The Week

LASIK surgery: The risks and rewards

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:33:28 +0545

CILLA KHATRY

“How are your eyes?”

That’s the first question Sandhya Acharya, 26, an economics graduate, gets asked these days. It’s been a year since she underwent the surgery and people still want to know how her eyes are after Lasik. Do her eyes hurt when exposed to sunlight? Are her eyes still dry? Is she still wearing glasses? And most importantly, is her vision still blurred?

Her answer to each of the questions is a frustrated yes before complaining that her eyes burn and sting. She has problems looking at bright pictures and reading books with comparatively smaller fonts. She has single-handedly depleted the stock of Refresh Tears, a lubricant eye drop that moisturizes and relieves dry and irritated eyes, at her local pharmacy.

Photos: Bijay Gajmer

“I’ve been wearing glasses ever since I was in grade seven. Since the past few years, I had been using contact lenses. I wanted to end the vision hassle for once and for all, so I opted for Lasik surgery,” says Sandhya who sits wearing sunglasses as she speaks. As ironic as that might be, sunglasses have now replaced her power glasses.

Lasik (Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileusis), commonly referred to as laser eye surgery, is a type of refractive surgery for the correction of myopia (inability to see distant objects clearly), hyperopia (difficulty to see nearby objects) and astigmatism (abnormally curved cornea). Myopia (also called short-sightedness) occurs due to the formation of image in front of the retina, and hyperopia (also known as hypermetropia or farsightedness) occur due to the formation of image behind the retina.

While contact lenses are a good alternative for those who don’t want to wear thick glasses, a lot of people in their 20s and 30s feel burdened by the task of even putting on and removing them on a daily basis. Dr Kamal Khadka, Medical Director at Bharatpur Eye Hospital in Chitwan, says that a lot of young people these days opt for Lasik surgery purely for cosmetic reasons.

“Personally, I don’t recommend Lasik surgery to my patients because if complications arise after the operation, then there’s no way to correct it,” says Dr Khadka, adding that when and if his patients express a strong desire to undergo the procedure, then he makes sure they are aware of both the pros and cons before referring them to Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) for the surgery.

TIO has been conducting laser eye surgery for correction of refractive error since last year after a gap of four years. Everyone above 18 years without medical conditions like thyroid problems, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and rheumatic diseases can get Lasik. Pregnant women, however, aren’t allowed to undergo this procedure due to fluctuating eyesight because of hormonal imbalance.

The major issue with laser surgery lies in determining who should undergo the surgery. TIO’s state-of-the-art equipment and technology scans patients and takes numerous factors into consideration to ensure safety and unparalleled accuracy during surgery.

Here’s how Lasik works. A laser cuts a flap in the front of the eye. The flap is folded back, and a second laser reshapes the cornea to make a lens that’s of the right shape and focus. Then the flap is put back.

Many examinations of corneal refraction, corneal thickness, eye pressure and others checkups by ultrasound and scans are done before giving patients the go-ahead for the operation. Even then, there’s no guarantee that the surgery will have no side effects.

Puran Shrestha, 31, art director and graphics designer for an advertising agency, has been living with a permanent glare. While he’s happy that he got rid of those bulky glasses he had been wearing for over 15 years and that he doesn’t even have to wear contact lenses occasionally, the constant glare hampers his work.

“I have to constantly work on the computer and I can’t focus for too long. My vision gets blurred and I have to close my eyes and rest for a while,” says Puran, adding that he has consulted many ophthalmologists all of whom have told him the same thing: He has to live with it. There’s no way to correct it now.

After the surgery, forget the dryness and the glare that are now a part of his life, Puran also at times feels as if he has put on his contact lenses inside out. The doctors have told him that it’s most probably a side effect of dry eyes because the flaps they cut out have healed perfectly.

“Imagine having a side effect of a side effect,” he says with a frustrated heave of his shoulders.

Lasik surgery, though is a simple procedure lasting anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes, comes with a fair share of side effects. From irreversible eye damage and severe night vision problems to decreased contrast sensitivity, the side effects can be harrowing. In case of people with high astigmatism, the results of Lasik can be unpredictable. Also, sometimes people might still need glasses after surgery because of errors in calculation leading to over- or under-correction.

Explaining how Lasik surgeries are carried out, Dr Rita Gurung, Deputy Director at Tilganga, says the cornea is thinned, using laser to ensure that the image is formed on the retina.

“We ablate the middle part of the cornea to reduce the distance between the cornea and the retina to correct myopia and we ablate the sides of the same to elongate it in case of hyperopia,” she explains, adding that patients with refractive error of up to -14 and +6 can be corrected by the surgery.

Though high power alone does not make one eligible for surgery, those with less power are generally not advised to opt for Lasik. Also a person should have stable eyesight with no change in power for at least two to three years to be eligible for the surgery.

“Refractive power bec-omes more or less stable by the mid-20s. So if you’re considering Lasik, it’s wise to wait till you are at least 24 years old,” says Dr Khadka, adding that there is no guarantee that even then you’ll never need glasses again for myopia later on in life.

According to Dr Gurung, 96% of people will have perfect vision while the rest can have a defect of up to -1 or +1 after the surgery. Also, one of the major surgical side effects of Lasik is that it causes dry eye. Sandhya and Puran will vouch for that. Their eyes have never been the same.

“If the doctors had warned me of the possible side effects, then I wouldn’t have undergone the treatment,” says Puran, mentioning that everyone just harps on the pros and cons and no one provides accurate information. Sandhya adds that it could also be because of people’s willingness to undergo the surgery at any cost that the doctors don’t stress on the side effects and focus on the fact that it is a simple operation.

“It’s more or less a business because a lot of people are doing it for purely aesthetic purposes without considering the health aspect of it,” says Sandhya who now firmly believes that Lasik should only be done if wearing glasses seriously hampers your work. “If you’re doing fine with glasses or contacts, then it’s better to stick to them.”

It is likely that Lasik surgery will gain more popularity as the years pass, especially among the young crowd. Plenty of people have had tremendously wonderful experiences even as many are living with the side effects of an ill informed decision. The public deserves an honest study, free from the bias and influence of the Lasik industry. There are bright doctors and trustworthy public health officials who have no financial interest in Lasik and who are certainly qualified to perform a credible study. Without that, the public will not be able to assess the true risks, benefits of and alternatives to Lasik surgery. And under such circumstances, how is a patient ever supposed to make a truly informed decision?

Before you sign up for Lasik surgery, here are a few things to think about

• Lasik is an irreversible surgery at a very delicate part of your eye.
• As with any surgery, there are risks and possible complications.
• Millions of people have had Lasik, many very successfully, but it’s not for everyone.
• Lasik may not give you perfect vision. Detailed, precise vision may be slightly diminished.
• Even with Lasik to correct your distance vision, you are likely to need reading glasses in your mid-40s. Lasik surgery cannot correct or prevent presbyopia, the age-related loss of focusing power for seeing near objects.
• The benefits of the Lasik procedure may diminish over time, and one may require a second surgery, called “retreatment,” to restore the desired vision correction. This is more likely for people who were more nearsighted or farsighted, or had higher astigmatism before Lasik.

