#402 30 May - 5 June 2008 16 pages Rs 30

Weekly Internet Poll # 402. To vote go to: www.nepalitimes.comQ. Are you proud to be a Nepali?

Weekly Internet Poll # 402

Q. How confident are you that a republicwill be declared on 28 May?

Total votes: 6,360

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

2 30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402EDITORIAL

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STATE OF THE STATEC K Lal

THE PUBLIC’S REPUBLICIf anyone wanted a glimpse of the New Nepal, it could be seeninside the Sagarmatha Hall of the convention centre this week onthe fresh and diverse faces of assembly members. They representour transition parliament and the drafters of a new constitution overthe next two years.

That we have come this far to formally declare Nepal a federaldemocratic republic through elections and not bloodshed will gointo the annals of world history as a model of conflicttransformation and political evolution. Despite the delays andmismanagement, the old guard have brought us to this point andthey deserve thanks. Now, its time to pass on the baton to ayounger generation of elected representatives, the women andmembers of minority communities.

The road ahead is not easy. Declaring Nepal a republic will notmake our woes go away overnight. The first task for the assemblyis to institutionalise the gains of the past 70 years of democraticstruggle. This will require procedures for the conduct of assemblysessions to be of international standards. Work of expertcommittees apart, the right of every member to be heard should behonoured and the party whip should be limited to voting.

Once the chair and deputy are named, the formation ofcommittees and their composition will be critical to the success ofthe constitution drafting process. It’s encouraging that theassembly reflects Nepal’s diversity, but it must maintain cohesionto deliver results. Committees to draft laws related to fundamentalfreedoms, the system of governance, civilian control over the armyand bases of provincial autonomy will have to be led by competentlawmakers with deep understanding of Nepali realities, notpopulists playing to the galleries.

As a legislature, the assembly will have to immediately startwork on the budget when the new finance minister takes charge.The new government will crash head-on into a food-fuel crisis assoon as it comes to power. With the republican dream realised, thepeople will want more from their elected leaders than slogans.They will need to feel tangible improvement in their lives.Assembly members will have to help sustain and support theweakened instruments of the executive so that developmentdelivery catches up with lost time.

Unlike the restless populace of volatile new democracies,Nepali voters showed their fortitude last month. But our politicianshave the habit of cutting the tree on which they sit. They will nowhave to show accountabilityand patience as the constitutiondrafting process drags onthrough two years.

Our raucous civil societyand edgy media will do well notto be too harsh on the assemblymembers, most of whom arenew to the ways of electoralpolitics. For the sake of theNepali people, the newgovernment should also begiven a chance to deliver.

ith their knack formaking the simplecomplicated,

Baluwatar politicians shouldturn into Bollywood script-writers. Nothing but a nail-bitingclimax with the audience grippedby fearful anticipation, will dofor our netas.

The South Asian knack forleaving critical issues for the lastminute is ingrained in all of us,but Nepal’s political class

gambled with history onWednesday night. Aconstitutional impasse seemed apossibility. Fortunately,contentious issues were pushedfor later and the country wasdeclared a republic 12 hoursbehind schedule.

There was a jarring note in theotherwise sober session: theunnecessary rendition of Indianspeaker Somnath Chatterjee’sletter. Yes India is a specialneighbour, yes they supportedour peace process. But why wasthere any need to read out a notefrom an Indian functionary on ahistoric Nepali occasion? Whotook that decision, and why?

Wednesday’s brinkmanshipmay have appeared dangerous,but the gradualist abolition of themonarchy over the past two years

TARAI EYEPrashant Jha

May the 28thWednesday was the easy part

has been wise. In our “lazyrevolution” the monarchycontinued its twilight existencetwo years after the People’sMovement, and this step-by-stepclipping of the king’s wings gavethe Nepali people time to copewith the demise of an institutionthat was integral to the country.The official republic is strongerbecause we have been trained tolive under an ad-hoc republicsince 2006.

Whether we liked it or not,the monarchy was in a weak,narrow, hill-centric way, a markerof national unity for many. Theinstitution manufactured anassociation with Hinduism. Andthe Hindu king, in some ways,provided a fragile bond betweenthe Pahad and the Tarai. Thisexplains the ambivalent andrelatively sympatheticrelationship of the Madhes withthe monarchy.

Of course, the monarchy hadbecome a symbol of divisivenessrather than unity in recent years.As political consciousness grew,people realised Narayanhiti wasthe fountain of several levels ofdiscrimination and oppression.And Gyanendra turned out to bethe biggest republican. Nepalobviously did not need the kingfor national unity.

But Wednesday’s move hasmade the nation-building processmore urgent. The constituentassembly has to create a commonsense of citizenship, based oninclusive political principles,rights and civic duties. It was notonly the monarchy that ended on28 May, the idea of subjecthoodand ethnicity-centred citizenshipcollapsed as well. Over the nexttwo years, a more territorial,political and inclusive ideaof who a Nepali is has tobe consolidated.

The representatives of theMadhes voted along with the rest

of the political class against themonarchy. Hridayesh Tripathi’sintervention on the absence offederalism in one of the points ofthe resolution had the danger ofveering the debate in anotherdirection. But he made his pointand sat down.

The MJF went with therepublic. Upendra Yadav hasactive royalist ties, which he hastapped for political support andfunding. But the election results,MJF’s publicly republican stance,and the CA vote show thatUpendra used the king anddumped him instead of allowingthe king to use him.

The possibility of aconservative backlash by activeroyalists is remote. What is morelikely is that Hindutva forceswill stoke religious emotions,particularly in the Tarai. There isa fear in the plains that a secularrepublic, with no Hindu king totake care of Hindu interests, willmean rampant cow slaughter.Nepal’s politicians have notreached out to allaymisconceptions and clarify that arepublic will not be anti-Hindu.Hindu groups will play onthis fear.

Fortunately, these groupshave barely any organisationalstrength, no strong leaders, andnegligible mass support. But ifthere is rising discontent againstthe Maoist-led government, andif the tension in Madhescontinues with added inter-religious and inter-casteconflicts, the Hindu right willcapitalise on it. They held ameeting in Balrampur in UP lastmonth and are trying toreorganise and re-strategise.

Given the political consensusacross parties and across regions,the republic is here to stay.Wednesday was the easy part.The real challenge of constitutionwriting begins now.

hen Prime Minister Girija Koiralafinally arrived at the ConstituentAssembly on Wednesday, night had

fallen. He ignored the Nepal Army’s guardof honour that had waited around all day inNew Baneswor.

Koirala must have been sore at the waynegotiations had drifted at Baluwatar allday. With his own cabinet colleagues andsenior party functionaries dealing directly

with the army brass, the premier hadvery little elbow room to persuade theMaoists to accept a compromise onpresidential powers.

In the end, he had to present a deadlockas a settlement to save face and end thefirst session with an obligatory declarationof a republic. Such a perfunctorypronouncement could have easily beendone had the meeting begun on schedule in

the morning. It would have saved the newly-elected members unnecessary fatigue andthe embarrassment of the diplomatic corpsridiculing “the Nepali way of doing things atthe last hour” in the visitor’s balcony.

Early on Wednesday morning, Maoistnegotiators were the only ones to arrive atBaluwatar fully prepared. With an eye onthe post of an executive president, theMaoists insisted that the change in interimconstitution must accept their partymanifesto and follow the French Model.Nudged by the army, the NC and UMLinsisted that the supreme commander-in-chief and the head of government should notbe the same person.

In the end, Bhadrakali prevailed overBaluwatar and Koirala now probably fearsthat the generals have someone other thanhim in mind for the first president. HenceKoirala’s snub to the military band. In thenext seven days of CA recess, the realbargaining will be between the Maoists andthe Nepal Army over who will be president.

Gyanendra is taking all the flak for

bringing the 240-year old Shah dynasty toan abrupt and ignoble end. Much of it is welldeserved. However, it was probably themisadventures of the then Royal NepalArmy that ultimately helped bring downthe monarchy.

Even from the sidelines, it was clearfrom day one of Gyanendra’s reign that thearmy would hold sway over all affairs ofstate. The moves of consolidation of powerthat began to unfold within a month of hisaccession to the throne in June 2001 hadall the hallmarks of a CIA Counter-insurgency Manual.

