Nobody completely understands the breadth and depth of our art which has developed over centuries. It takes more than a lifetime to achieve complete knowledge of an artistic heritage which is an amalgamation of religious philosophy, figurative symbols, metaphoric concepts and even subconscious outpourings. Paubha is not just simply painting of a deity that follows iconography and elemental requirements. Paubha can consume every molecule of an artist, especially for a great master like<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671"> Lok Chitrakar</a>. He dives deep into our ancient art practices of traditional paubha, dabbles in issue-based paubha with realism and impressionism, and is also experimenting with contemporising paubha with abstract forms. Our gods and goddesses are all figments of someone’s imagination. Ever wondered about the state of mind and emotional ecstasy of the first paubha painter? How did they render on canvas the compassion of a Green Tara, or the innate power of Lokeswor? We can assume it was a combination of philosophical understanding, fervent religious belief and also a strong subconscious outpouring. As he comprehends the challenges of having to express philosophy through figures Lok Chitrakar agrees that our traditional art too began as abstract. The subconscious plays a big a role when the artist has to imagine forms, expressions, colours, and movement of a deity who will evoke a powerful spiritual fervour. Moreover, it has to be visually stunning with intricate details. A dual talent of metaphorical and conventional skills and a sacred power of making the intangible, visible. Today Wassily Condensky’s or Picasso’s forms and figures are used as the basis of abstract drawings by artists all over the world. Similarly, our traditional art too had a foundation of abstract notions that was given continuity and thus became traditional. Through centuries, many contributed to its greater evolution in style, design, and methods. Lok Chitrakar is a 21st-century master of preserving tradition, letting artistic styles evolve and revolutionise.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070340_115233d0eb71e3e42062b32651d140b8196f654da32991135cabbf138d76169a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230324070340_115233d0eb71e3e42062b32651d140b8196f654da32991135cabbf138d76169a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="lok chitrakar"><figcaption>Lok Chitrakar. Photo: MoNA.</figcaption></figure>  During his early days, there was limited information on paubha protocol as documentation was poor and ancient texts were not researched and translated. He went into great lengths to study the early texts of iconography including Buddhist and Hindu theology and to understand the philosophy behind the concepts. Thus, Lok Chitrakar’s art is not just about continuation of age-old techniques, but a homage to the talent of unknown ancient artists -- to revive it, and leave an indelible mark by preserving it for ages to come. Understanding the depths of its philosophy so well, he breathes life into realistic, spiritual and abstract art forms. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">Paubha art</a> is the spiritual power of giving visibility to the deity one worships. An imaginative force of creative energy that brings the abstraction of god to life. A refined paubha artist like Lok Chitrakar has the ability to embody the presence and divine qualities of a deity. Says Chitrakar: “Let people look at my paintings and let them forget themselves for a moment. Let it be a divine calling for them.” Viewer may or may not get a calling, but they can see that divinity resides in those artists who have the power of making the unseen, seen. <h2>HEVAJRA MANDALA </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070344_717a96401d8a08f77c745db0e4418f01d0c1231c21b6164664671bb0287674e0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230324070344_717a96401d8a08f77c745db0e4418f01d0c1231c21b6164664671bb0287674e0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1186" loading="lazy" alt="hevraja mandala"><figcaption>'Hevajra Mandala', (Artist’s Collection), mineral colour on cotton canvas, 56.5 x 44.5in, work in progress</figcaption></figure>  The greatest example of Lok Chitrakar’s artistic magnanimity is the Hevajra Mandala which has taken him 25 years, and is not yet complete. What drives an individual to assiduously work on a canvas for 25 years? How do you define such passion and dedication? It took 15 years for Da Vinci to complete 'Mona Lisa' and three years for 'The Last Supper'. It took four years for Michelangelo to finish painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and two years for Botticelli’s 'Birth of Venus'. The world’s most famous and expensive art has been completed in less time, but Lok Chitrakar is still envisioning and studying the scriptures of Hevajra, a 500,000-verse tantric text of the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism that originated in the 8th century. The text converted to images in a mandala form is a lifetime of study. The philosophy of the Hevajra is about the impermanence of all phenomena which the artist has been studying since the 90s. He cannot complete it until he personally experiences all its teachings, he explains. Many of the lessons learned within the span of 25 years has been painstakingly imbibed, and he continues to work on it as he ages and understands the philosophy further. <h2>CHINTAMANI LOKESHWOR </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070348_a1158b100e1a9836221c25f1b761663a41edb6b4186d4cbec06f873ad3cc64ad.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230324070348_a1158b100e1a9836221c25f1b761663a41edb6b4186d4cbec06f873ad3cc64ad" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1603" loading="lazy" alt="chintamani lokeshwar"><figcaption>'Chintamani Lokeshwor', (Private Collection), Mineral on canvas (gold), 26 x 33in, 2005(Photo: Ashish Dhakal)</figcaption></figure>  Sometime in the 1980s, a 16th century art piece Chintamani Lokeshwor was stolen from Itum Bahal, and its whereabouts is unknown. Chitrakar would often go to study this paubha and he was terribly distressed by the loss of the national treasure. Based on the memory of what he saw, he was so inspired to paint this stolen masterpiece that he completed seven of them -- each one better than the previous. In doing so, he invented a new technique, which adds a transparent, almost reflective touch around the aura and shawl. Such was his determination to create the best version of the long lost paubha that his last one is beautiful beyond description. The painting intricately depicts Chintamani and his consort generously giving donations. It took Chitrakar 10 years to complete the piece and the final parts were done during the time he was taking care of his ailing mother. Chintamani Lokeshwor is the Bodhisattva of altruistic compassion and his life situation then was similar to the philosophy. He felt blessed to be serving his mother compassionately during her last days. <h2>TARA </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070348_37778c6a9e18f15f53eee60a23f0f3da3456de02761f95fb5b4008292b375634.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230324070348_37778c6a9e18f15f53eee60a23f0f3da3456de02761f95fb5b4008292b375634" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1221" loading="lazy" alt="tara"><figcaption>'Tara', (Private Collection), Mineral colours with lapis, malachite, gold, silver, 2016</figcaption></figure>  This Tara is inspired by the 12th century Nepali artist Arniko which is an inspiration to most paubha artists. Lok Chitrakar does not just admire him, he beautified the classic painting and gave it his unique creative touch by going a step further and applying lapis and malachite mixed paint. He wanted to show the rich skills of the Newa school of paubha and our unique paint mixtures. He learned the art of mixing lapis in Japan and bought 15 grams of high-quality lapis for $300 especially for this painting. This is the first time in the history of paubha painting that lapis, malachite, gold, and silver mixtures have been used. Chitrakar added gold and silver mixtures in the deity’s jewellery and the green background is the purest lapis and malachite mix; a paint technique only familiar to him -- no other paubha artists have dared. <h2>RAKTA GANESH </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070348_3beb1a30d44917ee666a912f0ac24ad839564ed90af11fe0597323539f8ffcd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230324070348_3beb1a30d44917ee666a912f0ac24ad839564ed90af11fe0597323539f8ffcd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="857" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="rakta ganesh"><figcaption>'Rakta Ganesh', (Artist’s Collection), mineral on canvas, lapis, indigo mix. 65 x 72.5in, 2020</figcaption></figure>  Lok Chitrakar has painted many forms of Ganesh but the most striking one is of Maha Rakta Ganesh, the red Ganesh which took him 16 years to complete. The inspiration is to bring to light the extraordinary talent of Jiva Ram, a less known Nepali artist of the 15th century who went to Tibet and mastered its artistic styles. In the 16 years it took to complete this piece, the canvas was eaten by termites, but Chitrakar continued to paint on it as a symbolic mark -- the holes can be still seen. As always, he added his own unique touches like the women holding the Asthamangal, a message of women empowerment within a strong representation of the male embodiment of Ganesh. The painting was completed during lockdown and he was so absorbed in it to emulate the artistic spirit of Jiva Ram that the turmoil of the Covid days didn’t affect him at all. <h2>CONTEMPORARY CHAKRASAMVARA </h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324070352_c5e21c3c2a6b93bd752a381a6a8088d390ba1a0a3629d215e8bc9c39ab7bcac6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230324070352_c5e21c3c2a6b93bd752a381a6a8088d390ba1a0a3629d215e8bc9c39ab7bcac6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="401" loading="lazy" alt="'Contemporary Chakrasamvara'"><figcaption>'Contemporary Chakrasamvara', (Artist’s Collection), mineral on canvas, 2017</figcaption></figure>  Though Chitrakar is not completely satisfied with his abstract version of Chakrasamvara, the piece signifies a revolution in Nepali art. It is a unique artistic attempt to merge the traditional and the modern. Chakrasamvara means an absolute state of an enlightened, or awakened mind. Chitrakar portrays this in a contemporary manner: blending hand gestures, symbols and deities, it’s a striking splurge of spontaneity and protocol on canvas. Those who do not understand this tantric philosophy may be lost, but for those who do, it is a delight to analyse the art from a mixed perspective. Lok Chitrakar: Solo Exhibition 26 March – 26 April 2023 Museum of Nepali Art, Thamel Shaguni Singh Sakya is Director, KGH Group and Museum of Nepali Art (MoNA).

