<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131128/637234a39c7e80680e0c4944jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="900"/>It is only when a people start worrying about their future that they strive for betterment. Contrary to what many negativists think, Nepal does have a future. We just don't know what kind of future it is.And that is where asstrologers come in: to provide an essential service by divining what the coming years may hold so that Nepal’s politicians can peer into the future and get history to repeat itself.In being able to prophesy the future, we lag behind our neighbours India (the world’s leader in fortune-telling) and China (the global fortune-cookie superpower). It is in Nepal’s geo-strategic interest to be able to predict what will happen the day after tomorrow, or to be more specific, on 20 November.After all, Prime Minister Deuba pushed the election date by two days not at the request of the Election Commission, but on advice from Asstrologer General Suresh Rijal. That is the same soothsayer who told Brave Lion he will be prime minister seven times. Two more to go.Nations, too, have horoscopes. And in these uncertain times it is good to know what is pre-ordained, so that we can all sit back and relax, safe in the knowledge that what will be, will be, and there is nothing we can do about it. Nepal’s horoscope is Top Secret Sensitive Compartmented Information, and we reprint it below in the strictest confidence:‘With the Moon in the Seventh House, Jupiter aligned with Mars, and the current Libra-Aries opposition identical to the placement of those constellations during the Peloponnesian War of 431 BC when the plague struck Athens and the Third Punic War when Rome sacked and sowed Carthage with salt, war and pestilence are probable. Luckily, a Neptune-Uranus conjunction on 20 November means that nothing can go wrong, because nothing is going on.’When politics get uncertain, Nepal’s leaders have often relied on Indian goodmen like Co-Pilot Baba and Shree 3 Ravi Shankar to safeguard their future. Not surprisingly, it is the atheist Communist parties who mostly rely on these consultants to appease the planets.Maobuddy leader Comrade Awesome often ODs on the opiate of the asses: worshipping water buffaloes, sacrificing black goats, and engaging the services of Tantric voodoo consultants to cast spells on rivals.All the nine planets are in alignment with PKD’s constellation, so it will be smooth sailing for him after the elections. However, the James Webb Space Telescope has found another solar system 300 light years away, so those new planets may throw the predictions off.In no way is Nepal a failed state, we are a fatalist state. This is why Kathmandu is the venue for the Asian Astrologers’ Convention, even though they are waiting for the planets to align for the date and time to be set. Those planning a government reshuffle, elections, or stage a coup d’etat should book seats in advance.The conference will determine whether Nepal’s leaders should adopt Vastu or Feng Shui when greeting Indian or Chinese leaders. Ass’s advice: face north while meeting the Chinese, and hide under the table when the Indians come.

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Nepal’s horrorscope

Come to think of it, it was quite a masterstroke that the Baddies launched their armed struggle in 1996 just a day before Valentine’s Day. They drove home the message: ‘Make love … and war’. And even: ‘All is fair in love and war.’Because of this glorious revolutionary history, Valentine’s Day is now affixed on the Nepali calendar as yet another of the thousands of festivals and carnivore carnivals that this country celebrates every year, also ceremonially inducting St Valentine into the Hindu pantheon of 33 million gods. This year, we will mark International Day of Lust with the same oomph and pomp that we reserve for other festivals – by going bar hopping in Jhamel.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114101124/637209639c7e80680e0b553bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="361"/>(This week’s Backside column is proudly sponsored by a liquor category which has recruited yours truly Brand Amb-ass-ador because the grabberment has decided not to allow alcohol advertising in print media anymore. Statutory Health Warning: reading this column out loud while under the influence may be illegal in some provinces. Hic.)Ballantine’s Day is a timely reminder to Nepalis of this country’s abiding obsession with sowing wild oats, and tolerance of every possible carnal permutation and combination thereof. Our ancestors, without whose seminal contribution we would not be here to pen these lines today, left ample evidence of their fertile imaginations on x-rated temples as proof of the outstanding and upright people we once were.Which is why it is a serious lapse for Nepal not to cash in on the exotica and erotica depicted on monuments and other erections in our midst to promote tourism. Nepal Tourism Year 2020 was a flop because of the pandemic, but we could still meet the target of 2 million visitors in 2023 if we promoted sex tourism. Not like the Thais do it, of course, but by highlighting all the hanky panky painstakingly portrayed by our forebears on temple struts as a labour of love.This Ballantine’s Day on Monday let us honour far-sighted Tan-trick masters of yore who were not bashful about putting up 3-D porn on their sites. They didn’t hem and haw when it came to depicting the birds and bees, they went hee-haw. They didn’t waste time beating about the bush, they were in flagrante delicto.And all this can be seen in the ornithological and apiarian depictions on the exterior roof struts of the Valley’s three Darbar Squares. Tourists should be told that a pair of powerful binoculars is all they need to unlock the secrets of Nepal’s holy edifices (From Sanskrit: ‘edi’ = dirty, and ‘fices’ = stuff).Recent census results show a worrying decline in the number of Nepalis, which is why encouraging copulation is a way to multiply the population. And it is good to see that the Baddies still have a love-hate relationship with their promiscuous coalition partners, and all this pre-election political knoodling is a start.