If the debacle at Holeri hadn’t happenedon 12 July 2001 to discredit and dishonourKoirala forcing him to resign, it would havebeen necessary to invent something like it.The army needs an unfettered right to createa reign of terror for creating a security state.

Had the high-security Dang Barracks notbeen overrun by the Maoists in Novmber2001, something else like that would havebeen necessary to impose an emergency.From then onwards, 21 February, 22 May, 4

October in 2002 and finally 1 February 2005were milestones in the slide of the Shahdynasty into political oblivion. Gyanendrasigned the death warrant of the monarchythe day he acquiesced to the army’srequest to fracture and sideline the NC.

The army’s strategists see the NC asthe biggest obstacle in finishing the job ofthe militarisation of governance in Nepal. Ifit’s necessary to prop up Maoists toachieve that aim in the short term, so be it.Those were probably the details that werediscussed between powerful emissaries ofthe defence establishment and the Maoistleadership during their helicopter-borneRasuwa rendezvous last week.

Prolonged interesting times seem to bethe destiny of this nation. The all-importantconstituent assembly has turned out to be aside-show. But planners meticulouslyexecuting their moves may have forgottento factor the rest of us: common Nepaliswho will never again accept anydictatorship, be it Maoist totalitarianism ormilitary authoritarianism.

More interesting timesLooks like we are cursed not to live through dull days

W

SAM KANG LI

330 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402

LLLLL E T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R SE T T E R S

LETTERSNepali Times welcomes feedback. Letters should bebrief and may be edited for space. While pseudonymscan be accepted, writers who provide their real namesand contact details will be given preference. Emailletters should be in text format without attachmentswith ‘letter to the editor’ in the subject line.

Email: letters(at)nepalitimes.comFax: 977-1-5521013Mail: Letters, Nepali Times,GPO Box 7251, Kathmandu, Nepal.

MAOIST MATTERSIn last week’s guest column (‘Sore losers’,#401), Tapan Bose has stated the facts but doesnot pay heed to the consequences. The Maoistsdo have a convincing majority, but we still haveto consider how democratic they really are. IfPrachanda has his way he will effectivelycontrol two armies and two police forces (theNepal Police and the YCL). That does not strikeme as a secure situation for democracy inNepal. It’s true we need new faces in politics,but I don’t want Nepal to slip into a dictatorshipagain. I was already beaten once campaigningfor democracy and I don’t want to lose it now.

Santosh Dhungana, email

At first the Maoists denied their involvementin the murder of Ram HariShrestha, but under publicpressure they admitted itand made a publicapology. This has becomea very common procedurefor them: commit a crimeand say sorry afterwards.Mere apology is not enoughto make up for thesecrimes, and there should belegal action against thosewho were involved in thekilling. The Maoists shouldremember that if they areseen to be tyrantseventually the people willrise up against them as theyrose up against kingGyanendra.

Praveen Kumar Yadav, Birgunj

I don’t understand why Prakash Mahatarathinks that communes are incompatible with amarket economy (‘Experimenting withcommune-ism’, #401). They are incompatiblewith private property, but they are not opposed tothe possibility of selling produce on the market.The means of production are shared, but theproduct can be sold as it can anywhere,provided there is a surplus. I’m also justwondering: can the communes really be as goodas they sound from his description?

Deepak Aryal, email

In light of the ongoing fuel crisis in Nepal,my recommendation to the incoming Maoistgovernment is to institutionalise Nepal bandas atleast three days a week so they can save fuel.This way every political party, as well asfamilies who want to bring everything to astandstill by calling strikes, will have oneallotted day in the week. The Maoists can haveMondays, the NC and UML Tuesdays (alternateweeks) and Wednesdays can go to anyone withan axe to grind. This would make our strikesmuch more orderly. So you think the Fierce Onewill agree?

Roshan Paudel, Minneapolis

CHANGING GUARDMallika Aryal’s statement that the election wasan “overwhelming win for republicanism”(‘Changing of the guard’, #401) is one-sided andbiased. The seven parties filled the campaignwith anti-monarchy propaganda, using allchannels including the media, and any voices to

the contrary were, and are still, shouted down.Also, the resolution passed by the unelectedinterim parliament has no jurisdiction over suchan important issue as the future of the monarchy.

Niranjan, email

I have read that Madan Puraskar isconcerned about the fate of a lot of important andvaluable documents in the palace after the kingleaves (see ‘Changing of the guard’, #401). I alsothink this matter is important and am surprisedthat the government has not said anything about itup till now. Both the government and the kingshould work hard to ensure that documents andartefacts of national importance are not lost, andthe items should be put under the charge of thenational archaeological department.

Pankaj Joshi, Atlanta, USA

STATE AFFAIRSRegarding Upendra Yadav’scomments about a single Madhesprovince (“Koirala must resign”,#401), no doubt the best solutionwould be to just divide up thewhole country, giving everyonetheir own little pieces of landthat they can govern. Whateveris left behind, the dogs can fightover until one of them wins.Equal representation is onething to ask for, but a separateprovince is another. I am aNepali, and even though I havebeen away from home for

years, it does hurt to see mycountry being divided.

Pradipta Rana, email

The ‘Banco del sur’ (‘Banco sel sur’, #381) isan excellent idea. It would be really great ifNepal’s finance minister, whether he/she turnsout to be a Maoist, NC or UML, understands theimportance of moving out of a dependencysyndrome, relying on the World Bank/IMF, therich donor nations and our big brothers India andChina. This would be one really important way tohelp development in Nepal – for our own benefitrather than at the say of our bigger partners.

Alok Dixit, email

CK LALBravo, CK Lal. Over the past eight years, youhave done an amazing job of writing in-depthanalysis on socio-political issues, roads androadblocks ahead. Of course, with punditrycomes a responsibility towards integrity andprofessionalism. I wish you many more years ofsuccess.

Dino Shrestha, email

4 30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402NATION

ressed in a plain shirt andjeans, Anand Bagaria quietlylistens to a group of journalists

who are grilling farm brokers inBirgunj about the profits they make intheir role as middlemen betweenfarmers and consumers. The nextday, he joins the same group ofjournalists on a field visit to poultryfarms and a hatchery in Chitwan. Again, he listens attentively to theconversation between journalists and the farmers.

Bagaria, director of Nimbus, which runs a livestock pellet feedfactory in Birgunj, is using the opportunity to hear about newdevelopments and trends in the agricultural and livestock businessdirectly from the mouths of traders and local farmers.

“We keep abreast of technical and commercial developmentsworldwide, and invest a large portion of our earnings in technicalupdates every year,” says Bagaria, who plans to expand his feed-producing unit into a fully integrated animal health and livestockcompany, listed and traded in the local stock exchange, in the nextfive years.

Nimbus, which came into existence more than a decade ago as adistributor for Nepal-made consumer products, ventured into the animalnutrition business in 2000 and began exporting poultry feed supplementsto India. “We kept our eyes open on the domestic market as well, sellingfeed ingredients, supplements, medicines and vaccines. In 2003, we setup the first ever pellet feed mill in Nepal,” says Bagaria.

The factory, with a fixed investment of Rs 150 million, now produces50,000 tonnes of livestock feed annually and provides directemployment to 250 people.

The company’s move into the livestock business was not exactlyplanned, but happened more by accident, recalls Bagaria. Years ago, hebought five tonnes of poultry feed supplement from a European firm,after being convinced by a dealer that the product had a good marketin India.

But he didn’t expect that the market would be good enough to allowhis family-run business to grow into one of the leading agro-companiesin Nepal, with an annual turnover of Rs 1 billion.

As he travelled around livestock farms looking for customers for thefeed he had bought, he got a deeper understanding of the domesticlivestock market and the opportunities it afforded. Bagaria decided tobecome a permanent supplier, and four years ago the firm beganproducing, distributing and selling poultry and livestock pellet feedunder the brand name Shakti.

But the development was not always a smooth ride. “In the first year,it was really challenging to market our product,” says Jagadish PrasadAgarwal, Bagaria’s father. For the first few months they were only ableto sell 300 tonnes of feed a month, while they were producing 4,500.

“The unorganised approach of participants in this industry–too muchcredit, poor quality, barter, syndication and cartelling, and a lack oftechnical know-how and focus on the cost of production–was our biggestproblem,” says Bagaria, who takes care of marketing and distribution,while his father looks after the factory in Birgunj.