Aside from the actual surgery, post-operative care is one of the things that LASIK surgery patients worry about the most. Laser eye surgery, though it’s one of the most minimally disruptive procedures you can undergo in terms of recovery time, does need precautions and safety measures even in post-operation period.
Though there might not be many complications from this simple procedure, adhering to doctors’ instructions will ensure the best possible results. If you’re considering laser eye surgery, here’s a list of dos and don’ts that you should follow after your procedure.

Do’s after LASIK surgery
Do use a protective eye covering. It’s required to be worn for some weeks even while sleeping so as to prevent the rubbing of the eyes. It’s best that eyes aren’t touched at all during the recovery period to avoid damage to the corneal flap.

Do use the prescribed eye drops, as directed. Painkillers can help manage whatever pain there may be after the operation. Antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications might be prescribed for prevention of complications and to reduce swelling. You might also be advised to use moistening eye drops to help lubricate the eyes, as some drying is expected to occur.

Do wear safety glasses during sports or high-risk activities. It isn’t necessary to live in a bubble after undergoing Lasik surgery. But if you’ll be engaging in activities that increase your risk of eye injury, then use safety glasses.

There’s no need to seclude yourself for weeks after Lasik surgery. Normal activities can be resumed the very next day but do exercise some caution. Do avoid swimming, hot tubs and water sports for two weeks after the surgery.

Don’ts after LASIK surgery
Don’t rub your eyes at least for two weeks after surgery. Some eye discomfort is to be expected after undergoing any medical procedure, but no matter how strong the urge is, don’t rub your eyes. There may be a feeling of having something inside your eye but always resist the temptation to touch it.

Don’t get soap or water directly in your eyes. Avoid this for two weeks after your procedure. Even tap water that has been treated has the capability of carrying organisms that can do serious harm to a healing cornea. If soap or water does get into your eyes, put your head down and blink, so that your tears will wash them out.
Don’t wear eye makeup. Mascara and eyeliner shouldn’t be applied for three days after Lasik surgery. Extreme caution should be observed when removing makeup.

Don’t forget post-op appointments. Follow-up care is extremely important after Lasik surgery, so be sure to make it to all your post-operative appointments.

cillakhatry@gmail.com

Is laser eye surgery worth it?

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:33:00 +0545

ASMITA MANADHAR

After having myopic eye condition (inability to see distant objects clearly) for more than thirteen years, for Anushree KC, 23, corrective glasses and contact lenses have been her necessities to correct her vision. But both, according to her, are burden and a sort of hindrance while trying out many activities. In addition, contact lenses, which she is using for the past three years, though, are good replacement for glasses cosmetic-wise, are very prone to dust and pollution. Many times, she wishes to get rid of these necessities and have a normal vision.

Many, like KC, who are suffering from vision aberrations, wish for a permanent solution to their eye problems. “Many people I know have gone through the procedure of laser eye surgery and are very happy with the results,” she says, clearly voicing her enthusiasm for the procedure.

The Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology (TIO) resumed its services of laser surgery for permanent correction of refractive error in January last year. The surgery is carried out by using Lasik surgery to ensure that the image is formed on the retina, which otherwise is formed in front of the retina in myopic conditions and behind it in hyperopic conditions.

Since then, laser eye surgery has been sought out by many people; and it has been popular mostly among urban people in their early twenties.

Pranita Sharma, 22, who has just completed her Bachelor’s-level studies, went through the procedure about six months ago. She was encouraged to go for the surgery after one of her friends’ brother went through the procedure and recommended it to her.

“I knew that such surgery existed long before it was introduced in Nepal. So I was clearly looking forward to it when TIO offered such services,” says Sharma. She adds that she never used contact lenses as replacement to her corrective glasses before her laser surgery as she believed that they were unusable in Kathmandu. “With so much dirt and pollution, I was scared that I might catch infection, and contact lenses never seemed like a reliable option to me, either” she says.

Though the procedure of laser eye surgery lasts only for around 10 minutes, one needs to take an appointment with the concerned doctors for initial consultation and later for pre-operative checkup before the doctors determine whether the person is a good candidate for the surgery.

Sharma says that though she was a little apprehensive in the beginning, her doubts were cleared when she visited the doctors for initial consultation. “My dad accompanied me during the consultation and he was also impressed by the amount of information provided by the doctors,” she says.

She went through surgery during the Dashain vacation, considering that she would have ample time to rest after the surgery. “No matter how sure you are, going for a surgery is always a big deal. And when it’s your eyes, you do panic a little even if the doctors ensure you of safety,” she says, adding that she had a sleepless night before the surgery day.
Ambalika Shakya, 24, who also had her laser eye surgery some six months back, and a medical doctor herself, says that she was impressed by the doctor’s consultation and friendly nature. “Being able to get rid of glasses and contact lenses gives you a sense of freedom. The surgery felt very rewarding when I could clearly see the distant objects without them,” she says.

But Shakya adds that one should not jump into laser eye surgery without preparation. “Laser eye surgery may be a 10-minute procedure but it requires detailed attention before and after the surgery,” she says.

After the surgery, one will experience blurred vision for another 24 hours. During that time, they are required to wear eye shield and keep themselves away from excessive light and other electronic devices that strain the eyes. The usage of artificial tears is also recommended for another six months to one year, according to individual requirement.

“You should always be cautious, and carelessness will have bigger consequences,” says Shakya. Though she does not have any complications till now, she recommends that people decide upon the surgery only after having complete self-assurance.

“There is no cent percent guarantee of any surgery. You might face complications as well, and in such cases psychology also plays its part. So it is better to have all the information to overcome any insecurity regarding the process,” she says.

Sharma, on the other hand, cannot contain her joy over acquiring normal eyesight and strongly suggests it to people with vision aberrations. “I think getting normal vision for your lifetime is a boon and laser eye surgery gives you the opportunity to experience that,” she says.

But for many, like KC, laser eye surgery is still a complicated decision with the technology newly introduced in the country. Many like her are also apprehensive that this surgery might have complications later in life. “My mother is against the idea of eye surgery. She suggests that I stick to contact lenses or corrective glasses,” says KC.

Lasik surgery was introduced in the United States more than two decades ago. Even India had started these services a decade back; but for Nepal, it is a new concept. While many people have gone ahead with the surgery, many are still doubtful of its success. The scare of side effects is also one of the main factors that keep many people from using the Lasik services. Laser eye surgery is definitely a sensitive process, which not only requires a skilled medical hand but also a major commitment by the candidates for healthy practices before and after the surgery.

mail2asmita@gmail.com

Solar power in the gateway to EVEREST

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:31:30 +0545

KASHISH DAS SHRESTHA

By combining its micro-hydro with a solar power system, the Pasang Lhamu-Nicole Niquille Hospital in Lukla is now energy independent and no longer uses the local Lukla grid.