Another Ballantine’s

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141128/636cfd3d9c7e80680e0a0bd3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"/>Many of us are reluctant to shed cosy illusions and want to go on pretending that everything is hunky dory in the Dramatic Cellular Femoral Republic of Nepal. This is why it has become important for us in the 4th Estate of Province 3 to use this window of opportunity while we still have freedom of expression and before draconian new laws come into effect, curbing our right to troll whomsoever we like.Freedom is not a luxury, we in the media must use it to hold power to account and play the adversarial role. This is exactly why the Ass is pushing the boundaries of press freedom by analysing trends in male fashion and what that means for our democratic way of life.Many of you must be wondering why contemporary kids think it is mandatory under Nepal’s new Constitution to wear trousers that look like they have been designed for people who don't have any buttocks. I haven’t. Just wondered if you had. Because my preliminary inspection has revealed what I suspected all along: today's teenagers aren't endowed with the formidable cheeks our generation was proud to call its own.Ever since our Neanderthal ancestors started greeting each other with the phrase, "How's it hanging, bro?" human beings have been acutely aware of the various physical accessories in their possession and the need to keep them a closely guarded secret. In those early days, men went undercover by using whatever was lying around the cave to hide their crown jewels: a strip of dried woolly mammoth bladder, antelope skin, or sabre-toothed tiger fur. And that, ladies and/or gentlemen, was how the world of men's fashion was born.But even back then it was already clear that men's fashion was ephemeral. Fads came and went. Early wildebeest hide dungarees, for instance, were tied with rope belts at the chest. But the very next year, it went out of fashion.Due to Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, trousers have been drifting downwards ever since, and by the early Elizabethan Era had arrived at the proximity of the belly button. Today, if the latest fashion trend I have spotted in Darbar Morgue is any indication, baggy draw-string trousers must be tied just below the cleavage in a gravity-defying feat of brinkmanship. At this rate, by the time Nepal attains Middle Income Status in 2025, we can safely predict that boys' trousers will be tied at the ankles, and mankind will have come a full circle to our underwear-less Neanderthal forebears.But how can the ordinary man on the street keep track of the latest fashion trends, especially if they do not have a TikTok account? As a public service, the Ass presents below a table with can-wear and can't-wear tips. Warning: fashion trends can change suddenly and without warning, making you look like a dork.WHAT’S OUT Ritual Bhairav maskJeans faded at crotchThongsBaburam Bhattarai golf capEar ringWHAT’S IN N95 masksLowrise half-mast pantsCamo underwearFair Trade hemp capNipple ring

The Ass

Men's fashion trends

The most trending topic from Nepal on social media this week was not (as many of you might have erroneously contemplated) the breaking news from the Prime Minister’s Orifice that gravitation was discovered by Sri Bhaskar Acharya and not by Sir Issac Newton.This extraordinary revelation turns western gastronomy on its head, forcing us to re-examine the 3 laws Newton postulated after seeing an Apple Macbook fall from a tree, and rewrite them thus:First Law of Thermodynamics: A body at rest in the Kathmadu Mayor’s office will continue to be at rest even if rudely awoken by a physical force acting upon it like, for instance, a boot hitting the concerned authority’s butt.Second Law of Thermodynamics: Because energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system, power cuts are inevitable for the unforeseeable future.Third Law of Thermodynamics: When one boulder exerts pressure on a yam, the second boulder simultaneously exerts counter pressure with a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction so that the aforementioned yam is completely squished.Be that as it may, the real breaking news was, as The Economist reported this week, that Mt Everest is the world’s highest pile of shit. Firanghi correspondents just don’t get it, and what the reporter failed to mention was that since Mt Everest is being weathered by wind and precipitation, it is incumbent on the Gobarment of Nepal to ensure that it remains the paramount mountain on Earth. It is a matter of pride and nationalism for us Nepalis that we use all tools at our disposal to not just maintain the summit at 8848m, but even add a few more metres if we can.But Mt Everest is melting because of global warming, and this means all the frozen turd left on the mountain by daring alpinists since Sir George Mallory is beginning to thaw out. This is a national emergency and calls for immediate action. Instead of taking excreta down, it’s a much better idea to make every climber take a mandatory dump on top. Expeditions must also carry poo up from lower camps, so that the peak remains highest in the world.Our target should be to raise Mt Everest to at least 9,000m this fiscal year, and for that it must be made compulsory for all expeditions to leave their trash on top as well. Any climber bringing rubbish down will be fined, and be asked to go back up and leave the garbage on the summit.This way, we in Nepal can turn our attention to more pressing matters like determining conclusively who discovered gravity.

Gravity, and all that rubbish

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171116/636930239c7e80680e03c0e1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="900"/><figcaption>BENADDICT / KECHHA</figcaption></figure>Because of the holidays, many vitally important items of news had to be consigned to the dustbin of history because we skipped an issue last week. We repost below one story that fell between the cracks:Kathmandu Voted Top 10 CityATLANTA – Lonely Planet and CNN have voted Kathmandu Number 5 among Top 10 cities to visit in 2019. (I am not making this up. Google it.) Finally a piece of good news to warm our cockles as winter sets in.But, as long-term residents of Kathmandu, we were surprised to be ranked fifth. We should have been Numero Uno. Look at all our achievements:<ul><li>Nepal posted a 4.6% growth rate in the last fiscal year. Everything grew: the deficit, the concentration of particles below 2.5 microns at Phora, the size of potholes on the Jorpati Road, and according to a news item this week in a prestigious national daily ‘The Illegal Flesh Trade Mushroomed’. (Or was it ‘The Illegal Mushroom Trade Fleshed Out”.) Whatever. Either way there was a 4.6% growth.</li> 	<li>We made it to the Lonely Planet list because Kathmandu offers free mud baths. Just stand on the road divider in Balkhu and wait for a 20 ton truck to rumble over the puddles, and as a premium spa customer, you will be covered from nose to toe in therapeutic clay that used to be a part of Kathmandu Valley’s prehistoric lake bed.</li> 	<li>Government officials in Nepal’s capital are the most relaxed in the world. They never do today what can be done the day after tomorrow.</li> 	<li>Nepal Telecom has some of the lowest tariffs in the world. My bill last month was zero. I couldn’t actually make any calls because the network was always busy.</li> 	<li>The word “no” doesn’t exist in the Nepali vocabulary. We will not refuse anything, even if we do not need it. As long as it is free.</li> 	<li>Visit Nepal: We Have No Secrets. In fact, it is no secret that secret talks are going on in secret at a secret venue to topple the government.</li> 	<li>Nepal is also the most transparent nation on Earth. We don’t even try to hide bribery any more.</li> 	<li>Kathmandu people are the most hygienic in the world because they keep all their orifices squeaky clean by spitting, and picking their ears and noses in public. Our friendly neighbourhood taxi driver has an ear canal that is spotless. However, the same cannot be said of the inside of his cab which has mushrooms growing out of the dashboard.</li></ul>

