The smarter entertainment Weekly

Every Thursday issue 224 Rs 40
12 June 2014 22 h]i& 2071
The Smarter
Entertainment Weekly
Summer
Stirrings
Nothing feels better than a chilled
cocktail glass in a hot summer sun.
Get ready for exciting days ahead!
!
Newsfeed
k ckstart
Top 3 Events
1
Till date, no other Nepali writer has found acclaimed
like Samrat Upadhyay, the writer of “Arresting God in
Kathmandu”. The professor at Indiana University is
currently in town for a creative writing workshop, which
follows with an open lecture on 7 June. The value of
workshops like this is in the fact that they create a space
for the literarily inclined to come together in the practice
of the craft, and find encouragement and nourishment for
their literary ambitions,” says Prawin Adhikari ( author of
the Vanishing Act), “So the sole motive of this lecture is to
encourage young writers by giving them the opportunity of
interacting with seasoned practitioners of the craft.”
Date: 7 June (Saturday), Time: 10:00 am to 12: 00 pm
Venue: Thames College, Old Baneshwor
Price: Free entrance (participants accepted on a first-come-first serve
basis)
#metadata
Subash Thebe, artist-in-residence at the Kathmandu
Contemporary Arts Centre, has put together a new
exhibition at Siddhartha Art Gallery. Titled #metadata, the
paintings reflect the artist’s latest theme i.e. the observation
and criticism of western mainstream media, along with
a few gestural illustrations that were inspired by music.
Thebe works on canvas, steel, mirror, and readymade
frames. The exhibition also includes video installations.
Date: 6 June-19 June
Venue: Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Revisited
2
Guillaume Blanc (Jazz Violinist)
There aren’t many jazz violinists and Guillaume Blanc is
certainly one of the best. In his project Electric Suites, the
musicians aim to sound like machines and thus have been
recreating the sound and the language of rhythm boxes and
synthesizers using classical instruments (violin, viola). A
project that is situated somewhere between tradition and
innovation, Electric Suites draws inspiration from Eastern
European folk, beat, jazz, and classical music, somehow
combining them all to create a sound of their own.
Date: 6 June Time: 8 pm Entrance: Free
Venue: Jazz Upstairs, Lazimpat
With events to the left and right, Fr!day makes it a little bit easier for you to choose events to
check out this week and the next. Here are our top three picks.
POST US: Email event details to [email protected] or
call 5011571/ 5011639/ 5011730/ 5011731 for listings. Listings are free but
inclusion is not guaranteed due to limited space.
Days to go
Writing Nepal 2014: A lecture by Samrat
Upadhyay
3
6
FIFA COUNTDOWN
The highly anticipated 2014 FIFA World Cup is
scheduled to take place from 12 June to 13 July in
Brazil. This edition features all the countries that have
won the tournament at one time or another, including
Uruguay, Italy, Germany, England, Argentina, France,
Spain, and Brazil. This will be Brazil’s second occasion
as hosts. The 1950 FIFA World Cup had also been held
in the football-crazy nation.
Where Can I go watch FIFA?
The next best thing to watching a World Cup match in a stadium is watching a World
Cup match in a bar with a raucous crowd. FR!DAY brings to you a list of happening
places where the World Cup fever will be at its highest.
Nepal House, Baluwatar
Contact: 9803573260
Preliminary to main games with a large
screen as well as a projector
Namlo Garden Restaurant
Sports Bar FC, Jhamsikhel
Contact: 0984-9302118
Arena Sports Lounge, Thamel
01-4700283
De gaa Restro Lounge
Contact: 9851103087
Moksh, Jhamsikhel
Contact: 5528362
Preliminary matches (that start from
10 p.m) and the main games
Kumaripati, Lalitpur
Contact: 015008679
The Factory
Thamel, 014701185
(Nepali TIme)
World CUP Schedule
Brazil Vs Croatia
1:45 AM, 13 June 2014
Argentina Vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
3:45 AM, 16 June 2014
Spain Vs Netherlands
00:45 AM, 14 June 2014
Germany Vs Portugal
9:45 PM, 16 June 2014
Colombia Vs Greece
9:45 PM, 14 June 2014
Belgium Vs Algeria
9:45 PM, 17 June 2014
England Vs Italy
3:45 AM, 15 June 2014
Russia Vs South Korea
3:45 AM, 18 June 2014
Cote D’Ivoire Vs Japan
6:45 AM, 15 June 2014
Colombia Vs Cote D’Ivoire
9:45 PM, 19 June 2014
4
Kickstart//Get Started
6
The Buddhist
Chekhov Speaks
Product Courtesy: Ekta Books, Thapathali
Clearly, no Nepali writer has attained the extent of
acclaim in international literary circles than Samrat
Upadhyay. The professor at Indiana University is
currently in town for a creative writing workshop,
which follows with an open lecture on 7 June.
Samyam Shrestha
T
he history of Nepali literature
goes back a long way, a scene that
has bestowed the readers with
a plethora of wonderful works
by writers as vivid and varied as
Bhanubhakta to Parijat. However, it hasn’t
been long since the wave of English writing
Nepalese has demanded public attention
– the void that was filled perhaps with
Manjushree Thapa’s early works, among
others. However, times are changing,
and who would explain it better than the
acclaimed writer, and Professor of Creative
Writing at Indiana University, Samrat
Upadhyay himself.
The “Arresting God in Kathmandu”
author is in Kathmandu for “Writing
Nepal 2014”, a workshop in collaboration
between the MFA in Creative Writing
program at Indiana University, Quixote’s
Cove, and La.Lit, the literary magazine.
The three-day intensive workshop (4
- 6 June) deals primarily with content,
stylistics and themes, rather than grammar
and language. Although registration
is already closed, an open lecture by
the professor on 7 June is something
enthusiasts can still put into their planners.
The lecture will see Upadhyay talk
about writing and the creative process,
and about editing a work through various
drafts, and ways to improve your creative
writing skills among other things. He will
also be reading from his upcoming novel,
“The City Son” out later this year. Joining
him will be Britt Ashley, Allie Barkmeier,
Tia Clark, and Alexander Weinstein.
These American writers and poets are
accomplished practitioners of the writing
craft, who will be leading various writing
workshops, and will read short excerpts
from their works as well. A writing
workshop will follow.
“The value of workshops like this is
in the fact that they create a space for
the literarily inclined to come together
in the practice of the craft, and find
encouragement and nourishment for their
literary ambitions,” says Adhikari, “So the
sole motive of this lecture is to encourage
young writers by giving them the
opportunity of interacting with seasoned
practitioners of the craft.”
The lecture and the
subsequent workshops
(which will take place at
Thames College) are free
and open to the public.
However, since seats are
limited, participants will be accepted
on a first-come-first-serve basis.
The changing face of the Nepali
literary scene
“Because of the success of various
publishing houses, literature in Nepali
is flourishing. Our novelists, poets and
dramaturges are experimenting boldly
and producing work that regularly
defies expectations and confounds the
imagination. The same cannot be said
of Nepali writing in English. Whereas
Nepali writing in English had been
confined largely to fiction, they have
also finally made a mark in credible
non-fiction writing in English, with
the imminent publication of Prashant
Jha, Aditya Adhikari and Thomas Bell’s
books on Nepali history – ancient
“Very few writers have found
acclaim inside and outside
the country. Perhaps that
will change,” shares Prawin
Adhikari, assistant editor at
La.Lit, the literary magazine,
and one of the organizers of
the workshop.
and contemporary. Writers like Rabi
Thapa, Rajani Thapa, Pranaya Rana
and Weena Pun are in the process of
publishing their works. Manjushree
Thapa and Samrat Upadhyay, both
stalwarts in the Nepali writing in
English scene, are publishing their
third novels each. This year has already
seen books from Sushma Joshi and
Prawin Adhikari. There are many
others actively pursuing a writing
career, and making their marks. The
future, inevitably, is exciting!” – La.Lit
the literary magazine
At a glance
What
Writing Nepal 2014: Samrat Upadhyay Lecture
Who
La.Lit, the literary magazine, MFA in Creative Writing program
at Indiana University, and Quixote’s Cove – the Bookshop
Where
Thames College, Old Baneshwor, Kathmandu
When
7 June (Saturday)
Time
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Price
Free entrance (but since seats are limited, participants will be
accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis)
In case you haven’t heard about
Samrat Upadhyay
• He is the first Nepali-born fiction
writer to be published in the West.
• His first book, the short story
collection “Arresting God in
Kathmandu” was the recipient
of the Whiting Writers’ Award,
which earned him the title of “The
Buddhist Chekhov” from the San
Francisco Chronicle. The book was
also a pick for the 2001 Barnes
and Noble Discover Great Writers
Program.
• “Arresting God in Kathmandu” has
been translated into French and
Greek.
• His stories have been read live
on National Public Radio and
published widely as well as in
Scribner’s Best of the Writing
Workshops and Best American
Short Stories 1999.
• His second short story collection,
“The Royal Ghosts”, won the
2007 Asian American Literary
Award.
• His new novel “The City Son” will
be published later this year.
• He is the Martha C. Kraft
Professor of Humanities at Indiana
University.
Let the reviews do the talking
• “Like a Buddhist Chekhov…
Upadhyay speaks to common
truths.” – San Francisco
Chronicle
• “Upadhyay is among
the smoothest and most
noiseless of contemporary
writers.” – Los Angeles
Times
• “Samrat Upadhyay brings
us in contact with a world
that is somehow both very
far away and very familiar.” –
New York Times
• “Upadhyay’s writing is
complex and delicate.” –
Baltimore Sun
• “Upadhyay’s characters
linger. They are captured
with such concise,
illuminating precision that
one begins to feel that
they might just be real.” –
Christian Science Monitor
• “Upadhyay illuminates
the shadow corners of his
characters’ psyches, as well
as the complex social and
political realities of life in
Nepal, with equal grace.”
– Elle
About the organizers: La.Lit
La.Lit (www.lalitmag.com) is a literary magazine that celebrates
the beauty of writing. It features original and translated fiction,
non-fiction, and poetry; photography and graphic art; and exclusive
interviews and news from the world of literature. Initially, they
published in English and Nepali, but now also welcome translations
from other languages. The magazine aims to bring contemporary
achievements in world literature to Nepal, and equally, take Nepali
and South Asian literature to the world.
Kickstart//Events
Out &
About
8
Hippies Night
Date: 13 June, Friday, Time: 7 p.m to 2 a.m
Venue: Blue Galaxy Discotheque, Hotel Yak and Yeti
Looking to let your hair down and party till the wee hours of the morning? Hippies Night
at the Blue Galaxy Discotheque is just the party for you. The event features DJ Pratish, the
official DJ of Channel [V] India, as well as hip music from the 60s - an era when Nepal was
known as a mecca for hippies. Slogans like “Make Love not War“ became associated with
the hippie culture in Nepal, and so did the sounds of rock and roll that was introduced to
the country by the flower children.