Perched on a serene hill in the shadows of the Lukla-Ri peaks, the Pasang Lhamu-Nicolle Niquille Hospital is less than 10 minutes’ walk away from the Lukla Airport (2,860 meters above sea level). And for over seven years now, Gopal Shrestha, an illiterate carpenter who first arrived to work on the construction here, has been its default energy manager and gardener.

Since its establishment in October 2005, PLNN Hospital, managed by the Pasang Lhamu Mountaineering Foundation (Nepal) with technical and financial support from the Foundation Nicole Niquille Hospital Lukla (Switzerland), has remained a critical medical service provider in the region. But even till a few months ago, if the PLNN Hospital needed to perform X-Rays, use the operation theater, or use other equipments that required a lot of energy, Gopal would have to walk down about five minutes to the local Lukla transformer and temporarily shut down power supply to parts of the mountain village. All that changed when the hospital added its the
solar power system some six months ago.

Nepal Telecom also uses solar power for their station in Lukla.

With the hospital’s own micro hydro plant now combined with its solar unit, PLNN Hospital is energy independent and no longer uses the local Lukla grid. And the Lukla grid in which the hospital had also invested is able to serve the Lukla village without interruptions. If there’s a power crunch, Gopal only needs to decide which parts of the hospital should get its power supply briefly interrupted.

Sun and rain
PLNN Hospital’s micro-hydro has an installed capacity of 20KVA. “But we hardly get that, probably not even during the rainy season,” Gopal explains.

Nepal’s domestic electricity production is run-of-the-river-based, a model that depends entirely on the flow of rivers fed by the snowmelt in the Himalaya and rains. In the dry winter season, Nepal endures perhaps an average of 12 hours of daily blackouts.

The solar power unit at the hospital has an installed capacity of 6kWp with 30PV panels of 195watts each. Installed in collaboration with the Groupe E Connect SA (Switzerland), it took about five days to put up and solved a problem that the hospital had dealt with for more than five years.

Gopal learnt everything about solar energy in those five days when he worked on the installation. Since he cannot read the manual, he uses a photo manual to troubleshoot if the need arises. “Otherwise, I just ask the doctors to read the English parts and translate it to Nepali for me,” Gopal explains.

“Right now our batteries are charged both by the sun and the river,” Gopal explains. “But on gloomy days like this, I like to save the solar battery and let the hospital run on hydro. So the battery is off and just charging at the moment.”

To toggle between just hydro, or hydro and solar, Gopal simply needs to unplug a large hose-like cable and plug it into the source he wants. To demonstrate this, he pulls the cable out of the hydro port and plugs it into the solar one.

“See how the lights are brighter now? Now we’re using our full energy supply,” he explains, pleased with the result. “But I like to make sure the battery is at least 75-80% charged as you never know when you may need that extra power.” Demonstration over, he plugs the hospital back to hydro only.

“Now the village doesn’t have to lose power if the hospital needs it, and the hospital doesn’t have to worry about not having enough power,” he says, smitten with the technology. “Sure, I don’t have to run off to the transformer now, but I have to admit, it’s a fulltime job making sure the battery is at the optimum level while everyone’s getting to do what they need to at the hospital.”

The constant gardener
Gopal, originally from Solu, still has his wife there. Three of his daughters are married, and his son is studying hospitality management in Kathmandu. He has lived at the hospital fulltime for seven years, taking only several weeks of annual leaves.

The hospital, here in Khumbu, is his home away from home. And when not watching the battery levels like a possessive mother hawk, he works on the hospital’s garden, simply because he likes to.

Gopal´s dedication is inspired by late Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, whose poster he keeps hung at his room´s door.

“You won’t believe it, but I remember winters when we would just go home for a month or two because the snow and the cold made it impossible to work,” he recalls. “Now, look at this flower. For more than a year it hasn’t stopped blossoming even once, even during the winter.”

Last summer, he grew isles of corn on both sides of the pathway that leads to the hospital building. “It looked really nice, and I ate the corn too,” he explains. He also grows spinach and other vegetables as well as flowers.

“I would’ve never imagined I would be able to grow so much here. But now people come here and take photos of what is growing and ask me about it.”

At first, Gopal thought it was simply a result of his efforts. Then he added, “I realized the weather itself has changed. It just isn’t cold like it used to be.”

Gopal’s observations aren’t just hunches. There are several new peer-reviewed scientific studies that show greenhouses gases have contributed dangerously to global warming in the last century.

Before the PLNN Hospital installed its solar power system, Gopal would have to walk to the transformer and turn off power to a part of Lukla every time the hospital needed to use heavy equipments such as the X-Ray machine.

Lessons from the Gateway to Everest
The PLNN Hospital’s micro-hydro isn’t the only one suffering from lower than projected energy production. There are recent cases of larger private micro-hydro projects that have become unable to produce their installed capacity due to unexpected reduced river flows, forcing them to face losses. The need to consider solar energy’s role in Nepal’s micro-hydro sector has perhaps been never more important.

While Gopal’s flowers have surprised even him by blossoming all year long, he’s also worried about the growing year-round presence of pests in Lukla. How will the changing vegetation patterns, and the reasons for it, affect Nepal’s agro and hydro-sector as a whole?

Gopal´s dedication is inspired by late Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, whose poster he keeps hung at his room´s door.

The decision to build a hybrid energy production system has enabled the Pasang Lhamu-Nicole Niquille Hospital to move to energy independence.

“My life revolves around making sure the hospital is as energy efficient and secure as possible,” Gopal says proudly. “I could be doing other things if I wanted to make more money, but here, I get a sense of satisfaction from doing this job.”

These flowers at the PLNN Hospital have blossomed all year along, even through the winter, surprising Gopal the gardene

There are important lessons here, in this hospital on the gateway to Everest, for Kathmandu’s globetrotting policymakers.

The author is Niti Foundation’s Renewable Energy Policy Fellow 2012.
kashish@350nepal.org

Social Science Research Council: The need of the hour

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:30:08 +0545

AMENDRA POKHREL

Hundreds of researches are carried out in Nepal each year at the cost of several million Rupees, but their benefits to public life and impacts at policy level, most experts engaged in the field agree, are barely noticeable.

Questions like who are doing those researches, who are funding them, are their findings reliable, what is their usefulness, who can access them and so on have never been raised or deliberately ignored by the research community and the stakeholders so far.

But with the field growing in scope and size, if still frustratingly disorganized, it is time now for all the stakeholders to ask the above questions to ensure that the vast resources – human, financial, technical – being poured in do not just go down the drain.

Moreover, at this time of social unrest, if the research community in Nepal do not find answers to those questions, rather than clarify, researches are more likely to create misunderstandings; rather than become means to empower the disenfranchised, they will be a medium for some to channel funds for their personal gains; and rather than becoming an open platform where everyone has a say, the field will become a fiefdom for a few who can exploit information for their own sake.