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Here & Now

Five Decades of Lok Chitrakar

On 2 January 2023, Sita Adhikari (pictured above) was sitting in Narayan Chaur in Kathmandu, worrying about the Rs200,000 that she had deposited at Oriental Cooperative. She had saved the money to see through her old age, but it is now all gone. “I think I will die without getting that money back,” she said, chin resting on the palm of her hand. Adhikari is originally from Nuwakot, and spent her life alone and without any support. She was married in 1951 when she was 11 and her husband died three years later. In 1959, she came to Kathmandu, leaving everything behind. Now, she works in a household in Naxal. She had received Rs100,000 as part of her husband’s property, adding another Rs100,000 that she had saved and deposited the total amount in Nepal Bank Limited. After a kin told her that the Oriental would provide her a better interest rate, she deposited her money there. By the time she learned that this was a bad decision, it was already too late. When she needed money for medicine, she reached out to the cooperative. But the branch office was locked up. She has spent a decade since trying to get that money back. “It was all I had, the crooks stole it from me,” she added. Thousands of other depositers had also put their money at Oriental Cooperative, operated by a Sudhir Basnet, who is absconding. According to the office of Cooperative Management Committee, about Rs1.5 billion deposited by about 4,250 people at Oriental remains in limbo. Khagendra Kafle, chair of a victims’ committee, says that the depositors have been struggling financially and a dozen of them have already died.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230324100356_d20b1e6157630a9fcc7c765e073ee4e549975427f74b170efea0ad5547ca8db6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230324100356_d20b1e6157630a9fcc7c765e073ee4e549975427f74b170efea0ad5547ca8db6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Bishnu Bhagat Shrestha"> <figcaption>Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  Chhetra Dhanchhawa of Bhaktapur had deposited Rs2.6 million at Basnet’s cooperative. The money was to take care of her son Bishnu who cannot speak or walk. she died at age 83 in 2021, the loan her family took for her funeral rites remain unpaid, and Bishnu is being looked after by his niece (pictured above). Devendra Prasad Pokharel, chief of Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s Cooperative Department, meets dozens of depositers who have lost all to collapsed <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18430#.ZB121HZByJA">cooperatives</a> daily. “Some have warned they will self-immolate at the department’s office if they do not get their money back,” he says. “It is so depressing I feel like quitting my job right now.” After the department receives complaints, it summons cooperative operators for a discussion. If the operators pay back the money within a certain period of time, the case gets closed. If not, the department sends a letter to the police for an investigation. “So far, we have already sent 2,800 complaints against 56 cooperatives to the police,” Pokharel adds. And of the 1,600 financial institutions in Kathmandu alone, complaints have been filed against 125. Binda Budhathoki, who runs a retail shop in Balkot has Rs40,000 still stuck in Nagarik Bikas Cooperative. On 1 February its officials were asking depositors to visit after a month because it had a cash crunch. Between July and December, the Cooperative Department under the Ministry of Land Management and Cooperative received 451 complaints against cooperatives. Registrar Rudra Prasad Pandit said, “We take complaints if it is under our jurisdiction, if not, we suggest they visit the authorities concerned in local units and provinces.” The <a href="https://lawcommission.gov.np/en/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Cooperatives-Act-2017-final-Eng-version-Dec-21-2018-1.pdf">Cooperatives Act 2017</a> has divided the work related to cooperatives’ registration and monitoring among the department, and provincial and local governments. There is no concrete data on how many cooperatives have not paid their clients’ money. Meen Raj Kandel, chair of Rastriya Sahakari Mahasangh, the umbrella association of cooperatives, says that as many as 32,000 cooperatives across the country have deposits worth Rs700 billion. But because of the fraud committed by some of them, there is widespread loss of faith in cooperatives.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023032411034_0566f5a5d46ab324ee0d912fc9e71db37b814c4b981f01f8f6fe32d45672aa53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2023032411034_0566f5a5d46ab324ee0d912fc9e71db37b814c4b981f01f8f6fe32d45672aa53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="suman nepali"> <figcaption>Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  “On the one hand, the country’s financial outlook is grim, and the cooperatives have not been able to get returns on their investment,” he said. “On the other hand, all depositors have been thronging to cooperatives to ask for their money back. This is creating problems.” The problem is not new, it has just got worse. In 2013 the government formed a probe commission to investigate cooperatives after many people were left high and dry. It found the operators themselves had been taking large amounts of loans and not repaying the principal and interest for years. According to the commission’s report, 22,170 depositors had yet to receive a total of Rs7,607,995,000 from cooperatives.Including interest, the sum crosses Rs10 billion. That was ten years ago, and the problem has gotten worse since most of the guilty were never punished. The report recommended that cooperatives should be regularly monitored, there should be strong laws to control unruly financial and managerial decisions, and registrations be stopped for new cooperatives. In addition, it also suggested that operators should not invest without collateral and all financial transactions be done through banks or financial institutions. None of this was ever implemented. Lalupate Cooperative in Khotang collapsed without refunding its customers’ savings. The Dhangadi branch office of Shiva Shikhar Multipurpose Cooperative shut down without refunding depositers. The Credit Information Bureau has blacklisted 11 cooperatives just in the current fiscal year. Gauri Bahadur Karki, chair of the probe commission, blames greed and mismanagement. “The business of collecting money from the public and mobilising it in real estate or other business by a single individual or a family has increased the risk of theft of public’s property, this is a business that should have been strictly regulated,” he said. Civil Cooperative, for example, used at least Rs5.67 billion from depositers, invested it in real estate and other iffy sectors and never refunded it. Investigation has shown that the cooperative loaned Rs1.32 billion to former chair and adviser Ichha Ram Tamang’s Civil Homes without securing any collateral. Cooperatives issued loans again and again without recovering the previous credits. The Department of Cooperatives did issue guidelines related to liquidity, investment, utilisation of savings, and institutional good governance from time to time, but it has failed to monitor and take action against the cooperatives that show reluctance to implement them. There is a provision that the cooperatives should maintain liquidity up to 15%, and invest more than half of the total credit in the production-oriented business in order to minimise the investment in the real estate, but this has never been enforced. Rudra Prasad Pandit says cooperatives and real estate businesses have become co-dependent. In fact, cooperatives start facing problems when cracks appear in the real estate sector. Real estate transactions are now down to half in the last six months of the current fiscal year compared to last year. Last year, 394,307 properties were purchased and sold, but the number is now barely 189,937. This means cooperatives that had speculated on land have not been able to recoup the money. Complaints lodged at the Cooperative Department show that almost all the cooperatives invested in real estate plotting or land transactions. Savings schemes and cooperatives have become the tool of money laundering due to the lack of regulation. Economist Keshav Acharya says that cooperatives that should have been established for the public good have been infiltrated by the land mafia who collect the wealth of the public and gamble on real estate. The 2013 probe committee states in its report that the operators who were found involved in misappropriation responded that they were unaware of the laws. ‘The cooperatives should have been opened after thorough research. There is no one to formulate operation rules,’ the report states. For instance, investigation into Oriental Cooperative found that Basnet had taken most of the loans in the name of fake depositers, even establishing more than half-a-dozen sub-cooperatives in order to collect money from the public. The Auditor General’s report in 2023 notes that many cooperatives have failed to establish a system to identify suspicious transactions and to conduct a detailed study of the high and abnormal financial dealings from their own members. In addition, cooperatives have become the hotbed for people blacklisted by banks and other financial institutions. In fiscal year 2021/22, of the total 2,401,714 financial transactions above Rs1 million, 274,113 were done by cooperatives. And, although the details of all transactions above Rs1 million and all suspicious transactions should be sent to the Financial Information Bureau, the implementation is lacking. Adds Dipak Raj Pokharel of the Money Laundering Prevention unit, “There is little investigation into suspicious transactions through cooperatives.” A high-level task force led by the National Planning Commission in 2066 concluded that cooperative organisations were a risk-factor for the economy. ‘A great disaster could be on the cards due to the weak monitoring/regulatory organisational system and legal provisions,’ the report states. Adds economist Acharya: “The government has failed in its responsibility to protect the wealth of the citizens. The government became helpless in refunding the savings of the public and taking action against the fraud even though the crime continued in the name of cooperatives.” A former colleague of Acharya’s committed suicide after he did not receive the Rs5 million he saved in a cooperative. Even a former executive director of Nepal Rastra Bank has been cheated of Rs20 million he saved in a cooperative. Although the 2013 probe commission found 162 cooperatives, including their branches, as problematic and recommended for property management, the government has declared only 12 as such. No action for management of property and liability has been taken against many cooperatives that have failed to refund the savers’ money and have disappeared.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023032411034_8b8f53546869197478909c0d19bdb0945afa82e54f81c691915bfdc82c92cf8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2023032411034_8b8f53546869197478909c0d19bdb0945afa82e54f81c691915bfdc82c92cf8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="suman nepali"> <figcaption>Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  Trilochan Pangeni, suggests that that the risk has increased due to the politicisation of the cooperatives. He argues that law has been deliberately weakened by people in power so that the cooperatives could be let free. “While formulating the Cooperatives Act in 2017, a stern legal action against those committing irregularities in the cooperatives was proposed, but the political nexus derailed those provisions,” he added. In 2016, Nepal Rastra Bank drafted a bill making fraud in cooperatives subject to punishment as banking offence. During discussions in the Parliament, the bill was taken to the Finance Committee which had cooperatives campaigner Keshav Badal, Civil Cooperatives chairperson Ichha Raj Tamang and other persons associated with cooperatives as members. The conflict of interest in the Committee limited the definition of the cooperative organisation to include only the organisations licensed by Nepal Rastra Bank. As per this definition, the Act would incorporate only 15 cooperatives that had obtained permission from the central bank. As a result, the fraud committed in other cooperatives could not be brought to action for banking offences. Says Tol Raj Upadhyay of the Department of Cooperatives: “The power to regulate the cooperatives could be developed at the local and provincial levels. Even the federation has only 20 staff. The long-standing deterioration that crept under the lack of institutional regulation has flourished now.” <a href="https://cijnepal.org.np/how-nepals-cooperative-are-leaving-customers-high-and-dry/">Originally published</a> by Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ).