“To overcome this we identified a few conscious and receptivefarmers across the country, and took it on ourselves to improve theircost of production and management skills. Then we got a multipliereffects and these successful farmers became our brands ambassadors.”

The livestock industry, same as any other agricultural business inthe country, lacks modernisation and proper management. Arestructuring of the industry would help bring more employmentopportunities for rural communities around Birgunj and in other partsof Nepal.

But in an industry which is so large and unwieldy (roughlyRs 15 billion turnover yearly), it will take a lot of energy and vision allround to achieve this. “We really need a professional approach, bothtechnical and commercial,” says Bagaria. “The biggest challenge forfarmers is still finding a market and decent prices for their produce. Weshould try and develop some kind of structured and transparent systemin conjunction with farmers and market buyers.”

Feedingthe masses

GITA DHUNGANA in BIRGUNJ

Livestock feed is a growingbusiness in Nepal

FEED APLENTY:The Nimbus factoryat Birgunj nowproduces 50,000tonnes a year.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

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530 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402BUSINESS

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ECONOMIC SENSEArtha Beed

fter the NOC warned of an acute fuelshortage this week, the governmentpromised a loan of Rs 1 billion to

help it import fuel. Officials say this willease the situation for about 15 days.

The NOC has to have at least Rs 85million cash in hand per day to purchaseenough petrol to meet Nepal’s demand,which has been increasing at a rate often percent every year.

The corporation has already borrowedRs 7.30 billion from the government. It hasalso taken loans worth Rs 2.15 billion from

he political parties wholove their bandas so muchdid their usual, officially

shutting the country down forthree days this week. This is notsurprising, for as we have notedbefore, avoiding work is Nepal’snational hallmark (see ‘AnotherDasain’, #394). The countryrenaming itself as a republic is allwell and good, but people need to

understand that just getting rid ofthe king is not going to solve allour problems. In fact, we needsimilarly radical transformationin almost all aspects of ourdaily life.

Nepal has lived for 238 yearsunder a monarchy which woulddeclare holidays on such specialoccasions as the king taking anhour-long flight to Delhi, orcoming-of-age ceremonies ofdistant, minor members of theroyal family. If the king is now tobe a commoner and all are to beequal in Nepal, we need to getroyal subjects out of ourmentality , and stop agreeing topublic holidays for every rhymeand reason.

In the middle ages serfs weregrateful when their feudal lordgranted them a day or two’sholiday, because their labour wasnot their own. Now we live in aworld of 24/7 business

Time for real changeJust doing away with the king is not enough

operations. Time literally ismoney, and no one making theirliving from the modern economy,whether employer or employee,benefits from this ridiculousamount of holidays, whichparalyse our productivityand growth.

Our joy at yet more holidaysgranted only reflects our ‘servantof the master’ mentality, in whichwe ourselves are the real losers.Business loses thousands ofvaluable working hours, andinternational investors arepushed away from the idea ofputting their money in sucha country.

And if we are really movingfrom a Hindu kingdom to asecular republic, we need toconsider the hold that religionhas on so many of our systems.Nepal can no longer completelyshut down for 10 days for aHindu festival if it claims to besecular and inclusive of allbeliefs. Government forms shouldno longer ask people’s religion, asit is a private matter. Apart fromthe fact that the person filling itin might be an atheist – which is,by the way, one of our rights now.The state will also have to end thepreferential privilege of Hinduorganisations, religious sites andinstitutions. Either they willhave to support all religionsequally, or none at all. This iswhat secularism means, though Iwonder if our politiciansadvocating it have realised that.

Above all, we need to moveaway from a society thatpatronises and fawns on certainindividuals and institutions.Vacuous ‘congratulations on theoccasion of’ adverts haveincreased over recent years. Thelayout and protocol of ourconferences have been set up toallow a royal to grace theoccasion (judged to be the markof success or failure), whowould usually come and gowithout uttering a word. Whyare they still set up in this way?

Even the way leaders interactwith the public has not changed– it is as if the new democraticleaders think they are the newkings. The Beed only hopes thatthe icons of the king and royalfamily which used to hang in allpublic buildings are not justreplaced with the new politicalelite, to be venerated with thesame unquestioning deference asthe one-time kings. If we reallyneed to have an aesthetic focalpoint, can’t it be something likeMount Everest?

This historic transformationof the country must be morethan just symbolic gestures likethe eviction of the king fromNarayanhiti. We have tounderstand that there is no moreany ruler and ruled, and thatonly implementingegalitarianism in our laws willsecure a better future.

www.arthabeed.com

commercial banks, and Rs 2.54 billion fromthe Citizen Investment Trust andEmployees Provident Fund. It currentlyowes Rs 2.45 billion to the Indian OilCorporation, its sole supplier, and hascumulative dues of Rs 14.44 billion.

Nepal’s current fuel prices were setwhen the international price of oil wasUS$ 83 per barrel. But over recent monthsoil prices have rocketed, reaching a recordhigh of $135 per barrel this week.

The NOC has not increased oil prices inNepal in accordance with this rise, and iscurrently losing Rs 1.78 billion per monthsupplying subsidised petrol. This adds up

to Rs 20 billion a year at the current rate ofloss. Given that the annual educationbudget is Rs 28 billion and healthRs 12 billion, it is extremely unlikely thatthe government can cover the shortfall.

The subsidised fuel prices are a crowdpleaser, but if continued they will mostlikely direct public expenditure away fromother uses, reduce revenues from domesticproduction, and contribute tounsustainable budget deficits.

“Oil importers control the prices ofpetroleum products to protect lower-income citizens,” says Digambar Jha,managing director of the NOC.

But evidence suggests that much of thebenefit from fuel subsidies goes torelatively well-off people, who consumemany times more petrol, diesel and liquidpetroleum gas per capita than poorercitizens, and twice as much kerosene.

Removing the subsidy on fuel wouldboth directly affect the price of petroleumproducts, and have a knock-on effect on theprices of other goods and services thatuse petroleum products as inputs,including transport.

According to Jha, the NOC has an actionplan to resolve the current fuel crisis. Hehas proposed duel price for diesel and LPG,and kerosene subsidies for the poor andstudents. “We are also open to the coming

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Yishion is hereUFO has introduced Yishion, the fashion brand of Hongkong toNepal as its official franchised store in Nepal. The brand which hasbeen around since 1997 will now be available at UFO stores inKumaripati, Kathmandu Mall, and New Baneshwor.

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New yeti additionYeti Airlines has acquired a new 30seater Jetstream 41 which ismanufactured by British Aerospace. Thenew aircraft is expected to enhance itsdomestic network reliability and willparticularly benefit passengers of

mountain flights and business destinations. Currently Yeti hasscheduled 7 flights to Pokhara, 6 flights to Biratnagar, 2 flights eachto Bhadrapur, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj daily.

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NIC in SurkhetNIC Bank has opened its 14th branch in Surkhet. The newbranch at Surkhet will provide a full range of products andservices of the Bank, and is connected to all other branches througha V-Sat network enabling real-time on-line connectivity.

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Shangri-la offerCustomers can now open anaccount for Rs. 100 at theShangri-la Development Bank

under general saving account, Shangri-la special account, women’sfuture account and business saving account. The bank has alsomade provisions for remittance customers to open an account forRs. 50.

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Upgraded NMBNepal Merchant and Finance has been upgraded tograde “A” and now will run as NMB bank.

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Exclusive Indian terrainIndian terrain has opened an exclusive showroom for men's wear in

Kamaladi. Indian Terrain isfocusing on the “UniversityCollection” this season. Thecollection shirts range from

Rs.999 to Rs.1799 while the university collection inspired bycollege life range from Rs. 1999 and Rs. 3599.

The NOC must either put up petrol prices or go deeper into debt

Up against the wall

DEWAN RAI

of private suppliers, which will be anopportunity for us to prove ourcompetence,” he says.

The NOC has also proposed increasingthe price of kerosene to that of diesel toavoid adulteration. Officials admit thatdiesel is adulterated with kerosene, whichis tax-free and subsidised. “Kerosene mixedwith up to 40 percent diesel is not easilydetectable,” said an official.

