police. Adhikari wastaken into police custody withouta warrant at 10AM last Friday onthe orders of RegionalAdministrator Chakraborty.Adhikari, who supports theking’s direct rule, was first takento the Ward Police Office Birta,transferred to the District PoliceOffice in Parsa and then sent tothe Mid-Zonal RegionalAdministrator’s office in Hetaudathat very day. Speaking tocolleagues at the Nepal JournalistsFederation Parsa, Adhikari saidhe wasn’t even allowed to call hisfamily members.

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Royal bashSamaya, 14 July

The king arrived a bit late for his59th birthday bash organisedspecifically for journalists on 1July. They stood still as he madehis entrance dressed in a whiteshirt, trousers, black waistcoatand a dhaka topi, expecting himto chat like he did last year. Buthe walked past them with aserious face that left mostjournalists surprised anddisappointed. This year, 15minutes after he had arrived, hetook his leave with theimpression that it was notnecessary for the king to eitherlisten or find out what washappening in the kingdom. Itclearly proved that he no longersaw himself as a constitutional

figurehead but as the chiefexecutive. Two years ago, at apublic felicitation in Nepalganj,he declared that it was notpossible for a 21st centurymonarch to be seen only but to beheard also. He proved this bygranting several interviews toboth local and foreign journalistsand interacting closely withmedia representatives.

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TroikaJana Aastha, 13 July

After Prachanda called on thepolitical parties on Sunday to setup a negotiating team, the partiesare learnt to be deep indiscussions about how torespond. But the Maoiststhemselves haven’t set up anysuch negotiating team of theirown. If Girija Koirala is in theteam then the Maoists areexpected to set up a new team,according to the Maoistmouthpiece Janaadesh. Sourcessay the Maoist offer for talks cameafter secret overtures betweenthem and after Koirala affirmedhe was ready to talk if the Maoistsstopped attacking politicalparties. The parties are stillsuspicious of Maoist intentionsand are also wary of thegovernment’s response to themtalking to a group declared as‘terrorist’. But they haven’t ruledout negotiations and arereportedly discussing thecomposition of their team. IfKoirala and Madhab Nepal are onthe team, it is likely thatPrachanda will also be on theteam from the Maoist side.Government ministers have saidthe parties will also be declared asterrorists if they talk to theMaoists. Other party leaders likeKP Oli of the UML havedismissed the Maoist calls fortalks, saying talks with thosebelieving in violence was out ofthe question. It is not clear howthe government will react tofuture talks but there are rumours

National Commission on the Rights of RatsChariman

“I often wonder why I ever returned to Nepal. I wasvery comfortable living abroad. Now, I’m in a mess.”

Tulsi Giri in Purnajagaran, 12 July

NC leader Narhari Acharya (seen left being released lastweek) in Budhabar, 13 July

There are still some ambiguities in the common agenda ofthe seven parties that have been agitating against the royaltakeover. The agreement hasn’t been able to bring out acommon mission statement. Since there is no uniformity inthe opinion and commitment of the parties’ demands, themovement has not been able to convince the people. Forgetabout the people, the movement has not even been able toattract the parties’ own activists.

The process of internal debate within the parties hasbecome very weak. There have been efforts to coordinatebut when there is no open debate to generate the necessary

Protests that go nowhere energy for the movement, such coordination isn’tproductive. Even the NC and the UML have not thrashedout their differences. Every time the parties bring out newprotest programs, it appears to be a rehashed version ofthe same old things. If this is going to be a real movement,it shouldn’t limit itself to the parties. In a genuine people’smovement, protest programs are shaped spontaneously bythe people. In 1990, we witnessed how the movement greworganically out of the decay of the Panchayat. Today, itappears that the parties want to keep the situation undertheir control. They have been tightly regulating days,schedules, slogans and even the speeches. It is becomingincreasingly clear that the parties do not want to see theactive involvement of individuals in their protest. The roleof the parties has been restricted to simply set theschedules and carefully calibirating the level of protest. Ifthey control everything, the demonstrations will justremain street protests. That is exactly what is happeningnow and that is where things will stay.

of an imminent reshuffle in thecouncil of ministers.

Meanwhile, the army sentcommandos to Kabhre andSindhuli after getting intelligencereports that Prachanda was in thearea. Although the units lookedfor the Maoist leader everywhere,he appears to have slipped awayafter Maoists got wind ofincreased military activity. One ofthe units that was returning tothe capital after the operation wasambushed at Nepalthok on theSindhuli Highway on 7 July andtwo soldiers were injured.

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Eye for an eyeEditorial in Drishti, 12 July

The action and behaviour of stateauthorities prove that the countryhas been pushed back to the 16th

century where the rule of law wasnonexistent. Dictatorial behaviouris dominant. It is thegovernment’s responsibility tooversee the arrest andinterrogation of suspects butwhen it is involved in atrocioustreatment of civilians, we need torethink things. Security forcesdragged Rama of Jhapa out frominside her house and shot herdead in front of her familymembers. How is this differentfrom the Maoist atrocities thattook place recently in Kailaliwhen a policewoman and herchild were killed in cold blood?The state is the protector ofcitizens, it should not give anyexcuse to be compared to theMaoists. Rama’s murderer mustface justice otherwise it will showstate security as barbaric anduncivilised.

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Forced marchRajdhani, 9 July

Human rights and child welfaregroups have spoken out stronglyagainst the government forcingstudents to march on the streetson various anniversaries andceremonies. Often, the childrenhave to march under thescorching sun or in the rain andthere have been cases of childrenfainting from dehydration. Theysay such forced marches are aviolation of human rights. Theyhave asked government organs,schools and others not to usechildren to push their case on thestreets. Earlier, it used to bepolitical parties, now it is thegovernment that is forcingchildren to march on the streetsusing the excuse of one occasionor another.