ZEPPELIN TRIBUTE SHOW 2014
Date: 7 June (Saturday), Time: 3:00 pm onwards
Venue: Purple Haze Rock Bar, Thamel
Contact: 9843664132/ 9804946107
Ticket: Rs. 300 (Pre Sales) and Rs. 500 (Door Sales)
After the success of Kathmandu on the Run: Tribute to Pink Floyd,
the organizers present another tribute, this time to rock legends, Led
Zeppelin. Like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin too has been exceedingly
popular amongst Nepali music aficionados. Purple Haze Rock Bar will
be hosting the three hour long event that will see around 18 Led Zep
songs being covered by local musicians. While the Floyd covers were
performed by popular Thamel band, Strings, Saujanya Bhattarai, the
managing director of the organizing team, says: “This time we have
combined various musicians to form a band called Custard Pie, which
is also the name of a popular Zeppelin song.”
“There aren’t many jazz violinists and Guillaume Blanc is certainly
one of the best. In his project Electric Suites, he defends eccentric
compositions of a high quality” - Didier Lockwood. The musicians
of Electric Suites aim to sound like machines and thus have
been recreating the sound and the language of rhythm boxes and
synthesizers using classical instruments (violin, viola). A project that is
situated somewhere between tradition and innovation, Electric Suites
draws inspiration from Eastern European folk, beat, jazz, and classical
music, somehow combining them all to create a sound of their own.
Nima Rumba & the Legend
Date: 7 June (Saturday), Time: 6:30 pm
Venue: Faces Lounge, NarsinghChowk
Catch Nima Rumba, the versatile singer and actor, will be performing
live with his band The Legend at Faces Lounge on Saturday, 7 June.
Date: 14 June, Saturday, Time: 7:00 P.M, Venue: MOKSH
Ticket Price: Rs. 2500 (Available at Moksh, Last Resort Mandala Street & Friends Café, Thamel.
Date: 28 and 29 June
Time: 6:30pm - 10:00pm in
UTC+05:45
Ticket Price: 1950/- Adults
1000/- Children below 10 yrs.
Free for children below 5 yrs.
Tickets available at : http://
www.eventbrite.com/e/ropainthe-rice-planting-festival-2014tickets-11536751735
If you want to have fun by connecting
with nature, the Ropain Rice Planting
Festival is just the event for you. Rice,
the staple meal of the country, is
planted every summer as the rain sets
in the valley.
The Ropain Festival is being organized
this year at Bajrabarahi, Lalitpur in
the southern outskirts of the valley.
Celebrate the rain showers this
summer by celebrating ropain (along
with sumptuous Newari dishes!).
The Alliance française of Kathmandu is putting together a flea market where second
hand books can be bought and sold at the cheapest prices. Visit Alliance française in
Teku on Saturday 14 June from 10 am to 4 pm for children’s books, art books, fiction,
comics, and many more.
Royal Splash at Annapurna
Date: 21 June (Saturday), Time: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
Venue: Hotel Annapurna, Durbar Marg
Contact: +977 1-4221711
Looking to spend a fun filled day next to a lavish pool with mouth-watering food and barbecue
stalls this summer? Hotel de L’ Annapurna is hosting the Royal Splash at its poolside with
food, music, and cool beverages along with the beats of DJ Finnzok and DJ BPM to burn off
those extra calories. What better way to celebrate summer and World Music Day.
Every Tuesday
Rohit John Chhetri
Time: 7pm onwards
Location: Jhamsikhel
Contact: 5528362
Himalayan Pizza and Newa
club
Party people, listen up! If you are wondering what to do during
a lazy Saturday this June, go to Hawaii! No, not the real Hawaii,
go be a part of Fiesta De’ Hawaiian 2. After the success of Fiesta
De’ Hawaiian in 2013, Wild Players, in association with Oggy
Entertainers Nepal, will be bringing a slice of Hawaii to our city.
Last year, the main attraction was the Choco Fiesta but this time,
there will be more attractions including a chance to be a Hawaiian
Queen or King. For the complete Hawaiian feel, attendees will enter
the venue through the Tiki Hut Tunnel and, of course, there will be
a number of DJs (DJ SUDAN, DJ SURAJ, NOISE BROTHERS, DJ
FR3Q, and DJ MANIZ) to heat up the dance floor. Not to mention
the Choco Fiesta with Choco Pools, Choco Dance Competition, and
Choco Shower. Additionally, the Tiki Bar promises to give you the
Hawaiian taste with special Hawaiian cocktails.
ROPAIN THE RICE PLANTING FESTIVAL
Mero Asha is a social initiative by Heartbeat Nepal, an organization that works for the
betterment of street children. Their art exhibition and musical dinner night is jointly
supported by The Last Resort and Moksh. “We hope to collect enough funds to build the
much needed safe houses for street kids,” state the organizers. The event features live jazz
performances and an exhibition of paintings by street children. “We hope we can contribute
even more to the fundraiser by selling some of the paintings,” they add.
Moksh
Date: 7 June (Saturday), Time: 11 am to 11 pm,
Venue: International Club, Sanepa
Date: 18 &19 July,
Time: Jul 18 at 6:15pm to Jul 19 at 4:15am
Venue: Patan Dhoka (Starting Point)
Registration:http://kathmandukora.
net/2m4pyutar/
Date: 14 June (Saturday), Time: 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Venue: Alliance française of Kathmandu
“Children International Day”
Date: 06 June, 2014
Time: 5pm to 6.15pm
Venue: Russian Centre of Science and
Culture
Sushila Arts Academy (SAA), in
association with the Russian Centre
of Science and Culture, is organizing
a Special Celebration Program on the
occasion of Children International
Day. Students of the academy, from
the age of four and onwards, will be
performing various dance forms such
as Chariya, Kathak, Spanish Flamenco,
Classic Ballet, and Freestyle, along
with artistic gymnastic performances
and contemporary dances. The program
also includes guitar, violin and vocal/
choir performances. SAA believes that
children and youths can develop into
confident individuals if certain skills
are developed, qualities that will enable
them to succeed in today’s world even
if they do not pursue Arts as a career.
Exclusive Friday Retreat
Date: 6 June (Friday)
Time: 2:30 (pick up point at Sorakhutte)
Contact: 9801136111
Borderlands Eco-Adventure Resort offers a
peaceful and serene outdoor rafting event
every Friday, a retreat for those who want
to get out of the hassles of modern day
life. Its retreat package helps you find your
own space, read a book, indulge in any fun
activities, and/or quench your thirst with
adventurous activities.
First Christmas in the trenches
Date: 3 June, Time: 6:30 pm
Venue: Banshi Ghat Marg, Teku Road
Premier noël dans les tranchées) First
Christmas in the trenches, a documentary
directed by Michael Gaumnitz in 2005
is being hosted by Alliance Francaise of
Kathmandu. The documentary approaches the
Great War through the soldiers’ mail sent to
the frontlines.
Thursday: 5 June
Others (jazz and
contemporary vocal quartet)
Friday: 6 June
Ninaad (eastern fusion)
Saturday: 7 June
What the funk!! (funky party
music)
Time: 7:00pm to 10:00pm
Location: Thamel (next to
Hotel Manang)
Contact: 9849196991
(Jacko)
Embassy Restro & Bar
Thursday: 5 June Salsa by Riyaz Shrestha
Friday: 6 June
Prayash (band)
Sunday (8 June), Monday (9
June), Tuesday (10 June)
Piano night by Pema
Saturday: 7 June
Dharmendra Sewan
Time: 6:30pm onwards
Location: Lazimpat
Contact: 4424040
Tamarind Restro and Bar
Thursday, Sunday and
Monday
Live piano by Sunil Singh
Wednesday: 11 June
Prayash (band)
Saturday: 9 June
Supersonic (band)
Time: 7:00pm to 10:00pm Location: Jhamsikhel
Contact: 5522626
Jazz Upstairs
Wednesday: 11 June
Monsix (Gypsy Jazz)
Time: 7:00pm onwards
Location: Lazimpat
Contact: 4416983
Madhusala
Every Friday till Wednesday
Uday & Manila Sotang live
with Jeewan Kalapremi and
Nava Ratna (band)
Time: 7:15-11:30 pm
Location: Durbar Marg
Contact: 4223613
Tamas Laya
Wednesday: 11 May
Open Night with Jovan
Friday: 30 May (Naxal)
Accoustix
Time: 7:00-10:00pm
Location: Naxal
Contact: 4414395
8 Degrees
Friday 6 May
Loadshedding (band)
Time: 7:00pm onwards
Location: Jhamsikhel
Contact: 5543740
Manny’s Eateries
Every Friday
Shabnam Gurung & Dinesh
Neupane
(Soft Hidustani and Nepali
music along with ghazals)
Time: 6:45pm to 10:30pm
Location: Ekantakuna
Contact: 015536919
ADOPT a PET
Date: 7 June (Saturday)
Venue: Rastriya Sabhagriha
Nepal Kennel Club is organizing a local
dog adoption program at the Rastriya
Sabhagriha. If you have always wanted
a faithful companion, visit Rastriya
Sabhagriha this Saturday and adopt the
newest addition to your family. This event
needs a lot of support because there are
numerous puppies that lack a home, love,
and care. They deserve to be happy too,
so here is your chance to change the life
of a warm and friendly being. The event
is organized by Nepal Kennel Club and
hosted by Mount Everest Kennel Club.
Food
ART & THEATER
LIVE BBQ
SOLITUDES
Date: 30 May (Every Friday)
Time: 6:00 pm onwards
Venue: Nepal House, Baluwatar
Contact: 9803573260
live wire
FIESTA DE’ HAWAIIAN 2
Kathmandu Kora
Flea Market Books
MERO ASHA
Date: 6 June, Time: 8 pm, Entrance: Free
Venue: Jazz Upstairs, Lazimpat
MISCELLANEOUS
The Kathmandu Kora Cycling Challenge 2014
will start from the third Saturday of July with
riders undertaking a personal challenge of 50
km, 75 km and 100 km around Kathmandu
Valley. In each of the editions of the Kora
Challenge, riders have pledged to raise
money for a cause. The first edition in 2011
pledged nearly half a million Nepali Rupees
for a school and orphanage in Kathmandu,
the second raised nearly a million rupees to
upgrade a birthing facility in Rukum, and the
third edition, which had about 800 riders,
raised over 1.7 million to build a birthing
facility in Sharmali, Baitadi. This year’s
pledge is even bigger - the campaign aims to
raise two million to build an eco- designed
birthing facility in Pyutar, South Lalitpur.
MUSIC & PARTIES
Guillaume Blanc (Jazz Violinist)
9
Nepal House might just be
establishing its niche in the
restaurant and eatery market but
the cuisines they serve definitely
have already established relishing
memory on people’s taste buds.
From coming Friday, Nepal House
will be hosting a live BBQ set every
weekend. You may just walk in,
no entry fee hassle and lay back
to relax at the soothing ambience
of the Restaurant. Drinks that go
along the smoked, sophisticated
meat are also available at the
eatery which makes the Friday
evening visit even better.
Pool BBQ
Date: 1 June (Every Saturday)
Time: 11:00 am onwards
Venue: Hotel Annapurna,
Durbarmarg
Contact: 4221711
Summer is here and so is the
season of swimming. Keeping that
in mind, Hotel Annapurna recently
unveiled its large new pool that
will be playing host to a barbecue
every Saturday. Special meal
packages will be made every week
exclusively for the event.
Date: 20 May (Tuesday) to 6 June (Friday)
Venue: Image Ark Gallery
Interested in photography? Then visit Image Ark
Gallery as it holds an exhibition by Palvi Maria Helves.