Mukunda Prasad Dhungel, jointsecretary at the corporation, says they haveproposed an automatic mechanism for priceadjustments. “It will depoliticise decisionmaking,” he says, as currently politicalparties do not want to increase prices forfear of protests.

Dhungel says price adjustment wouldreduce offences like black market sales, crossborder smuggling, fuel adulteration andcorruption, and bring a smoother supply offuel products. “Removing fuel subsidieswill not generate extra revenue but at least itwill reduce NOC losses,” he says.

To protect the poor and avoid largeprotests, the removal of subsidies will haveto be accompanied by well-targeted socialassistance measures. And maybe by aninformation campaign to make peopleunderstand that Nepal is no more immuneto rising petrol prices than the rest ofthe world.

A

BACK IN LINE:As petrolsupplies dwindle,the queues havestarted again.

SAM KANG LI

6 30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Editorial in Kantipur, 29 May

People will only feel we have truly entered a new era ifthe CA looks to the people’s participation, and the statefunctions in a transparent and responsible way. Therepresentatives of the people must be able to work freelyif Nepalis are to be proud of them.

The decision on the monarchy is the first step increating a republic. The election of a president is theprimary responsibility of the new government, and theCA should start procedures for the presidential election.

Although the CA has amended the interimconstitution at its first meeting, it still needs to make anew constitution within two years. The republic is a startin providing the people with a new constitution, but westill need to decide on the reconstitution of the statethrough federalism. To introduce Nepal into thecompetitive modern world in a short span of two years,the CA has to handle its duties with responsibilityand skill.

There should be an agreement on the distribution ofpower between the head of state, prime minister andchairman of the parliament. Regardless of thedifferences in principles and opinions, all politicalparties need to participate in discussions to deliver theirresponsibility towards the people. After many ups anddowns on the road to republicanism at the end of thepeace process, the parties need to continue thisunderstanding to finalise the constitution and pave theway for eventual general elections.

Although the first CA meeting passed the proposalfor a republic with an overwhelming majority, some CAmembers have raised eyebrows at the parties’ hasty andsecret agreements, and are worried about religioustolerance, national unity and nationality. It is right thatsuch questions should be raised within the assembly,and important that these questions are answered.

As the head of the state will be constitutional, theassembly now needs to choose a respected andknowledgeable national personality. The presidencymay make use of Narayanhiti, which has now beendeclared a museum.

Editorial in Himal Khabarpatrika, 29 May-12 June

King Gyanendra dug his own grave when he said, “theNepali people want a king that can be seen and heard”.Gyanendra’s ambition has led monarchy to its very end.The loss of internal support and international recognitionmarks an end of an epoch.

From 1989 to 2005, the political parties tried to takemonarchy and democracy together. Even the Maoists talkedto the king’s representatives whilecommunist parties known for their supportfor republicanism joined hands. WhenManmohan Adhikari accepted ceremonialmonarchy, he became the first electedcommunist prime minister. Even MadanBhandari, the then general secretary of CPN-ML, who had once said “we won’t let themonarchy justify its existence as long as thesun and moon remain in the sky”, waseventually in favour of weakening andproviding a ceremonial role to the monarchy,rather than a complete transformation to arepublic. The NC and UML pledged theirsupport for a ceremonial monarchy andmulti-party democracy but their patiencewas broken on 1 February, 2005. Themonarchy that hadn’t been a problem for anyparty became unacceptable to everyonebecause of Gyanendra’s own deeds.

Gyanendra’s lack of foresight andselfish aspirations made him the last king ofNepal. But the end of monarchy in theprocess of development is not a new thing.Almost six decades ago, when the then kingFarukh I of Egypt left the throne he said,“now including Great Britain and four othercards there are only five kings.” ButGyanendra failed to realise that the Nepali

Looking aheadEnd of an epochmonarchy could only continue to exist in a form similarto the British monarchy. As a result, even our neighbourwhich formerly gave strong support to Nepal’s monarchy,accepted republicanism easily.

The sovereign people who believe in multi-partydemocracy are the pillars, and the political parties whohave taken responsibility for the management of this newrepublic are the drivers of this new era.

ROBIN SAYAMI

New Nepal

730 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402FROM THE NEPALI PRESS

Editorial in Samaya, 30 May

The Ram Hari Shrestha murder isthe biggest violation so far of thepeace agreement signed two yearsago. This incident brings up theissue of how to punish theMaoist PLA, who intentionally

Responsible

killed a man, and also marks anincrease in the level of publicmistrust of the Maoists.

The government still has nottaken adequate steps to try andunderstand the Shrestha family’spain and anger. After the murdercame to light, that anger turned to

fire and spilled out into thestreets. There is still a delay informing an investigationcommittee, there has been noprosecution for those PLAinvolved and implicated in themurder. All the blame has beenput on one low-level commander.There have been no discussionswith those concerned, or evenwith Shaktikhor commanderBibidh.

But this time, what should beactually investigated is the role ofUNMIN in this atrocity. Twenty-four hour monitoring andsurveillance of the 28cantonments is UNMIN’s

responsibility. Shrestha wasferried to and from thecantonment twice in a month.Besides being brutally murdered,his body was disposed of aroundthe area, and UNMIN didn’t catchon. This incident is bigger andmore extreme than the MainaSunuwar killing and theBhairabnath tortures(sic), and themurderers are signatories to thepeace agreement and the largestparty in the new government.Prachanda’s role, as supremecommander of the PLA, shouldnot be disregarded. UNMIN areequally at fault with the Maoists.What remains to be seen is how

UNMIN chief Ian Martin tries tosave face and defend hisresponsibility and duty. UNMINcannot escape this time just byblaming the Maoists for violatingthe agreement.

Because of the delay ininvestigation, UNMIN and thegovernment’s depression and theMaoists’ audacity, whateverevidence of the torture remainedinside the Shaktikhorcantonment has now beendestroyed. In this case, let theinvestigation not be just a farce. Ifit is, then the public will have toprepare itself for yet anotherconflict.

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARA

fter a lot of uncertaintyand delay due toChina’s quest to take the

Olympic Torch to the summit ofChomolungma, it was a grandseason on the world’s highestmountain.

The flame reached the top on8 May and normal life resumedon the south side of themountain after that. By 22 May arecord-breaking 86 mountaineerswere on the 8,848m-high summitin one day and several otherrecords were set.

On 25 May, 77-year-old MinBahadur Sherchan topped inperfect climbing conditions andbecame the oldest man onChomolungma beating theprevious record of 71-year-oldJapanese teacher KatsusukeYanagisawa, who was able tohold onto his laurels only forone year. Sherchan said he

wanted to inspire fellow Nepalisenior citizens.

Next up in the line of climbingoldies was Yuichiro Miura fromJapan, who at age 75 became thesecond oldest man a day later.Apa Sherpa once again broke hisown record by summiting for the18th time. Chuwang Nima alsoclimbed for the 15th time,Mingma Tshering for 13th time,and Chuldim Ang Dorje for12th time.

This season also saw the firstSaudi Arabian man reach the topof the world, with Farouq SaadHamad Al-Zuman summitingon 21 May. The Nepali media alsohad reason to celebrate as ShaileeBasnet of Himal Khabarpatrikabecame the first Nepali femalejournalist to reach the top on24 May (see box).

But there was also tragedy.Swiss veteran mountaineer UweGianni Goltz died on his waydown from his summit attempt on

21 May. Goltz is said to havecollapsed shortly before Camp 4at 7,900m, probably due toexhaustion after an attempt tosummit Everest without oxygen.

Even though the south side ofChomolungma was teeming thisyear, it didn’t exceed last year’srecord of 628 people on top partlybecause of the closure of thenorth side of the mountain.

Other mountainsThe Himalayan spring saw otherfeats besides Chomolungma. On1 May Ivan Vallejo fromEcuador became the 14th personto climb all the world’s 148,000m peaks, closely followedby Swiss mountain guideNorbert Joos, who is on hisway to bag number 14 on 29 May.