Cooperatives leave Nepalis high and dry

Nepal's <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/reviving-nepals-community-forestry-success-story">community forestry program</a> doubled tree cover to 45% in 30 years. Nature sanctuaries make up a quarter of the country's area. Two years ago, Nepal’s national parks marked five years with zero rhino poaching. Nepal is also the first <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/2-nepal-tiger-reserves-awarded">tiger range country</a> to nearly triple its population of the big cats. But new linear infrastructure projects will soon be crisscrossing national parks along the Tarai, disturbing the habitat and blocking <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-wild-elephants-are-also-on-the-move">wildlife migration</a> routes. Nearly 400km of the 1,028km East-West Highway slices through national parks in Parsa, Chitwan, Bardia and Banke districts. Transmission lines have been built through protected areas, more are planned. Irrigation canals such as Babai, Ranijamara and Sitka obstruct wildlife movement pathways. “Nepal is among the fastest growing countries in terms of infrastructure, but projects are also the least well planned,” says World Wildlife Fund Nepal (WWF-N) Country Director Ghana Gurung. Development vs <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/conservation-at-the-crossroads">conservation</a> has been a longstanding dilemma for countries like Nepal, but experts say it need not be. Around the world, planners are now building infrastructure with climate-smart and wildlife-friendly safeguards. With technical expertise and investment, there is no reason Nepal cannot do the same. In fact, the 30km Narayanghat-Mugling Highway features the first two of Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/underpasses-to-reduce-roadkill-in-nepal">wildlife underpasses</a> where the busy highway artery passes through an important animal migration corridor. Camera traps at underpasses showed deer, wild boar and other animals used them regularly, with half the wildlife movement occurring in winter when animals search for water The Narayanghat-Butwal highway, which is being upgraded, will have 40 wildlife crossings along the Daunne-Gaidakot section. Their location is being determined after monitoring wildlife movement in the area. The project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will also monitor how much the animals use the crossings. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/infrastructure-for-wildlife-in-nepal">The facilities</a> are necessary not just to prevent the fragmentation of wildlife habitats, but also to reduce roadkill of endangered species.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023032316030_c6b778a207c5a2fd618af03fc656535d3ab2f445a1618f573394169724e9fbd4.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2023032316030_c6b778a207c5a2fd618af03fc656535d3ab2f445a1618f573394169724e9fbd4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1083" loading="lazy" alt="Map"></figure>  But there is contradiction between road engineers and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-conservationist-wins-whitley-award">conservationists</a>, with the former prioritising connectivity while the latter are blamed for one-dimensional advocacy for wildlife. Bridging this gap is the recently launched Asia’s Linear Infrastructure safeGuarding Nature (ALIGN) project which aims to protect protected areas from the impact of new infrastructure. Funded by USAID and implemented by WWF, the ALIGN project was launched at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in December 2022 with an initial focus on three countries: Nepal for its rich biodiversity, Mongolia for its fragile protected areas, and India which is accelerating investment in infrastructure. ALIGN has three main objectives: refine and strengthen existing policies such that they align with international best practices, enhance partnerships to promote and support investment, and implement safeguards for linear infrastructure and capacity building. “As it stands we have a very weak policy framework but we must strengthen it to avoid the impacts of big infrastructure. Soon we will be reviewing them,” says Semina Kafle of the ALIGN project. She adds: “Our focus is on producing our own experts.But there is a big gap between how an engineer thinks versus a conservationist. So we have decided to go back to school and make the impact of linear infrastructure on climate and wildlife an integral part of engineering studies.” ALIGN is working with the Institute of Engineering (IOE) in Pulchok Campus to develop a syllabus for an elective for students of civil and electrical engineering, and urban planning. The team is also collaborating with American universities to bring engineering lecturers to the Institute. As the demand and interest for the course increases, the elective will be upgraded to a core course or even a Master’s program. “It is crucial that we equip our students with the latest technologies and construct linear infrastructure while also ensuring the safety of the wildlife,” says Shashidhar Joshi, dean of IOE.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023032316030_73628a3d88b550287dc7439f6fc6fe5b035d99943381590466a8df621fd58be6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2023032316030_73628a3d88b550287dc7439f6fc6fe5b035d99943381590466a8df621fd58be6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Protecting protected areas from infrastructure NT 2"></figure>  He adds: “This is already practiced elsewhere in the world and we are integrating it now into our engineering studies to redefine infrastructure and planning." Poorly planned highway, power line, or railway alignments now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet">threaten to undo Nepal's conservation success</a>. With poaching controlled to a large extent, protected areas are now getting overcrowded leading to more frequent contact between people and tigers, wild elephants and leopards. Wildlife crossings over or under highways or irrigation canals can make them safer for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/protecting-nepal-s-endangered-wild-cattle">endangered species</a>. Otherwise roadkill will be a problem on upgraded highways because of more vehicles and their speed. Safe routes for animals will also reduce <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/is-wildlife-conservation-a-victim-of-its-own-success-in-nepal">human-wildlife contact</a>. They provide drainage, preventing inundation especially as climate-induced weather extremes lead to more downpours and flash floods. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/human-animal-interface-in-nepal-wildlife-corridor">Wildlife friendly structures</a> across highways and irrigation canals are helpful, but they need to be maintained and monitored. An underpass in Barandabhar, a 29km-long forest corridor bisected by the East-West Highway in Chitwan is often cited as a notable wildlife crossing. But, says Sandesh Singh Hamal of the ALIGN Project, lack of upkeep has turned it into a garbage dump. He adds: “Who should be responsible for their maintenance? There should be no conflict regarding the jurisdiction, we cannot pass the buck from one agency to another.” The ALIGN project has a performance period until September 2025 during which it will also facilitate learning and sharing between the three focal countries. With Nepal embarking on mega projects like the East-West Railway, Nijgad Airport and the Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway, wildlife crossings need to be integrated into their planning. Says Ghana Gurung of WWF: “We will work with governments and try to bring engineers and conservationists together to ensure infrastructures do not disturb protected areas.”