PRAKASH MATHEMA

715 - 21 JULY 2005 #256FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Himal Khabarpatrika: How has thepast five months of the royal regimebeen?Dirgharaj Prasai: February First was aresult of the incompetence of thepolitical parties. Unfortunately, HisMajesty couldn’t find the right people.

Even this regime is incompetent, corrupt and in the grip of smugglersand that is why there is no national unity. The euphoria of the royaltakeover has now evaporated.

And you, a person who wanted the king to takeover!Raja au, desh bachau was a demand intended to balancenationalism, monarchism and parliamentary democracy. The peopleare sovereign; the king has to be their protector. The ball is now inthe king’s court, he has to create the condition to hand over power tothe people’s representatives. This regime is submerged in economicmismanagement and steeped in self-glorification, it will be disastrousif this regime stays for a moment longer.

Why do you think the political parties aren’t on board?The king doesn’t have people around him who want the parties onboard. Why should anyone try to agree with people who are intentjust on provocation? That is why the parties and the Maoists haven’tcome for negotiations. The people around the king want to push HisMajesty towards authoritarianism. The RCCC shouldn’t havecharacter assassinated Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who isthe most committed democrat. That doesn’t help the king.

Maybe you’re being critical because you didn’t get a position?I am speaking the truth because I am a patriot, I have to speakagainst those who are bent on destroying the monarchy. There is nogreater danger to the nation than having a monarchy that is not for thecountry.

“The euphoriahas evaporated”

Six years ago, DirgharajPrasai hit headlines by leadinga demonstration toNarayanhiti Palace shoutingthe famous slogan: “Raja au,desh bachau.” Today, Prasaisays: “It will be disastrous ifthis regime stays for amoment longer.”

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Himal Khabarpatrika,30 June - 15 July

KIRAN PANDAY

TRAVEL8

Double traverse in tDays 1, 2, 3 and 4.Fly Pokhara-Jomsom (2,710 m)and the next day reach Muktinath(3,760 m). Climb the dramaticDzong Dadaa (5,200 m) thattowers north of Muktinath. Toughgoing with no clear path to the topand great views towards UpperMustang. Next day ascendThorung La pass (5,416 m) andthen head east and down,overnighting in the dramaticsurroundings of Thorung Phedi.

Day 5.Down to Manang village (3,540 m)with my mind on the challenge ofcrossing back over the Annapurnamassif to Jomsom via Tilicho(lake). Accounts of this trip warnof difficult route finding andinaccurate maps.

Day 6.Not feeling too well but ‘the thingthat drives me’ starts to rumble. Ibuy a walking stick for thetreacherous scree slopes aheadand head for Khangsar village.

I find the keeper of TilichoBase Camp Lodge. He agrees toopen the lodge. He promises tofollow me out there and points outthe way—an improbable-lookingroute across some distant steepscree slopes. Beginning to feel

good as my engine engages.Climbing and climbing and takingin the amazing wild landscape ofsnow peaks, forests, whitewaterstreams and anticipating thechallenge ahead.

What was driving me on wasthe prospect of the beautiful wildlandscapes and the need to pushmy limits now and again. I am notsuicidal but like a challenge.“Never trek alone!”…“Take a guideas the route is arduous anddifficult to find”…“Only climb300 m a day over 3000 m altitude!”You can set aside this sensibleadvice if you know what you aredoing, are fit and the conditionsare favourable.

What a fantastic trail throughhuge scree slopes and along cliffsides. I linger taking in thewilderness atmosphere and theprecipitous drops as the lodgekeeper catches up with me. Wepass scarecrows designed to keepsnow leopards away.

Day 7.The next morning’s pull up to thelake is tough. There is 800 m oflung-bursting altitude to climb withmy rucksack feeling like it’s full ofboulders. I cross the rimand…what a sight…a hugeexpanse of azure watersurrounded by rock, snow and ice.

It is 11AM as I set off towardsthe other end of the lake. I take the

safe route the long way round theeastern side over two high passes.I am slowing down and have topush myself forward. Passing afew blue sheep I soon reach thefirst 5,240 m pass. The path thenpeters out and from here the goinggets really tough for the next,somewhat challenging, 24 hours.

I navigate along the side of amelting glacier to the EasternPass (5,340 m). Terrific views ofthe lake framed by a cliff-sidedgully.

At 4.15 PM I lift myself up andset off towards Meso Kanta La(5,121 m) along the large lateralmoraines. I make good progressbut keep losing the path as I followthe suggested route from theInternet round the north of a shark-toothed peak. I plod on at a pace ofabout 30 steps and then a minute’srest.

At 6PM I reach the saddle andlook into the valley leadingtowards Jomsom. The gustingwind and the late hour stop mefrom lingering. The next part issupposed to be pretty treacherousand so I quickly head down what isthe wrong steep scree andboulder-filled gully. A few largestones whiz past. I keep to theside thankful for my 25-rupee stickto negotiate the patches of steepsnow and ice.

I feel relief from the drop inaltitude (4,700 m). Now it is a

Diary of a rainshadow trek aSTEPHEN J KEELING

15 - 21 JULY 2005 #256 9

the trans-Himalayaquestion of finding the route. Ican’t make sense of the map andam convinced it is wrong.Anyway, I am heading in roughlythe right direction and losingaltitude but the indistinct tracksshow no human footprints. I havein my mind the need to avoid therisky prospect of stumbling intothe army’s high-altitude warfaretraining camp below Nilgiri in thehalf light.

Heading further northwestand down I reach the treeline. Ikeep going by the light of the halfmoon and at 8PM, stop at a levelpatch of dusty ground and spreadmy sleeping bag out for the night.

Day 8.I don’t get much sleep worrying

about a leopard leaping on me.Somehow feel quite rested as I setoff at 5.30 AM the next morning. Ihead down into a ravineclambering through wild forest.