“The harsh windy seashore of my childhood north, the
forest where I go to find myself again and again, the
nature in all its forms, is my source of inspiration.”
states the statement of the artist. Graduated from
the West Finland Institute for Art, Craft and Design
in 1995 and further deepened her studies in visual
arts and art therapy, the artist used and held camera
motion and/ or filters to allow long exposure times. #metadata
Date: 6 June-19 June
Venue: Siddhartha Art
Gallery, Baber Mahal
Revisited
Subash Thebe, artist-inresidence at the Kathmandu
Contemporary Arts Centre,
has put together a new
exhibition at Siddhartha Art
Gallery. Titled #metadata,
the paintings reflect the
artist’s latest theme i.e. the
observation and criticism
of western mainstream
media, along with a few
gestural illustrations that
were inspired by music.
Thebe works on canvas,
steel, mirror, and readymade
frames. The exhibition also
includes video installations.
AFK DRAMA WORKSHOP
Date: 13 May to 18 June,
Venue: Alliance française of Kathmandu
Ticket Price: Rs. 100,
Contact: [email protected]
Alliance Française is organizing its second drama
workshop that will take place every Wednesday
from 10 am to 1 pm for six weeks from 13 May to 18
June! At the workshop, participants will create an
original performance piece and a public presentation
for a special event at Alliance Française. The ability
to speak French is not necessary and beginners and
non-beginners alike are welcome.
Compulsory registrations [limited to 15 participants
For further information please contact: general.afk@
gmail.com
Koseli School’s “Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai
with Anupam Kher”
Date: 11 July (Friday), Time: 5:00 pm
Venue: Army Officer’s Club, Bhadrakali
Ticket Price: 5,000/- Golden tickets (main
event + entry to the after party)
3000/- Silver tickets (main event + entry to
the after party)
1,500/- Bronze tickets (main event) Contact: 9801034345, 9801074430,
9801037873, [email protected]
Koseli School Nepal presents Kuch Bhi
Ho Sakta Hai with Anupam Kher [Live in
Nepal]. Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai has received
acclaim from millions of people around the
world, and will also be aired on Colors TV
soon. Proceeds from the show will go towards
educating the children of Koseli School.
THE NEW Wantrepreneurs
30 MAY, KUSOM
Communication is a necessity when you are
starting up a business venture, and networking
is an important skill that one needs to work on to
seal business deals. The E-talk that the students
of KUSOM College of Management organized
emphasized the need for communication and
transparency to test new ventures in the world of
practicality.
Anti-Clockwise from Top: Kavi Raj Joshi, Dr. Bhola
Thapa,Aparmita Tuladhar and Ayush Manandhar,
Pradeep Jung Pandey, Peter W. Bodde,Shovha Kanta
Dev,Saurabh Jyoti.
Paleti is back!
30 May, Nepa~laya
The first day of this year’s Paleti series
was dedicated to the veteran Nepali
contemporary music singers who lost
their lives last year. Bhim ‘Birag’,
Fatheman Rajbhandari, Ram Man
Trishit and Mira Thapa are four of the
veterans of Nepali music scene who
passed away. To pay tribute to these
personalities who have made invaluable
contribution to Nepali music, singers
Aavas and Mina along with the
accompanying musicians performed
the deceased artists’ classic hit songs.
With the songs that was already
taking the audience back in time,
the singers added to the nostalgia by
sharing stories of how the songs were
composed and produced.
Clockwise from bottom: Nagendra Rai,
Prem Dhoj Pradhan, Ram Krishna Duwal,
Amrit Gurung, Mina and Aavash, Kiran
Krishna Shrestha.
Nokia Hits the Sweet Spot
30 May, Soaltee Crowne Plaza
Nokia launched two exclusive mobile handsets,
Nokia Lumia 630 and Nokia XL, in a launch cum
resellers’ meet, which was followed by dinner for
the Nokia family in Nepal. Attendees included the
personnel involved with the distribution and services
of Nokia gadgets in Nepal, mainly from Neoteric
Nepal and Paramount Electronics Pvt Ltd, the
authorized distributors of the brand in Nepal.
Clockwise from bottom: Yogesh Roy,
Radi Ahmed Chowdhury, Vishal Agrawal,
Manisha Shrestha, Zunica Prasai.
Neelima Reopens
30 MAY, ALFA-BETA COMPLEX
Hall of Frame
Neelima’s Fashion Studio which was
first located at City Center reopened
the store at Baneshwor in Alfa-Beta
Complex because she wanted to
open the store in her own complex.
According to her, she had been
planning to open the store here since
the last two years but didn’t due to
the road expansion work that was
going on until few months ago.
Arts under a
Summer sky
30-31 May, Shaligram Complex, Jawalakhel
Summer Arts Festival, a two-day fest
celebrating music, poetry, drama, films,
and visual art, was organized by PAN Asia
Creativity at the Shaligram Complex in
Jawalakhel.
Indian journalist, author, and columnist Jug
Suraiya, as well as writer Bunny Suraiya,
were also a part of the festival along with
local writers, poets, artists, filmmakers, and
theatre actors.
Nilima
Jayan Subba Manandhar
Santishi Shrestha
Clockwise: Chirag Bangdel, Gopi Lal
Acharya, Saguna Shah, Simma Rai, Greta
Rana, Prakash Subedi.
gives
t
r
a
,
s
l
a
“Art he
catalyzes
t
r
a
,
e
p
us ho
d art
n
a
,
s
t
h
g
thou
love.”
spreads
angdel
B
g
a
r
i
h
-C
Nisha Adhikari
Ramesh Upreti Kiran Rana Upreti
Karishma Manandhar
Kickstart//Week That Was
12
Week That Was
May 21
Gomez also met UNICEFsupported Female Community
Health Volunteers in
Gangaparaspur Village and
learned about their efforts to
reduce illness and death among
children and mothers. In Hapur
Village, she met with the women
of the Paralegal Committee
and the Gender-Based Violence
Watch Group who mediate cases
of conflict, divorce, domestic
violence, child abuse and more.
Gomez also spoke with a couple
of survivors who had been helped
by the Committee. In Dokrena/
Khaira Village, she interacted with
the youth saw them perform a skit
about sanitation and practiced
proper hand-washing techniques.
In the village of Kohalpur, Gomez
met with young people who had
been recruited into the armed
conflict.
Calling the trip an “eyeopener,” Gomez said, “The
children of Nepal have taught
me that with a lot of passion,
optimism and hard work, anything
is possible. That’s the message
I would like to convey to young
people across the world: Believe in
your dreams and pursue them.”
Cricket Craze
A Layman’s Perspective
Live weaving and sale
To promote and recognize the visually impaired
women’s cricket team, Cricket Association
of Blind Nepal conducted visually impaired
women’s cricket tournament between teams
from Bagmati and Kaski. The day long event
was held at Pulchowk Engineering Campus.
The day also saw a friendly cricket match
between celebrities, participated by film maker,
Nischal Basnet, and actress, Nisha Adhikari.
The event was organized by ElectroMedical
Solutions in association with Women’s Dreams
and House Wife’s Association of Nepal. The
funds raised from the event will go to the
visually impaired women’s cricket team.
The gypsy exhibition of photographs, ‘Drishya’
which was held at Patan Durbar Square on 26
May and Basantapur Durbar Square on 27 May
was an initiative taken by students of Bachelors
in Social Work at St Xavier’s College, Maitighar.
Amateur photographers, the group of 43 students,
exhibited some 50 photographs.
Drishya communicated the daily issues that
people in the city face. The collection titled
‘Two Faces’ which focused on heritage and its
mismanagement, was one of the many collections
that caught the attention of the audience. Other
themes in the exhibition included child labor, old
age, food and hygiene and family literacy.
Lahar Srijana opened their exhibition at The City
Museum Kathmandu where the organization
showcased the crafts made by local Tharu women
who used to be construction workers. The exhibits
included mats, stools, sweaters, and clothes made
by fibres like banana fibres, hemp and elephant
grass as well as pottery and agro products (honey
and turmeric powder) which were also on the sale.
At the same time, live demonstration of mat and
stool making and sketches were done during the
exhibition. Since 2012, Lahar Srijana is working to
promote the untapped skills and talents of people
living in rural Nepal through vocational training and
is supported by Narayan Sumsher Thapa Trust.
Pulchowk, May 31
UNICEF Ambassador Selena Gomez Visits Nepal
Actress, multi-platinum recording
artist and UNICEF Ambassador
Selena Gomez has returned back
to her country from a visit to
Nepal. During her trip, Gomez
saw firsthand impact of UNICEF’s
programs that help children survive
and develop. After going back,
she said, “This visit to Nepal was
extraordinarily powerful—at times,
devastating and heartbreaking, but
also incredibly inspiring”.
During her trip, Gomez visited
Satbariya Rapti Secondary School,
supported by UNICEF. The child
club members of Satbariya School
sang a Nepali folk song, playing
musical instruments presented
to them as a gift by Gomez. She
later joined students when they
performed traditional dances of
the Tharu community.
“It was amazing to learn from
these young boys and girls about
how they are influencing their
peers as well as adults on issues
that have an impact on their
lives,” said Gomez. “Many of the
children I talked to expressed a
desire to be future leaders in their
society, and I was moved to hear
them emphasize the importance of
education.”
13
All Winners of Yamaha Winning
Express Announced
Everest Marathon 2014
May 30, Teku Yamaha Showroom
Kathmandu, May 29
Himalayan Expedition proudly announced
that the 12th edition of Tenzing-Hillary
Everest Marathon was a success. The event
is being organized by Himalayan Expedition
since 2003 on May 29 to commemorate the
day Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund
Hillary conquered the world’s highest peak,
Everest, for the first time on May 29, 1953.
This year, Sudip Kulung Rai, the winner of
2011 and the runner up of 2010 secured
first position in marathon. Bhim Bahadur
Gurung of Nepal Army Club and Suman
Kulung Rai were the first and second runner
ups respectively. After winning, a 26-year
old Sudip from Solukhumbu district said, “I
was not much hopeful that I would finish on
top. But I thought I would gain the second
or third position. I am really pleased to finish
the race in first position”.
Similarly, Ang Chuttin Sherpa, Mingma
Lhamu Sherpa and Lhahak Futi Sherpa
earned the first, second and third spots
in women’s marathon respectively. In the
foreigner’s category of the marathon, Robert
Celinski became the winner. He was followed
Amid a lucky draw program held at Yamaha
showroom in Teku, on 30 May, MAW
Enterprises, the sole authorized distributor of
Yamaha motorcycles and scooters in Nepal
announced the fourth and final lucky winnerPurna Bahadur Karki, who will be getting
opportunity of free round trip to Brazil during
FIFA World Cup 2014. A resident of Pathari,
Morang, he had bought a Yamaha motorcycle
from its dealer, New Pathibhara Auto Plaza,
Pathari. The names of the other three lucky
winners are: Raja Babu Dangol, Kedar Nath
Sharma Khanal and Roshan Khadka.
by Radek Serwinsk who became second and
British Timothy Watson who became third.