Sonia Awale

Protecting protected areas from infrastructure

In search of stolen gods at the Met

As anyone who has suffered a bad toothache will attest, it is a singular kind of debilitating pain. But often, people do not feel any pain from infection until it is too late.&nbsp; In Nepal, there is a wide dental divide between those with access to dental care and the majority who are without. In remoter parts of the country, complications from a simple untreated abscess in the oral cavity can even be fatal.&nbsp; However, up to 90% of dental conditions like tooth decay and gum diseases in Nepal can be prevented through awareness of oral hygiene. This is not rocket science (or even a root canal) but knowing how to brush teeth correctly, avoiding junk food and eating meals that have to be chewed properly can save people from expensive and painful trips to the dentist. In the old days the people of Kathmandu would visit Kilagal to nail coins into the stump of a tree in the belief that it would stop excruciating toothaches. Today, most dental clinics in Nepal are concentrated in Kathmandu Valley, and even these are mostly located inside the Ring Road. They have expensive state-of-the-art dental equipment which drives up the cost of care. Public health experts suggest that instead of planning to invest in expensive dental clinics all over the country, the focus should be on dental hygiene awareness, simple prevention and telemedicine for more complicated cases. “We have two drastically different groups in Nepal: those who need the latest cosmetic dentistry and others who have never ever seen a dentist in their lives. The way to bridge this gap is through technology,” says dental surgeon <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/business-dentistry-cosmetic-sushil-koirala,773">Sushil Koirala</a>. “We have to digitise the system itself so that the poorest communities in the remotest parts of Nepal have access to dental care.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230320050312_03ac8316b2aea7bae885e184b53a9821ac94a5682b40a2cd80ba493b38f41394.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230320050312_03ac8316b2aea7bae885e184b53a9821ac94a5682b40a2cd80ba493b38f41394" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3456" loading="lazy" alt="Bridging the dental divide in Nepal"> </figure>  There are 13 dental colleges in Nepal which produce some 500 dentists a year on average. Nepal’s dentist-patient ratio is 1:12,000 (WHO recommends 1:5,000). But most of these clinics are in the cities, and in remote districts like Jumla the dentist patient ratio can be more than 1:200,000. There are some Nepal government scholarship students who mandatorily serve in the districts for two years, but most return to the city to set up clinics in an already saturated market. The government has dental surgeries in district and provincial hospitals, but the infrastructure is outdated and the staff insufficient. The way to compensate for the shortage of dentists in rural Nepal could be to prioritise dental hygienists. Ideally, hygienists work under the supervision of dentists helping out with simpler procedures for gum diseases or atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) which involves removing decayed tissue.&nbsp; Because of the lack of regulation, hygienists have become ‘pseudo-dentists’ in the village, doing everything from filling to extraction. “Dental treatment is actually the last resort. The initial phase should always focus on prevention and proper care. But remote places of Nepal lack education and training,” says another dental surgeon Parakram Parajuli.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230320050312_60c28cbf100de210cbab814ab70b11daba26e75d9bd3ba7327cb81d6bf83e933.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230320050312_60c28cbf100de210cbab814ab70b11daba26e75d9bd3ba7327cb81d6bf83e933" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3456" loading="lazy" alt="Bridging the dental divide in Nepal 2"> </figure>  To plug the gap, National Dental Hospital, the non-profit Punyaarjan Foundation and MiCD Global Academy have jointly established the Dental Innovation Centre which aims to develop and implement accessible to all in Nepal (box). The team is currently working on an app that allows tele-dental care with use of AI. The initiative also plans a vigorous prevention campaign for oral hygiene among school children. Dental complications are linked to lifestyle, and this means maintaining teeth and gums. Reducing the intake of junk food and sweets can also reduce prevalence of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in the population. There is also growing evidence pointing to a correlation between oral health and mental well-being. Some 90% of the world’s population suffers from oral illnesses at some point in their lives with caries and periodontal (gum) disease being the most common and painful conditions. Nearly all adults and up to 90% of schoolchildren worldwide suffer from caries, and up to 50% from gum disease. In fact, severe periodontitis is the sixth most prevalent disease in the world. All of this makes prevention critical, but in Nepal dental care is largely limited to filling cavities or tooth extraction when in fact the focus should be on comprehensive care which includes prevention, treatment, follow-up and monitoring. This would also reduce visits to dentists, and timely diagnosis would make interventions cheaper.&nbsp; Says Koirala: “The most cost-effective approach in a country like Nepal to prevent dental diseases is raising awareness about oral hygiene among school children, because through them we reach the communities. Dental hygienists as well as school nurses should be trained and mobilised in schools to achieve this.”&nbsp; Read Also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/business-dentistry-cosmetic-sushil-koirala,773">More than skin deep</a>, Tsering Dolker Gurung <h2>Leapfrogging with tele-dentistry</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230320050312_a59a7eebfafb69330bf82ae41a4c735dca5106358bd3d8d187a9313de9371526.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230320050312_a59a7eebfafb69330bf82ae41a4c735dca5106358bd3d8d187a9313de9371526" data-rendition-name="original" width="4608" height="3456" loading="lazy" alt="Leapfrogging with tele-dentistry"> </figure>  <h2> </h2> Set up only three months ago, the Dental Innovation Centre-Nepal (DIC-N) is working with post-grad students from the Institute of Engineering in Pulchok to develop an app that will connect dental hygienists in rural Nepal with dentists in Kathmandu for tele-dental consultations.&nbsp; Students are also working on a software which will be the standard treatment protocol for minimally invasive comprehensive dental treatment for professionals as well as record keeping with the patients' oral history. Explains Sushil Koirala, who is leading the Centre: “On one hand, dentists won’t need to be everywhere anymore. Paramedics and hygienists will be able to provide correct and cheap treatment. It also addresses over-treatment, which is another major issue with dental care.”&nbsp; This is also a platform to encourage young innovative IT minds. The Centre will organise an open competition every two years so they get a chance to pilot project for real-life scenarios. The Centre will also host professionals who want to volunteer so that they adopt some children and provide them with general consultation free of cost. This will serve to motivate young dentists interested in philanthropy. While dentistry itself is a lucrative profession, many of the 500 graduates every year in Nepal do not have enough resources to start their own clinics and are underpaid elsewhere. And while some migrate to work overseas, dental licensing abroad is harder to get and even then Nepali dentists are mostly restricted to the role of hygienists. In the meantime, the dental studies curriculum in Nepal is largely outdated with students not able to practice much of the latest surgical methodologies. The Centre is led by a team of Nepal’s foremost dental surgeons to share expertise.&nbsp; “Most developed countries have problem-based learning and practice approach, where creativity and research are encouraged early in their dentistry course but this is sorely lacking in our part of the world,” adds dental surgeon Parakram Parajuli. At Dental Innovation Centre, the team is in the designing phase of the app which they want to test through remote area hospitals like Bayalpata in Achham which already has an electronic health record of all its patients. Says Koirala: “It is a business model in that institutions and hospitals have to pay for technology while the patients get the benefit without additional cost. We want to become a model for others to learn from and replicate while also leading the reforms in the field.” Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/healthcare-moving-from-hospitals-to-homes">Healthcare moving from hospitals to homes</a>, Sonia Awale