Kathmandu Top 10 City

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107171116/63692f9e9c7e80680e03c0b5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="1266"/>Since we are squeezed for space here this week, let’s get right down to brasstacks.Statistics show Nepalis consume 75% of their annual intake of animal protein and alcohol during Dassain. Proof is the overpowering aroma emanating from the Bagmati in the immediate aftermath of the holidays.Let’s do Dassain different this year. Refuse to buy new clothes, and get into your old pants if you fit in them. Tell noisy neighbours to “go fly a kite”. Be selective, refuse to visit relatives you don’t like. Go to Goa. Better still, emigrate. Goat sacrifices were for single aisle aircraft, Nepal Airlines’ needs water buffalos to attain martyrdom and regain paradise at the nose landing gears of its two brand new widebodies.The gobblement in its infinite wisdom cut holidays this Dassain. Shame on them. Here is one week in a year that we can wallow in sloth, and the spoilsports have decreed that we have to get this paper out. Woe on the workaholics.It’s not that we are less lazy the rest of the year, but Dassain is when we can really let ourselves go to eat goat, drink gin and indulge in national stupefaction. Even though we know this, we sometimes lapse into exertion and toil. Vigilance, that is what is required. Vigilance against hard work.Just look at all the benefits of laziness. We as a people have underestimated the role indolence plays in eradicating corruption and crime. Making people too lazy to steal or rob others should be the aim of all good governance campaigns. There is nothing like a sense of time having stopped to eradicate malfeasance.The National Institute for Lethargy and Inertia has moved swiftly to ensure adequate supplies of goat guts next week so that there is sufficient lassitude to go around.Vigilance squads have already been deputed under the CBI to carry out spot checks at various departments, corporations, public sector enterprises, and our embassies abroad to make sure that no civil servants are sneaking into their offices to actually get some work done in the run-up to the holidays.Police have been told to nab drivers who do not drink. Aware that the whole country will be comatose, the grabberment has given Comrade “Sore Loser” Leftist God the green light to contest Kathmandu-7.It has just come to my notice that I am now too lazy to complete this column. May you all attain nirvana this Dasain: that state of perfect immobility and bliss.

The Goat Rush

A trek is a highly recommended workout in which you will come face-to-face with the exotic realities of a Turd world country.The word ‘trek’ is derived from an Afrikaan word which means: “Carry your body weight and a backpack weighing a ton up and down vertical mountainsides for 10 days, share sleeping quarters with yaks, while attending to calls of nature in the company of friendly local people.”Why we had to import a South African word for the completely indigenous activity of walking from one Nepali village to the next, I have never quite figured out. But I guess the whole philosophy of trekking is to get unsuspecting visitors to pay $140 a day for the masochistic pleasure of inflicting extreme hardship on themselves so that when they return home to their mundane, soulless materialistic existence, it will seem like paradise.Here are some useful tips on the joys of hiking in Nepal and how to make it fulfilling for mind, body and sole:Am I fit? The main pre-requisite to trekking is that you should train yourself in the art of walking straight up and straight down like a gecko. Practice on a wall at home. One month before trek, stop using the lift. Climb 36 floors to your office every day, and use the stairs down. Now multiply this by 10.What should I eat?Muesli. This is what they give mules to eat for breakfast on the Mustang trail so their after-burners can kick in during the steepest inclines, adding critical thrust to propel them over Chuksang Pass in time for lunch. Just ask your mule to share his muesli.Dal-bhat. Tea-shops along the trail have a wide variety of dal-bhat so you never get tired of Nepal’s national dish: dal-bhat with alu, dal-bhat with moolah, dal-bhat with banda, dal-bhat with bodi, dal-bhat with sag, or even dal-bhat with dal-bhat.To level out a steep uphill there is nothing to beat the locally-brewed high-octane apple brandy. Pour a little of this into your and watch yourself fly like the wind, leaving gasping fellow-trekkers in the valley below. (Statutory Govt Health Warning: Hangovers are a pain in the ass.)Is it safe to drink the water?The first rule of thumb is not to drink anything that doesn’t have the mandatory hologram Seal of Approval of the Nepal Bureau of Standards ISO 90002. Adhering to this rule will mean that you will die of thirst on the first day of your trek, therefore exceptions are allowed in emergencies.

So you want to trek?

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161124/6369232a9c7e80680e03a16bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1167"/><figcaption>Diwakar Chettri</figcaption></figure>Nepal may be a small country, but we don’t have small minds. We dream big, mainly because our rulers are day-dreaming a lot. These are vivid hallucinations and extraordinary nightmares which they immediately take to the implementation stage upon waking up.Now that he has met Trump, PM Oli has no time for piddly little things like completing the Melamchi project, fixing the Jorpati-Baudha Swamp, tarmacking the Wring Road at Balkhu, or picking up the garbage in Lagankhel. He is focused on much larger things.Being a country with vibrant crony-Communism, Nepal is poised to take The Greatest Leap Forward So Far into the wild blue yonder with projects Kneejgad International Aeropolis, the Republican Tower, the Trans-Himalayan Bullet Train, East-West MALEV Railway, and the mammoth Gezhouba Dam. The gobblement has decided that Big Is Not Just Beautiful, But Also Rewarding in More Ways Then One.Which is why we do not need any more distractions about Pappu Deconstruction Private Limited not completing the bridge at Tin Kune despite being given an advance of 54 corrodes and 82 lacks. Or, of Lama Erections GMbH not repairing the Nagarkot road for five years. State secret: it is a deliberate government strategy to make Nepal known the world over as challenging proving ground for off-road vehicles and hovercrafts.Being a visionary, the PM gave the Nepal Shipping Corporation the target of sailing a Nepali vessel to Kolkata and back by December. With only two months to go, the Corporation has issued a global tender for a paddle boat.Nepal has also announced plans to send senior comrades from the ruling Communist Party to Mars to plant the hammer and sickle there. Since it is called The Red Planet.