Below I try to work my waydownstream but soon find my waybarred by a waterfall with no wayaround. I then head back upstreamand pass what looks like a freshbear footprint on a boulder. I thentry to climb out the opposite sideup some slatey scree and cliffsthinking that if I come across abear’s den with cubs I’ll be agoner.

Near the top it gets too riskyand I painstakingly pick my wayback down. Finally I manage toclamber up the northeast side ofthe ravine reaching more level

ground at about 11AM with greatrelief. After crossing anotherravine I reach a good path and afew hours later, pace into Jomsomfeeling relieved and quiteexhilarated but puzzled about myroute-finding difficulties.

The next morning sitting inPokhara airport waiting for theconnection to Kathmandu I takeanother look at the map. I laughout loud as it suddenly makessense. I pick out the meanderingroute across the contours I hadtaken the day before and realisethat the Internet route photo waswrong and had sent me to thewrong side of the shark toothpeak. Next time I’m going for abeach holiday in Thailand,although the time after that I’ll beback in the hills.

across Thorung and Tilicho

RouteThe first part of the route followsthe Annapurna Circuit in aclockwise direction from Jomsomto Manang village. Most people dothe circuit anti-clockwise partly toavoid having to climb the ThorungLa pass from the Muktinath side asit involves 1,700 m of ascent.

Quite a number of trekkersreach Tilicho from Manang as anacclimatisation trip with at TilichoBase Camp Lodge on the way. Veryfew make the trip over to Jomsomfrom Tilicho and it does help if youknow the right way!

PICS: STEPHEN J KEELING

10 REVIEW

epal’s slide began with the beginningof the insurgency 10 years ago and itwas after the royal massacre of 1 June

2001 that things really started hurtling outof control.

The person with a ringside seat to allthis is Narayan Wagle, the journalist whorose up the ranks to become the chief editorof Kantipur. He taught himself Englishspending days at the British Council whilethe People’s Movement protests raged onthe streets outside.

Unlike most of his laid-back peers,Narayan was never satisfied with reporting

just onthecorridorsofpower

in the capital. He’d rather be trekking toremote corners of the country bringingstories of neglect and apathy to the notice ofa government in faraway Kathmandu.

It helped that Narayan loved to traveland had a spirit of adventure instilled in himby his doting father. Growing up in Tanahu,Narayan was so fond of taking high dives toswim in the river that after he nearlydrowned twice, his parents sold off theirriverside property and moved to a farm upin the mountains just to take their son awayfrom danger.

It was an idyllic home and Narayan hasa gleam in his eye as he describes the mudand tile house at the edge of arhododendron forest, terrace fields, a clearbrook flowing through it and across thevalley, the icy ramparts of the Annapurnas.Even as a child, he remembers theexcitement of climbing hills to see what wason the other side. His most vivid memoriesare of holding his father’s hand as theywalked across the mountains to attendmelas several days away.

Narayan Wagle’s bylines will befamiliar to the readers of Kantipur over thepast 10 years and the datelines wereusually of the most farflung places: Mugu,Bajura, Bajhang. As a fellow editor, I

empathise with Narayan’s feeling ofinadequacy about journalism’s capacity toprovide a true picture of our nation’strauma.

We wrestle with reportages, columns,editorials but somehow what isn’t gettingthrough is the brutalisation of society byconflict. Nepal’s social fabric is being tornapart and all we are doing is reporting itwith the journalism of detachment. So,Narayan has taken the courageous step ofchoosing the medium of a novel to get thereal story across.

In all countries in the throes of a messyconflict, facts are often more dramatic thanfiction. As journalists in Nepal, we feel thatevery story of a landmine killing children,abduction of students, young womendisappeared by security forces is a heart-rending family tragedy. Unfortunately, by thetime the deaths are reported the manner oftheir reporting turns them into statistics. Werarely see, hear or share the pain andpersonal loss of someone’s loved one.

Narayan Wagle’s first novel, PalpasaCafé, is a fictionalised account of someactual events, the lives and deaths ofordinary Nepalis caught in the vice of war.In the first chapter, Narayan makes a cameoas himself, the editor of a paper inKathmandu who hears of the abduction of afriend by soldiers.

That much is fact but in the next chapterNarayan turns his disappeared friend intoan imaginary artist named Drishya and therest of the book is his story told in theartist’s own voice. The author admits thatmuch of what Drishya goes through aresemi-autobiographical.

In the first chapter, Narayan Wagle theauthor and protagonist gives us a hint aboutwhy he is writing the book. As he takesdictation from a district reporter aboutanother firefight in the mountains, he thinks:“Nothing new here. Every day it is thesame. Tomorrow’s paper will be the sameas this morning’s. The same stories of anarmy patrol being ambushed, suspected spyexecuted by Maoists, a bomb going off

somewhere. We are just chroniclers ofcarnage.”

The storyline weaves the fragile andundeclared love between Drishya andPalpasa, a first-generation American Nepaliwho has returned to the land of her parentsafter being unable to take post-9/11 racism,into the artist’s reunion with his schoolfriend, Siddhartha, who is now a guerrilla.Siddhartha comes to Kathmandu in theaftermath of the royal massacre to seekshelter in Drishya’s house, the two argueover whether the goals of revolution justifythe means.

“How can you ever justify violence?”Drishya asks.

Siddhartha replies: “Without destroyingyou can’t build anew.”

“But people are dying,” Drishya pleads.“The people don’t need peace, they

need justice,” says his Maoist friend, “Ifthere is justice there will be peace.”

“But you are carrying out injustices inthe name of justice,” says Drishya one lasttime but it is clear the two can’t even agreeto disagree.

Drishya travels to his home village tomeet Siddhartha and finds it torn apart bywar. They are all there in these pages: theatrocities, executions, disappearances andpeople caught in the crossfire that we read

about every day in the newspapers. Butbecause they happen to characters we nowknow intimately the incidents seem morereal than the factual headlines.