Bridging the dental divide in Nepal

A Member of Parliament operates a fast-food restaurant. Another MP runs a trout hatchery. A female party leader owns a pig farm. All three <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-go-from-home-to-house">women are in the business of politics</a>, and they have established and run their own enterprises on the side to augment household income and to backstop their careers. While their male counterparts in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/can-nepal-elections-change-its-male-stream-politics">local, provincial and federal</a> governments have earned some notoriety for having a conflict of interest because they are also infrastructure contractors, these women <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/women-leaders-set-example-for-rest-of-nepal">multitask without mixing business with politics</a>.&nbsp; Coffee, avocado and banana  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230314100332_7a5870a2238cf1567a28cc76eedff184b91864c9e900dd8db4aed064296a64f5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230314100332_7a5870a2238cf1567a28cc76eedff184b91864c9e900dd8db4aed064296a64f5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="devi khadka"> <figcaption>Photo: DEVI KHADKA</figcaption> </figure>  Devi Khadka is a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/guerrilla-turned-member-of-parliament">former guerrilla</a> and Maoist Centre MP from Dolakha who was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 2008. And while she might have once walked the corridors of power in Kathmandu, Khadka is still attached to the roots of her family’s farming profession. &nbsp; In 2008, Khadka established a trout farm in Dolakha, but it was irreparably destroyed during the 2015 earthquake. However, she remained steadfast in her decision to continue her business and began growing tomatoes in greenhouses in Bhaktapur. But while Khadka’s farm thrived, things were not going so well back home in Dolakha, where she was the district in-charge under the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party formed after the merger of the UML and the Maoist Centre. A meeting of elected officials of nine municipalities of Dolakha were worried that subsidised farming and agriculture in general had become all but impossible in the district because of out-migration and low yield. Khadka was determined to do something about it – not through politics but with enterprise. “The decline of agriculture shook me to my core,” Khadka recalls. “I realised that it would be impossible to revive the people's hope and trust in farming unless I did not show them myself that properly done agriculture in Dolakha was still worthwhile.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230314110312_c6dfaed9dfa3fa749e4465979344458f3af67ce6191c2839f71dde6ee9a8d561.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230314110312_c6dfaed9dfa3fa749e4465979344458f3af67ce6191c2839f71dde6ee9a8d561" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="423" loading="lazy" alt="devi khadka 2"> <figcaption>Photo: DEVI KHADKA</figcaption> </figure>  So, Khadka returned home and set up the Women Floris Agriculture Private Limited in Gaurishankar Municipality, where for the last three years, Khadka and her husband Raj Kumar Shrestha have been growing coffee, avocados and bananas. Along with two other women, she set up the farm with an investment of Rs5 million. The three women are involved full-time in the business and employ 12 men on a part-time basis whenever it is farming season.&nbsp; Khadka juggles this with her role as a Central Committee member of the Maoist party. And while avocado and banana sell mostly in the domestic market, she has successfully negotiated to export her farm’s coffee to South Korea, Australia and Japan and other countries. “The business has not only given me financial independence, it has also made me an ethical politician,” she says. “Because of my business, I am able to engage in politics without resorting to dirty business, I get to demonstrate a high moral standing to my children and ensure that they have a good future.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/women-in-the-driving-seat">Women in the driving seat</a>, Shristi Karki Fast food and slow fashion  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230314100336_8b919284442cc235aef28995d6a6019c4ae30b59f4909c12a2d38b2eace55d6b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230314100336_8b919284442cc235aef28995d6a6019c4ae30b59f4909c12a2d38b2eace55d6b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="NABINA LAMA 1"> <figcaption>Photos: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  Nabina Lama was an MP in Nepal’s last Federal Parliament and is currently a central member of the UML. But despite an active political career, Lama owns not only one but two businesses. Her restaurant, Doban Pool Burger House in Kathmandu employs dozens of people. And many more benefit from her clothing store Rimthim Ethnic Collection, where she sells products made out of traditional dhaka and allo fabric. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230314100336_d66df1ecbfe9bd68801a6f79c910b48a6f9fac6abc5772cb8735069fdfc37b7d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230314100336_d66df1ecbfe9bd68801a6f79c910b48a6f9fac6abc5772cb8735069fdfc37b7d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="NABINA LAMA 2"> </figure>  Lama’s ethnic fashion store is a joint venture with four other women entrepreneurs, and she is a 70% partner in the fast food restaurant. Whenever Lama is busy with her party work, her husband looks after day-to-day business at both outlets. &nbsp; Like Khadka, Lama agrees that entrepreneurship has made her financially self-sufficient and independent. She adds, “Having a business is the only reason I have been able to actively engage in politics.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nurture-in-her-nature/">Nurture in her nature</a>, Babita Shrestha Piggery and soap  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230314100336_856e2ee40a5325ef875171139823c68a89637985bde3910396fda3e74dbf736b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20230314100336_856e2ee40a5325ef875171139823c68a89637985bde3910396fda3e74dbf736b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="DHAN KUMARI SUNAR 1"> </figure>  Dhan Kumari Sunar, president of the Women's Organisation of the Scientific Socialist Communist Party of Nepal, operated a pig farm until it collapsed due to poor market management. But she did not let failure get her spirits down. Two years ago, she started the Tillikka Jhol Sabun Udhyog that makes liquid detergent together with Rs120,000 in investments from 12 other women from her party. Sunar took inspiration from her party’s ‘scientific’ ideology of an independent and self-reliant economy to set up her business.&nbsp; “The economic ownership of Nepali women in terms of resources and property is only 26%,” explains Sunar. “Entrepreneurship is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-nepal-women-hold-up-more-than-half-the-sky">crucial to women’s freedom</a>, we cannot be truly free until we are financially independent.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230314100336_02ffdefb8f1a074d28eb890aa7d2c9cf2dcc1c8d22899aff999d9aeb21014566.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20230314100336_02ffdefb8f1a074d28eb890aa7d2c9cf2dcc1c8d22899aff999d9aeb21014566" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="DHAN KUMARI SUNAR 2"> </figure>  Sunar’s business runs on word-of-mouth, and is doing well. But the politician in her is critical of the lack of state support for small businesses, adding that her loan proposal has been stalled. Says Sunar: “The government promises to facilitate self-employment of Nepali youth, but it is not happening on the ground. Powerful middlemen who control businesses seize the loans set aside for women and low-income individuals and communities." Translated from the Himal Khabar <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/134729">original</a> by Shristi Karki.&nbsp; Read also:&nbsp; <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/women-moving-nepal-s-climate-activism">Women moving Nepal’s climate activism</a>, Sewa Bhattarai <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-women-connecting-nepal">The women connecting Nepal</a>, Sahina Shrestha