“At the root of social, economic and political problems is the lack of understanding of Nepal’s social, economic and political issues, of Nepal’s contemporary issues, of the roots of those issues,” said Pitamber Sharma, former vice-chairman of the Planning Commission who currently heads Resources Himalaya, a non-profit organization. “We can’t solve our problems unless we understand ourselves better. But even today, we are struggling to create standardized data about ourselves.”
Sharma acknowledged that researches and data collection are taking place in their own way “but there isn’t any effort to maintain that data, to look for its utility and to prioritize it.”

You need a framework for that, said Sharma, adding, that is what a research council is all about.

Former secretary of the Ministry of Women, Child and Social Welfare, Balananda Poudel threw more light on the issue.

“It’s not that the government isn’t spending money on research. Different ministries have budget set aside to carry out or commission studies and researches,” said Poudel. “But we don’t have institutional arrangement to do such things in an organized way. We do have a system of collecting data but there’s no mechanism to study the data systematically and analytically.”

Poudel also pointed out another issue that is equally worrisome. “No attempts have been made so far toward policy evaluation. To date, there hasn’t been policy impact research in Nepal,” he said.

When a policy that has been implemented fails to achieve its intended result, it’s quite natural to ask, “Why did it happen?” If we begin to ask that question, the importance of research will become clear. “Evaluation of projects implemented – itself a subject for research – would clearly show why policies and projects that don’t draw on reliable data don’t work,” said Poudel.

A major problem in this regard, Poudel added, is that we lack procedural mechanism to link research with policymaking. A national-level research institution like Social Science Research Council could play an important role to address that.

“At the time of policymaking, there are several options to choose from, all of which may seem legitimate. So what should be the basis for choosing one policy over the others?” Poudel said. The fundamental principle in this regard, he elaborated, is that such decisions should be made on the basis of facts and data that come from investigations and researches and their subsequent analyses.

“What you can achieve through research is understand the specific problems of specific groups without which you can’t make policies,” said TK Oommen, Professor of Sociology for many years at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, before retiring in 2002. “In order to make legislation, it is absolutely necessary to know the social realities.”

When you collect data from policy perspective, Oommen explained, you will do it to understand the deprivation of a category of people and to help policymakers make laws that empower the vulnerable sections of the society.

According to Oommen, researches were taking place in India since a long time in the university departments, but they lacked policy focus. “The then Minster of Education VKRV Rao, an economist and the main force behind the establishment of Indian Council of Social Science Research, thought policy-relevant social science research was needed,” he said.

One of the works of the ICSSR was to finance research projects with a policy slant. Over all, the focus at the time was to get knowledge about the weaker section of society. So ICSSR gave substantial amount of money in order to conduct studies on women, and the marginalized communities known in India as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

“The policies of creating seats in the educational institutions and bureaucracy for the erstwhile unrepresented segments were a result of this,” Oommen said.
At different points of time, different categories will come for focus. The Royal Norwegian Embassy is trying to encourage research in Nepal through Social Inclusion Research Fund (SIRF) from inclusion perspective, be it inclusion of women, Dalits or Janajati.

“A lot of fund is poured into areas that are of less importance while the areas that deserve more attention are being neglected,” said Manju Thapa Tuladhar, team leader of SIRF. Tuladhar and her team at SIRF have been supporting and coordinating with several researchers working on a diverse array of topics reflecting the country’s diversity.

SIRF itself is an example, albeit at a small scale, that it is possible to have a national-level research institution that brings together research professionals, addresses their needs, trains them and allocates funds in more equitable manner, based on priority.

Tuladhar and all other experts interviewed for this article agree that the government must have a stake in such an institution so that it has a sense of ownership and is obliged to acknowledge and act according to the findings of the studies facilitated by it.

Meanwhile, Poudel informed that the Ministry of Social Welfare is leading the effort to establish Social Science Research Council. Under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Social Welfare Ministry, an ad hoc council has been formed that has already prepared relevant documents to be submitted to the government once there is political stability.

Political problems apart, Poudel also points out that lack of proper communication among stakeholders for an organized push for the formation of the Council is partly responsible for the slow pace in which the process has been moving.

“Research as a field has not been able to organize itself because the government has not owned it so far,” said Pitamber Sharma. “All this can be attributed to the lack of realization among political leadership that funding social research will ultimately help improve policies and programs, enable their implementation, and ultimately help us understand ourselves better.”

The government should realize, he stressed, that the most important stakeholder of an organization like the Social Science Research Council is the government itself. “After all, it is the government that is responsible for the development of the country by understanding and addressing the country’s social, political and economic issues,” said Sharma.

amendrapokharel@gmail.com

Clone chic: Caught in the fashion whirlpool

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:29:16 +0545

CILLA KHATRY

Clad in tight black jeans and a short-sleeved denim jacket over a checkered shirt, Sangeeta Lama, 29, a banker by profession, scurries through the stores at Civil Mall in Sundhara, Kathmandu. She has 30 minutes left of her lunch break on a busy weekday, and she’s on a mission: to find a short beige-colored dress with see-through material on the sleeves, and a slim belt to cinch the waist. None of the other gorgeous dresses on display catch her fancy.

Why such particularities about a dress, one might wonder, when there’s a wide variety to choose from with stores boasting of chic new arrivals now that summer is here. But Sangeeta will give you a seemingly valid reason for all the fuss. She was watching a movie where the actress was dressed in similar attire.

“She looked absolutely splendid. I haven’t seen a more beautiful dress and I’m looking for something like it,” says Sangeeta as she rushes about from store to store describing the dress to salesgirls who helplessly try to provide an alternative.

But Sangeeta refuses to budge and keeps hunting till there are five minutes left of her lunch hour. As she heads back to work, she looks dejected and quickly vows to find the right kind of material and get it custom-made.

scilogs.co

“It’ll be quite a bit of work, but at least I’ll have the dress I want,” she says as she quickly picks up a light sweater that resembles something she’s once again seen an Indian actress sport on a magazine cover.

It’s not unusual for people to want to emulate actors they see on the screen, be it taking up smoking, drinking or wanting to dress alike. Especially, the fashion trend that seems to be doing rounds largely depends on what’s seen in the movies and television. It’s also not uncommon for women to don items once or twice before discarding them for something new they come across onscreen.

A fashion trend can emerge from just about anywhere, be it a pop culture song or a photo spread in a magazine. So it´s no surprise that every year there seem to be a few movies and television serials that have huge impacts on the way we dress.

Niharika Thapa, 25, a fresh college graduate, admits to being influenced by Hindi cinema. So much so that she sometimes has her friends in Delhi courier shoes and dresses over to her. She mentions that it’s easier to find items with close resemblance to the ones shown in movies in India, which is why she solicits help from her friends.