That is the power of fiction. Not only isthis novel as fresh as an open wound, theauthor’s imagination makes Nepal’s realunfolding tragedy come alive with rawurgency. The plot is rendered in non-linearstyle that is experimental in the world ofNepali fiction. Wagle’s Nepali is simple,colloquial and his voice is genuine andsincere. Drishya comes across sometimesas being unnecessarily abrasive, butPalpasa is an authentic diaspora daughtercaught between love for her motherland andalienation from her adopted home.

Narayan Wagle’s book can be called ananti-war novel. It drags us to the edge andforces us to peer down at the abyss below.It is being released this weekend and isgoing to be talked about for a long time.

Fiction morereal than factNarayan Wagle’s first novel drags us to the edge

and forces us to peer down at the abyss below

Palpasa Caféby Narayan Wagle245 pagesPublication Nepalaya, 2005(in Nepali)Hard cover Rs 450,Soft cover Rs 350.

Visit www.nepalitimes.com//archive.htmand vote for your favourite

Nepali Timesarticle from the last five years.

Articles that get the most votes will befeatured in our fifthanniversary specialissue on 29 July.

Big 5

N

BOOKKunda Dixit KIRAN PANDAY

15 - 21 JULY 2005 #256

1115 - 21 JULY 2005 #256

espite recent officialstatements about risingaverage living standards,

grinding poverty and the conflict,the effects of junk food in citieshave made undernourishmentand malnutrition a seriousnational epidemic.

Protein-energy malnutritionaffects 63 percent of Nepalichildren which means they don’tget enough food to ensure normalphysical and mentaldevelopment. More than half ofNepali children are thereforephysically stunted, and althoughthis is reversible if the childstarts eating enough after age two,they may suffer learningdisabilities as well ifundernourishment persists .

Hunger increases theirsusceptibility to diarrhoea,measles and acute respiratoryinfection. Diarrhoeal dehydration

alone causes an estimated 30,000child deaths every year asundernourished children areweaker and more likely to bebrought down by the viciousspiral of disease andmalnutrition. Combined withworms, undernourishment isseen by many as Nepal’s primaryhealth concern for children.

“Global studies have shownthat malnutrition is anunderlying factor in 55 percent ofall child deaths. Since the ratesof malnutrition are very high inNepal—South Asia is the worstin the world, worse than Africa—we can assume that the situationis similar or worse,” saysUNICEF’s nutrition expert, POBlomquist.

Malnutrition hits manyNepali children even before theyare born because their mothersdon’t have adequate food whilepregnant. Between 30-50 percentof Nepali children are born

NATION

Underfed and underfundedunderweight, below 2.5 kg.

The need to combatundernourishment doesn’t get asmuch attention from donors orthe government as it deserves.Protein-energy malnutrition,they say is much more seriousthan Vitamin A, iron or iodinedeficiency. Surveys have shownit is responsible for 70 percent ofchild deaths through relatedillnesses.“Malnutrition doesn’tget priority because it doesn’tyield visible and immediateresults,” explains Dilli RamanAdhikari of the government’sChild Health Division.

“The government has tointroduce more nutrition wardsand programs to specifically dealwith malnourished children,”says Som Paneru of NepaliYouth Opportunity Foundation(NYOF), which runs nutritionrehabilitation centres inKathmandu, Mechi and Bheri.

“Usually, sick children aredischarged from hospitals afterhaving had other diseases treatedbut their malnourishmentremains neglected,” says Paneru,“this causes relapse and leads toother diseases and often death.”

Child health experts havepushed for school feedingprograms and it wasimplemented with donorsupport in coordination withthe Health, Education andAgriculture Ministries. But itwas phased out in 1990 due tolack of coordination. Nepal’starget to reduce malnutrition byhalf by 2015 is therefore notgoing to be met.

A UNICEF report says thateven with 6.2 percent of annualreduction of malnutrition, itwill take another 26 years.

Junk food malnutritionLakpa Sherpa’s staple diet while growing up in Solu Khumbu was instant noodles.By age 13, she was so addicted to it that she had lost all appetite for regular meals.Her mother didn’t detect Lakpa’s deteriorating health because she had four otherchildren to look after. Last month, Lakpa collapsed from severe stomach pain andheadaches. She had become weak and weighed barely 19 kg. She was flown toKathmandu for treatment. Her condition has improved steadily afterwards at theNutrition Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) which has helped over 1,000 malnourishedchildren.

“The problem is not just poverty and ignorance but neglect by mothers especiallythose who bear more than five children,” says nutritionist Manosa Bhattarai. Lakpasuffered protein-energy malnutrition, a chronic form of undernourishment, indicated bystunting and underweight. It is usually the result of lack of food but can also becaused by the wrong kind of food, as in Lakpa’s case. Lakpa is lucky to havesurvived because her family could afford to fly her to Kathmandu. Many other Nepalichildren aren’t so lucky.

Seventy percent of child deaths in Nepal are indirectly a result of malnutrition

A hungry warNutrition experts are concerned that the conflict has worsened the state ofchild malnutrition. “The constant migration and displacement of villagers hasmade the problem even worse because it is the children whose food habits wehave to change once they arrive in the cities,” says Pradeep Silwal of WorldVision International Nepal which has been working in several food deficitdistricts and villages with nutrition projects. Silwal adds that the parents won’tbe able to afford green vegetables or enough rice, so the children are fed dryand non-nutritious food lacking in proteins.

In Maoist-affected areas like Kalikot, Jumla and Dailekh a recent securityban on transport of food items, clothing and shoes is sure to make thesituation worse. In Diktel and Khotang in the east, a Maoist ban ontransporting food items is causing a severe food shortage. Even inKathmandu, the internally displaced are under nourished.

“Scarcity of food due to constant road blockades cause severe crises,especially in deficit areas,” says World Visions’s Indra Baral. This is alreadyevident in Humla which has the highest hunger rate in Nepal, with 90 percentof the children suffering chronic malnutrition.