Nepal’s enterprising women in politics

While Dutch conservationist and architect Anne Feenstra was giving a presentation ten years ago at a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) event in Kathmandu, Ang Phuri Sherpa was fascinated. This was a whole new way to design modern buildings in Nepal’s mountains that respected heritage, conformed to the climate, and conserved energy using locally available raw material.&nbsp; Sherpa was working for WWF at the time, but when he became Country Director for the Red Panda Network (RPN) he remembered the presentation from all those years ago, and approached Feenstra’s Sustainable Mountain Architecture (SMA) to help design a new resource centre in Taplejung. RPN has been working in Kangchenjunga Conservation Area in eastern Nepal to protect the endangered red panda, and its researcher <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-conservationist-wins-whitley-award">Sonam Tashi Lama</a> in 2022 won the Whitley Award for his work. Feenstra and his Nepali colleague Sapana Shakya at SMA designed the Rs20 million two-storied building at Deurali near Taplejung airport which serves to provide information about the red panda and the need to protect its habitat.&nbsp; The tastefully designed and functional multi-purpose resource centre is also supposed to pay for its own upkeep by offering accommodation and dining to trekkers, researchers, students and other visitors.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310110348_da88f94ba8af650b6f87708ba62bc24a18ea146b8759ec29e80d400e97b2be03.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230310110348_da88f94ba8af650b6f87708ba62bc24a18ea146b8759ec29e80d400e97b2be03" data-rendition-name="original" width="2204" height="1257" loading="lazy" alt="Red Panda House"> <figcaption>The Red Panda Research Centre is located on a ridge top near Taplejung. All photos: SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN ARCHITECTURE</figcaption> </figure>  Since it is located on the route to Pathibhara, it could also be a comfortable stopover for pilgrims. And all guests will also automatically learn about the need to preserve the red panda habitat Known as हाब्रे in Nepali, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/red-panda-on-the-red-list">the red panda is critically endangered</a> and lives on the canopy of broadleaf in mixed temperate forests from western Nepal to Sichuan. The mammal is not related to the giant panda, and is not a bear but is closer to racoons and squirrels. There are now less than 10,000 wild red pandas, with 800 in zoos around the world. In Nepal, there are about 1,000 of the animals living in bamboo and rhododendron forests in 24 of the country’s mountain districts, mostly in eastern Nepal. But their population is in decline because of poaching and habitat destruction. Despite not having any medicinal, cultural, or religious value, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/republic-of-nepal-s-animal-kingdom">red pandas</a> are being poached for their pelt.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310110352_59ba2f0eaddb108b8897728eb29fee6f2d538b1cb009698f6f6ed921e9e495b1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230310110352_59ba2f0eaddb108b8897728eb29fee6f2d538b1cb009698f6f6ed921e9e495b1" data-rendition-name="original" width="774" height="744" loading="lazy" alt="Red Panda distribution and habitat"> <figcaption>The Red Panda range spans Nepal to Sichuan in China. There are about 1,000 of the rare mammals remaining in Nepal's forests, mainly in the east.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310110348_d5d82659a79df8c8e52600433492b352505d9026d161428e9ef53c8e8e1eba3c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230310110348_d5d82659a79df8c8e52600433492b352505d9026d161428e9ef53c8e8e1eba3c" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Red Panda in Nepal"> <figcaption>Photo: JAMES HOUSTON/RED PANDA NETWORK</figcaption> </figure>  Anne Feenstra has designed more than 50 similar sustainable buildings in mountain regions across the world in the past three decades, including a structure in an Afghan national park that is home to snow leopards. “As a student of architecture, I have always been a proponent of climate-friendly construction,” explains Feenstra. “When rainfall, the sun, and other topographical and environmental elements are not taken into account, a building will not be sustainable.”&nbsp; Indeed, Feenstra explains, every mountain region is different, and requires a specific <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/foundations-for-sustainable-buildings-in-nepal">building approach</a> from the type of roof, windows and height of the ceiling based on local climate and available local materials. The Red Panda Centre in Taplejung sits on a forested ridge 2,600m in Deurali near Taplejung. The wood-and-stone structure is conceptually modelled on a mountain lodge, is built to withstand heavy winter snowfall, and is earthquake resistant. The floor is made of local stone, while the second floor is timber. The roof is up-cycled tin coated in tar. Feenstra and Shakya studied indigenous building materials and construction techniques which are disappearing because of cement and concrete.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310110344_58e29764a142eacdb722dfa79377a49bafefcc2c1d47403f34cda70e3cee2486.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230310110344_58e29764a142eacdb722dfa79377a49bafefcc2c1d47403f34cda70e3cee2486" data-rendition-name="original" width="1776" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Red Panda House"> <figcaption>Architectural renditions of the interior of the structure which has been designed with local materials and to also serve as a visitor centre and a lodge to generate income. Photos: SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN ARCHITECTURE</figcaption> </figure>  &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310110344_451328764ac8314a2517a5cd43139c94ca6df4b47b6889d6954d69d59fa546d6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230310110344_451328764ac8314a2517a5cd43139c94ca6df4b47b6889d6954d69d59fa546d6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1776" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Red Panda House"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310110344_1ed7be0772d331be7a4286563f49ac5098109060391e86b86afd4bcef711f826.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20230310110344_1ed7be0772d331be7a4286563f49ac5098109060391e86b86afd4bcef711f826" data-rendition-name="original" width="1776" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Red Panda House"> </figure>  “When we use indigenous resources, we must always pay the utmost attention to native skills and materials,” says Shakya, who helped design new school buildings in Makwanpur and other districts after the 2015 earthquake.&nbsp; “It is the combination of local skill and resources that makes any building stronger,” she says. For Ang Phuri Sherpa of <a href="https://redpandanetwork.org/">Red Panda Network</a>, the building is exactly what he had hoped for. He says the use of cement for construction would have been costlier and less climate friendly. “The reduction of our carbon footprint and the use of local skill and resources were our primary objectives in the construction of this resource centre,” says Sherpa. The research centre also serves as a place where knowledge about water harvesting, smokeless fuel-efficient use of firewood, and other techniques will be shared with local people who are suffering a scarcity of water in the dry season. As the number of trekkers to the Kanchenjunga region grows, villagers will also be given practical knowledge about running homesteads and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/eco-tourism-in-gadi-siraichuli">promoting ecotourism</a>.&nbsp;

The Red Panda House

Subha Shrestha got married at 18 and became a mother at 21. A few years later, she was a struggling single mother trying to earn enough to raise her young son. She had become the sole breadwinner of her family, and had to do all the unpaid household work as well. “If you ask me, it is harder to be a homemaker than working outside the home,” says Shrestha.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310040328_6e7d3b923d4381b043202d1505e415eb7a9597cd6377d9c36f37942b44bbc2c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230310040328_6e7d3b923d4381b043202d1505e415eb7a9597cd6377d9c36f37942b44bbc2c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="A homemaker’s worth"></figure>  Ask any Nepali: being a doctor or engineer is the most desired and respected profession in the country. A job in the military is regarded as being the toughest, and bank CEOs make the most money. But what about homemakers? Most Nepalis do not even think of them in monetary terms. But maybe we should start putting a price tag on all the work ‘jobless’ women do at home. According to salaryexplorer.com, an army officer in Nepal makes Rs66,500 a month on average. Salaries range from Rs30,600 to Rs106,000. And loksewajob.com pegs healthcare worker salaries at anywhere between Rs24,602 to Rs72,082. A homemaker (or ‘housewife’ as we used to call them) makes no money at all. Women toiling away at home are not just underpaid, they are not paid at all. Nepali Times tallied what an average Nepali middle-class full-time homemaker in Kathmandu would be earning if she were to be paid for all the work she does around the house. The total was Rs115,000 a month whereas a mid-level government official would have a monthly salary of only Rs45,000.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023031005034_a234c5d9ce6e90661c1f470797d757f56fd9a6bb24d5a7e1071469d53650ea2f.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2023031005034_a234c5d9ce6e90661c1f470797d757f56fd9a6bb24d5a7e1071469d53650ea2f" data-rendition-name="original" width="471" height="888" loading="lazy" alt="Home work NT"></figure>  And this does not even include extra errands during occasional family gatherings, feasts and festivals where women end up doing all the work. Usually, the men sit around, drink, chitter-chatter and gossip about politics. Moreover, we cannot even put a monetary value to the care a homemaker provides her family that no salaried help ever would, or could. For all this work, a homemaker does not expect anything in return, except love and acceptance. Yet, the work of millions of Nepali women is not recognised, they are rarely anyone’s inspiration, and they are often overlooked by other career women.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310040328_31894703b869dde0e0d09784ae31051625936a37efb7b3c8a9cbf45165e3a736.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230310040328_31894703b869dde0e0d09784ae31051625936a37efb7b3c8a9cbf45165e3a736" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Photos: SUMAN NEPALI"></figure>  Most women with regular jobs have the added burden of balancing home and work. But it is the effort of a homemaker that makes it possible for male members of households to take up a profession in the first place. Oftentimes, homemakers have to eventually sacrifice their careers because they are needed at home. Every career-oriented woman has a mother or a sister at home to thank for her success. Our society also ignores how it is the women who have to make all the adjustments after getting married: she has to leave her home and parents for an unknown household.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310040328_723a7ba4ba0e96c7a77d5a2865ed1546e693a132e5c43c8355c94760bc4e3e5c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230310040328_723a7ba4ba0e96c7a77d5a2865ed1546e693a132e5c43c8355c94760bc4e3e5c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2677" height="3966" loading="lazy" alt="Photos: SUMAN NEPALI"><figcaption>Photo courtesy: SUBHA SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure>  Homemakers work 24/7, they cannot complain, they get no breaks. They do not get annual leave. Public holidays are like any other day, and festival time means more work. There is no annual bonus, no pension. They do not have a sick leave. Perhaps the most glaring inequality within most Nepali households is how mothers and grandmothers prepare all meals but are the last to eat, usually cold leftovers, and then have to do the dishes. “I was free at my parent’s home, but having been married into a conservative family, it was really difficult for me to adapt,” recalls Shrestha, adding that she had to wake up at 3AM to finish all of her morning chores before heading out at 6AM to the store her husband’s family owned.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310040328_9b8ee916db1b5bba35ffc966a684f9c4588781d4a76d78b32c65a53cc0d931c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230310040328_9b8ee916db1b5bba35ffc966a684f9c4588781d4a76d78b32c65a53cc0d931c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1975" height="2889" loading="lazy" alt="Photos: SUMAN NEPALI"><figcaption>Photo courtesy: SUBHA SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure>  Shrestha was barely an adult herself at 18, and was caring for her sickly son with no financial support. Her son had to be taken to the hospital frequently, sometimes twice a day. Her sisters who are also homemakers looked out for her and helped her set up a stationery store later. Says her son Evan, who is now 21 years old: “All the credit for how I have grown up to be a good person goes entirely to my Mom.” Shrestha herself is thankful for the life she has now with her son despite a lifetime of hardships.