Thinking big

One thing that gets the sharks in gobarment all excited about SAARC Summits is that they can award contracts bypassing and underpassing due process to erect arches heartily welcoming guests to The Country of Marx, Lenin, Mao and Buddha, patch potholes in the middle of rush hour, and paint sidewalk railings in driving rain. The contractors make a killing, and grabberment officials laugh all the way to the ATM.The same is happening this week with the Bifsteak Summit when HOGs (heads of government) hugged each other after descending on us like a ton of bricks. And what a windfall it has been for our national economy. Complete income figures are still being tallied, but Nepal’s Multi-dimensional Poverty Index is estimated to have grown by 0.75 percentiles just on the wealth that has been created by sub-contractors who worked night and day, rain or shine, through hell or high water, to put up corrugated tin fencing around Tin Coonay, adorning it with artistic depictions of the national flower, the knational knife and various endangered wildlife hunted to near extinction. Pity, because if it hadn’t been for the fence visitors could have caught a glimpse of Nepal’s own Bermuda Triangle.The Mandala has been decorated at night with flashing outdoor fairy lighting, which means the City Fathers have finally given a green light to declare it a red light district in honour of the visiting dignitaries.But there was a fly in the oinkment: HOGs didn’t have a venue for their Bifsteak Retreat. There was a strong lobby from certain financiers to have it in Gokarna Forest Resort (Motto: “It is a jungle out here.”)However, given the state of the road, and since the Thai leader is reportedly prone to carsickness, the PMO proposed to fly everyone out on the Army’s MI-17. But despite the proven warhorses being flown by Nepal’s battle-hardened pilots, HOGs all took a rain check, and beat a hasty retreat to Soaltee’s spa where they are taking a collective soak even as we speak.This was really bad news for people living on Sankhu side because they thought that their road would be finally fixed. Now, it looks like they will have to wait 12 more years for the next SAARC Summit for the potholes to be repaired.The important take-away from all this is that Nepal’s economic diplomacy henceforth should concentrate on hosting more international conferences in Nepal (Motto: ‘We Have the Sherpas for Your Summit’) and spread the venues around the country so that all municipalities get a chance to be equally spruced up. Here are some possibilities:<ul> 	<li>World Summit of Rogues and Tyrants</li> 	<li>Asia-Pacific Smugglers Summit</li> 	<li>International Conference on Impact of International Conferences on Climate Change</li> 	<li>South Asian Summit of  Constructive Corruption</li> 	<li>Regional Conference of HOGs Terrorising the Press into Submission</li> 	<li>Summit of Re-aligned Nations</li> 	<li>Shark Summit 2032</li></ul>

Hugging HOGs

Madam Chair, Respected Sofa, Your Loyal Highnesses, Honourable Murderers-at-large, Fellow-skeletons Rattling in the Cabinet, Members of the Premier Gold Smugglers Class, Heroic War Criminals, Chieftains of the Medical-Industrial Complex, Hundi Tycoons, Media Typhoons, Mafia Dons, Organised and Disorganised Criminals Enjoying Political Protection, Revered Blacklisted Contractors, Esteemed Money Launderers, Tax Evaders, Respected Givers and Takers of Kickbacks, Overseers and Undertakers, Venereal Members of the Society of Nepali Intellectuals (Undemocratic), Ex-Cellencies, Adherents of the Journalistic Persuasion, Distinguishable Guests, and Mr Rishi Dhamala. It is both a pleasure and a pain in the ass to be invited here once again to the Reporter’s Pub for the Faeces to Faces Program today to speak to you about how well the country has been doing. Firstly, since I am among fellow-oxymorons here I don’t need to belabour the obvious and waste your and my time speaking about how the country is now embarked upon the glorious path to stability and propensity.Come to think of it, if I don’t need to tell you, then why am I doing just that? This is a question that I often ask myself when I have to attend fora and fauna like these. It has bedevilled me, and I am sure it has bedevilled every Prime Minister of this country since time immemoriam. That is why today I am departing from my prepared English text to speak frankfully and to toot my own trumpet here, if I may.It must be clear to all you political observers, anonymous analyeasts and western diplomatic sources who don’t want to be quoted by name, that despite some impedimentations and difficultivities we are well on track to achieve stabilitude in this country in the not too unforeseeable future. In fact, just this morning while attending to a call from Nature I was temporarily disconnected because Nature as usual wasn’t calling me on my landline, but on Viber. But when we established contact again I was naturally delighted that I had to pay an extra 13% tax for the call. We will use that money to pay for my medical bill in Singapore.  The other sign of the new normal is that garbage is piling up again on the streets. It is a deliberate government policy to scatter trash so that nostalgic residents of the capital don’t forget the good old days. We promised a government that is stable, and we fulfilled it with all this horse manure. You wanted prosperity, and we are on track to manufacture at least 10 more Nepali Forbes billionaires.  Hey, wake up, the speechification is over. Please stand up for the national anthem.