German mountaineer, RalfDujmovits, also successfullyclimbed Makalu and attemptedLhotse together with his wife,Austrian mountaineer Gerlinde

Kaltenbrunner. However, thecouple had to turn back about400m short of the summit due toextreme cold and Dujmovitshaving a chest infection. Theretreat leaves Dujmovits with oneeight thousander to go andKaltenbrunner, who baggedDhaulagiri I earlier this month,with three. Together with Italianclimber Nives Meroi, who hasreached 10 summits,Kaltenbrunner is on the path ofbecoming the first woman toclimb all 14 eight thousanders.Neither of the women usessupplementary oxygen.

Another eight thousand meterman is Andrew Lock fromAustralia, who climbed Makaluon 21 May making Makalu his13th 8,000m peak. Makalu alsosaw the death of 37-year-old NilPrasad Gurung who died ofhigh altitude celebral oedema atCamp Four whilst climbing witha French team.

Tragedy andheroism on AnnapurnaTop Spanish climber IñakiOchoa de Olza died at 7,400mon Annapurna I on 25 May. Ochoade Olza was on his quest to finishhis 13th eight thousander, andtogether with his climbing mate,Horia Colibasanu fromRomania, got to about 100m belowthe summit of the 10th highestmountain in the world.

The pair had to turn arounddue to problems with Ochoa deOlza’s hands and lack of ropes tofix some difficult sections.Reports say that upon his arrivalat Camp 4 the Spaniard collapsedwith either a stroke or celebraloedema. Four days of agony andan amazing coordination of rescueefforts ensued. Clibanasu stayedwith de Olza until Swissclimbers, Ueli Steck and SimonAnthamatten, who wereintending to open a new route onthe treacherous South face of

A Himalayan sprIt has been a record-breaking climbing season

ABILLI BIERLING

WFP–JAMES GIAMBRONE

hen American journalist, Michael Kodas,his wife and six others joins a commercial

expedition to climb Chomolungma in 2004 heexpected hardships. But nothing prepared him forthe greed, corruption, ruthless ambition andcruelty on the slopes of the world’s highestmountain.

In High Crimes, Kodas portrays the dark side ofmodern Himalayan mountaineering in whichcrooks lead commercial expeditions, extortionistguides demand payment before rescue, oxygen andequipment caches are ransacked by bountyhunters, base camp prostitution is rife and thereare even murderers loose.

Jon Krakauer’s 1996 epic, Into Thin Air, lookedat the lethal effect of over-commercialisation ofexpeditions so that over-crowding on the summitdelayed descent and lead to the death in storms ofdozens of climbers. Pulitzer-prize winnerjournalist Kodas digs deeper into the criminalworld of mountain climbing where the cluelessclimbers and unscrupulous commercial guidesprey on expeditions.

Kodas documents the commercialism on the Chinese side ofthe mountain where corruption, crime and prostitution arerampant. Kodas’ own Romanian guide and his Sherpa wife fall out

Annapurna, arrived at Camp 4 on22 May.

However, all efforts were invain and Ochoa de Olza, whowould have turned 41 a few daysago, succumbed to pulmonaryoedema on 23 May at 12.30 PM.His death sent a shock throughthe Himalayan climbingcommunity as he had made manygood friends over the past18 years of mountaineering inNepal.

The rescue effort was trulyimpressive and it showed, onceagain, that comradeship has not atall died in the Himalaya.Mountaineers in Kathmanduchanged their flights, flew back toPokhara and tried everythinghumanly possible to save Ochoade Olza, who was involved inhelping mountaineers in troublenumerous times and loved Nepal.The rescue efforts say a lot aboutcomradeship and he will bedeeply missed.

ring

On Everest,everything is for sale

on the mountain and his expedition disintegratesin a mess of recrimination, theft, lies and violence.Oxygen bottles are stolen, high camps ransacked,guides extort money before agreeing to rescue,counterfeit oxygen tanks are sold, climbers see noproblem leaving others to die in their hurry to getto the top and win fame and glory.

Misdeeds that would be minor at sea level aredeadly at 8,000m on the summit ridge of Everest.But the difference between good and bad, right andwrong are even more stark up there. Moralitydoesn’t get thinner as one goes higher.

High Crimes doesn’t pretend to give us thewhole picture, and its grim account is openlynegative about mountaineering expeditions. It isobvious that is not the whole story, one can’textrapolate from a few bad experiences. For everycase of abandonment at high altitude there are teninstances where mountaineers have forsaken theirchance to summit to rescue a fellow-climber indistress. For every guide who asks for advancepayment before rescuing climbers in trouble, there

are many others who will help without asking.But Kodas warns us that corruption and crime can follow the

over-commercialisation of mountain climbing and can result inmuch ugliness.

he Himalmedia flag flew high atopChomolungma on 25 May. Himal

Khabarpatrika reporter Shailee Basnetmanaged to scale the world’s highest peaktogether with the nine other women of theFirst Inclusive Women’s SagarmathaExpedition. FIWSE, started out as thebrainchild of team leader SushmitaMaskey, and included women from variousregions, from the lowland Tarais to thehigh mountains, various ethnicitiesincluding Newar, Chettri, Bahun, Danuwar,Gurung and Sherpas, and backgroundsfrom a model to journalist. Before the attempt, the closest Shaileehad come to mountains was writing aboutthem, but after meeting Sushmita Maskeyon a reporting assignment, Shailee knewthat she had to join the women on theirquest for the highest peak.

A reporter on youth culture,mountaineering and city living, Shailee isnow the first female Nepali reporter to scale

25 May was a great day for anotherChomolungma summiteer. MinBahadur Sherchan, at 76-going-on-77, became the oldest person tosuccessfully scale the peak, breakingthe previous record held by Japaneseteacher, Katsusuke Yanagisawa, whoscaled the peak last year at the age of71. Also vying for the record thisyear was 75-year old JapaneseYuichiro Miura, who reached thesummit a day later. Sherchan, aformer soldier, hails from BhurungTatopani in Myagdi and claims thathis reason for climbingChomolungma is to galvanise allsenior citizens into doing somethingadventurous even in their old age. Hehad also added that climbing thepeak had been a childhood dream.Now that he’s achieved what he setout to do, Sherchan wants to openup a senior citizens’ home.

High CrimesThe Fate of Everest in an

Age of GreedBy Michael Kodas

Hyperion, New York 2008pp 368, $24.95 (hardback)

W

Women on topChomolungma in a season mired bycontroversy over the government’s closure ofthe peak under pressure from China.

According to her parents, Shailee hadn'teven told them about the attempt, insteadsaying that she was accompanying the groupon a reporting assignment. It was only afterall the publicity that Shailee actually satthem down and told them the truth. "Comeback the same way you went up," was allthey told her. Putting her budding reporter’scareer on hold, Shailee joined theexpedition and underwent a gruelling 10months training program, including atraining ascent of Yala peak, to prepareherself for the climb.

All ten member s of FIWSE havemanaged to scale Chomolungma. The othernine are Sushmita Maskey, Usha Bista,Ashakumari Singh Chaudhari, NimdolmaSherpa, Maya Gurung, Pemadikki Sherpa,Pujan Acharya, Nawang Phutti Sherpa andChunnu Shrestha.

T

Nevertoo late

UPHILL TRAFFIC:A stream of climbers on the

Khumbu Icefall last week.

WFP–JAMES GIAMBRONE

SUNDAR SHRESTHA

10 30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402NATION

or Til Bahadur Gurung, themorning of 22 November1998 started like any other.

But it was not to be an ordinaryday, as at 7AM, a group of threeMaoists came to his shop to buyhandkerchiefs and somehowended up firing bullets at him.

SRISHTI ADHIKARI

War woundsMany in Nepal still bears scars of the war

From that day on, Gurung’s lifehas been anything but the same.Although he ran for his life, abullet pierced his spine and lefthis lower body paralysed.

Today, Til Bahadur lives withhis family in a rented room inSamakhusi. The native of Gorkhais a good-looking middle-agedman, but the paralysis has broken

his spirit. Between cries of painhe says, “I am a living corpse.Sometimes I think it would havebeen easier on my family if I haddied then. Now I constantly needsomeone to take care of me and Ican do nothing but sit and cry inthis room.”

The government did foot hismedical expenses for the first

two-three years but his treatmentis far from over. His old woundsresurface and he needs to go tothe hospital at least twice everymonth. Although 10 years havepassed since the incident, histroubles are ongoing. With noincome of his own, he reliesentirely on his son’s earnings totake care of his family.

