Dashain goes digital amid coronavirus crisis

This year’s Dashain was a subdued celebration for Anusha Ghimire Nepal and her family.  Every year, they used to travel from Kapan to Gotikhel, Lalitpur to put on Tika and seek blessings from Nepal’s maternal grandfather. But this year, because of the pandemic and the need to limit travels, the family could not go.

Video telling people not to visit Nepal receives positive response

A video has been going viral on social media over the past four days. In the video, corporate trainer and motivational speaker Mannsi Agrawal outlines seven reasons for people to never ever visit Nepal. Yet, the actual message of the video is the exact opposite. The seven-minute video talks about Nepal’s diversity, cultural richness, tradition, heritage, cuisines and hospitality, painting an irresistible picture of the country, all the while claiming to present reasons for people to never visit...

Nepal Sambat gets solar calendar for the first time

Nepal Sambat 1141 begins today (October 20). But, hang on! Don’t Nepal Sambat (NS) years begin from Mha Puja? Yes, they do in the lunar calendar. But from this year, Nepal Sambat has a new solar calendar, developed by Newa activists Rukshana Kapali, Supriya Manandhar, Sanyukta Shrestha and Subhash Ram Prajapati, which begins today Kachhalā 1. The traditional lunar calendar is primarily based on the phases of the moon (tithis) which limits its scope for official use. So various researchers and...

Border closure, rising demand fuel Paan Masala imports

The data with the Department of Customs show that Nepal imported Rs. 56.9 million worth of Paan Masala in the first two months of the current fiscal year 2020/21. This is a 63 per cent increase from the fiscal year 2019/20 when Paan Masala only worth Rs. 34.9 million was brought into the country and an immensely large increase from the year 2018/19 when Paan Masala worth Rs. 522,000 was imported. Traders say that this year-on-year increase is driven by a mix of rising demand and border tightening. Bhaskar...

Coronavirus may survive for 28 days on some surfaces: Study

The novel coronavirus can survive on smooth surfaces for up to 28 days, a new Australian study suggests. The study by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, shows that, at 20 degrees Celsius, SARS-CoV-2 remains “extremely robust” and infectious on surfaces like paper and polymer banknotes, glass (including those found on mobile phone screens) and stainless steel for 28 days. This is longer than what previous studies have found. The...

Parents divided over prospect of reopening schools

...

COVID-19 cases escalating, precautions lessening

Kathmandu Valley records more than a thousand cases of COVID-19 every day these days. But you wouldn’t know it by looking at the activities of the people. Public places are as crowded as ever, people are still seen walking around without masks and public transportations have paid no attention to the ‘half the passenger capacity’ rule. Sonika Subba was walking around Mahabouddha with her mother on Monday evening, trying to pick out clothes to wear in Dashain. But she was appalled at the large...

COVID-19 restrictions give wind to kite-flying

Krishna Malla picked up a kite for the first time in 18 years last week. The 38-year-old claimed that he last flew a kite when he was 20. “Then, life got busy, my neighbourhood friends stopped flying kites and I lost interest,” he said. But this year, because of the ‘work from home’ arrangement brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been quite free. His 10-year-old son is also home with very little to do. So, he decided to find his old spindle, wind some thread and teach his son the...

Story of Astamatrika Dance

Malla’s decree was to stage Ga: Pyakha every year featuring the Astamatrikas – Brahmayani, Maheshwori, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Barahi, Indrayani, Mahakali and Mahalaxmi. But his priests advised incorporating traditional Newa patron gods in the dance too lest they get offended. So, the dance also includes Bhairav, Simhini, Vyagrihi, Vaishnavi and KumarMalla’s decree was to stage Ga: Pyakha every year featuring the Astamatrikas – Brahmayani, Maheshwori, Kumari, Vaishnavi, Barahi, Indrayani, Mahakali...

What exactly is Malamas ?

Yasmin mase na sankranti, sankranti dwayameva wa; Malamas sa vigyeyo mase trimsattme bhaweta. Or the lunar month with no Sankranti is called Malamas. The transition of the sun from one zodiac sign to the next in Hindu astrology is called Sankranti. When there is no Sankranti in a month then that month is a Malamas, explained Dr. Chinta Mani Yogi, a scholar of Eastern philosophy and the founder principal of Hindu Vidyapeeth School. Astrologer Suresh Raj Giri simplified it further. “When no...