“Instead of scouring the stores around the capital trying to find a particular item, I just google a picture of what I want and email it to my friends who find something similar and ship it back to me,” she says with a content smile.

Fashion is a form of personal expression, a display of concept and creativity. But when people start copying what they see, instead of going by personal preferences, fashion gets limited to trend. What’s ridiculous and a bit scary, actually, is the fact that every person looks like a replica of someone else, maybe even a handful of other people. The fashion trend, it seems, has molded us into a big clay pot – all monotone, all the same.

While one might assume that women are more prone to fall into traps of blindly emulating what they see, men too don’t seem to lag that far behind on the issue.
Nitesh Khadka, 26, a computer engineer, admits that his fashion sense largely stems from leafing through magazines and watching movies and finding out what famous actors are currently wearing.

“The look I’m sporting now is inspired by a Hollywood actor. He was dressed in a similar manner in one of his movies,” says Nitesh a little abashedly.

Actors inspire new trends with their onscreen attires. It’s always been the case. Over the years, the silver screen has inspired a number of fashion trends. The past few years have witnessed major changes with fashion evolving with seasonal “must-haves.” To cater for this demand, stores are constantly crammed with affordable apparels that are watered-down versions of designer wears. Hundreds of stores are filled to the brim with similar stuffs in different colors with slight design variations.
Nina Shakya, a clothing store owner at New Road, says that fashion comes in bouts, and very frequently, shoppers come looking for items they’ve seen someone wearing in a movie.

“Almost every time there’s a new movie in town, the fashion trends change. First, there was tight t-shirts with baggy pants after an actress was seen sporting that look quite often in movies. Then there was workhouse garb wear which is semi baggy pants with rolled up shirtsleeves,” says Nina, stressing on the fact that the trends keep changing with every other movie or television serial.

“Quite recently, a certain kind of sari was a rage among young women after the protagonist of a very popular TV serial was seen wearing it. But that sari was popular for six months or so only,” she says, mentioning that people’s fascination with what they see on screen is appalling but it’s what retailers like her cash in on.

“We know certain items will be on demand and people will be willing to pay extra for it just because they want it badly after seeing it on someone they admire. So we stock those pieces and hike up the prices. Every clothing store owner does that,” says Subodh Rai, Nina’s shop assistant, adding that because of the trend of copying what one sees in movies and TV, every second person you see on the road looks like someone else you’ve just passed.

Being influenced by media and celebrities, it seems like most people have forgotten their own sense of style. By letting their personal looks be conjured by complete strangers, individualism has been lost.

What’s important to understand is that we all have a unique sense of fashion. Most people believe that fashion is “the current style” which is determined by the most popular actor or movie. Unfortunately, when that happens, people blend together into one mass of the same thing.

While it’s not necessary to bind yourself to the conventional style of clothing, heavily relying on media sources like TV and celebrity magazines for updated fashion trends can be a bigger blunder. The unrealistic expectation that we can be perfect and are willing to copy anything blindly to be that perfect person will leave us chasing shadows.

But of course, we already knew that, didn’t we?

cillakhatry@gmail.com

10 things a film can't do without

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:28:37 +0545

TSERING CHODEN

Nepali cinema has undoubtedly taken a turn for the better but the power still remains with the audience to make or break a film. And in recent years, we´ve seen both immense support and criticism. So what would make a good film? Here´s a look at 10 probable points.

Photos: Tenzin Dorj

10. Embracing technology
In a fast moving age of technology, choosing the right equipment can be overwhelming. After much homework, we narrowed it down to Canon 5D. It´s cost effective and produces brilliant results, both technically and creatively. Due to its reasonable price, investing in two cameras turned out to be a sound idea. This allowed us to take two takes simultaneously, which not only gave the actors freedom to improvise but also quickened the shooting process.

9. Innovation
Coping with adversaries is a challenge but it makes way for innovation. While shooting “Uma,” we tapped into solar energy to battle long load-shedding hours. And DIY low-energy LED bulbs (18 watts) provided the required power to light up a scene.

Photos: Tenzin Dorji

8. Post production
Known for their brutality on the chopping board, a good editor is essential for a film. While the director´s word is final, there´s no denying that a film can fall flat if not for an editor who has the eye and the judgment to know what stays and what goes.

7. Music
John Williams, Howard Shore, James Horner, Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, A.R Rehman. Need we say more? It´s gradually taking precedence in Nepali films as well. A film is incomplete without the score and the soundtrack.

6. Props
It´s not enough to just select a good pool of actors; it´s important that they are geared with the right props. It´s a support system that helps them get into their character as well as make the experience more real for the audience.

5. Location
The backdrop not only sets the tone of the film, it also provides for great cinematography. We found that in Salmitar Village in Khopasi, a natural studio.

4. Team
From the spot boy to the director, no matter how big or small the role, it´s equally important. It´s the team that pumps blood into the project.
Also, special attention should also be given to the food, as that keeps the engine running. After all, “the army marches well on a full stomach.”

3. Actors
Actors are the face of the film. They bring the characters to life, and so a good selection of actors is paramount as it’s their performances that carry a film.

2. Story/screenplay
It´s been proven time and again that a film can hold as much as the weight of the story. If the storyline is weak, then at some point the film is going to fall apart. It’s the backbone, really.

1. Director
The captain of the ship. The end of the food chain. The ultimate force. The buck stops here.

The tools that help you create

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:28:05 +0545

PRAJESH SJB RANA

Technology has affected art by various means as well, and no matter how different they may seem, they have started up a new revolution in art.

Art. When anyone talks about art, indistinctively the names of Dali, Picasso or Frida come to mind. We imagine brushstrokes on canvas, we imagine delicate light strokes on pictures, and we imagine curved women worked up beautifully in clay. We think of portraits, of landscapes and expressionist art.

But what if a second word is brought into the equation: Technology. We instantly think of calculators, phones and laptops. We think of results and of logical reasoning. Technology has affected art by various means as well, and no matter how different they may seem, they have started up a new revolution in art.

There are newer forms of art, always adorning the Windows on the Internet. People have started mixing traditional forms of art with technology to create newer styles. There are people making electronic music with nothing less than a MacBook. Websites have also started adopting artistic designs. An example would be the Vimeo.com design. Photos are edited with powerful software, and newspaper designs worked up on the screen. New hardware have also graced the peripherals of an artist’s computer, like the Wacom Tablets, that enable an artist to sketch directly on the computer.

Technology has come a long way in helping push art into the modern age, and if you want a taste of these new forms of art, a quick visit of DeviantArt (deviantart.com), should suffice.

There are very talented artists on Internet and some of them should inspire you to work on your own. Don’t worry, though: your computer will help you with your masterpiece.

Today, art is mostly created on the computer behind a screen, so we want to cover up some tools that should help artists of all kinds.