Fora and fauna

Born in Khandbari in eastern Nepal, Parashuram Pathak helped his family around the farm, sold what they grew in the market and lent a hand in the kitchen.&nbsp; After working as a chef in Dubai, San Francisco, Denmark, Australia, and on cruise ships, Pathak has now brought back what he has learnt to the Tusa Restaurant in Bhaktapur that opened on Nepali New Year on 13 April. Tusa uses fresh indigenous ingredients from various parts of Nepal, and fuses them with international methods to produce unique dishes. Pathak is a global Nepali, and is introducing global Nepali cuisine to his homeland. Pathak left an executive chef job to intern at three-Michelin-starred Noma in Denmark, named the best restaurant in the world five times. Noma runs on a philosophy of foraging to rediscover wild local ingredients, and Tusa’s mission is similarly noble: preparing dishes with Nepali ingredients using modern techniques and equipment. “We are taking Nepali food beyond dal-bhat and momo, we are taking it international,” Pathak said on the phone from Sydney. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-baker-rises-to-the-top-in-denmark">Denmark’s best baker is a Nepali</a>, Vishad Onta  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_1312bc016cbb2fe59c6d4a78d1f8b463af4a10b3f79559a2405fd54ea5b3197a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240419180424_1312bc016cbb2fe59c6d4a78d1f8b463af4a10b3f79559a2405fd54ea5b3197a" data-rendition-name="original" width="801" height="802" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Photo: PARASHURAM PATHAK/FACEBOOK</figcaption> </figure>  Pathak’s team in Nepal includes chefs Rupesh Bohara and Sagar Shrestha who have also worked extensively in Dubai and Australia, and share his vision. The three realised they shared the same dream, and over the past five years have travelled across Nepal to research their menu, collecting ingredients and ideas from homestays, food carts, and nature. The team then scouted for Nepal’s best architect, and zeroed in on Bhaktapur-based heritage conservationist Rabindra Puri who designed the Malla-era house for Tusa in the Nag Pokhari neighbourhood. Bohara and Shrestha have moved back to Nepal for good, and Pathak arrives in September. “I made dishes from all over the world, but when someone asked what Nepali food was like, I had no answer,” says Bohara, “I came back to find out.” &nbsp;“You can get citizenship, a green card, big houses and cars, but where is the self-satisfaction?” asks Shrestha, who has a red-and-blue chef’s knife with the sun and moon of the Nepali flag tattooed on his right forearm.&nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/diaspora-diaries/the-return-of-a-master-baker"> The return of a master baker</a>, Raju Pakhrin  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_c601264463e5a28d4e71a46781f340a53619a08d00949a7aaebfef84e75a319d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240419180424_c601264463e5a28d4e71a46781f340a53619a08d00949a7aaebfef84e75a319d" data-rendition-name="original" width="6000" height="4000" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Photos: TUSA</figcaption> </figure>  Bohara and Shrestha passionately recount stories of their trips across Nepal, speaking of generous lodge owners who introduced them to local ingredients. Tusa can seat 28, and dining here is a sensory experience with a live kitchen. The chefs cook and place dishes on a large granite countertop with induction sections built in. Behind the counter is a grill on an indoor fire with pulley control to adjust the fire. Everything that can be made in Nepal — chairs and tables, ceramic dishes, the grill — is locally sourced. The executive kitchen/laboratory is downstairs. It is spacious, spotless, and contains appliances rarely seen in restaurants here: a sous vide machine that cooks vacuum-sealed packets at consistent temperatures, and a dehydrator for sisnu nettles. A fresh batch of deep purple kimbu (mulberry) muffins has just come out of the oven. Fridges have dry-aged fish and marigold kombucha. Fermentation seems to be the theme at Tusa, and Pathak explained: “Fermentation takes away the natural sugars in food, leaving behind a true, umami taste.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/vikings-khukri-passion">Viking's khukri passion</a>, Alisha Sijapati  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_c59e2b4230864f646bc36108adb951e95ec85da6156740294b1ec715b86acf89.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240419180424_c59e2b4230864f646bc36108adb951e95ec85da6156740294b1ec715b86acf89" data-rendition-name="original" width="5895" height="3930" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> </figure>  Tusa itself means ‘shoot’ in Nepali, and can be a dish of fermented bamboo shoots. The restaurant serves a tasting menu with six courses, plus surprises. It starts with a fermented potato and millet roti with charred green garlic and tomato chutney. The bread tastes like a mix of alu paratha and kodoko roti with a satisfying, mild flavour. The chefs do not show off, and overdo it. Dishes are tastefully simple and faithful, a theme that runs through the meal. The second course is a filet of fish charred on one side and placed in a broth. It is delicate and smokey, and does not mask the character of the fish.&nbsp; The next is Batuk Chukauni, a Magar dish with a lentil snack and a yoghurt-based potato achar. The batuk, made of lentil batter, is light and the chukauni has potatoes and peas. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/money-is-not-everything-but-you-need-money-for-everything">"Money is not everything, but you need money for everything"</a>, Rohit Shrestha  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240419180424_e3f51228ff792e8d4297f81f8e67d138584e922ae035d131977494219e5e85c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240419180424_e3f51228ff792e8d4297f81f8e67d138584e922ae035d131977494219e5e85c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="The return of the natives Page 12 NT #1208"> <figcaption>Batuk Chukauni. Photo: VISHAD ONTA</figcaption> </figure>  Next is a skewer of jackfruit with a tamarind and mustard glaze that has the texture of a slice of sausage and melts in the mouth. Then comes the first off-menu item: a steak of watermelon, glazed and grilled, tasting sweet, sour and smokey. After that a palate cleanser sorbet made with laligurans syrup adorned with a frozen candied rhododendron petal. Finally the main course: barbeque chicken and chyakla coarse corn grits. The chicken has been brined, marinated, cooked sous-vide and seared on the grill. The delicate consistency of the chicken stands out. Desert is a smooth, creamy cheesecake that uses the local juju-dhau yoghurt. And the last course is a moist, moss-green sisnu cake laced with mulberry jam and cream.&nbsp; There is nothing gimmicky about Tusa. It is the coming together of skilled Nepalis with international exposure who have mixed what they have learnt abroad with the flavours of home.&nbsp; The tasting menu is Rs3,500, and it may take some time before Nepalis develop a predilection for some of its items. The chefs are excited, vindicated, and relieved. Coming back to Nepal, uprooting successful careers abroad to take a chance on Nepal must not have been easy.&nbsp; Tusa had a soft launch on New Year’s day with Kathmandu-based diplomats. Australian Ambassador Felicity Volk was one of them, and wrote on a Facebook post: ‘Chefs who honed their skills in Australia and returned to Nepal to give back. We call it fine dining, they call it #cominghome.’ Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-baker-of-barpak">The baker of Barpak</a>, Tara Aryal Pandey

