Manpower shortage rocks Kirtipur’s Shakti dance

It was around 6 o’clock in the evening on Kojagrat Purnima, Wednesday. Melody filled the air in Tanani, Kirtipur Municipality–10. Sounds of Khin, Taa, Ponga and Jhyali – all traditional musical instruments of Kathmandu Valley – echoed throughout the small settlement near the Bagh Bhairav temple. Suddenly, five masked figures appeared from the communal building at the central square of Tanani. Bhairav, Indrayani, Brahmayani, Khya and Kawa (Skeleton) came out, meticulously moving their bodies...

Governing “Virtual” Reality

Virtual" is the buzzword of the day. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, nearly all forms of human contact we had in our lives have become “virtual”, from virtual classrooms and virtual workspaces to virtual festivals and virtual family events like weddings. Virtual is in the trend. And as with anything trending, it needs to be studied, analysed and governed. In the simplest sense, the word “virtual,” in the sense we are using it now, means the use of technology to facilitate human interaction...

Passengers annoyed about hike in public transport fare

Public transportation has started to get too pricey for the public. This is what many passengers feel about the latest hike in the fare of public vehicles operating in Bagmati Province that took effect from Monday.

A mother and daughter’s battle to get citizenship

Why must a child be forced to carry a name he or she does not want? Why do successive governments find it more appropriate to let individuals be stateless than allow the mother to confer her name to her ward? Why is it that a man passing on his name to his children is seen as the norm but a woman wanting to do the same provokes harsh comments? These are the questions Puja Chand of Kathmandu Metropolitan City–3 raises to the authorities who denied her daughter Tanisi the right to obtain a citizenship...

Nepal in ideal position to build sustainable cities

Monday was World Habitat Day and this year it was marked with the theme “Accelerating urban action for a carbon-free world”. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, United Nations programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development better known as UN-Habitat, cities are one of the biggest polluters in the world accounting for around 70 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Reopening Tourism

Tourism is one of the most important sectors of our country’s economy. It, directly and indirectly, employs nearly 1 million people and holds around Rs. 400 billion in investment. It is also a good source of foreign currency and a way to make the country known to the outside world. Travel and tourism also make up 7.9 per cent of our gross domestic product (GDP). That is why it is vital that we reopen this sector now. It was understandable to keep to

Documenting heritage sites starts, one monument at a time

From Dya Dhwakha, the only surviving medieval gate of Kirtipur, to Tadha Bahi, whose sanctum in Lalitpur houses one of the largest cast Buddha statues in the country, and Shambhunath Mandir, the largest religious monument of Kalikot, a project has been steadily documenting Nepal’s heritages since 2018. Through photographic, iconographic and epigraphic studies carried out both from desk and field visits, this project, led by the Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies (HCTS) at the Heidelberg...

PRI facing problems to work, say officials

The Policy Research Institute (PRI), established three years ago as a national think tank, could have been a credible institution informing public policy in the country and grounding the state’s plans on evidence and research.

Falling COVID cases look to make Dashain festival merry again

Over the past few weeks, Nepal’s COVID-19 positivity rate has declined tremendously from a frighteningly high 20 per cent to just over 10 per cent. The authorities have also lifted most restrictions on travels and gatherings. That is why Dashain looks to be merrier this year, at least for 20-year-old Kopila Luitel. “Last year, the number of cases was still high and many districts were under lockdowns. So, I could neither go home nor celebrate the festival properly here in Kathmandu,” Luitel,...

Sambeg: An exhibition of emotions

A collection inspired by, created from and visualising ‘Sambeg’ – artist Sangee Shrestha’s solo exhibition holding the title which means strong emotions opened at Gallery MCUBE, Mitra Road, Lalitpur on Friday. Featuring 38 visuals which include ink, mixed and acrylic works, Shrestha seeks to contemplate the momentum of human emotions, individual memory, influence of time and daily experiences of the past two years, Manish Lal Shrestha, curator of the gallery has said in his review of the...