Color Scheme Designer (colorschemedesigner.com):
It’s a very user-friendly color tool. It helps you find that exact shade of a specific color you’re looking for, or it also has the capability of suggesting color tones based on various color theories. Another handy feature about this website it that it also generates light and dark schemed previews for a website design using the colors you selected. It’s easy to use and conveniently provides you the hex color codes on mouse hover.

Background Patterns (bgpatterns.com):
If you work with computer graphics of any kind, it’s almost evident that you’ll need access to some form of pattern that has the capability of seamlessly repeating. One great sight for this very purpose is bgpatterns.com. It has a set of patterns which you can edit and mold it in your own way.

Online Photoshop Editor (onlinephotoshopeditor.com):
A photographer will almost always need Photoshop for post-production, but in a situation where a copy of Photoshop is impossible to find, there’s an online tool that will work just fine. The Online Photoshop Editor provides you with the functionality of Photoshop within the confines of your web browser. It comes with all the basic features of Photoshop and can act as a very well equipped Photoshop replacement.

DeviantArtMuro (muro.deviantart.com):
For artists who specialize in painting and sketching digitally, DeviantArt’s online illustration application, Muro, is the best. It offers various forms of brushstrokes and painting tools. With a great and easy to use interface, it makes sketching digitally a breeze, and if you’re willing to fork up some American Dollars, you can get access to a lot more features and styles.

Scrivener (Application):
Finding an appropriate application for writers on the Internet is almost impossible. However, a Windows application by of name of Scrivener is just the tool for writers. Created by an aspiring writer who had been having trouble keeping track of the research he had done, this application will definitely help writers because of its features, like a folder for all research, and a story outline manager. It also comes with a great looking corkboard for those tiny notes and a full-screen writer that blurs out all unnecessary distractions on your screen.

There are plenty of other tools as well that can help any kind of professional and amateur artists alike. There are great art communities as well, and lot of websites that tutor and inspire. The Internet has turned into a large resource art, among a lot of other things. It has also made it easier for artists to get international recognition and sell their art online through various art communities. Some of the websites that designers and artists alike need to keep an eye out for would probably be deviantart.com for artists, 1x.com, and 500px.com for photographers and abduzeedo.com for designers. If you are more of a movie man, vimeo.com has a lot of well-directed and designed short films.

The tools are there for you to choose from and start up your own form of creativity. Get inspired, get planning, and get working.

The writer is The Week’s much loved tech guru. Email us your tech queries at theweek@myrepublica.com and we’ll have him answer them for you.

Civil obedience: Any takers?

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:31:09 +0545

AMENDRA POKHREL

Does moral pressure still work in our society?
Neighbors, teachers and even fathers rape young girls, doctors fleece patients, politicians and government officials misuse power to enrich themselves, police protect those who fill their pockets, businessmen cheat state coffers, and journalists thrive in this vitiated climate.

Of course, not all are bad, but the few who are, it seems, have managed to sideline and dominate the morally upright.

By and large, all of us are full of flaws, and the moral pressure acts as an unseen fetter that restrains our fallacious instincts from jeopardizing social harmony.
A simple experience last year gave me some hope of how folks like you and I can put moral pressure on errant people, and through its consistent and widespread use bring back our society from the path down a slippery slope of moral degradation.

A few days ahead of the last Dashain, people were queuing up in front of a government trailer loaded with subsidized rations, waiting for their turn. But the policeman who was standing on the trailer to keep the crowd under control was taking money from the sides and giving away stuffs to those who thought “only foolish stand on queues.”

Bijay Gajmer/The Week File Photo

So just to remind the officer-on-duty why he was there, I lined up at the end, and just as the guy who was breaching the line handed money to the policeman again, I approached him and said, “What’s going on? Aren’t you doing exactly the thing you’re supposed to stop? There are people waiting in line for more than half an hour while you’re letting some people get away with goods without them having to stay in line.”
The policeman timidly replied, “He’s our staff.”

I said, “Well, if he’s your staff, have the goods delivered at his home. Isn’t this trailer meant for common folks?”

As he tried to brush me off by saying something I don’t clearly remember, the other people in the queue began making noises. The smart guy who didn’t stand in queue backed off and the police grudgingly desisted from misusing his authority after that.

It was a simple change that took place in a very small setting. But I see no reason why it can’t be replicated to larger and more important settings like, let’s say, a government department or even a Ministry.

I could take on the policeman because I was on the right side of the law. And that’s what civil obedience is all about: empowering ourselves by remaining lawful and morally straight.

Last year, after the new government took over, there were accusations that some of the new ministers openly demanded huge bribes from government officials and secretaries if they wanted to get transferred to or continue in lucrative postings.

The ministers could do so because the way our system works, it’s easy to assume that those who are in plum postings themselves might have used connections or bribes to be there in the first place. If every official in a government department is morally upright, would even a minister dare run roughshod over them?

People who break rules draw strength from other people’s moral weaknesses because the one who loses moral ground also loses the ability to question.

Nobody likes to be seen as immoral at a place where morality rules and nothing works like moral pressure. The ultimate goal of civil obedience should be to have more people on the side that respects the law and abides by written as well as unwritten civil and moral codes.

While there will always be some exceptions, when it comes to obeying rules, nine out of ten people do what others do. For example, I’ve found that if you stop your motorbike when traffic signal goes red just when you’re about to cross it, nine out of ten times those behind you are likely to hit the brakes. By the same token, most people are likely to drive on if you did so.

This fight can be won only if those who want a fair and just society take a vow never to breach civil and moral codes, pushing the violators into a minority and slowly and gradually into insignificance.

The writer is a copy editor at Republica.
amendrapokharel@gmail.com

Reflections on life

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:30:38 +0545

MADHAV ACHARYA

“My Tryst with Writing,” a memoir, is a collection of random reflections on my career in journalism, memories and perceptions of my grandfather Baburam Acharya, the eminent historian of Nepal, and many other aspects surrounding my life.

I’m not a prodigious writer, so I haven’t written any other books. This is my first attempt. My writings were basically published in the media, particularly for radio broadcasts, newspapers, newswires along with my various contributions to journals and publications.

“My Tryst with Writing,” a memoir, is a collection of random reflections on my career in journalism, memories and perceptions of my grandfather Baburam Acharya, the eminent historian of Nepal, and many other aspects surrounding my life. I really wanted to write about my grandfather since his contributions have been worth appreciation. He authored as many as eight books even during difficult times. The books were about history, geography, culture and literature of Nepal, and he also wrote over 125 research-based articles. His main contribution, however, was finding the Nepali name of Mouth Everest: Sagarmatha.

He was a great inspiration to me when it came to writing, and he really wished to see his family members take a break from family tradition of teaching and explore their writing skills.

I think that every person has a story to tell, and I have always been a passionate reader of books, so much so that I read any book that I can lay my hands on. As long as I remember, I have always loved writing as well, and this memoir is a reflection of my childhood nostalgia, my adventures, professional achievements and some extraordinary experiences that I wanted to share.