The problem is getting worse because whatever nutrition projects thatremained are gradually phasing out as more organisations shift towardsconflict-related humanitarian and relief work.

NARESH NEWAR

D

NARESH NEWAR

350.

12 15 - 21 JULY 2005 #256INTERNATIONAL

t was in the autumn of 1980, at the height ofwhat was known as the Iranian Hostage Crisis,when over 50 Americans had been taken in by

Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini’s radical followersin Teheran.

In the US, Jimmy Carter was in deep troublein the last days of his presidency and anti-Iranhysteria was at its height. I was at the CriminalCourt of King’s County (Brooklyn), New YorkCity, as a journalism student covering a murdertrial. I asked a question of the prosecution bench,and the government’s counsel turned around andlashed out, “Where’re you from, Iran?” He

pronouncedit ‘eye-ran’,just as in alater era

George W Bush would say ‘Sad-damn’. There wasno reporting for me that day in Brooklyn.

The gentleman was of course making thecharacteristic mistake of the ugly insularAmerican who can be found even in ultra-cosmopolitan New York: that anyone who iswhite is right, all blacks are former slaves andbrown people forever the unreconstructed alien.The worldview of that particular prosecutor hasdoubtless progressed since the Iran hostage-taking, even as the national ire has been divertedfrom the Ayatollah to Osama, with a briefdiversion at Sad-damn.

Without doubt, following the tide of brownimmigration to the United States since the 1970sfrom Latin America, Southasia and West Asia,Americans are today better educated as to thenature and content of world humanity. But atmoments of crisis, the deeply held prejudiceswill boil to the surface. The 9/11 attacks weresuch a crisis, and afterwards, people withMuslim names and/or brown skin tone becamethe targets of venom.

The inability of the occidental to distinguishOsama bin Laden’s headgear from the Sikh’sturban made life unbearable for a while forsardars all over, and among the first to bemurdered by vigilantes in the US after the WorldTrade Centre attack was a Sikh in Arizona for his‘Middle Eastern appearance’.

The way in which ‘Islamic radicals’ are seenin the west will have changed subtly with theLondon attacks of last week, and there will be asimultaneous shift in how all Southasians areperceived outside the subcontinent. The 9/11attacks were all carried out by young Arab men,mostly from Saudi Arabia. The only link toSouthasia then was through Osama’s network,

which extended to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Inthe case of the attacks on the London trains andbus, all suspects thus far are of ‘Pakistani’ancestry.

Granted, a Great Britain which has seensuch overwhelming brown migration since halfa century–enough to change the composition ofBritish society–is vastly different fromexclusivist America. As a result, there will bemuch more introspection in London and less ofa blame-the-world syndrome evident.

Nevertheless, the discovery of youngSouthasian Britons as the perpetrators of theterror attacks on Londoners will once againbring to the fore their identification as ‘Islamicterrorists’ rather than ‘terrorists’. Nor will thereaction be limited to brown-skinned peoplewho are Muslim. For who is to distinguish aPakistani from an Indian, a Southasian Sunnifrom a Southasian Shia, a Sindhi from aPunjabi, a Bangladeshi from a Gujarati?

Indeed, one must consider the distance orproximity between a young Muslim of‘Pakistani’ ancestry living in Leeds and a youngMuslim of ‘Indian’ ancestry living in the sametown? We may thus witness a strange situationin which an attack on London’s publictransport system forces Southasians to considertheir own shared natural and cultural heritage–from the colour of their skin (olive to brown) totheir accents. General Musharraf’s lilt is not thatdifferent from that of Lal Krishna Advani’s, andnow the two even appreciate the same Quaid-e-Azam.

While there are those Southasians of theHimalayan rimland who are considered‘Mongoloid’ and ‘Australoid’, the majority ofSouthasians are brown ‘Caucasoids’ who areeasily mistaken for one another the world over.

While Southasians have suffered acts ofterror often enough, this is the first high profileattack in a western capital by radicals ofSouthasian descent. It is certain that theworldliness of London, the political clout ofthe Southasian community in Great Britain, aswell as the deeper links between the Europeanisland and the subcontinent will not deliverthe kind of primitive reaction we saw after 9/11.But there will be a subtle shift in the way thatwe are perceived and it will once again forceSouthasians outside Southasia, at least, toconsider each other as more similar thandissimilar. Nationalisms cannot get us too far inother hemispheres, howsoever we may treat eachother here.

Brown man’s burden

SOUTHASIA BEATKanak Mani Dixit

Who is to distinguish between a young Muslimof ‘Pakistani’ ancestry and a young Muslim of‘Indian’ ancestry both living in Leeds?

I

1315 - 21 JULY 2005 #256SPORTS

TEE BREAKDeepak Acharya

onsidering how muchNepalis are shooting eachother lately, you’d expect

shooting as a sport to be muchmore popular than it is.

Shooting and swimming aretwo compulsory sports in theOlympics but shooting neverreceived much recognition here.Still, Kishore Karki, president ofthe Nepal Shooting Associationsays, “Shooting has come a longway and now we are trying to getnew equipment to promote itfurther within the country.”

It was recognised as anofficial sport only after 1980 butit has come to the fore in thepast two years after Nepalisharpshooters got experience atinternational tournaments.

There is evidence of increasedinterest. The participation ofboth male and female players inthis sport is high and the Nepaliteam also managed to bag thebronze medal in the 8th SAFgames. National player andrunner-up in the recent BirthdayCup Tournament, Sangeeta Karkisays, “We want to see shootingmade more professional withbetter equipment.”

Training and the fact that the

only professional shooting rangein Nepal is in Kathmandu haslimited accessibility. Then thereis the additional problem ofcostly equipment.

Most of our national levelshooters, so far, come from eitherpolice or army backgrounds. Thetop two female shooters,Saraswati Baniya and SangitaKarki, winner and runner-up inthe air pistol category of theBirthday Cup, are both from thepolice. But Asim Yadav, whowon the Best Air Rifle in theBirthday Cup Open ShootingCompetition is a civilian gunenthusiast.