The government has been themajor provider of relief for thosewounded in the war. “Thewounded are the liability of thegovernment. The government hasprovisions to cover the first timetreatment of all those wounded.It has also worked on a reliefpackage for those disabled due tothe conflict,” joint secretary ofthe Ministry of Peace andReconstruction, Shyam SundarSharma told Nepali Times.

At the Relief andRehabilitation Unit, hordes ofaffected people, including thewar wounded, come everyday inhope of some assistance. LalBahadur Rokka, 75, has come allthe way from Okhaldhunga forthe third time to find outwhether he will receive themoney that he spent on histreatment from his own pocketthree years ago.

When the Maoists beat himup after a case was filed against

him in the Maoists’ people’scourt, his urinary bladder burstopen. “Then I did not ask forany help because people saidthat the Maoists would take awayhalf of any financial aid. InsteadI sold a plot of land and took aloan for my treatment,” saysRokka. “I submitted anapplication for reimbursement ofRs 41,700 ten months ago so thatI can repay my loan, but cominghere to try and get the money hascost me another Rs 9,000.”

Rokka is not the only onewho is still waiting. His fellowvillager Shyam Babu Poudel whohad his jaw broken by theMaoists is still in the village.The Relief and RehabilitationUnit took over the treatmentpackage for the wounded lastyear but this guideline waswithdrawn only a month later.According to a new guideline,which has been sent to thecabinet for revision, thetreatment of the wounded willnow come under the jurisdictionof the Ministry of Health andPopulation.

For the last nine months theRelief and Rehabilitation Unithas just been collectingapplications from those whoneed relief. Although some havebeen afforded some help, most ofthem have had to return homeempty-handed. Until the cabinetapproves the new guideline theirsituation remains unclear, andeven after that it is likely to be along time until the wounded canget the provision they need.

BEDRIDDEN: A bullet woundfrom ten years ago has left TilBahadur Gurung paralysedfrom the waist down.

F

lthough there were celebrationsin Kathmandu and low-keyprocessions in some district

headquarters across the country, mostNepalis don’t seem to care much that thecountry has become a republic.

Rita Maya Baniya is a subsistencefarmer who has been forced to work as aday labourer at a construction site for anew prison in Diktel in eastern Nepal. OnThursday morning she looked up from aload of bricks she was carrying on herback and said she didn’t know Nepal wasa now a republic.

In fact, this was the first time she hadheard the word ‘republic’. She votedMaoist in the election, and couldn’tbelieve that the leader of her partyoverthrew the king. “Really, is that so?”she asked.

Laxmi Khatri was also shoveling sand,and paused to ask: “I wonder who willrule the country now?”

At the Champawati Secondary Schoolhere in this eastern district, teacherBhakta Shrestha was happy to hear thenews from Kathmandu. He had to moveaway from his village during the war, andhe hopes the Maoists will return hisconfiscated property.

At the other end of Nepal, Bal BahadurBK is planting corn seeds in a narrowterrace field. He hasn’t heard the newsand says it won’t make much of adifference to him who rules in

Kathmandu. “I don’t know about monarchyor republic, all I am worried about is if itwill rain, and whether I can feed myfamily,” says BK, who lives off the landwith his wife and four small children.

Farmers in the Dang valley were oftencaught in the crossfire between the armyand the insurgents during the war, andthere is a sense of relief here that now thatthe Maoists form the new government, and

there won’t be a return to conflict.Other than that, villagers don’t reallyhave a preference about what kind ofgovernment there is in Kathmandu.

"My uncle was killed by theguerrillas during a big battle on thehighway to Lamahi,” says BiswoChaudhary, “but we voted for theMaoists because we wanted peace.Now there will be peace, I amconvinced about that.”

In Nepalganj, there was a victoryrally for a republic by professionalorganisations that went through themain bajar on Thursday morning, butwithout much fanfare and no overtoutpouring of joy.

"I think people are still not quitesure whether we are really a republicyet because the 26 nominatedmembers still haven’t voted,” said ashopkeeper.

Watching it all was Lalaji Mahut,42, a rickshaw puller from Hirimaniyanear the Indian border. He has workedthe streets for the past 18 years andearns Rs 150 a day of which he has topay Rs 40 to the rickshaw owners.

"I just want to be able to buy twosquare meals for myself and my familyevery day,” he told Nepali Times, “itdoesn’t make any difference whetherthere is a raja in Kathmandu or arepublic, I need to find enough workto survive.”

Reporting also by Raju Rijal in Dang,and Rameswor Bohara in Banke

“It doesn’t make any difference to meif there is a raja in Kathmandu or not”DIGAMBAR RAI in KHOTANG

ALAST TIME: An employee atNarayanhiti lowers the royal

standard on Thursday morning.

SAM KANG LI

PALLAV PANT

1130 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402NATION

targazers! This has been anhistoric week forastronomers and observers

of the firmament across thewhole world.

A NASA craft has landedfurther north on Mars than everbefore, and has already sent backamazing pictures of the Martianpolar region. The mission will tryto discover if there really is iceunder the surface of Mars, and ifthe planet could have sustainedlife in the past.

As we learn more and moreabout our cosmos, this month wealso have a solstice, and Venusand Mercury will switch sides inthe sky. So there is much to beexcited about.

The summer months, weatherpermitting, are a great time tolearn to identify interesting starsand constellations. Let me showyou around some of them, andurge you to get outside and findthem for yourself.

There are so many stars in thenight sky we can easily getconfused. But it’s actually not thatdifficult if you put in some effort tolearn which is which. Soon aftersunset, you can easily spot theBig Dipper (Saptarshi) in thenorthern skies. Use the handle ofthe Big Dipper to point outArcturus, the brightest star in theconstellation of Boötes theHerdsman. Once you have foundArcturus, continue on that line toSpica. It's a white star in thezodiac constellation of Virgo theVirgin.

Immediately to the west ofVirgo is the constellation of Leothe Lion. Its brightest star,Regulus is at the base of a curveof stars that seem to form aquestion mark. The planet Saturnis very close to this star and Marsa little to the west of it, and theywill appear especially close at theend of June. Immediately west ofLeo is Cancer the Crab, thoughthis is such a small and dimconstellation that it is easy tomiss.

South across the Vishnumati,behind the walls of an enclosed courtyard,in a small three room house

there hangs on the wall, beneath neonon only at noon, when the electricity is strongest,a portrait of a king. He wears

a velour and golden cloak,and stands like a well-tended treeHis gold crown is crafted

with diamonds. And emeraldsdangle like bangs across his browA bejeweled tassel tops it off

Not unlike a fountainone poses in front of in a studioin Darjeeling. Nowadays,

uncertain neon dapples his thighs,as though the king cannotdecide to conceal (or lean more

heavily on) his ruler’ssword. His face, darkest, at midday;his intentions, well-known

A curious water-stain, blood-sootseeping from within.bares it self to a closer look

As if an invisible handwere finally knitting the eyesand lips shut.

Kathmandu, 12/1980

There are some nice stars tothe east of Spica but it is blood-red Antares that really catches theeye. This beautiful star is in theheart of Scorpio the Scorpion,another member of the zodiac.And about midway betweenAntares and Spica is the dimconstellation of Libra the Scales.

Another interestingconstellation is Hercules, which islocated to the east of Boötes. Doyou see four faint stars arrangedin a lopsided quadrangle? Thatasterism is known as TheKeystone of Hercules. Binocularswill help you see many morefascinating parts of thisconstellation.

It takes more than one night toidentify the myriad of stars whichcarpet the heavens in midsummer.But learning the above stars andconstellations is a noblebeginning.

June Highlights:21 June is the Summer Solstice(the longest day), when the Sunwill reach its most northerly pointat 5:44AM. Mercury will be atinferior conjunction (in front of theSun) on 7 June, and Venus willreach superior conjunction

(passing behind the Sun) on 9June. After these events Mercurywill move from being visible in theevening to the morning, and Venuswill migrate from the morning tothe evening sky. In this way theplanets will be crossing over,though it will be hard to makeeither of them out for several daysas they will be dazzled in theglare of the Sun. Mars is stillvisible in the western sky aftersunset, and sets in the westaround midnight. Jupiter comes upin the south-east around midnight,and is high in the south at dawn, inthe constellation of Sagittarius.Saturn is in the western sky aftersunset and sets around midnight.