The return of the natives

For a year or two after the 25 April 2015 earthquake, the residents of Kathmandu were too terrified to return to their high-rise apartments. None of them collapsed in the 7.8 disaster, but many sustained serious structural damage. &nbsp;
Fast forward nine years, and they have all but forgotten that frightful day. Kathmandu is back to building substandard structures, even as land prices drive developers to build taller.&nbsp;
With no more space to spread horizontally, Kathmandu is going vertical. But structural engineers say most of the high rises do not take into account seismicity, soil condition, construction methods, quality of raw materials, fire hazard, and search and rescue in collapsed concrete structures.
“Much of our focus since the 2015 earthquake has been on building and construction, but not as much on where we are building,” warns Sangeeta Singh, Professor of Urban Planning and Deputy Director of Centre for Disaster Studies at the Institute of Engineering.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale
She adds: “Kathmandu is not really suited for high-rises. We have to first test the condition of the soil, but building permits are being issued without this fundamental step.”
Kathmandu Valley is a former lakebed with soft topsoil prone to liquefaction and excessive shaking, as seen during the 1934 megaquake. Many ruptures tore up the surface in 2015. &nbsp;
During an earthquake, the rock layers below Kathmandu ring like a bell and the vibrations on the surface take between 0.5 to 2 seconds for one oscillation. Buildings also vibrate, but at different frequencies depending on their height, construction material, and arrangement of their structural components.
At five floors, the vibration period of a building is 0.5 seconds, which is the same as that for Kathmandu Valley, and this could cause more damage, says structural engineer Surya Narayan Shrestha at the National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET).
“Building anything that is five storeys or higher in Kathmandu needs special design and structural considerations,” says Shrestha.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/shaking-things-up">Shaking things up</a>, Editorial
Technologies exist to reduce seismic risk in high-rises, and these are used in earthquake-prone cities like Tokyo, Los Angeles, Jakarta or Mexico City.&nbsp;
Base isolation, for example, separates the vibration of the land and the building, reducing damage from soil-building resonance. Base isolators move and stretch under pressure, absorbing much of an earthquake's impact by reducing swaying and shaking. &nbsp;
Seismic dampers change the pattern of vibration altogether, dissipating energy as vibrations move across a structure. But these are all expensive technologies, and none of the high-rises in Kathmandu use them.
However, Nepali engineers who can help with technology transfer are working in the field in Nepal and overseas. Kathmandu’s high-rises are already very expensive, and making them seismic-resistant would be an incremental cost.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/learning-from-jajarkot-what-we-didnt-after-2015-695vpzle">Learning from Jajarkot what we didn't after 2015</a>, Sushil Gyewali
The shape of high-rises also matters. Reinforced concrete buildings with asymmetric designs of the kind that are seen in newer structures in Kathmandu experience more torsion and shear during quakes. High-rises with regular geometry are stronger. &nbsp;&nbsp;
An even bigger concern is that of emergency evacuation and rescue in case of fire or earthquake. Kathmandu fire services do not have ladders that reach the higher floors of most new structures.
“High-rises mean more people and potentially higher casualties,” explains Shrestha. “We need immediate evacuation routes, fire escapes, emergency ladders, and fire trucks that can reach higher. Right now, safety features are voluntary and not mandatory.”
The street access, shelters, open spaces, and evacuation routes are integral to disaster preparedness and the safety of neighbourhoods and not just buildings. Most new high-rises in Kathmandu have narrow access roads.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil Pokhrel
Since most of the buildings that survived the 2015 disaster were reinforced concrete structures, it fed the misconception that they are safer. But Himalayan seismologists say that if the intensity and duration of the shaking had been just a little higher, many substandard concrete structures would have collapsed.&nbsp;
And that is the final gap: Nepal’s limited expertise and equipment for search and rescue inside collapsed concrete structures. Kathmandu’s high-rises need to be better prepared for the next Big One.
“Structural safety and design were at the front and the centre after the 2015 earthquake, we also revised some building codes but we are back to square one with contractor-driven construction, especially in peri-urban areas,” says Sangeeta Singh, who is also with the National Planning Commission. “We need to monitor construction as much as design.”&nbsp;
Shrestha at NSET agrees there have been improvements in building practices in the past nine years, but adds, “We have both learnt and unlearnt lessons from 2015. The awareness hasn’t yet translated into action on safety.”
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu">Lessons not learned from 2015</a>, Sonia Awale

