Metal Free Nation
Nepali Times ईspecial 14 - 20 June 2024 #1216
Hi there,
The first impression one has of any country is the arrival concourse of its main airport. And I must say the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAN’T) has left no stone overturned to make Kathmandu airport live up to Nepal’s reputation as an ‘Adventure Destination’.
The ride in the ramp bus from plane to terminal lasts exactly 4.5 seconds, but it is enough to give tourists an inkling of what traveling on roads in Nepal can be like: bus does not move until it is crammed like sardines, the windows don’t open and the a/c does not work.
And in the arrival hall, formalities for foreigners are deliberately designed to resemble a reality tv show where unfamiliar contestants have to figure out the exact sequence of filling out the digital visa on arrival form, rush to the bank counter to pay the fee, cut across to the immigration line, then queue up in the ‘metal free’ x-ray machine line for 45 minutes, and then try not to trigger a human avalanche on the inclined travellator to the taxi stand.
If, by this time, you have blown a few gaskets and had a fistfight with metal detector guy who tries to purloin your wedding ring accusing you of being a gold smuggler, then let’s face it, you do not have what it takes to enter Nepal.
However, if you happen to have 33kg of gold ingots disguised as motorcycle brake pads concealed in your false bottom, then by all means, welcome to Nepal where Guest is God, Naturally Nepal Once is Not Enough, and Buddha Was Born in Nepal.
This week’s page 1 story is titled ‘GO AWAY’ in which Sonia Awale interviews elderly foreigners who have spent most of their lives in Nepal, and wanted to spend their last days here. They are being forced to leave after their ‘resident’ visas were not renewed on orders from the Home Ministry. Nepal is undermining its international goodwill as well as losing revenue by driving out long-staying foreigners.
Editorial this week (Democracy’s discontents, page 2) by Shristi Karki analyses the rise of populist politicians (Rabi, Balen, et al) in Nepal, and why they represent disillusionment with tried, tested and failed incumbents.
Sagar Budhathoki profiles for Nepali Times the tales of 22 of the Nepali soldiers in the Russian Army known to have been killed on the Ukraine Front in the past year. They are heart-rending stories with the same sad plot of desperation and hopes dashed (Nepalis dying in someone else’s war, page 10-11).
And in our Himalayan Highs Special this week:
· A profile of King Jigme Singe Palbar Bista (A kingdom within a republic, page 5) by Durga Rana Magar in Mustang.
· A school in Humla district tries to save local culture and reverse outmigration (Saving Humla from heritage loss, page 6-7) by Benjamin Zimmerman.
· Nepal’s yak population is declining due to lifestyle change and the climate crisis, putting intangible heritage at risk (When yaks go, so does culture, page 6-7) by Tanka Dhakal in Syangboche.
· Nepali Times intern Aïsha MacDougall has fond memories of reporting trips to the Annapurnas and Gokyo (Beyond pre-conceptions of Nepal, page 9).
Rediscover the joys of reading Nepali Times in hardcopy!
Until next Sunday,
Kunda Dixit