Likewise, the 60k Extreme Challenge
had been added last year to celebrate the
diamond jubilee (60 years) of the first
ascent of Everest. 17 runners including, 10
foreigners and 7 Nepali had participated
in the newly introduced event running
for the second year. Nepali Army runner
Samir Tamang stood first whereas Hom
Lal Shrestha earned second position and
DB Kulung Rai became third. Similarly,
in half marathon, Karl David Turkovi of
Australia secured first position, Belgium
runner Geremy Kersten finished second
and Australian female runner Amanda Ryan
stood third.
The prize for the top three finishers of the
men’s marathon and Everest Extreme Ultra
Marathon was NRs 100,000, NRs 70,000
and NRs 50,000 respectively. Similarly,
the prize for top three finishers of foreigner
Category marathon, women’s marathon
and half marathon was NRs 50,000, NRs
30,000 and NRs 20,000 respectively.
MAW Enterprises, conducted this scheme
entitled – ‘Yamaha Winning Express’ to mark
the beginning of New Year 2071. As per the
scheme, buyers of any of the Yamaha twowheeler motorcycle and scooter model were
offered sure shot cash prize of Rs. 7,100.
More than 3000 Yamaha motorcycles are
reported to be sold within this scheme.
China Southern In Nepal
as felt items, silver jewelery,
home decors, art works, and
clothing items. The clothing
items, predominantly cotton that
goes well with the summer, were
a hit among people. All of the
15 stalls consisted of items that
promoted local art and artists.
Karavan Kathmandu aims to
return around September in a
different venue with additional
stalls to give you an opportunity
to buy unique Nepali products.
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Naxal, May 31
Tamas Laya, witnessed the first
quarterly pop-up bazaar, with
selected and unique Nepali
designer products which would
have otherwise gone unnoticed
in Kathmandu. These products
are directly exported abroad as
most of the organizations do
not have showrooms in Nepal.
Karavan Kathmandu aims to be
held every three months in a
different venue promoting and
exhibiting Nepali products such
Durbar Marg, June 1
bazaar
D.A.O. Lalitpur Regd. No.77-066/67
ECS Media Pvt. Ltd, Kupondole, Lalitpur, Nepal. 5011571.
No. 224 12 June 2014
Karavan Kathmandu
Patan and Bhaktapur Durbar Square, May 26-27
China Southern Airline Company Limited
(CZ), which ranks first in Asia and third
among the 240 Airlines in IATA in terms
of fleet size, will be operating double daily
flight effective from 15 July for the route
Guangzhou-Kathmandu-Guangzhou. The
new flight timing will be 0830 Departure
from Guangzhou and arrival at Kathmandu
at 1055, and Departure from Kathmandu
at 1155 and arrive at Guangzhou at 1830.
Currently, CZ is operating everyday flight to
Guangzhou- Kathmandu -Guangzhou with
its Airbus 319. Starting from July 15 with
the new flights, passengers can now get
connection to Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane,
Auckland, Perth, Amsterdam, Paris,
Frankfurt, Los Angles, and New York City via
Guangzhou.
Qatar Airways Commences Full Operations at HIA
Qatar Airways recently commenced full operations at its new state-of-the-art hub, Hamad International
Airport (HIA). The operations for all airlines were transferred to HIA after the first Qatar Airways
commercial flight QR1113 from Bahrain landed at HIA.
His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways, said, “This is yet another
milestone in the rich history of Qatar Airways, and one that will allow us to fully realize our ambitions,
and to offer our passengers the very best of services, both in the air and on the ground”.
Passengers travelling on that historic day were greeted with roses, dates, coffee, chocolate and Qatari
flags. They were also able to take advantage of the many new services available at Hamad International
Airport, like free Wi-Fi, play areas for children, multiple quiet areas to relax, along an amazing array of
shopping and eating options. At HIA, there are more than 70 retail outlets which offer an unprecedented
selection of designer labels, high street fashion, electronics, gourmet foods and much more. Qatar Duty
Free at HIA has more than 30 cafes and restaurants with a luxurious selection of global and local cuisine.
The passengers travelling via HIA has been advised to arrive three hours before their flight because the
check-in closes one hour before departure for Economy Class, and 45 minutes before departure for
First and Business Class. e-Gates are also operational in both the departures and arrivals areas, offering
holders of an e-Gate Card a swift journey through the new airport.
Kumari Bank Limited and Sanima
Bank Limited Signs an Agreement
Kumari Bank Limited and Sanima Bank Limited
have recently signed an agreement to provide
Kumari Remit service from the 27 branches of
Sanima Bank Limited.
The agreement was sign to extend remittance
service throughout Nepal. Kumari Bank Limited
has been providing inward remittance from States
of Qatar, UAE, Malaysia, USA, Russia and Other
Gulf and European Countries.
Now, the fund remitted by migrant workers
through Kumari Remit from any part of the world
can be conveniently received by their beneficiary
here in Nepal from the branch network of Sanima
Bank Limited.
Kia Rolls Out New Soul
Continental Associates Pvt. Ltd., the sole
distributor of Kia Motors has launched new
Soul in the Nepali market. It is sleeker and
sophisticated than its previous version which
was introduced in 2011. New Soul comes in 1.6
petrol and diesel variants and a range of color
options to choose from.
With a 5 star safety rating by Euro NCAP under
its belt, the new Soul has a fantastic design
and impressive interior. Some of the features
integrated in this car are smart key, push button
start, front and rear parking sensors, rear view
camera and so on.
The introductory price is 47 lakhs for petrol
engine and 51 lakhs for diesel engine.
14
Partylines
Chitter - chatter Heard at Events
Issue 224 | 12 June 2014
-UNICEF Ambassador Selena Gomez, on her trip to Nepal on behalf of
UNICEF. Gomez is playing an active role in advocating for the world’s
most vulnerable children on behalf of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
Summer
Stirrings
“We Nepalese are born
entrepreneurs.” - Dr.Bhola Thapa,
Registrar of Kathmandu University, at E-talk
organized by Entreprenuers’ Lab at KUSOM.
Nothing feels better than a chilled
cocktail glass in the hot summer
sun. The more the merrier, especially
if you’re at your favorite venue.
“No work, no gain.”
– Pradeep Jung Pandey, President of
Federation of Nepali Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, to attendees at E-talk,
organized by Entreprenuers’ Lab at KUSOM.
Girish Subedi
“This is our opening match!”
– Suarpana Shahi, Marketing Executive, Hotel de L’
Annapurna, at the Ambassador Cookout, part of the
Indian Cultural Festival 2014, on the commencement of
the food festival season at the hotel.
Selena Gomez
“Entrepreneurs are heroes. They
take risks, and are willing to invest
in an idea that can give service to
people’s problems.”
– His Excellency Peter W. Bodde, U.S
Ambassador to Nepal, at E-talk, organized by
Entreprenuers’ Lab at KUSOM.
Suarpana Shahi
Pradeep Jung Pandey
Classified
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!
enterta nment
“This visit (to Nepal) was extraordinarily
powerful—at times, devastating and
heartbreaking, but also incredibly inspiring..”
Entertainment//Highspirits
16
It’s a hot afternoon in Jhamsikhel.
Thankfully, I’m on my way to the
cool environs of Tamarind, one of
the most popular places in the area,
to learn about summer cocktails.
As I approach the reception, three
individuals, who had already been
informed about my visit, greet me.
They lead me to the bar and introduce
me to Deepak Ghorasaine, the resident
bartender who has been making exquisite
drinks, especially cocktails, for the past
seven years.
Ghorasaine gets to the point straight
away. He starts talking about the most
popular base spirit for cocktails - vodka.
“The interesting thing about vodka is
that it can be blended with any kind of
combination, especially when it comes to
smell and color,” he explains.
Tamarind has fifty varieties of cocktails,
the most popular being their Love
Poison. According to Ghorasaine, patrons
prefer the drink for its soothing taste.
Customized vodka cocktails too are made
according to consumer demands.
Opposite Tamarind is Backyard
Foodjoint and Pub. The bartender here is
an expert who takes his job very seriously.
“A true bartender doesn’t just serve
liquor,” says Rukesh Gurung, the bartender
at Backyard. “Playing with liquor and
colors is, in fact, a part of his or her soul.”
Gurung, who holds an advanced diploma
in hospitality management, believes vodka
is perfect for making cocktails because
of its flexibility with varied flavors. “The
drinks that complement it are those with
creamy and juicy flavors,” he says.
Ruslan, the most popular vodka in the
local market, is suitable for classic cocktails
because of its clean taste, adds Gurung.
Drinks Courtesy
Backyard, 5548968, Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur
Ingredients:
Vodka: 30 ml
Mango juice: 60 ml
Chilli flakes
Price: NRs. 300
Bay Breeze
As the name suggests, this
drink makes you feel like
you’re waiting for a ship
that is approaching across
the bay, while you drink
to your health and a safe
journey ahead. All aboard?
Ingredients:
Vodka: 45 ml
Cranberry juice: 60 ml
Pineapple juice: 60 ml
Price: NRs. 350
Cranberry Kick
Here comes another kicker! Cranberry Kick
is mostly composed of North American
cranberry juice, but the presence of orange
and pineapple does not fail to bring about
the feel of sitting in a soft boggy area
where this acid berry grows. Do keep in
mind that the wetlands can be treacherous
if you do not step carefully!
Ingredients:
Vodka: 45 ml
Cranberry juice: 60 ml
Orange juice: 60 ml
Pineapple juice:
60 ml
Menthe Verte
(greenish in
color and mint
flavored)
Price: NRs.
350
A few other
vodka
cocktails to
crave for
White Russian
Vodka: 45 ml
Kalua: 15 ml
Milk: 30 ml
Price: NRs. 300
Woo-Woo
Vodka: 45 ml
Peach schnapps:
15 ml
Cranberry: 60 ml
Price: NRs. 300
Rukesh Gurung
Spicy Mango Tini
Usually served in a martini
glass, this cocktail makes
you imagine you’re on a
tropical beach, sipping
your troubles away.
Entertainment//Feature
18
Humble Beginnings
Although there hasn’t been a lot of publicity surrounding the
Ncell NPL, it’s time for Nepali cricket fans to rejoice as they
finally have a league that they can call their own
Prabal Man Dhaubhadel
by Shakti Gauchan, while Sharad Veswakar
lifted the first ever Ncell NPL trophy. The
matches were held from 14 to 24 May and
the games were played at Fapla Cricket
Ground, Dhangadi, Kailali and District
Sports Development Committee Ground,
Mahendranagar, Kanchanpur. Played in
a Round Robin format, four teams out
of six qualified for the knockout stages.
Vishal Warriors and Colors X-Factors
failed to advance into the knockout stages
while the rest of the squads marched on.
In the semis, the Giants triumphed over
the Legends while Tej got the better of
the Gurkhas. For his exceptional efforts
with the ball, Bhuvan Karki
(Panchakanya Tej) received the
Man of the Series award.
Karki managed to take 14
wickets in the tournament.
On the batting side, Pradeep
Airee of the Kantipur
Gurkhas had the highest
run tally with 212 runs.
Although Panchakanya
Tej might have been
crowned the 50-over
format champions, the
tournament is not yet
over - the T20 format still
remains.
The stakes for the
T20 format are pretty
much the same, with
the winners receiving
NRs 2 lakhs and the
runners-up being
awarded NRs 1 lakh.
