Intangibility made tangible on canvas

Depending  on  our  mastery  of  the  language,  we  may  be  able  to  express  the  feeling  that  was  contained  in  the  Buddha’s  words  carried  for  miles  by  the  currents  of  air,  enlivening  everything  in  its  path.  But  how  do  you  visualise  this?  How  do  you  represent  qualities like selflessness, compassion and impermanence?  Tales  and  fables  are  innately  abstract and incorporeal. How do you translate them to concrete...

Marketing In New Media

Nepal is witnessing a media shift. Radio, once the primary source of news and information for the majority of the population, has been replaced by television (according to surveys by the Sharecast Initiative Nepal). And television, too, is in the process of being replaced by digital media. More and more people, especially in the urban areas, are turning to platforms like YouTube for entertainment. The number of social media users has skyrocketed in the past decade. There is no denying that Nepal...

Working parents take turns to care for their kids

With schools and childcare centres across the country closed because of the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, working parents are in a tough situation. Parents, especially those living outside of the supportive sphere of joint families, are having to make a difficult decision – stay home and look after their wards or earn a living at the cost of their kids’ care.

COVID self-testing may not be reliable

With the number of new COVID-19 cases confirmed every day in the thousands and the symptoms caused by the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, responsible for 88 per cent of new infections in the country as per the Ministry of Health and Population, so similar to the common cold and the flu, the need for testing has skyrocketed.

Three Cities, One Root

Panauti is the centre of attraction this month. The city is hosting the famous once-in-12-years Makar Mela this Magh. But while Makar Mela may be the biggest festival of the city, it is not the only one. One of the most important festivals is Jya Punhi or Desh Jatra where Panauti residents pay homage to their main protecting deities Indreshwor Mahadev, Bhadrakali, Unmatta Bhairav and Brahmayani. Similarly, this historic town also plays host to a number of visiting festivals, of which, the Harisiddhi...

WHERE DIVINITY MINGLES WITH NATURE

Thirty-two kilometres southeast of Nepal’s capital is a city so divine that merely setting foot in it is believed to gain a person enough virtue to last a lifetime. At the base of the Gorakhnath Hill flow waters so pure that they even cleansed the sins of Lord Indra, the king of heaven.

Albinos compelled to live with physical, social challenges

Rupak Laudari does not like thinking about his school days. It was not a happy time for him as he was teased relentlessly by his friends and even some teachers all through primary and secondary schools. Kuhire, Angrez, Sete, Whitey – these were some of the words the 28-year-old used to hear every day. Why?

Opt For Remotely Proctored Exams

Our universities are utterly incapable of conducting physical exams during the COVID-19 pandemic without putting students at risk. This has been made abundantly clear by the recent student protests. Yet, they have also not devised any other way of evaluating the students’ knowledge and grading their abilities fairly (despite several alternatives being readily available). So, if educational institutions insist on exams and want those exams monitored to supposedly protect their integrity, then they...

Outside Kathmandu Vallely, people still careless about COVID

The country is in the midst of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and medical personnel stress that Kathmandu Valley is the epicentre. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, all three districts of the Kathmandu Valley are in the ‘red zone’ meaning they have more than 500 active cases each. Considering this risk, several government offices including the District Administration Offices in many districts and the Department of Passports have rolled back all but their emergency...

Makar Mela: It came in 12 years and COVID robbed it

Had it not been for the latest wave of COVID-19, the city of Panauti would have been celebrating this Mela this year throughout the Nepali month of Magh. “Thousands of people from as far as India would have thronged the Trivenighat (in Ward No. 7 of Panauti Municipality) to take a dip in the holy confluence,” said a local man Chandra Deula.