The rise of high-rises

Midway along the stretch of the ancient trade route between Tibet and India lies the Kel Tol neighbourhood. The name is derived from the original Koligrām, and it is believed the Koli people, who were originally from Rāmagrām in present-day southern Nepal near the Indian border, settled here. The Koli were the maternal ancestors of none other than the Buddha. Kel Tol is famous for the Buddhist monastic complex of Kanak Chaitya Mahāvihar, featuring the majestic two-tiered gilded temple of the white god Karunāmaya.&nbsp; This elaborately decorated courtyard is a bustling centre of the Vajrayāna sect of Buddhism, practised widely by the indigenous Newā people of Kathmandu Valley. Karunāmaya, also known as Ārya Avalokiteshwor, is defined in great detail in the 1st century CE Buddhist text Sadharmapundarikā where he liberates all sentient beings from suffering. He helps rid the eight external fears metaphorically equated with their equivalent internal states of mind: lions (pride), wild elephants (ignorance), fire (anger), snakes (jealousy), floods (attachment), imprisonment (miserliness), thieves (wrong views) and cannibals (doubt).  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_fe370cbee75003cd3eb5dccc7c3b2671630da193b0744db2aeac1bab3ff4a85c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240418130432_fe370cbee75003cd3eb5dccc7c3b2671630da193b0744db2aeac1bab3ff4a85c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1338" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  In the Pancha Rakshyā Sutra, a Buddhist scripture from 200 CE, Ārya Avalokiteshwor was counted among the eight major deities. Followers of the Brāhminical god Shiva worship Ārya Avalokiteshwor as Seto Machhindranāth. For Shaivites, Machhindranāth is the Indian saint who founded the Nāth cult in the 10th century CE. He is the guru of saint Gorakhnāth. During the reign of Yakshya Malla (1428–1482 CE), a beautiful image of Ārya Avalokiteshwor was dug up by a farmer in present-day Jamal, which was then a cultivated area outside the city. The farmer, known as a Jamami (meaning the one from Jamal) took the image home for safekeeping. That night, Ārya Avalokiteshwor appeared in the farmer’s dream and told him that the proper place for him to reside is at the confluence of two rivers. The nearest confluence was at present-day Wongha (Indrachok) and the image was installed in the Kanak Chaitya Mahāvihar complex in Kel Tol near Wongha. This made it easier for city residents to pay homage to Ārya Avalokiteshwor and spread compassion. Soon, the deity came to be revered highly as Jamaleshwor, the one found in Jamal. Eventually, the name got corrupted, as happens often in Nepāl Bhāsā, to Janabahā Dyo. The courtyard where his temple is located is now popularly known as Janabahā.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_5c9b219530e400445ef4e7f64856b43e7cdb756be26d9ed4565c84044c178a7e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20240418130432_5c9b219530e400445ef4e7f64856b43e7cdb756be26d9ed4565c84044c178a7e" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1668" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  The gilded temple of Janabahā Dyo, first built in the early 16th century CE, is adorned with wooden and metal artefacts that symbolise 108 forms of Ārya Avalokiteshwor. It stands out as the most decorated temple of its kind in Kathmandu. Today, Janabahā is a living heritage site where many ancient customs and rituals are widely practised as per Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition. Devotees throng the Janabahā Dyo shrine for daily worship and to receive Karunāmaya’s blessings. Being the compassionate one, Ārya Avalokiteshwor goes around town every year in his tall wooden chariot to allow sick and physically disabled devotees to pay homage to him from the comfort of their homes. One could say it is a door-to-door visit by the Compassionate One.&nbsp; For the pragmatic minded, the chariot festival is an annual renewal of communal harmony, validation of our ancient mathematical supremacy and demonstration of the need to keep practical skills alive, including the craft of building earthquake resilient houses.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_fc8b234ceca87dee4b99e897a485cef121fb953857fb61492a413fbfcc48360c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240418130432_fc8b234ceca87dee4b99e897a485cef121fb953857fb61492a413fbfcc48360c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  The Janabahā Dyo chariot is pulled from Jamal, where his image was found by the farmer, through the historic heart of Kathmandu in a gala parade every year. The procession, accompanied by folk music ensembles and revellers, starts on the eighth day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra, and lasts up to a week (ending on Saturday this year). Hundreds of devotees pull the chariot along the streets as a way of expressing their gratitude to lord Karunāmaya for blessing them with compassion and well-being. Purna Ratna Vajrāchārya is an ordained priest who belongs to the clan responsible for taking care of Janabahā Dyo. He has been studying the design and architecture of the chariot for the past 40 years, and overseeing its construction for the past 15. He has learnt that the engineering principles of building the chariot are based on the mathematical system in which Buddhism is taught. For example, 365 pieces of wood are used in the chariot, each representing a day of the year. Each of the four wheels consist of 25 pieces of wood, totalling 100, representing completeness or fulfilment. The chariot is vertically divided into 13 sections, a parallel to the Buddhist concept of Trayodashi Bhuvana that describes the 13 steps that one must take to achieve the state of Nirvana.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_36d9964c9845f6d9a074786361fc5ab7d49138503ad162086998b731349b0ec0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240418130432_36d9964c9845f6d9a074786361fc5ab7d49138503ad162086998b731349b0ec0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1668" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_2662753a9514a682ccdfd17bf05e2be3771183a68dc86b717ab67d9aad894563.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240418130432_2662753a9514a682ccdfd17bf05e2be3771183a68dc86b717ab67d9aad894563" data-rendition-name="original" width="1668" height="2500" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  &nbsp;Exactly nine types of wood are used, which is the sum of the four base elements that make up the universe (earth, water, fire and air) and the five human senses. The height and length of the chariot is 32 arm’s length (hāt in Sanskrit), 14.8m. The number 32 represents the maximum number of auspicious and physical qualities one could possess to be considered an outstanding human being.&nbsp; Says Vajrācharya, “Observing how the chariot is built helps one learn the fundamental pillars of the Buddha’s teachings, and find an easier path to Nirvana.” The structural design of the nearly 15m wooden chariot is not only awe-inspiring but also gravity-defying. It leverages the pliancy of the materials used in its construction -- flexible joints tied with cane soaked in water for several days. The precise proportions of the chariot ensure great manoeuverability in the narrow streets along the route of the chariot procession that include some 90° bends, without colliding into houses.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_9f5c2943f5d6b3f0010d3d5213697549945e87a6f7d3d8cbadd69f0dea6c6e2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240418130432_9f5c2943f5d6b3f0010d3d5213697549945e87a6f7d3d8cbadd69f0dea6c6e2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="3750" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  Driving and steering the chariot with brute muscle power of the mirthful crowd is a seemingly impossible task. But this has been achieved year after year, despite the fact that the devotees who tug wildly at the ropes lassoed to the two front wheels, are most likely in high-spirits (pun intended). Sanjay Manandhar, a US-based technology entrepreneur, recounts how his high school physics teacher from Canada asked his students to go observe the locals build the chariots of Karunāmaya if they were interested in becoming engineers in the future.&nbsp; “That made no sense to me then, but, after all these decades, I now see clearly how the structural design of the chariot, adopted early on by our ancestors is full of earthquake-resilient properties that need to be applied in building houses in an earthquake-prone zone like Nepal,” says Manandhar. A highlight of the chariot festival is that human goddess Kumari makes an appearance at the final destination in Lagan, usually on the third day. This is only one of the 13 times that people get to see the Kumari outside her temple abode.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240418130432_08aa39f3f004a212b33c60a2840d6013110de15dd34a0288f699dd5fda8957ab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240418130432_08aa39f3f004a212b33c60a2840d6013110de15dd34a0288f699dd5fda8957ab" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1667" loading="lazy" alt="Seto Machhindranath"> </figure>  On the last day of the festival (Saturday), the image of lord Karunāmaya is carried on a palanquin by priests from Janabahā in a gala procession and brought back to his permanent residence at the temple in Kel Tol.&nbsp; The chariot festival is thought to have started during the reign of King Pratap Malla of Kantipur in the 17th century CE. For close to four centuries, the construction of the chariot and its operation has proven to be a phenomenal engineering feat, and the people’s faith in divinity means the tradition is alive.&nbsp; The essence of the colourful rituals and the religious beliefs of this ancient chariot festival is now all but lost. The logic, technology and practicality must be brought back to light, as they reflect the high civilisation and wisdom of our ancestors that we can leverage in modern times and into the future. &nbsp; Alok Tuladhar is a culture and heritage documentarian.