Compared to the
50-over tournament,
which people weren’t
even aware of until
the final was over, the
general awareness about the T20 series
has been rising. The lack of publicity
for the 50-over tournament was
criticized by the fans, and although
cricnepal and cricketlok have
played phenomenal roles in
updating the public with realtime updates and news, there
have been no plans to stream
or broadcast the matches on
television. Cricket fans in
the capital have a reason
to rejoice though since the
T20 matches will take place
at the Tribhuvan University
ground. According to
the latest update, the T20
series has been postponed
for a few days. It will now
commence from 7 June and
will last for 10 days.
This was when the viewers realized the
potential in cricket and the lack of a
proper system and infrastructure for the
game in our country.
The Ncell NPL might have lacked
promotion and there may have been
several fallacies on the part of the
management but it’s a start nonetheless.
We can only hope that the coming days
of Nepali cricket are brighter. As we
look forward to the upbeat format of the
wonderful game of cricket, we wish all the
competing teams the very best of luck.
Sharad Veswakar, Captain of Panchakanya Tej, with his recent win.
T
hat Nepali cricket is on a
high is a fact that no one can
dispute. It is, therefore, no
wonder that Nepali cricket
fans have grown in number
as well as in loyalty. Despite falling shy
of a World Cup berth recently, Nepal’s
cricket stars have become heroes and
household names.
“Cricket has become a religion
in Nepal,” stated our national team
captain, Paras Khadka, whose team
agonizingly failed to qualify for the
coming World Cup due to a low net
run rate. The qualifiers were a tipping
point for Nepali cricket because, after
persistently keeping up with enemy
attacks on the international stage, it
was quite a feat for the feebly endowed
cricket association of our nation and its
unglamorously equipped warriors to
have made it so far with so little ammo.
This was when the viewers realized
the potential in cricket and the lack
of a proper system and infrastructure
for the game in our country. Soon
after, the Cricket Association of Nepal
(CAN) came under much scrutiny and
suffered a huge blow after the national
squad also called in a strike. Unlike
football that yields millions in cash
and awards during domestic leagues,
not to mention the grants for structure
and facility development, cricket has
largely remained under the radar (until
recently). It was thus no wonder that
the agitation seemed valid. Meanwhile,
Zohra Sports Management partnered
with the Cricket Association of Nepal
(CAN), with Ncell as the title sponsors,
for the biggest domestic tournament
ever to be staged in the country. Titled
Ncell Nepal Premier League 2014, the
country’s inaugural domestic cricket
league featured superstars from the
national team and several emerging
young talents.
The 50-over format of the first
edition of the Ncell NPL took place
successfully with Panchakanya Tej
walking away as the victors. Contested
over 10 days amongst six teams,
Panchakanya Tej were crowned
winners after their massive win over
co-finalists Jagdamba Giants who fell
97 short of the target of 200. Other
teams that were part of the tournament
were Vishal Group Warriors, Colors
X-Factors, Kantipur Gurkhas, and
Sagarmatha Legends captained
by national players Paras Khadka,
Gyanendra Malla, Basanta Regmi,
and Binod Bhandari respectively. The
runners-up, Jagdamba Giants were led
Entertainment//One Question
20
Ole ALA!
The biggest football tournament of the world, FIFA World Cup 2014 is about to kick-off in a few more days.
The FIFA Fever has already hit Kathmandu with people showing off their teams color on the street, Facebook,
and Twitter, and we asked 7 well-known personalities who they were rooting for and their best FIFA memory.
Q
Arpan Thapa
I haven’t decided on the team I’ll be
supporting this year but my all time
favorite is Brazil. In 1998, my school
friends and I made plans to watch
the semifinals together. But since it
was a late night match, we ended up
falling asleep and woke up only after
it was over. That would certainly be
my favorite World Cup moment.
(Arpan Thapa is an actor who is best
known for his role in Birami Shahar
(2011). Thapa will soon be making his
directorial debut with Mukhauta)
Exploring
Nepali Dining
There are three things you need
to know about dining at Bhojan
Griha: 1) getting there can be
tricky, 2) the quality of the
food is not to be worried about,
and 3) work on your whistles.
Contact: 4416423, 4411603; Dillibazar
Which team are
you rooting
for, and What is
your favourite
FIFA World Cup
moment?
Entertainment//Timeoff
21
Akriti Shilpakar
I
Nisha Adhikari
I am rooting for Germany this time.
When I was younger, I used to watch
the World Cup with my dad and
brother. Those moments mean a lot to
me today. I used to think waking up in
the middle of the night for the matches
and listening to my dad’s comments
were boring, but it’s only now that I
realize how special those times were.
(Nisha Adhikari is an actress and
model. Her film Mukhauta will be
hitting theaters soon.)
Adrian Pradhan
I used to support England but I have
been too busy for football lately. My
favorite World Cup moment took
place when I was in Germany in
2006. The World Cup was being held
there, and although I couldn’t go to
the stadium, I enjoyed watching girls
cheer for their teams.
(Adrian Pradhan is a singer,
songwriter, and composer. The exdrummer of the band, 1974 A.D., he
now has a solo career.)
Amun Thapa
I will be supporting Spain and
Germany this time. My favorite
World Cup moment took place in
2002 when I was a student at St.
Xaviers’s. All 600 of us were taken
to a hall where the semi-final match
was shown. There was so much
screaming and yelling! I wouldn’t
want any of that now but it was fun
back then.
(Amun Thapa, a business strategist,
is the founder of sastodeal.com.)
Shailee Basnet
I haven’t made up my mind although
I’m waiting for the day Nepal
qualifies for the World Cup. I still
remember the time in 10th grade
when my friends and I started
placing bets on who would win the
tournament.
(Shailee Basnet is the coordinator
or The Jack, as she likes calling
herself, of the Seven Summit Women
Team. She has also had a stint as a
stand-up comedian and hopes to be a
scriptwriter in the near future.)
Rabin Shrestha
I am rooting for England this season.
When I was in Singapore, I watched a
match between Spain and Germany.
I was supporting Spain then and as
soon as they scored, I cheered. The
people around me gave me cold,
angry stares; I hadn’t realized I was
amongst Germany supporters!
(Rabin Shrestha is the CEO of Reef
Entertainment and the Executive
Director of Reef Restaurant & Lounge
Bar. His latest film Mukhauta will be
releasing soon.)
Lucia De Vries
I don’t really like football but
I always support Holland. My
favorite World Cup memory
would be walking along Holland’s
empty streets. With everyone
busy enjoying the matches
indoors, the streets would be
deserted, making me feeI like I
owned the entire city.
(Lucia De Vries is the director
of Animal Nepal, an organization
that helps animals and raises
awareness about animal cruelty.)
refuse to admit that I am terrible with
directions, which is why I am going
to blame the restaurant’s location for
me having to take an unnecessary
tour around Putalisadak. Housed on
a humongous property, you will find
Bhojan Griha on the second right when
heading towards Putalisadak chowk from
the main intersection of Dillibazaar. There
is a signboard placed at the mouth of the
alley indicating the restaurant’s existence,
but it is very easy to miss, which explains
my earlier statement. The eatery is tucked
away around 100 meters inside. I later
found out that almost anyone in Dillibazaar
could have directed me to the place. If only
I had known about it earlier! This piece of
information will probably come in handy
while planning a visit to the restaurant,
which you will after you’ve done reading
this article.
The grand building can be intimidating.
I stood outside the equally grand wrought
iron gate for a minute or two before I was
confident that I was in the right place. The
building used to be a palace belonging to
the high priest of the royal family. 107 years
old, it was only in the year 1997 that Bharat
Basnet, the owner of the eatery, decided to
revive the abandoned palace. What used
to be a dark hole of rickety stairs, mossladen walls, and termite-infested wood was
transformed into a full running restaurant
within a year. Sixteen years down the road,
I am here to find out what the fuss is really
about and whether it still retains the charm
of the old days.
Dinner at Bhojan Griha starts a little
before seven. We were scheduled for a
set dinner, which is a four-course meal,
consisting of starters, soup, the main course,
and dessert. We were seated in the Putali
Hall on the second floor, which is as smartly
set as the rest of the four halls. On our way
in, a rather heavy brass jar poured out water
for us to wash our hands. We took a table
in the far-end next to the long windows.
It allowed a cool summer breeze from
the outside to come in, along with a few
uninvited guests expecting a bloody feast.
Once we had chosen our drinks, we were
offered aila, a traditional home-brewed
alcohol. The first of the starters reached our
table then. It was Popcorn, with a touch of
butter, which is always a welcome appetizer.
Next was Aalu Jeera; an unfaltering
partnership of cumin and potatoes. The
heat and kick of cumin gels well with the
sweet potatoes, bringing out the best result
one can wish for. The final starter was
Chicken Momo. One word of advice: you
need to let the waitress know if you want a
vegetarian dinner in advance.
The soup that arrived was Kwati ko
suruwa, a Newari dish made out of various
sprouted beans. The portion was small
but adequate, considering the rest of the
course awaiting us. The main course was
a typical Nepali thali, consisting of plain
boiled rice, lentil soup, three types of curries
(mushroom, chicken and potato), a side of
tomato pickle with a hint of timur, fried fish,
and green vegetables. It was a sumptuous
meal, pleasing both to the taste and the
heart. For dessert, a very sweet yogurt called
Sikarni was served. The almost custard like
dish was the perfect end to the entire dining
experience.
The first of many cultural programs had
kicked off by the end of the starter. The live
singing was paired with cultural dances
from the Gurung, Magar, Sherpa, and
Things to Know
• There are five halls altogether: Kantipur, Mini Kantipur,
Basantapur, Putali, and Mini Putali. All have low seating
arrangement.
• Bhojan Griha tries to use Nepal-made products exclusively. It is a
commendable effort and one they have been quite successful at.
• Everything that lands on your plate, except for the meat, is
organic. Almost all of their veggies and spices come from Kheti
Bazaar, one of their sister organizations. Aila, a home brewed
Nepali alcohol, comes from a supplier in Bhaktapur.
• The set dinner consists of 15 items, including the aila.
• They only offer fish and chicken for non-veg options.
• Dinner is always accompanied by cultural programs. Lunch is not.
• Reservations are highly recommended.
Newar communities. After each break,
the team would return again with a
new performance, allowing the guests
to enjoy the food and the presence
of their companions. A round
of applause, cheers, and whistles
followed each performance. Some of
the guests were excited enough to join
the dancing themselves. Which brings
me to my third point - learning to
whistle. I wanted to, but since I can’t, I
was left wishing I could.
In a nutshell, Bhojan Griha, with
its history, culture, ambience, and
authentic food makes for an ideal
destination for an overall Nepali
dining experience, one that should be
felt first hand.
“The cultural performances keep
changing everyday. No evening is the
same,” shared Samir K.C., the
manager of the restaurant.
Chef’s Recommendation
Nepali Set
Chicken/ Mutton choela
Entertainment//Sports//Football
22
Road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup IV
The World Cup is an opportunity for players to prove their worth on the world stage.The 2014
FIFA World Cup will see the absence of some big names but it still has enough stars to make
the tournament worthwhile.