Wishing you clear skies andgreat stargazing!

kedarbadu@gmail.com

WAYNE AMTZIS

PORTRAIT

A beginner’s guide to the midsummer sky

June Sky 2008

STARGAZINGKedar S Badu

MIN RATNA BAJRACHARYA

S

12 30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402SPORTS

TEE BREAKDeepak Acharya

Nepal’s largest golf event is just around the corner and thefinest pros and amateurs from the whole region will soon beon your doorstep.

The four day professional event, the Surya Nepal Masters startson Tuesday and climaxes in the final round on Saturday 7 June. Allthis is happening at the 18-hole Gokarna Golf Course at LeMeridien Kathmandu.

The event will begin with the much awaited Standard CharteredPro-Am, where amateurs get the chance to play a competitive roundwith the best golfers in the region.

This event started in 1993and from this year will be themain event of the Surya NepalGolf Tour, which is sanctionedby Nepal Professional GolfersAssociation. Last year was a

big success for Nepali golf as Deepak Thapa Magar became thefirst Nepali to win this event. This year, sharpened by practice onthe Surya Nepal Golf Tour and more competing opportunities, thehosts have an equally good if not better chance of clinching the title.

Past winners Gurbazz Mann, Mukesh Kumar, Vijay Kumar andFeroz Ali have signed in for the tournament. Others include winnerof the Asian tour Harmeet Kahlon, India’s Asian Games silvermedallist Joseph Chakola, and Sri Lanka’s Anura Rohana with astrong field of other contenders from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan,Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

This year the total purse of the event will be Rs 2 million. Thewinner gets a cheque for 17 percent of the total prize money. TheGokarna Golf Course has been spruced up into top shape for thetournament. The big boys from the tour will arrive by Monday asmost of the top players will be playing the corporate Pro-Am eventwith local amateur players on Tuesday 3 June.

Whether or not you play golf, I urge you to come down to thegolf course and get a feel of a large scale international sportingevent where you as a spectator can enjoy not only the sport, butalso a walk in the sunshine within the beautiful ambiance ofGokarna Forest.

Deepak Acharya is a golf instructor and golf director at GokarnaForest Golf Resort & Spa, Kathmandu.prodeepak(at)hotmail(dot)com

Come cheer onyour Nepali prosSurya Nepal Masters starts on 3 June

30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402 13REVIEW

“Nescafe is the enemy here,”firmly declares Peter Graif, apartner and main coffee roasterfor the smart new Café Societylocated next to the EuropeanBakery, near the RBB bankbuilding in Baluwatar.

The tiny storefront currentlyoffers eight different varieties ofimported single-origin beveragesfrom some of the finest coffee-producing areas in the world–Bali, Guatemala, Yemen,Ethiopia and more. Sales are bythe bag or by the hand-pressedcup of cappuccino, espresso, orstraight coffee. Prices arecomparable to the other high-endcoffee outfits in town.

The stated goal of CaféSociety is to introduceKathmandu and Nepal to theinternational standard and tasteof fine coffee, and to produce aperfect cup for every customer.All of the beans are sourced fromthe farmers themselves andshipped, unroasted, to Nepal.

Graif and his partner in theventure, Surendra Shrestha, havebuilt a custom roaster – ajumbled contraption of fans,wires, and clay that allows themto roast all the beans themselves,to exacting standards. Onceroasted, every cup of coffee is

Kathmandu is waking up to good coffeeRoasted in Nepal

prepared from freshly hand-ground beans and pressedthrough a hand-operated espressopress. The result is apainstakingly perfect shot of jet-black espresso topped by nearly acentimeter of golden crema. Theattention to detail is astounding–even the cups are washed inmineral water to keep the flavourpure.

And pure it is. The coffeeshave a depth of flavour and aromathat rival a very expensive wine.

They demand to be sippedslowly, to be savoured, theirflavours floating along the backof the tongue. Some varieties ofbeans are described as having‘brightness’ in the taste, others asproducing ‘a dark brooding cup.’

Making a handmade cup ofcoffee does take time. Be preparedto spend a few minutes waitingfor your fix, especially if there arepeople ahead of you in line. It’sdefinitely worth it.

Conspicuously missing from

the menu is coffee grown inNepal. When pressed about this,Graif replies, “there is a lot ofpotential for coffee in Nepal, butit’ll take some time for us. MostNepali coffee is sold on acommodity scale, and I’m stilllooking for the right Nepalicoffee.” It becomes obvious,talking to the Café Society folks,that they see this as a long-termproject. By showing how goodcoffee can really be, they hope tobring the production here up tothat level.

“We want to change people’spalates and expose Nepal to thebest the world has to offer. Forcoffee production to succeed here,there needs to be a culture ofcoffee, and that culture needs tocome from internationalexchange,” says Graif.

Some of the menudescriptions are a touch on thelyrical side. Tasting the Yemen/Ethiopia blend did not feel ‘likeeating a bar of bittersweetchocolate in a field ofwildflowers.’ But it felt like I wasdrinking really fantastic coffeeearly in the morning, asKathmandu was beginning towake up. The flavours werewrapped around the plying taxis,the temple bells, the lokgit quieton the radio. That was goodenough. Ben Ayers

Update: Another branch of CaféSociety with more extensiveseating is opening this weekdirectly above Nhuchhe’s OrganicBistro between Bhatbateni andBaluwatar.

14 30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402CITY

KATHMANDU VALLEY

ABOUT TOWN

WEEKEND WEATHER by NGAMINDRA DAHAL

There was a silent but pivotal change in our weather pattern early this week. Theoncoming monsoon has finally overwhelmed the dominant westerly front, althoughit has not fully taken hold yet. Satellite pictures at midday on Thursday show anactive cyclone over the Bay of Bengal, ready to move inland towards the Himalaya,while the previously active westerly front is now diffusing over the TibetanPlateau. This is good news for farmers, as these developments mean that themonsoon is likely to arrive on time this year. It may still take a couple of weeksto arrive in its full force, but we can rest assured that soon the sticky summerheat will be soothed by the cooling rains. This weekend the weather is likely toremain sultry: high temperatures and overcast skies.

KATHMANDU

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Call 4442220 for show timings at Jai Nepalwww.jainepal.com

In Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, ProfessorJones (Harrison Ford) goes after the mysterious crystal skull fromSouth American mythology. But Mr. Jones isn't the only one afterthe skull. The Soviet Union has an interest in getting the skull inorder to exploit its mystical powers in their quest for worlddomination. The story revolves around how Jones races theSoviets-led by the cold, villainous, no-nonsense Irina Spalko (CateBlanchett)-to a lost city called Akakor in the Peruvian forest, inpursuit of the mystical crystal skull.

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EXHIB IT IONSSilhouettes in Time paintings by Erina Tamrakar, 13-30 May atSiddhartha Art Gallery, Babar Mahal Revisited. 4218048MaterialScapes 6th solo collage painting exhibition by GauravShrestha, 30 May-30 June 10AM-6PM at Gallery 32@ Dent Inn.Heritage Plaza Kamaladi. 4241942.Splashes paintings by Milan Rai, 1-7June, 11AM-5PM at ParkGallery, Lazimpat. 4419353

E V E N T SCSGN monthly lecture A Porter’s Burden-The Untold Story ofNepali Mountain Porters by Ben Ayers 30 May 9.30 Am at HotelShanker.Traveling Film South Asia showcasing 13 documentaries fromSouth Asia at Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka, 30 May-1 June.Tickets available at Dhokaima Café. 5547279Book Fair and Brunch 31 May, 11AM at Alliance Francaise,Tripureshwor.Tantric Dance of Nepal presented by Kalamandapa, everyTuesday 7PM at Hotel Vajra and every Saturday 11AM at PatanMuseum.