A homemaker’s worth

<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/manose-nepali-flutist,1950" target="_blank">Manose Newa</a> was just eight, growing up in Kathmandu, when a haunting, mysterious sound came through the night and stirred his soul. As he grew up, he searched for that sound, and only the sound of air being blown through a hole in a bamboo pipe came close to what he heard that night.&nbsp; It was not the same sound, but close enough. And that is what today has made musician Manose synonymous with the flute.&nbsp; “The flute is a device for connection,” says Manose, “with it one can move souls, hearts, and create beauty.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310070344_770911b85b4e34c488da97bb38b7a1ac0ba7375a3fb5fef81aeba7dbc1760318.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230310070344_770911b85b4e34c488da97bb38b7a1ac0ba7375a3fb5fef81aeba7dbc1760318" data-rendition-name="original" width="1242" height="1467" loading="lazy" alt="Manose Singh Türkiye-Syria Earthquake"> </figure>  A strong sense of existential fulfilment is a driving force behind Manose’s composition. At 46, he is a flute virtuoso and has played with Cadenza Collective, 1974 AD, Ani Choying and his own band, Sukarma. In 2019 he also became the first Nepali to be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-new-age-of-grammy-nominee-manose/" target="_blank">nominated for a Grammy</a> for his contribution to musician Deva Premal’s album, Deva, in the Best New Age Album category. Manose is preparing for a concern in aid of survivors of the Türkiye-Syria Earthquake last month. The ‘Samjhana: Songs for the Inner Lovers’ concert will be held 11 March at Moksh in Jhamsikhel. “Music is instantaneous,” he snaps his fingers to recreate that lightning-speed contact between a musician and the audience happening in real time. The sound and melody of flute brings him close to the creator, spiritually and literally.&nbsp; “The distance between the divine and ourselves closes. I want to translate this inspiration for my audience and inspire them in turn,” he adds.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310070348_d705f709df97bbc161281a49dc6ebc94b5dfe503dde728efd645f21fdcaef533.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230310070348_d705f709df97bbc161281a49dc6ebc94b5dfe503dde728efd645f21fdcaef533" data-rendition-name="original" width="1365" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Manise Newa Türkiye-Syria Earthquake"> </figure>  Music came naturally to Manose from a young age as he scoured Boudha and Pashupati for that sound. In 1998 at age of 20, he left Nepal for a tour with the Nepali tabla player, Homnath Upadhayaya. He has performed in over 25 countries since, and says he is still searching for that magical sound he heard when he was eight. It is that quest that keeps him going.&nbsp; “The longing itself is beautiful,” he smiles, “and it keeps the journey alive, gives me purpose. It makes me curious and motivates me.” Manose is back in Nepal for the time being, playing with the band 1974AD and is working on projects that had been on hold previously, including an album with a pianist from Slovenia. “After the Covid pandemic, I felt like I needed to be more present in Nepal,” he says. Manose recently performed in Australia and New Zealand with 1974AD with Australian ambassador to Nepal Felicity Volk present in one of them. “We wanted to send a message of unity to the community there, to encourage them to give back to Nepal and make changes here as well,” he adds. The response from the Nepali diaspora there was heart-warming.&nbsp; “So many do want to return, but the system …” he trails off, shaking his head. It is a different experience to play for a Nepali audience than an international audience. Playing at a flute festival in California is an invitation to a global audience to interact with the music and culture of Nepal, to promote these internationally.&nbsp; To a Nepali audience, on the other hand, the बाँसुरी becomes a means to connect and access our ancient culture, pool of knowledge and practices. “It is not whether one good and the other is bad, he adds, they are just &nbsp;different,” he adds. “We have so much to offer to the world,” Manose says. “There is a lot of materialism coming from the west, and we, in turn, could present our culture, our temples, our music, history and rituals to counter that. This is our treasure.” The concert ‘Samjhana’ is also an offering. Manose recalls running into a friend of a friend from Türkiye recently at Moksh after the deadly earthquake on 6 February.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310070348_40c89d63e2eedab361f4fa4d8b5fdb4b750232e4eda89e61faed428bab8b2994.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230310070348_40c89d63e2eedab361f4fa4d8b5fdb4b750232e4eda89e61faed428bab8b2994" data-rendition-name="original" width="2593" height="3364" loading="lazy" alt="Manose Singh Türkiye-Syria Earthquake"> </figure>  “I said I was very sorry for what was happening to their country and that I wished there was something I could do,” he says. “They had tears in their eyes as they thanked me.” Manose was not in Nepal when the 2015 Gorkha earthquake of the same magnitude rocked the country. “Still, I felt the tremors, it was a traumatic experience for all Nepalis, whether living here or abroad. And now to see the same is happening elsewhere in the world … I wondered what would happen if the disaster had struck here instead of Türkiye and Syria,” he says. The concert is not so much about raising money, but to offer kindness. At the concert, Manose will be singing, playing his flute, joined also by the Kathmandu Jazz Conservatory choir. Then on 18 March, 1974AD, of which Manose is a member, will perform a free concert to raise awareness on autuism at Tundikhel. “It will be a gathering of friends, loved ones and music for a good cause,” he says. “It is important that as a community we practice being kind to each other, not turn away when someone else is in need. When you do things from a place of good intention, it comes back to you ten-folds.” 'Samjhana: Songs for the Inner Lovers' Saturday, 11 March 2023 7:00PM&nbsp; Moksh, Jhamsikhel Ticket: Rs2,000 (Limited) For reservation: +9779841389652 ------- 'Free Concert to Raise Awareness on Autism' Saturday, 18 March 2023 5:00PM (please enter by 4.30pm)&nbsp; Tudhikel Please bring your own water bottle to help reduce plastic waste. Water refills available at the venue.