Issue 224 | 12 June 2014
th nk
Sunnivh Subba
T
he World Cup is the biggest stage for
players to showcase their talent and to
carve a name in football history. But
not all good players get a chance to be a
part of the World Cup. Due to their respective
countries failing to qualify for the tournament,
there are quite a few stars missing from this
edition. Among the notable names in the
absentee list are Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic,
who scored the most goals in the French League
and was named Ligue 1 Player of the Year,
and Welshman Gareth Bale, the world’s most
expensive footballer, who lifted the Champions
League in his first season with Real Madrid. and
Polish hitman Robert Lewandowski. Similarly,
Argentinian Carlos Tevez, Brazil’s Kaka, and
France’s Samir Nasri are some high profile names
that didn’t make the cut.
In the last edition of Road to the 2014 FIFA
World Cup, we look at the final groups: Group
G and Group H and what can be expected
from them. Group G is an interesting set with
a couple of mouth-watering fixtures lined up.
It consists of European powerhouse Germany
and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, alongside a
strong Ghana, and a very energetic USA. Group
H is rather balanced with a young and exciting
Belgium team drawn against Russia, coached
by the hard man Fabio Capello, alongside Asia’s
most successful World Cup team the Republic of
Korea, and the relatively inexperienced Algeria.
Watch out!
Soon as the whistle starts a football
match, we glue ourselves to our seats
to root for our teams for the entire
game. Watching a movie draws the
same amount of attention. If the
movie happens to be about football,
we’re sure to be hooked. Here are
a selected few of those ‘kicker’
blockbusters that should get you in
the FIFA World Cup 2014 mood.
Samyak Moktan
1
Goal!
Made in full collaboration
with FIFA, Goal has actual
teams and players make
delightful cameras throughout
the film. The plot revolves
around the idea of ‘dreams
coming true’. Santiago Munez
works in a Chinese restaurant
and dreams of playing football
professionally. His life takes a
turn when a former Newcastle
United player notices him
play and arranges to get him
a tryout for a professional
team. The second installment, Goal II: Living the
Dream, was released in February 2007 and the third
installment, Goal! III: Taking on the World, was released
straight to DVD in June 2009.
Group G
Group H
Three-time world
champions
Germany are not
only the favourites
to top Group G
but also one of
the heavyweight
contenders to take
the title. They
have managed to reach the semi-finals, at the very
least, in their last four major tournaments. Germany
has a host of players who are at the peak of their
careers and plying their trade in the top European
league teams. But the most significant pick by the
German coach is Lazio striker Miroslav Klose who
has scored 14 goals in the past three World Cups
and who will be looking to break Brazilian Ronaldo’s
record of 15. However, it won’t be a cakewalk for
Germany. The World Player of the Year, Cristiano
Ronaldo, will captain and lead the attack for
Portugal, a team that has more than a decent squad
to compete against Germany. Ghana will be eager
to avenge their narrow defeat against Germany in
2010 with two German-based players, the Boateng
brothers, in the squad. And the USA, coached by
former German international Jurgen Klinsmann, is
bound to put up a fight with their energetic style of
play. German coach Joachim Low was formerly an
assistant to USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann during
his stint with the German national team and it
promises to be an interesting encounter. All four
teams reached the last 16 at South Africa 2010 but
this time getting to the next round won’t be easy.
Group H seems
evenly distributed
but European
duo Belgium
and Russia
will kick off as
slight favourites
against Algeria
and the Republic of Korea. Belgium is making a World
Cup appearance for the first time since Korea/Japan 2002
and they, among the four countries in the group, are the
most experienced with 11 previous campaigns. Belgium
has high hopes this year with a talented crop of players
such as Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, and Vincent
Kompany at their disposal. The country’s return to the
world stage can be credited to this golden generation and
a coach who brings the best out of the players. The only
downside is that Belgium’s squad is a bit too young with
not enough experience in the international arena. Russia
will try to leave a positive impression this time, as they will
be hosting the 2018 World Cup. In 2002, the Republic
of Korea performed well on their home soil, going as far
as the semi-finals under the then coach Guus Hiddink,
but they haven’t been able to replicate the same success
since. With young and fast players like Kim Bo-Kyung and
Park Chu-Young in the squad, Korea seems like a side that
will not go down without a fight. Algeria failed to score
a single goal in their three group games at South Africa
2010 and, hopefully, this year they will come will all guns
blazing to find the net more often than their last outing.
Belgium has not lost to Russia since 1982 and they will
try to keep it that way to top the group.
(Germany,
Portugal, Ghana,
and the USA)
2
Shaolin Soccer
An incredibly entertaining movie, Shaolin Soccer was
made in 2001 in Hong Kong. The comedy is about a
former Shaolin monk who reunites his five brothers, years
after their master’s death. The team gets together and
applies their superhuman martial arts skill to play soccer,
bringing Shaolin Kungfu to the masses. Watch it just to
see the brilliant action scenes and Kungfu-style -soccer.
(Belgium,
Algeria, Russia,
and the Republic
of Korea)
3
Bend it like
Beckham
Released in 2002,
this Gurinder Chadha
movie garnered a huge
fan falling across the
world with its unique
storyline and catchy
film title. The movie is
about an 18-year old
Punjabi girl in London
who is absolutely in
love with football.
Her conservative Sikh
parents forbid her
from playing but she
manages to join a women’s team and makes it to the
top league. Don’t forget to spot David Beckham in his
short cameo in the movie.
4
The Cup
Entirely shot in a
Tibetan refugee
village in Himachal
Pradesh, India it
involves two young
football-crazy Tibetan
refugee novice monks.
They live in a remote
Himalayan monastery
and the plot of the
movie revolves around
the 1998 World Cup.
Desperate to watch the
game, the monks try to
obtain a television for
the monastery and face
many challenges in the process. The movie is directed
by Khyentse Norbu, himself a Tibetan Lama. It was
screened at the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes.
Hold your breath,
Kathmanduites!
How healthy is life in Kathmandu? We know the place
is polluted but what is the situation exactly like? With
increasing vehicles and rampant construction, every day
in the city exposes us to serious threats. Here are a few
facts that show how bad the situation currently is.
Anubhuti Poudyal
Think//Issues That Matter
Y
ou look great, a friend of
mine tells me. I would
have been flattered if not
for the mask covering all
of my face but my eyes.
I ask him how he recognized me in
the first place. I don’t know what you
look like without it now, he jokes.
With seemingly permanent masks
covering our faces, we move bravely
from Lazimpat to Lainchaur to Naxal
to Kamal Pokhari and around the city
day in and day out. Covered in dust
(when it is dry) and dirt (when it is
raining) we move at a snail’s pace in
public vehicles with nothing but our
meager attempt at fighting the air
pollution that has made Kathmandu
almost unlivable.
Air pollution statistics
According to the World Health
Organization, air pollution in towns
and cities kill 1.3 million people
globally each year.
UK estimates suggest that nearly
30,000 people die prematurely each
year as a direct result of exposure to
air pollution.
Nepal ranked 177th out of 178
countries for air quality in the 2014
Environmental Performance Index.
In one of the rare researches done
on air pollution and professional
exposure to Particulate Matter (PM)
in Nepal, it was found that the level of
PM 2.5 exceeded 500 micrograms per
cubic meter on some days, 20 times
higher than the WHO recommended
standard. The smog in Paris that had
led to intense measures such as the
banning of cars in 2014 had a PM 2.5
of 110 micrograms per cubic meter.
Vehicular emissions
We have been so focused on
creating bigger and better streets that
little thought has been put into the
extra vehicular emissions that come
with the widening of roads.
Statistically, the number of vehicles
in Kathmandu goes up by about 13
per cent annually. Unsurprisingly,
more than three fourths of this
increasing number is attributed to
motorcycles and the remaining to
cars and other vehicles. A little above
two percent of the total number is
attributed to public transportation.
This shows how intent we are on
owning a vehicle instead of using
public transportation.
The Vehicular Emission Testing
(VET) calls for the maintenance of
vehicles in order to ensure lower
emissions. The green stickers that
we see on four wheelers and heavy
vehicles are all part of the VET.
However, examinations in the four
government owned testing centers are
not compulsory for most vehicles. The
situation is limited to heavy vehicles
with motorcycles being completely
excluded.
24
Walking through Durbar Marg
during load shedding hours makes
one realize how much we rely on
power backups these days. With
restaurants and shopping centers
providing us light when our homes
are dark, it’s easy to forget the effect
load shedding has on our lungs
The increase in vehicles and a dire need
to reconsider new management strategies
have increased the pollution in an already
polluted Kathmandu. The situation will
take time to change positively.
“Generating” pollution
Walking through Durbar Marg during
load shedding hours makes one realize
how much we rely on power backups
these days. With restaurants and shopping
centers providing us light when our homes
are dark, it’s easy to forget the effect load
shedding has on our lungs. Nepal Oil
Corporation sold around 299,419 kilolitres
of diesel in the fiscal year 2006/07 which
then increased to 648,512 in 2011/12,
mostly for use in generators. The emission
from generators mostly consists of
hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, carbon
monoxides, and particulate matter, none of
which do any good to the environment.
Bricks and kilns
There was a time when brick factories
and kilns were the only major problems
affecting Kathmandu’s environment.
Although we have bigger and more urgent
matters to deal with now, the lack of
precise environmental regulations in the
business hasn’t been helping our lungs. But
with the Brick Clean Network (BCN) one
can expect the situation to change soon.
Masking the disappointment
It has been more than two years since I
walked to Kamal Pokhari with a friend
who’d just returned from the USA. He
pointed out the road that soon disappeared
into what seemed to be a whirlpool of
dust swirling and engulfing all in sight. I
remember being disappointed then. And
today is no different.
Do masks actually work?
They might, depending on what you have
around your nose. PM 10 consists of larger
particles that can be trapped in the nasal
hair. But the regular masks we wear offer
no protection against the finer and more
dangerous PM 2.5.
A study in Beijing, one of the worst
cities in terms of pollution, calculated
the penetrance of aerosols through
different materials. The results showed
cotton handkerchiefs (72%) to have the
highest penetrance. Surgical masks were
safer at 20%. Teflon filters, with a 0.66%
penetrance level, were the most effective.
However, they do come at a steeper price
(NRs. 2000).
Living in a polluted city
Acting as a group and being responsible
can help make Kathmandu a healthier
and happier place. That, however, takes
time. Meanwhile, here are a few immediate
solutions to protect yourself and your
family from air pollution:
Reduce outdoor activity when pollution
is at its highest, usually from dawn to dusk.
If you are using air conditioning, try
inner circulation to help purify the air and
prevent external exposure.
Masks can assist in preventing exposure
to air pollution.
Avoid exercising in high pollution areas.
Morning walks in the polluted sections of
the city do more harm than good.
Know your body. If you have breathing
difficulties and are prone to frequent throat
infections, consult your physician and
take additional preventive measures. The
health hazards of air pollution go beyond
respiratory systems, and eventually affect
the heart. It is essential to take precautions.
What is PM 2.5?
• Everyone keeps talking about PM 2.5.
But do you know what it is?
• Particles that are smaller than 2.5
micrometers (1/30th of human hair) are
called fine particles.
• The soluble part of PM 2.5 enters the
blood stream and the insoluble part
remains lodged in the lungs.
• It is responsible for the toxicity in blood
and can even affect the nervous system
and heart muscles.
• PM 2.5 can cause placental blood
toxicity that can hamper the growth of
babies. Exposure to PM 2.5 in the first
month of pregnancy is particularly risky.