Kathmandu’s gravity-defying chariot festival

"I shut down my poultry farm as the villagers did not buy fresh chicken from me,” sums up a Dalit farmer from Arghakhanchi district why he had to leave for work.&nbsp;
Most people can sell fresh meat in their villages and make a good profit but Dalits still cannot because people will not buy from them due to caste stigma. Dalits have no choice but to sell their poultry to outside suppliers for lower profits.&nbsp;
“Other hoteliers found out my caste and used it to push me out of competition. They informed my customers of my caste and discouraged them from staying at my hotel,” a Dalit hotelier shares.&nbsp;
The hotel was close to a medical school and had earned a good reputation among hospital visitors, at least until they discovered his caste.
As ‘higher’ caste customers stopped coming, he moved his hotel to the East-West highway, where customers, in a rush, do not have time to worry about the caste of the owner.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepal-looks-at-alternative-investments">Nepal looks at alternative investments</a>, Siddhant Raj Pandey
“They will knock me out of the business if they know my caste,” says a Dalit who owns a pipe manufacturing business in Western Tarai. He has been in the business for several years. Due to fear of ostracisation from non-Dalits who dominate the industry, he has erased his caste name from all his documents and uses a non-Dalit surname.&nbsp;
These three incidents illustrate deeply rooted caste barriers blocking Dalits from entering and thriving in business even as they make up 14% of Nepal’s 29 million population.
Yet, due to Nepal’s hierarchical caste system, Dalits continue to be looked down upon as ‘untouchable’ and of ‘lower’ rank, and non-Dalits, as per caste norms, do not eat food and beverage items touched by them.&nbsp;
In a 2018 Tribhuvan University study, even seven years after anti-caste discrimination laws were passed, 34% of Hill Dalits and 28% of Madhesi Dalits reported routinely facing caste-based discrimination.&nbsp;
Caste-based barriers obstruct Dalits from freely participating and thriving in business, yielding at least three distinct types of market and non-market barriers.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/success-in-nepal-means-not-having-to-work">Success in Nepal means not having to work</a>, Anil Chitrakar
First, caste bias means ‘higher’ caste groups avoid buying goods and services from Dalits, except for menial labour. In their 2019 book Good Economics for Hard Times, Nobel laureates in economics Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo show that social norms such as caste and patriarchy, and not just price, shape business decisions.&nbsp;
In Nepal’s case, ‘upper’ caste customers examine not only the price and quality of what they are buying but also the social value of goods and services.&nbsp;
Second, companies use caste norms to sideline Dalits out of competition. Development economists confirm that firms often deploy caste and ethnic discrimination to remove their competitors from the playing field.&nbsp;
Third, Nepal’s Dalits do not have easy access to resources such as land, capital, and networks that are usually a precondition to enter and thrive in business. Impoverished by decades of exclusion and discrimination, Dalits do not have collateral for loans. They face social stigma and stereotypes and do not get access to idea-and-trust-based loans.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/invest-in-investment">Invest in investment</a>, Nepali Times
As a result, they are forced to get by with low capital and higher interest rates. Dalits also do not have strong business networks, nor do they have access to the social spaces where business decisions are made. They do not have a strong community support system, which could compensate for low capital and weak policy networks.&nbsp;
These caste barriers not only block the entry of Dalits into business but also create market failures. Just like the Dalit hotelier in Bhairawa who was pushed out of the market, discriminatory practices allow only a few castes to dominate, forcing customers to buy in a market not governed by price and quality but by non-market measures. Eventually, such caste-based business practices create conditions for cartels and monopolies, blocking the free market.&nbsp;
Caste-biased business practices also yield inefficient resource allocation. Caste-based preferences in recruitment mean businesses are forced to draw from smaller talent pools, and Dalits miss out on opportunities for human development. Resources such as land and capital do not move across social groups, ultimately leading to unequal income distribution and lower economic growth.&nbsp;
Despite the challenges, Nepal is committed to ending discrimination in employment and business. In 1974, Nepal ratified the ILO Convention 111–Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958. In 2002, the country enacted the Bonded Labour (Prohibition) Act, formally ending forced labour such as Kamaiya, Haliya and Haruwa-Charuwa. In 2020, Nepal Rastra Bank issued a guidance note to encourage loans to Dalits of up to one million rupees on concessional interest rates.&nbsp;
While the commitments on paper have been swift, they have not led to tangible results. In 2023, the ILO Experts’ Committee called for Nepal to implement Convention 111 to address discrimination against Dalits and to promote their access to productive resources such as land and capital.
Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/caste-aside">Caste Aside</a>, Nepali Times
Ahead of its upcoming graduation to middle-income country status in 2026, Nepal has prioritised private sector-led development, hoping to increase investment from domestic and international investors. The Nepal Investment Summit this weekend is designed to attract investments.&nbsp;
While these are welcome moves, Nepal should not miss the opportunity to free itself from barriers holding back the Dalit community. By unlocking Dalits from discrimination, Nepal can add to its human capital, ensure fair income distribution, increase resource allocation efficiency, and augment economic growth.&nbsp;
We need research on how caste-based discrimination has reinforced market failures. The business development capacity of Dalits needs to be enhanced by creating better access to information and business networks. Nepal’s macro and micro-economic policies should combat visible and invisible caste-based business barriers.&nbsp;
Monetary policies can grant Dalits access to non-collateralised finance at concessional interest rates, and tax exemptions can create a level playing field. Finally, there could be a policy guarantee that the government, as one of the largest buyers, purchases goods and services from Dalits.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/dalit-lives-must-matter">Dalit lives must matter</a>, Shristi Karki

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