I have also written about my experience of taking up golf as a hobby and how I later became the chief executive of the Royal Nepal Golf Club, which was one of the country’s most prestigious golfing greens at that time. My reflections are my journeys from the 20th to the 21st century on how Nepal witnessed a break in the tradition of monarchy and also endured the Maoist insurgency for a decade. But these are just a few areas that book has touched. The book is also a sheer reflection on my experience in journalism for over three decades, and about my personal life which I wanted to share with my friends and readers.

About Acharya
Acharya worked in journalism for more than 30 years and he started his craft at Radio Nepal in the early 1970s. He later worked as executive editor at Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS). He was also the foreign correspondent based in Nepal for the Kyodo News Agency of Japan from 1978 and his area of coverage was Kathmandu, Bhutan and Tibet. He was the first one to report on the Royal Palace Massacre from Nepal to the Kyodo News Service.

“I come from the old school and started my education in Sanskrit and picked up English in my later years. Basically, I’m a self-taught person and am still in the process of learning,” says Acharya.

He thinks that journalism wasn’t as glamorous back then as it now is, with the introduction of television and the Internet. For someone who has reported many stories as part of his career, he has also written many short stories and poems in his leisure.

Acharya is currently working on a book project pertaining to his grandfather, Baburam Acharya, and he has already translated a book which is due to be published soon by Penguin Books India. He’s also translating a 300-page book of his grandfather about the trade wars, or Nepal’s war with Tibet and China.
He is also thinking of writing a book about his friends.

“Reading and writing are the only light available to us for a better life, and thus the two are crucial aspects of our lives,” says Acharya.

Acharya’s picks

Never Give In by Winston S Churchill
This is a collection of speeches by Winston Churchill, the British politician and prime minister who led the United Kingdom during the Second World War. When it comes to English prose, the writing of Churchill, Winston’s grandson, is inspiring. The author has written many articles, and he edited this compilation of his grandfather’s famous speeches. He’s inspiring to me as he has influenced me in my thought process and writing. This book is one of my favorites and I go through it time and again.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
I love reading biographies, and this is one of my favorites, which is why I recommend it as a must-read. The book is inspiring in many ways. Firstly, the journey of Steve Jobs itself is inspiring, and the way it’s been projected is praiseworthy. The contents of the book are interesting and the way it’s been written is really commendable, as Isaacson has done it in such a dramatic way. The way he has unfolded Jobs’ story and taken breaks while he follows to the next chapter is gripping. The author is an eminent biographer and he has written biographies of many noted personalities as well.

The New Asian Hemisphere by Kishore Mahbubani
Mahbubani is a former Singaporean diplomat and a notable academic. I admire this book for the kind of perspectives that the author has presented. His current viewpoint is that the world’s focus and economy, politics and other things are shifting gradually from Europe to Asia and that the future now belongs to Asia. His analysis is creditable and I find it convincing as well.

Teen Ghumti by Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala
Koirala is a great storyteller and he has authored many books which I admire. He was one of the most well-read and thoughtful writers of Nepali literature who wrote short stories, novels, and poems. “Teen Ghumti” is a novel about an individual’s life where he takes three important decisions in his life which could make or break his life. The story is interesting, and no matter how much I praise Koirala, it will be less.

Acharya’s Favorite Preface to ‘Sirishko Phool’ by Shankar Lamichhane
It’s hard to pick one favorite book of his because every single book is spellbinding and well written. Lamichhane is considered as Nepal’s prominent prose writer and he has proven that Nepali language and literature can be as rich as any other languages. He had written the preface to Parijat’s most famous novel “Shirishko Phool.” I’ve read that novel more than twelve times as I really like it; but I found Lamichhane’s preface more interesting than the novel itself.

As told to Nistha Rayamajhi

Anna: On the page

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:30:09 +0545

ABHA ELI PHOBOO

The 2012 film version of Anna Karenina is beautiful: The theatrical sequences, stunning production designs, Jude Law’s acting, and Keira Knightley’s luminous portrayal of Anna. Joe Wright, the director, and Tom Stoppard, the screenplay writer, have made magic in many ways.

The problem is that they are dealing with a classic, one of Leo Tolstoy’s masterpieces, and you cannot shortchange the subject of a masterpiece, especially one with an opening line as famous as this: “All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

If you aren’t one of those who read books but first watch movies, then I beg you to set aside time to read Tolstoy’s anyway. It may not be an easy task – set aside a year, perhaps even two – but read it. The narrative may be slow in places, even tedious (Tolstoy would have been heavily edited if he had been trying to publish in this age) but in the patience of his pacing lies his skill.

Why read the book when you can watch the movie? Why read a book at all when there are thirteen movies made on the subject? Yes, the novel is rather thick. But it is more than that. None of the movies has been able to quite capture Tolstoy in its entirety, and moviemakers have always wanted to rise up to the challenge.

The advantage that the written word has, and the challenge that a screenplay writer faces, is that through writing, one enters into the head of a character and journeys through his thoughts. On screen, this is difficult to do. Tolstoy, like most Russian masters, did not just write a story, he wrote an experiment, explored the human mind, its response to situation, especially in society. The tiny changes are what make the book.

The 2012 movie disregards many of these changes for the faster-paced, flamboyant portrayal. Wright’s film discards the gravity with which Tolstoy handles his subject in favor of beautiful, theatricality.

There is nothing wrong with theatricality. There is nothing wrong with beauty. But both need some kind of substance to develop meaning. A film adaptation that is only a summary, no matter how beautifully it is done, remains only that – a summary. Beauty does not lie in breathtaking images but also in difficult, everyday truths.

Tolstoy’s novel is a classic not because of the frame of the story but because of everything else that makes up the frame. It is not just about Anna, but also about Levin, about the parallel relationship of both characters. It is not just about a woman who leaves her husband for her lover but also about her husband, her lover, and the people in the crumbling Imperial Russian society. It is about the anguish a person goes through when faced with difficult choices, about the hard life of the peasants, the challenges of a country person as opposed to that of a society person in Moscow or St. Petersburg.

The book starts with Anna Karenina trying to prevent her sister-in-law seeking a divorce, and ends with Anna herself trying to get one from her husband. She begins the story with a train journey as the wife of Alexey Alexandrovitch, but ends her life under a train, unable to become the wife of Alexei Vronsky.

But these are only bookends that mark the points from beginning to end. In between are small turns that take Anna away from who she was, who she thought she would be to who she becomes. The characters in the supporting role provoke her into making her choices, especially toward the end, when she meets Kitty. These seemingly small moments have been sacrificed on screen.

What is perhaps most beautiful about Tolstoy’s writing is that it is not just about beauty, but also about things that are ugly. It is not just about pretty things but also about some ugly, petty things. He does not gloss over. He stays, takes the time to pick things apart, and sometimes even explains the picking process. But in Wright’s film, everything appears glossed over, and beauty is consistently manipulated.