• People with heart or respiratory disease,
elderly, pregnant women, and children
are especially affected by PM 2.5.
Think//Issues That Matter
25
Fill Our Tanks!
Studies have predicted a severe scarcity of water by the year 2030,
but if we buckle up right away, we just might be able to prevent the
water crisis, and myriad of diseases.
Srizu Bajracharya
D
id you know that we could
be dying because the water
level inside Kathmandu
Valley is depleting? Almost
half of humanity will face
water scarcity by 2030 states
the research report of Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and
Development’s Environmental Outlook
to 2030. And the symptoms are already
visible. Many Pokharis and Dhunge Dhara
which used to supply running water have
already dried out in Kathmandu valley.
And people are suffering from water born
diseases because they have no access
to clean water. People have to call up
for water – hence, we see water tankers
roaming around the city. We can act okay
even now by blaming the problems as an
outcome of the unmanaged Water system
in Kathmandu but the truth is we have
actually no one but ourselves to blame for
the water crisis and the diseases that are
growing rampantly.
You might think you can save water by
closing the tap when you are not using it or
supply your house with water by digging a
well in the compound. But that too is not
going to work because we have surpassed
the time when water problem was just
a small problem that could be solved by
well pumps and spouts. Water crisis has
grown into a bigger problem and is now
eating the society slowly. Substantially,
because we ignored when we had to take
an action. The rivers in the valley are
drying out and the ground water is getting
worse in its quality. We are actually living
inside a drainage system and the only
reason we are surviving it is because we
are in Kathmandu where we have plenty
of medicine and awareness program
for diseases like Diarrhea, Cholera and
Typhoid. Rautahat recently, was hit by an
epidemic cholera. 700 locals were infected.
That number will never be faced in
Kathmandu because we have health posts
delivering health service. But there is a
high chance in the future that we may
face their condition not because of the
disease but because of thirst.
The solution we can adhere to - is
easy to communicate but in reality to
go ahead with a water conservation
plan is challenging in itself. For
it delves with our behavior to the
environment, our habitual inhabitance
to tolerate problems even in the
extreme level and to motivate people
to take stand for the unmanaged
garbage disposal system and river
pollution. And that isn’t easy at all.
You cannot change a system by just
Here is how you can
save water
• Recharge groundwater
• Grow treatment plants
around your waste
water tank
• Systemize rain water
harvesting
• Recycle water use
According to the WHO,
“Worldwide, 13 million
deaths can be prevented
every year by making our
environments healthier.”
You can always prevent
diseases by following these tips
• Drink clean water.
• Wash your hands properly and
habituate yourself with clean
habits.
• If you are about to consume a
meat product, cook it thoroughly.
• Consume only pasteurized meat
products
According to UN figures, rapid
population growth and increased
industrial demand has tripled water
withdrawals over the last 50 years.
Think//Issues That Matter
eradicating the problem. We need
a solution that can function the
society’s water system. Megh Ale the
founder of Nepal River conservation
Trust realized it earlier on and
therefore he brings people together
by celebrating Bagmati River Festival
and collects volunteer for the
cleaning campaign. “People will not
agree to help right away , we need to
make people understand why we are
doing what we are doing.”
Mahesh Basnet Chairman of
High Power for Integrated Bagmati
Development Committee says “ to
solve water problem we have to have
a master plan, manpower and budget
and it is really difficult to bring people
together and to convince them to
make up a system. We have no river
policy and laws that punishes people
who don’t go by the rules. Had we
empowered river organizations there
would have been no water pollution
and no land encroachment.” Mahesh
Basnet after working for decades in the
Bagmati cleaning campaign realized
that an arm political commitment
and media support is very necessary
to carry out a developmental plan. He
worries why the concerned people
aren’t taking any necessary initiatives.
“I can totally see how we can
solve water crisis in Kathmandu and
I am surprised that people are not
working towards this idea. The rivers
are drying out because sand and
26
stones of the river are being exploited
illegally. These sand and stones hold
water. Plus, we have deforestation
to deal with which withers land and
dries out water. What we can do is systemize rain water harvesting and
ground water recharge water. We can
build dams that can supply water in
the dry seasons as well. If we are able
to carry out this plan we can save
up to 75% of water in Kathmandu
Valley” says Mahesh Basnet who feels
confident that his concept will work
one hundred percent to solve water
problem. He further says “if we are
able to treat waste water by treatment
plants we will never have to go
through this water problem at all.”
“The encroaching land due
to population growth should be
controlled. The squatters living by
the riverside should be managed
elsewhere because they are the ones
who are going to be affected, for that is
from where diseases can get epidemic
because they are living by the sewage
pipes. And that’s how epidemics get
haphazard” says Basnet.
People these days enjoy rain than
sun because we have no good source
of water. We enjoy the drizzle hoping
the water level will rise up, hoping our
tanks will be filled. May be it’s time for
us to do away with a system to build
another of hope. May be we don’t have
to call for the tankers to fill our water
tanks after all.
The “Dirty” Article
“Waste” needs to be obliterated - from Kathmandu, from the world,
and, eventually, our vocabulary.
Nischal Neupane
I
t’s all about “waste.” Bear with me
while I define my understanding
of the word. To me, “waste” is the
useless byproduct of energy systems,
the difference between the input
and the output, the barrier to a utopian
100% efficient perfect machine, the bad
guy. And, sadly it is here to stay. Why?
Because our planet is full of flawed energy
systems and literally everything in this
world - animate and inanimate - produces
waste. The human body, your house, your
motorbike, even your bicycle (during
manufacturing), your city, the list goes on.
Managing that “waste” is now one of
the biggest headaches of the world. The
governments of developed countries
are racking their brains trying to stop
the world looking like the backdrop of
the PIXAR masterpiece Wall E. While
the movie does provide a few delightful
moments, it visibly points at the direction
our planet is heading towards.
Our city - dusty old Kathmandu - isn’t
immune to the problem. If you are a
morning person and are out and about
before 8:00, you will see cohorts of
municipality trucks scooping waste off the
streets. In recent years, we have all been
familiar with the private sector “whistle
blowers” who collect our garbage at our
doors. According to the KMC’s 2008
survey, the booming metro produces
about 365 tons of waste per
day. The metropolitan office
claims about 93% of the waste
generated is collected and
about 23 tons of it remains
unmanaged. Most of the
collected waste is then hauled
to small collection points (in
case of private companies) and
the transfer station in Teku
(in case of KMC vehicles) and
then later sent to the landfill
site in Okharpauwa, Sisdol,
Nuwakot. The same study also
looked at the waste composition of the
Valley, which showed that 63% of the
waste is organic. Plastic makes up
for 11% of the total haul and paper
comes in a close third with 9%. The
metropolitan city spends 37.5 million
USD per year just managing the waste.
Think//Issues That Matter
27
But to give credit where it’s due, the
waste situation of Kathmandu Valley has
vastly improved in the last decade or so.
The KMC has largely been able to keep
open dumping off the streets. If you ignore
the calamitous banks of the Bagmati and a
few scraps of plastic flying in the afternoon
thermals, Kathmandu looks decent in the
light of noon. Having said that, I do think
it is the right time to change our approach
in managing waste. After all, all the city is
doing with the waste is hide it, tucking it
away where it can’t be stumbled upon.
The current approach will do for a few
decades, but like I stated earlier, there is
no end to the production of waste. What
happens when we run out of open ground
to dig and hide things underneath? What
happens when the cost of petrol rises so
high that it’ll be completely unfeasible for
trucks to transport the 350 tons of garbage
that we put on the streets on a daily basis?
Obviously, it’s easy to point out the
problems but, in this case, it’s equally
easy to pick out the solutions as well. You
might be familiar with the “Reduce, Reuse,
and Recycle” slogan, accompanied by the
“Segregate at source” chant. There’s nothing
wrong with the slogans and principles, it’s
acting upon them that’s difficult.
The biggest actors with the ability to
address the issue are, without a doubt, the
individuals who make the choices but there
are some institutions that can also play a
major role in changing the mindsets of the
public for good. The change has to start in
our school systems and it has to start with
the kindergarten students. Children should
be taught to segregate waste. Schools need
to come up with better ways of managing
their junk and not just be content with the
façade of declaring themselves “plastic free
zones.”
The next institution that needs to play a
major role is the government. It can start
off by formulating laws that are specific
and devoid of loopholes. For example, the
Local Self Governance Act-1999 stipulates
that local governments are responsible for
the management of waste but doesn’t state
how it’s supposed to be managed. This
means, if a municipality decides to dump
waste in the holiest river of Nepal as a way
of “managing” it, the body can certainly
do so. The Solid Waste Management Act of
Obviously, it’s easy to point out
the problems but, in this case, it’s
equally easy to pick out the solutions
as well.
2011 is another vague, unspecific piece of
document that is supposed to govern the
solid waste management sector. There have
been a few technical guidelines out, but
until they come into action, the document
will sit on a shelf and eventually ends up as
“waste” itself. Ironic?
Once the laws and policies are sorted
out, the government needs to come up
with monitoring mechanisms. It also needs
to actually act on the consequences that it
sets in those very same laws and policies.
The next step would be to provide the
public with the required hardware. Public
garbage bins, for example, are scarce in
the Valley. People trying to help out have
been forced to carry little pieces of junk
in their pockets until a bin is spotted. All
of it is okay until you have a banana peel
to throw or a leftover samosa that you
couldn’t finish. Composting bins should
be promoted at household levels on a big
scale; vermi composting can be presented
as an option to manage organic waste, and
tax cuts should be provided to encourage
people who take the initiative to manage
their organic waste at their own level.
After all, 65% of the daily waste is organic
and can be managed in the Valley itself.
It would save the KMC a ton of money
that could otherwise be used for other
environmentally friendly initiatives.
Next, the municipality needs to
incentivize the sector so that entrepreneurs
can be brought in to invest in waste
management. If you visit the numerous
scrap centers on the banks of the Bagmati
run by informal waste workers, you
will find that the waste sector might
be one of the biggest trading points
in our country where millions of
rupees exchange hands per day. The
government and the municipalities
should step in to regulate the trading,
and promote it with proper incentives.
The rights of informal waste workers
should be recognized and they should
be celebrated for their role in trying to
keep Kathmandu clean.
Last but not the least, and probably
one of the hardest things to do, is to
eliminate the word “waste” itself. The
“Zero Waste” movement is going full
swing in Europe at the moment, and
Nepal needs to learn from it. There will
be a lot of strife and a lot of changing
of our work methods to even start
scratching at the concept, but that
doesn’t mean we can’t start. We all have
roles to play, and if we begin right away,
we might be able to do just that i.e.
eliminate the word “waste” forever.
Think//Issues That Matter
28
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly?
Hospitals and health care facilities need to ensure that they are centers of
healing rather than hubs for breeding more patients through their careless waste
management practices.
Nischal Neupane
T
here has been a proliferation of
hospitals in Kathmandu in the last
decade or so. While some consider
the ever-growing number of hospitals a
positive transformation, there are skeptics
who point out otherwise. For them, more
hospitals mean more demand, and the only
people who demand hospitals are patients.
So, by that logic, more hospitals equate to
more patients and more patients equate
to a collectively sick society. That can’t be
good news! Even worse are the reports that
these centers of healing are inadvertently
(or advertently) creating more patients by
mismanaging their waste.