“I come from the tarai and themen in my family have alwaysbeen interested in shooting, theyused to go hunting but I’ve likedit as a sport,” says Yadav.Saraswati Baniya got interestedafter she joined the police force.“Shooting is a part of my job, Ienjoy it but can understand howit would be difficult for acivilian to take it up,” she toldus. And even though she is fromthe police she says she doesn’tget enough time to practice.“Regular intensive practice onlyhappens right before atournament, which is notenough,” she adds.

A trigger happy sportWith a new shooting range, new equipment, new tournamentsNepali shooters may soon be bagging medals

AARTI BASNYAT Says Karki, “It does need moreexposure but we have to becareful about the people we selectto train or accept membershipfrom because of the country’svolatile situation.” The sport isalready being promoted inschools and colleges with aninter-college tournament in thepipeline.

The Nepal ShootingAssociation is on the look out fornew players and is increasing theparticipation of schools andcolleges. “We are not only lookingfor younger and newer players tosend to tournaments but alsoencouraging the sport by makingit more accessible to thoseinterested,” says Karki.

Shooting is not as easy as itlooks. It needs a lot of focus andconcentration, says Yadav,adding: “It helps me stay fitbecause it requires both physicaland mental fitness. Withoutclarity of the mind, taking a shotcan be very difficult.”

Now, with the establishmentof the shooting range at BirendraInternational Convention Centre,new equipment on the way, newtournaments in the pipeline anda new committee in place, Nepalshould be earning shootingmedals soon.

C

KIRAN PANDAY

ver watched weekend golfers sweep their drives successfullyoff the tee, then fluff their fairway woods no matter how hardthey try? Well, they have the right key but don’t know when to

use it again.In today’s game where courses are getting longer, it’s imperative

to be able to hit fairway woods well. It’s also a lot easier to hit afairway wood than a long iron. Not having these shots in yourarmoury will inevitably leave you short of the green on any long hole,giving but a slender chance of making par. So why aren’t those three

and five wood fairway shotsgetting properly airborne?

Generally, woods aredesigned to hit the ball almost onthe upswing. In fact, it’s just the

opposite of how irons have been designed (to hit the ball on thedownswing). The driver is the largest and longest of the woods and ismost effective if used to hit the ball on the upswing. Thus, the longtees are used to lift the ball up above the ground. Fairway woods arealso designed to be used in such a manner. The action is to almostsweep the ball with a shallower or more horizontal angle of approachthan the irons.

Here are some tips to get you started:

The first step is to make sure you have the ball correctlypositioned in your stance, somewhere opposite the inside of theforward heel. If the ball position is too close to the centre youtendency to hit it downward and the effectiveness of the club isreduced tremendously.

Next, work with practice swings without a ball until you canconsistently sweep the grass in the location opposite the inside ofyour forward heel as opposed to taking a divot or swinging in the airabove the grass. Relax your arms and hands and feel the clubswinging more freely, it helps rather than gripping with your handsand trying to force the club to swing faster.

With your practice swings, get to the point where you can sweepthe grass for a noticeable distance (let’s say three to six inches)rather than at just one small point where the club bounces off theground. You can usually see the grass blades move when you sweepthrough or you might even leave a path through the grass that you cansee after your swings.

Once you feel comfortable with practice swings, stay focused onthis ‘sweeping of the grass’ when you swing through the ball. Manygolfers change their focus at this point and try to hit the ball instead.This usually results in a different swing (with no sweeping) and moreproblems.

Stay focused on the sight, sound and feeling of sweeping thegrass through the ball and the quality and consistency of your contactwith fairway woods will improve. The bottom line is: with the lesslofted and longer length clubs, you should not hit the ball on thedownswing, sweep through it with a shallow angle of attack instead.

Practice the above drills and you’ll soon find your entire range offairway wood shots getting airborne towards the target. Once you canlaunch the ball further with your fairway woods, don’t be surprised tofind yourself scoring lower.

Deepak Acharya is a golf instructor and Golf Director atGokarna Forest Golf Resort & Spa, Kathmandu.

prodeepak@hotmail.com

Sweeping throughImprove your swing and get the ball flying

E

14 15 - 21 JULY 2005 #256CITY

ABOUT TOWN

KATHMANDU AIR QUALITY

KATHMANDU VALLEY

by MAUSAM BEEDNEPALI WEATHER

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue

29-19 28-18 27-17 28-18 29-19

Better late than never, that is thefeeling among paddy farmers inKathmandu Valley who have finallyplanted rice one month late. CentralNepal got its first real monsoon rainsthis week. Ironically, it was astronger-than-usual circulation of theArabian Sea branch of the monsoonthat kept the Bay winds at bay. Now,the Bay of Bengal sector is activeagain and as this satell ite imagetaken on Thursday morning shows,a heavy mass of rain-bearing cloudsis headed towards central Nepal. Thepressure patterns are also favourableand the rains should be dumped rightacross the midhills this weekend withthe chance that July precipitationmay be normal after all.

Although the pollution levels along busy streets such as Putali Sadak are stillabove national standards on most days, the air in residential areas, suburban andrural areas of the Valley is now fairly good, thanks to the monsoon rains washingdown the pollutants. The most harmful are dust particles below 10 microns indiameter which lodges themselves deep within human lungs. Even the air in busystreets is breathable on days when it rains heavily. Expect this phase with clean airto last for a couple of more months before the dust starts kicking in again.