Kind of music for kindness

This is the 26th instalment of Diaspora Diaries, a regular series in Nepali Times with stories of Nepalis living and working abroad I grew up in a lahure household in Dharan and my parents were in the military abroad and were good providers. But life took a different track when I was married at 15, and sent off to my husband's &nbsp;village in Jhapa.For someone raised in freedom and comfort, being a daughter-in-law in a conservative household was challenging. Wearing a kurta or speaking to neighbours was frowned upon. As a buhari daughter-in-law, I was kept out of any family decision-making. My day would start at 3AM and I was busy throughout with non-stop household work. By 17, I had my first child, and later two more.&nbsp; The family I was married to was well off in terms of property, but was consistently cash-strapped. It was a weird reality, we were poor and struggling to make ends meet while sitting on large tracts of land. I relied often on my maternal family for financial support. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-mothers-sons">A mother's sons</a>, Bishnumaya Bhusal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310060340_de400c76a82b6af0f8a764f6963c1bc5a0b8a8bf0348bf3426e7ef684317e48c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230310060340_de400c76a82b6af0f8a764f6963c1bc5a0b8a8bf0348bf3426e7ef684317e48c" data-rendition-name="original" width="959" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="DD 26"> </figure>  I felt the real pain of being cash poor when my eldest daughter, a special needs child, passed away at a young age. This was the pre-mobile era and my mother-in-law was traveling in Pokhara. Not having the money to pay for her last rites, I left my daughters body in the verandah and ran to a shop to sell my jewelry. I will never forget this moment. This must have inculcated in me a desire to work for money. But what work would I do in Nepal with no education? My expenses were rising as my other two children were growing up. The everyday struggle to earn enough to pay for basics was frustrating. So I decided to try for overseas employment and managed to collect enough money with the help of my family, and by selling the remaining jewelry paid for a job in Israel as a caregiver. At that time, migration to Israel was not as well managed as it is now under the government program. The manpower agencies facilitated the recruitment based on how much you paid them. I was probably one of the few migrants who did not cry at the airport. What I was doing was for my children’s secure future, I did not have a choice but to be strong. I felt more comfortable leaving my children with my mother in Dharan. As a lahure child, I had visited the UK but did not have much memory of it. So Israel as an adult was fascinating. Even little things like rotating the shower handle to get hot or cold water was new and amusing. I was placed in a wonderful family. The elderly lady I took care of was in her 80s, and kept reminding me how I was like a daughter she had never had. She had four sons. I found a guardian’s love with her. Compared to the household work I was doing back in Jhapa, the job in Israel actually felt easier because my boju was elderly and needed rest. My day started only at 7 and by 12, she would need a four hour nap, and by 7PM in the evening, she would call it a day. I had to cook only once every three days because the family had a system of freezing food. &nbsp;Not only was the work relatively easy, I was getting paid up to $1,200 a month. My Israeli boju used to tell me how I was her 15th caregiver, and the only one with whom she was able to develop a rapport and feel comfortable with. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/baking-as-a-metaphor-for-life/">Baking as a metaphor for life</a>, Aliza Basnet  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310060316_e71c12fad0d7d91fbd557d98d8e026093a0b8570faa489959f4260f701b714ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230310060316_e71c12fad0d7d91fbd557d98d8e026093a0b8570faa489959f4260f701b714ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="720" height="481" loading="lazy" alt="Caring for her own and others NT"> <figcaption>My Israeli boju who was like family for 5 years.</figcaption> </figure>  The only downside was that I was home all the time and seldom went anywhere, and only hung out with two other Nepalis in the community. Tel Aviv was 90 minutes away and I did not feel like travelling even though I had family there. Other than finances, there was not much I picked up in Israel. Boju often pleaded with me not to leave Israel until she died. I did not have a reason to go back, I was sending money home and I was happy in the family. I naturally got close to her and we had personal conversations. She knew her end was close, and would often express how she feared dying in pain and instead wanted to die peacefully in her sleep. One morning, when boju did not ask me for water at 7 as she usually did, I knew something was wrong. She was quiet and non-responsive. By the time we called the ambulance and her family, she had passed, peacefully, just like she had wanted. I mourned the loss of a guardian, and not just as an employee. Such is the work of a caregiver. The seniors die. Babies grow up. But both are people in such vulnerable ages that it is very easy to get personally attached to them. Having spent more than five years with boju in Israel, I did not know what was next. I had crossed the period when I could legally change jobs and I did not want to return home as I had to take care of my children. So in 2011, I did what someone in my position without a choice does. I carried on as an undocumented worker, knowing the risks. I found a good family. But Israeli authorities soon found out that I was breaking the rules, and came to the house knocking loudly at the door when my employers were away. Hiding or escaping was not an option as it felt like they were going to break down the door. They helped me pack and took me to a detention centre. Ten days later, I was escorted by them right up to the plane and sent home. While I was in detention, my boju’s grandson came to see me. He told authorities that I was like family and he would send me home in dignity, but that he didn’t want my last memory in Israel to be bitter. The authorities refused, but treated me well. I would be banned from Israel, and if I visit again it can only be as a tourist. Back in Nepal, it was impossible for me to stay idle. I had got too used to earning money. I thought of Korea next and started studying for the exam. But given the uncertainty, I came to Turkey instead through a manpower agency. I had to pay Rs400,000 for the job which only paid €350 a month. This was much lower than what I was earning in Israel, but what choice did I have? Over the years, my salary has increased and I now make €1,200 a month, taking care of two babies. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/turning-the-desert-green/">Turning the desert green</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310060316_054c7febbc74f8311266156aa20395d22ddbf4d986747e460fc2b66b38ae9de5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230310060316_054c7febbc74f8311266156aa20395d22ddbf4d986747e460fc2b66b38ae9de5" data-rendition-name="original" width="753" height="879" loading="lazy" alt="Caring for her own and others NT"> </figure>  Since 2017, Turkey has seen more Nepalis, and we have organised ourselves better. I am now Vice President of the NRNA Turkey and during times of crisis like the recent earthquake, we rally together to support those affected. We provided support to Nepali students, although they were not injured their hostels were deemed unsafe to live in and were kept in shelters. We sent them as well as other Turkish people affected by the earthquake some financial support. We got contributions from all over the world including from my friend, a Nepali caregiver I met and became close with in Israel, who is now in the US. My daughter became a registered nurse in Australia a few months back. I am proud of her and also of myself because the odds were really stacked against us. I, too, was a class topper back in Dharan, but life had different plans for me. I paid for my daughter’ expenses growing up, including her studies in Australia. I brought my son to Turkey as he needed more parental guidance. I hope my story reminds other women how much we are capable of, if we trust ourselves. The adversaries I have faced as a woman and a mother in Nepal’s patriarchal society is by no means unique. If I had not taken a few bold decisions for the well-being of my children or rebelled against societal expectations, our reality probably would have been different. Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/prisoners-of-the-green-passport/"> Prisoners of the Green Passport</a>, Mahendra Thulung Rai  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230310060316_a1b9423bb9d9cb0f4c681f773ce9f7be2f29ebf582472b36355fe59b122a3970.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230310060316_a1b9423bb9d9cb0f4c681f773ce9f7be2f29ebf582472b36355fe59b122a3970" data-rendition-name="original" width="720" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Caring for her own and others NT"> </figure>  I have been lucky with the employers I have been placed with both in Turkey and Israel. Not all fellow Nepalis in other parts of the world are as fortunate. Even then, being a foreigner always makes you a second class citizen, with many rights inaccessible and more importantly, you are under the control of the employer with whom your immigration status is tied. I found out that in Turkey you can apply for citizenship after working for five years. I now hold a Turkish passport, perhaps the first Nepali caregiver who has transitioned here. I went that route because a documentation status, can free you from being under another person’s control and change your reality, and your sense of freedom and control. My dream is to eventually open a Nepali restaurant in Turkey, primarily targeting Nepali caregivers but also to promote Nepali food among locals. I remember when I first came to Turkey, my employers never had rice. There was chicken, bread, vegetables and cheese, but no dal bhat. After a few weeks, I asked her if we could have rice and she was taken by surprise because she had been feeding me well, what her family ate. For my employer, rice was both unhealthy and relatively more expensive. But she did some online research and realised Nepalis need dal bhat and started providing it. For Nepalis missing dal bhat in Turkey like I did, the restaurant that I want to start will hopefully bring home a little closer. Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/for-better-or-verse-in-the-gulf/"> For better or verse in the Gulf</a>, Dalbir Singh Baraili Translated from an interview with the author. Diaspora Diaries is a regular column in Nepali Times providing a platform for Nepalis to share their experiences of living, working, studying abroad. Authentic and original entries can be sent to editors@nepalitimes.com with Diaspora Diaries in the subject line.