Like all institutions that consume
energy to function, hospitals generate
waste as well. But unlike your regular
kitchen garbage, the byproduct of
hospital procedures contain all sorts of
hazardous items - contaminated needles,
pharmaceuticals, chemicals, amputated
body parts, etc.
So, what happens to the waste that
comes out of the ever-growing hospitals
in Kathmandu? Most tend to burn or
dump their garbage in the municipal
waste stream or end up in the riverbanks,
while some are buried. Burning HCW
produces Persistent Organic Pollutants
(POPs) like dioxins and furans, which
have been classified as one of the most
toxic chemicals on the planet. Furthemore,
dumping HCW poses a direct risk to the
waste handlers and gradual contamination
of ground and surface water harms the
public. One of the primary concerns
of improper disposal of HCW is the
risk posed by syringes to waste workers
and the public alike. In 2000, WHO
estimated that contaminated injections
with contaminated syringes caused 21
million hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections
(32% of all new infections), two million
hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections (40%
of all new infections); and at least 260 000
HIV infections (5% of all new infections).
Furthermore, there is also a looming risk
of undestroyed syringes being repacked
and resold in the pharmacies.
So what is being done about the
problem? Let’s start with the government.
The policies formulated throughout the
years regarding the issue of improper
healthcare waste management have
remained largely ambiguous. The Local
Self Governance Act of 1999 empowers
local governments to fine anyone up
to Rs. 15000 for haphazard dumping
of solid waste but, ironically, doesn’t
require the local governments to make
provisions to manage hazardous waste.
The Solid Waste Management Act of
2011 mentions medical waste under
Chapter 10: Miscellaneous. According
to the text, all hospitals are required
to have a proper waste management
system in order to be approved for an
establishment license. But, while doing
that, the act fails miserably in defining
what “proper waste management systems”
are, thus providing a leeway for health
institutions to define them according to
their needs. A comprehensive guideline
for proper HCW management is lacking
as well, and that contributes to further
exacerbate the already bad scenario.
Additionally, the government doesn’t have
physical infrastructures that cater to the
management of HCW in place either.
Not everything is bleak though.
Bir Hospital, Nepal’s oldest hospital,
has led the initiative by being the first
to introduce a non-burn Health Care
Waste Management (HCWM) system.
Bir Hospital segregates its detritus at
the source, follows WHO guidelines for
safe transportation of waste, disinfects
using non incineration methods, and
recycles and composts possible waste
volume before disposing the remains in
the municipal waste stream. The hospital
is a certified safe injection and mercury
free facility - it actually is the only
establishment with a safe mercury storage
house in Nepal. The institution also raises
additional funds by selling its disinfected
waste to scrap dealers, enough for minor
repairs and maintenance activities.
Seeing Bir’s transformation, other
hospitals have followed suit. With technical
guidance from HECAF’s HCWM program,
Norvic International Hospital has shunned
its waste burning practices and embraced
a proper waste management system.
Kathmandu Model Hospital is another
institution that has taken up its waste
management responsibility.
The safe management of HCW is
definitely not rocket science and can be
Nischal Neupane,
currently working
in the non-profit
sector, deeply cares
about environmental
issues, wants
to play a role in
creating a green
and environmentally
conscious Nepal, and
cannot imagine his
life without music.
achieved with a strong commitment on
the part of the hospital management.
The first step, of course, is the change in
the mindsets of healthcare workers and
their willingness to embrace the change.
Once that is out of the way, healthcare
facilities need to institutionalize
HCWM. This entails forming HCWM
committees and building the capacity of
their staff. Proper segregation of waste
is paramount to the efficacy of HCWM
systems. Segregation bins used for the
system should be accompanied by proper
labeling through easy-to-read text and
pictures.
Once the risk and non-risk waste are
separated, they should be transported
safely to the designated treatment center.
HCW workers who are responsible
for collecting and transporting waste
should be well protected and must wear
Personal Protective Equipment at all
times. Risk waste should be disinfected
using an autoclave. After non-risk waste
is disinfected, most of it can be recycled.
The biodegradable waste that is generated
at the hospital can be composted or used
to generate biogas with the help of a bio
digester.
Special attention should go towards
managing needles. Syringes should be
dismantled immediately after use with
a needle cutter after which they should
be collected in a separate container. The
needles then need to be disinfected in an
autoclave and encapsulated to prevent
needle stick injuries. With a strong
commitment from hospitals and other
health care facilities, proper guidelines on
HCW management, relevant policies, and
monitoring mechanisms, proper HCW
management can be achieved. Of course,
the task is not easy but that’s no excuse to
not give it a shot, is it?
Think//Fr!day Films
MOVIE
REVIEW
30
Morass and
Miracles
P
Prawin Adhikari
igeons – the winged infestation
of city life – circle the sky a few
times, flit together in the air,
bank and return to their old
perches. At the least, they have
that security – of returning to their perches
after the brief flight. And what a privilege
that can be! To forage and seek betterment
of one sort or another, and return to the
safety of the familiar four-walls where one
has built a life! Nothing pushes individuals
to the brink of dissolution by snatching
away that security and privilege as does the
faceless, merciless vastness of a metropolis.
Hansal Mehta’s City Lights – an
authorized remake of Metro Manila – is
less about Mumbai the physical being
than it is about Bombay, the glittering
lure shining ever brighter since its
conception and growth as the gateway to
Company India. Rajkumar Rao’s Deepak
Singh is an ex-army family man from a
small town in Rajasthan. He has never
known anything but hierarchy: when the
moneylenders come to evict him from
his shop, he falls to their feet and begs –
‘Hukum!’ Thus uprooted from everything
he knows, he is forced to bundle up his
family and travel to Mumbai, the bright
jewel on the Arabian Sea. When his wife
Rakhi – played by Patralekha – voices her
doubts, Deepak says tenderly – Mumbai
mein toh samandar bhi hai! Mumbai has
a sea! Abundance is by itself a signal of
limitless opportunities. Never mind the
improbability of success choosing you its
champion.
Homelessness in a big city immediately
affects the sense of self-worth. First, one
must find a source of water to which one
can return, and from where one can take
water away. Second, one must find a place
to relieve oneself. Third: a dependable
source of food. Then, a place quiet and
covered to try and sleep off the fatigue
that comes from foraging for water and
food, and from the constant worry that
what little you have – by the way of good
health, the knickknack you can’t abandon,
the peace of mind that walks the tightrope
between clarity and delusion – will not
be yours tomorrow. A big city drives
forward not on the reflected starlight of
the few who attain success, but the fire that
consumes the millions who toil to keep the
city inching forward.
So it is for Deepak Singh’s little family:
promptly upon arrival, Mumbai teaches
them a lesson, and grinds them to the
nethermost rung: as close to Hell as a
father can bear to bring his family. They
turn to strangers. Deepak Singh seeks
gainful employment: He goes to the
BR Ambedkar vāchanālaya – a reading
library – to study the classifieds. That
seems a touching, telling detail: the most
downtrodden in the moment grasp at
each other for support. City Lights is full
of such details where, with a miniscule
gesture, the story gains depth. This should
be a mainstay characteristic of narrative
filmmaking; after all, cinema is nothing
if not value-addition through gainful
employment of details from disparate art
forms coming together in a scene. But
it is still a rare enough quality in Nepali
and Hindi movies that what should
be commonplace becomes something
celebrated.
Mumbai is full of contradictions – this
very sentiment is a cliché about Mumbai,
and is often shown by contrasting the
skyward mansions of billionaires, often
stealing directly above the sun and air of
their neighbors, with the thousands of
slum-dwellers surviving in the ramshackle
sprawl of their shadows. City Lights doesn’t
dwell too much on such easy clichés.
Instead, it rushes to throw the characters
into the cauldron: to watch them writhe in
agony, to hear their desperate cries.
When a city is as vast and indifferent
as Mumbai, it seems less discriminating
when it metes out humiliation: when a
woman decides to work as a dance-girl,
she is appraised by making her remove her
shawl and turn around. She is entering a
market where only her body is of value,
and the cost of entry is the humiliation
of being stripped naked by the male
employer’s gaze. Later, when a couple of
men ask a gangster for a favor – in a city
like Mumbai, everyone asks for favors
unashamedly, and also does favors, with
the understanding that it will be repaid
– they are made to undress, literally, and
turn around. In both scenes, the hands
of the men in the position of power are
illuminated by smart-phone screens. These
screens allow men to ignore those weaker
than themselves. Smart phones can play
the music to whose tune the poor must
dance. They can make the right phone
calls and make all troubles disappear. They
aren’t just accessories: they are badges of
power and class. Even a pimp can get his
way with a police inspector if he is carrying
an expensive phone: the police inspector
will play a video game on his phone while
a helpless man seeks justice at his feet.
Repeatedly, at crucial moments in the
movie, the rich and the powerful play with
CityLights
Directed by
Hansal Mehta
Produced by
Mukesh Bhatt
Screenplay by
Ritesh Shah
Based on
Metro Manila by Sean Ellis
Starring
Rajkummar Rao,
Patraleka
Music by
Jeet Ganguly,
Raju Singh
Editing by
Apurva Asrani
Distributed by
Vishesh Films,
Fox Star Studios
Running time
126 minutes
Language
Hindi
their smart phones: yet another barrier
that gives them the sanctuary through
separation from the toiling masses.
I have not seen Metro Manila – written
by Sean Ellis – but the adaptation by
Ritesh Shah, City Lights, feels authentic
and rooted in its milieu. The director, the
cinematographer, and the protagonist,
Rajkumar Rao, must all share the credit for
this success. Rao slips into his character
sometimes simply by folding the sleeves
of his shirt: self-respect and naiveté, the
mark of a small-town upright family man.
Mumbai doesn’t have to be the teeming
streets or the chaos of the railway stations.
It can be an unfinished apartment high
up in a tower – once finished, it will sell
for half a million dollars, but for now the
Singh family may squat there. There are
no walls or panes between the privacy of
the family and the city below. But, it makes
you wonder – isn’t it the same half-million
dollar view? Is it really the barrier of a
window pane that separates the fortunes of
those who reside in the clouds, and those
innumerable Atlases who hold aloft the sky
from where bright jewels hang?
“Poverty is a disease,” Singh’s partner
at his new job tells him. If poverty is a
disease, City Light shows Mumbai as
the ICU in a hospital where a poor man
goes to cure one disease and returns with
another – deadlier – infection, his lot no
more improved than when he arrived.
And Deepak proves a formidable foil to
the city’s cruelty – one never ceases to
root for him, even when his mettle begins
to dissolve. If the metropolis opens its
maws to chew him alive, Deepak Singh is
determined to escape it, but not without
giving it a worthy fight. By stripping
Mumbai of its starlight and glamour
– on the side of fantasy or of squalor –
City Lights succeeds in illuminating the
darkness that necessarily comes with
the light. I only hope that it is still in the
theaters in the coming weekend – this
movie recommends itself at many different
levels, each very satisfying and rewarding.
Prawin Adhikari writes fiction and screenplays, and
teaches. He is an assistant editor with La.Lit, the literary magazine, accessible online at www.lalitmag.com
His collection of short stories The Vanishing Act was
published in March, 2014, by Rupa Publications.