FESTIVAL AND EXHIBITIONSBrief Encounters Photos by Holly Holzer at Siddhartha Art Gallery,until 30 July, proceeds go to Kathmandu Valley PreservationTrust. 4218048Art Walk Traditional artworks at Hotel Yak and Yeti. 4248999

EVENTSReggie Party Speed dating at 1905, Kantipath, on 15 July, 7PMwith DJ session. 4225272Weekend Retreat with teachings by Ivy van Eer, 16-17 July,10AM-4PM at HBMC, Thamel. 4414843Guru Purnima 21 July.Bheda Ko Oon Jasto at Jai Nepal on 21 July, 9AM in aid ofKantipur City College’s Educational Tour 2005. 4430239Photography Workshop Seven days with Nepal’s experts, 21 Julyat The Bakery Cafe, Sundhara, 7AM-9AM. 4289818Feel the Drizzle Monsoon mela at Hotel Yak and Yeti on 30 July,10AM-8PM, free entrance. 9851043268Call for entries Film South Asia ’05, submission deadline 31 July.www.himalassociation.org/fsaGod Dance of Kathmandu Valley Tuesdays at Hotel Vajra, 7PM.4271545Intercultural Exchange Program Every Wednesday at GoetheZentrum, Thapathali, 4.15 PM. 4250871Tai Chi Demonstration and meditation at Swayambhu. 4256618Fun in the Sun at Club Sundhara, Hotel Shangri-la. 4412999Art workshop for kids at Buddha Gallery. 4441689Rugby Practice Saturdays. 4435939, citygymktm@hotmail.comSanibar Mela Saturdays at Bakery Café, Dharara, 2PM andChuchepati, Boudha, 3PM.

MUSICInterpretations of JS Bach’sSuites for Solo Cello by cellistFrank Bernède at Darbar Hall,Hotel Yak and Yeti, 6.30 PM-8PMon 15 July Rs 500. 4241163Fridays Best of U2 and more atMoksh, 8PM, Rs 150. 5526212Shades of Blue Tuesdays atMoksh, Pulchok, 7.30 PM.5526212JCS Trio Saturdays, 8PM at 1905, Kantipath, free entrance.The Duo Live at the Jazz Bar, Hotel Shangrila, Lajimpat.The Good Time Blues Band at Rum Doodle, 7PM. 4701208Ladies Nights Wednesdays at Jatra, Thamel. 4256622Fusion Mondays at Jalan Jalan Restaurant, 7PM. 4410438Jazz at Upstairs, Lajimpat, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8PM.

FOODSummer Special Cocktails this July at Rum Doodle. 4443208Culinary Fare of Game Food at Hyatt Regency, Boudha. 4491234The Chimney Signature dishes at Hotel Yak and Yeti. 4248999Mango Masti Tempting tropical treats and International BuffetLunch at Soaltee Crowne Plaza. 4273999Daily Delite Lunch at Hotel Shangri-La, Lajimpat. 4412999Crosskitchen, Lajimpat, European and Indian cuisine. 9851083806Boire and Manger at Vineyard, Baber Mahal Revisited.Bawarchi The Restro Bar for Nawabi cuisine at Lajimpat. 4436673BBQ Lunch at Le Meridien, Gokarna Forest Golf Resort. 4445550Barbeque lunch Saturdays at Club Himalaya, Nagarkot. 6680080Special Combo Burmese and Thai Menu at 1905, Kantipath.Krishnarpan Nepali restaurant at Dwarika’s Hotel. 4479488Delicacies Pastas at Roadhouse Café, Jawalakhel. 5521755Earth Watch Restaurant at Park Village, dine with nature. 4375280Café Bahal Newari cuisine at Kathmandu Guest House. 4700632The Beer Garden at Godavari Village Resort. 5560675The Tharu Kitchen at Jungle Base Camp.Junglebasecamp@yahoo.com

GETAWAYSSpa Seasonal rates valid till 21 October at Le Meridien. 4451212Go Karting at Tiger Karts, special monsoon offer. 4361500Overnight Stay Breakfast and swimming for Rs 999 per person atGodavari Village Resort. 5560675, 5560775Malaysia Dream Holidays Introductory offers for first four flightsof Air Nepal International to Kuala Lumpur. 2012345Star Cruises Available in Nepal. 2012345,starcruises_marco@polo.com.npFun Free Offer at Shangri-la Village, Pokhara. 4435742Jungle Base Camp Lodge, Bardia, special package and prices.junglebasecamp@yahoo.comShivapuri Heights Cottage Best time to be in Shivapuri.steve@escape2nepal.comSpecial Summer Package at Tiger Mountain Tharu Lodge.4361500, pragya@tigermountain.com

Hazardous >425

Harmful 351 to 425

Unhealthy 121 to 350

O k 61 to 120

G o o d < 60

Putalisadak Patan H Thamel Kirtipur Bhaktapur Matsyagaun

3-9 July 2005 in micrograms per cubic meter.Source: www.mope.gov.np

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Call 4442220 for show timings www.jainepal.com

Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father is about to get his kids for a rare weekend visit. Soonafter his ex-wife (Miranda Otto) and her new husband drop off teenageson Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and young daughter Rachel (DakotaFanning), a strange and powerful lightning storm strikes. Momentslater, at an intersection near his house, Ray witnesses anextraordinary event that will change their lives forever. A toweringthree-legged war machine emerges from deep beneath the earth andbefore anyone can react, incinerates everything in sight. An ordinaryday suddenly becomes the most extraordinary event of their lives—the first strike in a catastrophic alien attack on earth.

KATHMANDU

1515 - 21 JULY 2005 #256

DANCING IN THE RAIN: A cultural group performing a traditionaldance was caught in a monsoon downpour as it made its way to theinauguration of the National Film Festival at BICC on Monday.

KIRAN PANDAY

KUMAR SHRESTHA/ NEPALNEWS.COM

FRONTLINE REPORTERS: Nine journalists from the districts came toKathmandu to share experiences in conflict reporting this week at aseminar organised by Himal Association. (From l-r, back row) S Khanal,Sankhuwasabha, K Tamang, Chitwan, T Pandey, Kalikot, M Poudyal,Surkhet, D Chaudhary, Jajarkot. (Front row) N Karki, Pokhara, JB PunMagar, Butwal, BK Yadav, Janakpur, A Sunar, Dailekh.