MUSICPaleti with Kumar Subba on 30 May, 5.30 PM at nepalaya ‘r’ sala,Kalikasthan. Rs. 565. 4412469Root Ground jazz with JigmeSherpa 30 May, 8.30 PM onwardsat Moksh, Pulchok. 5526212HyJazz Club jazz music along withdrinks at the new HyJazz Club,Hyatt Regency every Friday 7PMonwards. 4489800Live karaoke with special thaicuisine, every Wednesday atHoliday Karaoke Restaurant andBar, Lazimpat. 4445731Rudra night fusion and classicalNepali music by Shyam Nepali andfriends, every Friday, 7PM at Le Meridien, Gokarna. 4451212Sufi music by Hemanta Rana, every Friday at 7.30 PM at DhabaRestaurant and Bar, Thapathali.Yankey and friends live acoustic music every Friday at theBourbon room Restro-bar, Lal Darbar.Anil Shahi every Wednesday and Rashmi Singh every Friday,live at the Absolute Bar, Hotel Narayani Complex, 8PM. 5521408

D I N I N GMongolian BBQ with a wide variety of meat, fish and freshvegetables stir fried along with music of Inner Groove and anAustralian Band Rs.650 at Summit Hotel, 30 May.Margaritas and Martinis, enjoy refreshing margaritas and anassortment of martins at the Rox Bar, Hyatt Regency, until 20June 7-10.30 PM. 4489361Handmade Pasta experience handmade pasta at the RoxRestaurant, Hyatt Regency until 20 June, 7-10.30 PM. 4489361Hot summer spicy food at the Jalan Jalan Restaurant, KupondoleHeights. 5544872The Kaiser Café open now at the Garden of Dreams, operated byDwarika’s Group of Hotels, open from 9AM-10PM. 4425341Lajawab tandoori and kabab festival, 7-10 PM every Friday at theHotel Himalaya, Rs 550.Steak escape with Kathmandu’s premier steaks available forlunch and dinner at the Olive Bar and Bistro, Hotel Radisson.4411818Bourbon Room Restro-bar now open for lunch and dinner withover a 100 cocktails, Lal Darbar.Cocktails and grooves with jazz by Inner Groove at Fusion-thebar at Dwarika’s, every Wednesday, at Dwarika’s Hotel.Cocktails, mocktails and liqueurs at the Asahi Lounge, openinghours 1-10PM, above Himalayan Java, Thamel.Continental and Chinese cuisine and complimentary freshbrewed coffee after every meal a Zest Restaurant and Bar,Pulchok.Illy espresso coffee at the Galleria cafe, every Friday espressococktails.International buffet at the Sunrise Café, and Russian specialtiesat Chimney, Hotel Yak and Yeti. 4248999BBQ Dinner every Friday and Saturday at the Chinese terrace,Everest Hotel, 7 PM. 4780100Jazz in Patan with coffee, food, drinks and dessert at the NewOrleans Cafe, Jawalakhel. 8.30 AM-10PM. 5522708Saturday special barbeque, sekuwa, momos, dal-bhat at The TeaHouse Inn, Windy Hills, Nagarkot every Saturday. 9841250848.Scrumptious wood fired pizzas, cocktails and more atRoadhouse, Bhatbateni 4426587, Pulchok 5521755 and Thamel4260187.Retro Brunch Barbeque with live acoustic music by SoundChemistry, every Saturday, 12-3PM at LeMeridien-Kathmandu,Gokarna. 4451212Dhamaka a Nepali style barbeque with a pan-Indian fusion at theSplash Bar and Grill, Hotel Radisson, Rs. 1399 with 60ml RoyalStag or a complimentary a bottle of coke, 7PM, every Friday.4411818Starry night barbecue at Hotel Shangri-la with Live performanceby Ciney Gurung, Rs. 666.00 nett. per person, at the ShambalaGarden, every Friday 7PM onwards. 4412999Kebabs and curries at the Dhaba, Thapathali. 9841290619Lavazza coffee Italy’s favourite coffee at La Dolce Vita, Thamel,Roadhouse Café Pulchok and Thamel. 4700612Pizza from the woodfired oven at Java, Thamel. 4422519

30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #402 15

A fter waiting nine hours for the historic second session of theconstituent assembly to begin on Wednesday to declare Nepal arepublic, many of the dehydrated and famished

honourable members must have wondered what they had gotthemselves into. Not that things were any better over at Baluwatarwhere the leaders of the seven parties spent the whole day hagglingabout the powers of the president over just tea and biscuits.

Those talks were deadlocked over whether or not the ceremonialpresident should also officiate as the head of army. Never mind thatdivision of powers between president and prime minister is debatedover years in other countries, and we were trying to figure it all out inthe course of an afternoon. But given Chief Katuwal’s absolute rejectionof anyone but a non-Maoist president being the titular commander-in-chief, there was never any doubt which way this would ultimately go.

There is nothing like live television to bring out the best traits ofNepalis. The cameras were rolling all day at the Great Hall of the Peoplewhere a whole row of elected constituent assembly members had got sosick of waiting they had drifted into coma. A female member fromBaglung was spread-eagled as if in a dentist’s chair and was snoringaway. The honourable member from Sarlahi-3 was busy snappingpictures on his camera phone of colleagues dressed in full ethnicregalia. Others got tired of sitting in the uncomfortable chairs, andsquatted cross-legged on the carpet in the aisle to chew the fat. Memo toCA Secretariat: Get a faster photocopier.

Far be it for the Ass to poke fun at the personal hygiene habits of peers,but on full display on the floor of the assembly were various nosegrooming techniques of the 575 members. The variety in the modusoperandi for nose-picking among us Nepalis, it seems, is matched onlyby our ethnic, caste, religious and linguistic diversity. While some onthe leftwing of the august assembly indulged in dreamy, circularforefinger manoeuvres, backbenchers used the overgrown nails intheir pinkies for deep excavation work. Snooty centre rightassemblymen achieved even greater success by quarrying large nuggetsfrom deep inside their nasal cavities by deploying their big fingers likepneumatic drills, unaware that it was all on candid camera and theirevery movement was being beamed live nationwide.

It’s not even been a day since we have been formally declareda republic, but we already know what it feels like to live in a“gone tantra”.

Everything is gone: there is no water in the taps, no oil in thepumps, no planes in the national airline, no banknotes in the CentralBank, no king in the palace, no food in the food corporation, noconstitution in the country and no government. And while there are notext books in schools, the Ministry of Education is already promisingone laptop per child.

Looks like Kingji is now going to get a two week reprieve to vacate thepalace. Fair enough, the movers will need to start packing and cartingoff a whole load of stuff. G swung it by playing double-crossed victimpretty well and deftly leveraged the written promise he’d extractedfrom the parties in April 2006 not to scrap the monarchy to extractpersonal concessions.

Governments may come and governments may go but there willalways be survivors. Some royal ministers are quite smoothly makingthe transition to being Maoist sympathisers. Tycoons who prosperedunder the Royal Son-in-Law and later enjoyed the patronage of the FirstDaughter are now helicoptering around with Awesomeji promising tohelp him achieve his annual 25 percent economic growth rate. Whilethe NC and UML were scrambling to find people to fill their quota ofthe 26 nominated members of the CA, Lotus Flower put forth the nameof Sitaula Baje. It was as we suspected all along, after all.

Anything for a day off. After enjoying three days off lastweek, the Home Ministry had decided to take back thethree-day republican holiday it has announced for thisweek. But better sense prevailed and the holidays werere-instated. It seems the Supplies Minister convincedthe cabinet that this was the only way to reduce demandfor diesel and petrol while at the same time getting overour republican hangover.

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30 MAY - 5 JUNE 2008 #40216

hile Kathmandu celebrated the abolition ofthe monarchy and the declaration of arepublic on Wednesday, in remote parts of

Nepal life went on as usual. For the 80 percent of Nepaliswho live off the land, the real question was: will arepublic make any difference to our lives?(See: p 10-11)

An anachronistic monarchy kept the countrybackward for 50 years. But the political parties tried todeflect criticism of their own failings by keeping thespotlight on the monarchy. For example, how was themonarchy to blame for the governance failures after therestoration of democracy in 1990? And for two yearsafter the king was sidelined in 2006, the ruling allianceutterly failed to restore services and use the peacedividend to lift living standards. Today, the country isreeling under shortages of everything, and survival is astruggle for millions of Nepalis.

The people will not judge the new government byits republican credentials and political slogans anymore,but by sound policies efficiently implemented. Onlydiscernible development will give our new rulerspolitical legitimacy.

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EDITORIALThe public’s republic p2TARAI EYE Prashant JhaMay the 28th p2

STATE OF THE STATE CK LalMore interesting times p2

Getting downto business