THAT WAY: COAS Gen Pyar Jung Thapa on his way to lay thefoundation stone of the rehabilitation centre for wounded soldiers beingconstructed at Bhandarkhal Chhauni on Sunday.

F

TIGER, TIGER BURNING BRIGHT: The premiere of Satya MohanJoshi’s play Bagh Bhairab being performed by Aarohaan Theatre groupat Gurukul on Monday.

KIRAN PANDAY

ANTI-BANNERS: Student activists of the eight-party student unionalliance tear down a banner felicitating the king on his birthday duringa protest on Sunday at Baneswor.

KIRAN PANDAY

MIN BAJRACHARYA

Fatima the healerChinese acupuncture. Theknowledge of both has enabledher to help patients heal naturallywithout side effects. “People thinkacupuncture is a painkiller but inChinese medicine, we say it islike a tree, we check both theinside and the outside. It is notabout killing pain but long-termhealing,” she says.

“I’ve always had foreignpatients but Nepalis have slowlyopened up to acupuncture,” addsFatima, “Now, even pani-puri

atima Younoos is 62 but sheis still poking needles intofour dozen patients a day.

This tireless acupuncturist hassteadily gained a reputation as ahealer and her clinic, Hua Tho, iscrowded with patients. “This isnot my business but my life,”says Fatima who runs the centrewith her son, Jamal Younoos, amedical doctor.

Part-Nepali and part-Chinese, Fatima has studiedTibetan herbal medicine whichconcentrates on enhancingspiritual goodness, and

wallas come here.” But unlikeairfares within Nepal, foreignersand Nepalis both pay the same fortreatment. Explains Fatima: “Thefirst thing you learn in Chineseacupuncture class is to treat allpatients equally.”

There are 12 different lines inthe body according to Chineseacupuncture and these help find theproblem and its cure, which involveskilful and specific use of needles.“The cure for a disease differs fromperson to person according to itsorigin. It’s like road traffic, youneed to check the jam, open up theclog and then make the systemstronger. Eighty to 90 percent ofthe people I have treated have gotbetter,” she adds.

Fatima says she has neverstopped learning. And everyone isamazed at her energy andyouthfulness. “The answer issimple: I love my work and it keepsme in shape,” she says, “I learn alot from each patient, they are myreal teachers.” Abha Eli Phoboo

Hua Tho Chinese Acupunctureand Healing Centre. 01-4416243

KIRAN PANDAY

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CDO Regd No. 194/056/57 Lalitpur, Central Region Postal Regd. No. 04/058/59

15 - 21 JULY 2005 #25616

UNDER MY HATKunda Dixit

his country is changing so fast, things are in such a state of flux,there is so much uncertainty about what is around the bend that onecan’t really blame the ordinary man on the street for feeling a little

confused with Kathmandu’s rapidly changing traffic rules.What’s illegal today (for example making an unauthorised U-turn at

Darbar Marg) could suddenly and without warning be legal betweenmidnight and two in the morning, but very well revert back to being illegalagain from the crack of dawn onwards. That is why as responsibledrivers we all need to be alert about the rules and regulations and keep

abreast of changes so we knowwhen we can break them withoutgetting caught. And we in FM radiofeel it is part of our public servicemandate to issue bulletins every 15

minutes to apprise law-abiding drivers of the latest changes in trafficrules. So, to drive everyone around the bend, here is the 9.45 PM TrafficRules Bulletin for Thursday:1. After officially banning motorcycle pillion riders on Friday morning,and then immediately unbanning the ban, followed by a weekend duringwhich it was both banned and not banned, traffic police has finallydecided to end the confusion once and for all to categorically state thatpillion riding is in fact not banned but if you are caught riding tandem on amotorbike you are liable to have your basic human rights violated on thespot. The head of traffic police has been quoted as saying that it is just a“humble suggestion” that citizens not ride two to a bike, just like all theother traffic rules in this country such as not driving on the right (wrong)side of the road. So, to recap: two people on a bike is not allowed butthree, four or even five to a bike is ok.2. Compared to pillion riding, the rules on helmets are simpler and muchmore straight forward but we’ll repeat them here anyway just so there isno ambiguity. A motorcyclist is allowed to wear a helmet provided it has aclear visor but if he has a shaded visor he isn’t allowed to wear a helmeteven if his pillion passenger is wearing a helmet with or without a visorand regardless of whether it is shaded or clear. Everything understood sofar? Right. To continue: however, if the pillion passenger who shouldn’tbe there in the first place isn’t wearing a helmet with a visor and the childsitting on the fuel tank is wearing a fancy hat and pink plasticsunglasses, then the driver is allowed to wear a visor provided he’s notwearing a helmet. Terrorists are not allowed to ride pillion and, but if theyinsist, should refrain from wearing helmets so they can be easilyrecognised at checkpoints. People wearing turbans, heads of state andgovernment and security personnel can do whatever they like.3. The municipality is building another half-dozen overhead bridges inKathmandu and Patan. These are actually billboard stands and not forpedestrians who should continue to try their level best to cross the roadat streetlevel.4. The Pulchok Road is closed for vacuuming at rush hour every day inorder to cause maximum inconvenience to commuters. Says a RoadsDepartment engineer: “If we did the resealing at night no one would knowwe were doing our job repairing roads.”5. And now the question you’ve all been meaning to ask: What is thestatus of the ban on using mobiles while driving? Answer: Motorcyclistscan use prepaid mobiles at any time but pillion riders can only receivefree postpaid mobile calls for pro-monarchy phone calls provided theyare wearing seatbelts and no helmets with shaded visors.

Fine print: These traffic rules can change without warning, so stay tuned for the nextbulletin in 15 minutes.

Pillion riders not wearinghelmets are now allowedto use pre-paid mobiles

T