Wright’s movie is an audacious venture, especially since Tolstoy himself did not think much of theater. Also, Anna Karenina has already been made into films so many times that to do one again, one needs new ideas. However, to sacrifice the soul of the subject might not be the answer to the challenge. We have technology to make the world appear beautiful at our disposal but that will not beautify the world. One cannot depend on style for subject. The world is beautiful because of its flaws, just as subjects are most beautiful when flawed. Goodness doesn’t come from beauty alone. In Tolstoy’s own words: “It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.”

Alternative cardiovascular activities in summer

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:29:41 +0545

THE WEEK BUREAU

Weekends give you breaks from the busy schedules and tiring work. And thus, all you can think during weekends is to sit back, unwind and refrain from any stress. For some, weekends are the perfect excuse to refrain even from their fitness activity. But instead of shying away from exercises, wouldn’t it be a smart choice to incorporate fun, relaxation and exercises during the weekend to make you feel refreshed as well as healthy?

Cardiovascular exercises are regarded as boring and tedious, but experts say that if you fail to work on the cardio, there are less chances of successful fitness routine. Apart from weight loss, cardio exercises are credited for increased heart and lungs activity, increase in bone density and reduction of stress.

Regardless of its many benefits, if you’re ignoring cardio exercises because you think that they lack variety and fun, then The Week is here to help you find out that cardio actually can be fun as well as enjoyable.

Keshab Thoker

Many say that there is no “right” cardio exercise, but you should definitely choose the one that you enjoy the most. Though you may not be able to incorporate your favorite in daily routine, you can always make up during the weekends.

Swimming
The more body parts you involve in your workout, the more calories you’ll burn. Swimming, in that case, can be an ideal choice, as it requires a full-body exercise. It’s said that swimming at a steady pace can utilize up to 400 calories per hour. While swimming, one is required to use both upper and lower body parts, maintaining a rigid core throughout the activity. In addition, due to resistance offered by water, you are also required to work harder to push the body at an enhancing body strength and endurance. To top it off, watching yourself frequently in swimwear will help you check on your weight and the extra bulges you need to work on.

Hiking
Walking in natural environment, accompanied by friends and families doesn’t even sound like a fitness idea. But hiking is one of the best ideas to combine your efforts to stay fit while having fun at the same time. For starters, hiking helps strengthen the muscles in your legs as you walk through uneven terrains. Unlike running, walking or hiking doesn’t put a lot of stress on the knees or feet. This is also ideal for someone who is advised to refrain from stressful exercises, as hiking exerts minimum strains on the body.

Futsal
Any outdoors sports can be a refreshing change to a daily fitness routine. But you may not get an appropriate space for many of the sports, and even if you do, it may get way high from your budget. In that case, the new trend of futsal is what you should check out. The indoors version of football with smaller pitch and five members in each team, futsal can be a great way to perform cardio exercises as well as test your fitness level during the game. Opting for futsal at least once a week will give you chance to check on your speed, agility and endurance, and likewise give you motivation to improve on your daily cardio exercises.

Cycling
Cycling is a great way to burn calories, whether indoors or outdoors. It’s regarded as one of the improved cardiovascular fitness regimen, and is credited for decreasing the risk of coronary heart disease. Improved mental health, increase life-years and strengthening one’s immune system are some of the many advantages of cycling. Stationary bicycles are also equally beneficial, but why not enjoy traveling while you’re cycling at the same time? It can be a great family activity or a social activity with your friends cycling to a nature friendly destination. This way, you can also relax and enjoy your weekend as well as keep a tab on your health.

Dancing
If the last time you let yourself loose and moved your body to the loud music was in your friend’s wedding or some music festival, then you need to realize that dancing can be more than a social activity. Except for professionals, one only wishes to dance if one is in a good mood, and even though you aren’t feeling your best at times, dance can surely lift up your spirits. And in addition to that, dancing can also be a great fitness routine to lose weight while done in conjunction with an aerobic workout. Increments in flexibility, improvement in body balance and bone strength are some of the benefits of dancing.

The Phulchowki hilltop

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:28:48 +0545

THE WEEK BUREAU

Phulchowki is the highest hill surrounding the Kathmandu Valley to the south. It’s famous for the richness of flora and fauna through the trail leading to the top. Home to varieties of birds in the Godavari-Phulchowki hike area, this trail is also commonly known as the bird watching trail in Nepal.

Getting there
You can take a private car or choose to take a public microbus from Ratna Park to Lagankhel. From Lagankhel, you have to take another public vehicle to Godavari. It takes around 45 minutes in private vehicle while public vehicles may take more than an hour to reach Godavari.

Bare essentials
A day bag
Water bottle
Sunglasses
Sun-block cream
Hat/cap
Reasonable walking shoes
Light warm jacket
Windcheater
Light snacks
An extra pair of clothes

Hike level
This is an easy to moderate hike. But the trek can be a bit demanding at times due to steep uphill and downhill inclines at certain places.
The hike starts from Godavari; from there, it takes around four hours of uphill walk to get to the hilltop of Phulchowki. You can also visit Godavari Botanical Garden which offers a fascinating collection of different vegetation and a greenery space to relax before and after the long hike.

Hike highlights
The hike to Phulchowki offers an unforgettable experience of the rural life inside the Kathmandu Valley. The hill is abundant in rhododendron flowers and oak trees and several species of orchids and colorful birds and butterflies. Wildlife like leopard, barking deer, Himalayan langur, and common races of monkeys are also said to inhabit in the forests.

The hilltop is considered a paradise for bird watchers. During winter or early spring, one can enjoy panoramic views of Himalayan mountains.
The shrine of Phulchowki Mai, the guardian goddess of the forest, marks the summit of the hill. It’s the only place in the vicinity of Kathmandu to experience snowfall in winter.

Weather
Generally, the weather is chilly around the hilltop. The ideal time for the hiking to Phulchowki is either from mid-February to April or mid-October to December. And if you want a rare experience of snowfall around the Kathmandu Valley, then you should visit the hilltop during January or February.

Information courtesy
socialtours, Tridevi Marg, Thamel
For details: call 4412508, or email at info@socialtours.com

Opulent dining rooms

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:22:41 +0545

THE WEEK BUREAU

You can breathe new life into your dining room with simple decor changes. Add a mirror to make the room appear larger, or overhaul the entire room with some new furniture. Add a wall of windows to shed light on family dinners or install low-hanging chandeliers for delicate ambience.

For many, a dining room is probably pulling double (or maybe triple) duty. It might be where you work, a place where laundry is folded and groceries are stacked. Besides all these, it’s also the place where family and friends come together to share meals together.

So make it a place you would like it to be. The dining room is mostly functional but that doesn’t mean it can’t look good, too. Several factors should come into play initially as you begin to plan the room. These factors are style, color, and function, from contemporary to classical.

You can breathe new life into your dining room with simple decor changes. Add a mirror to make the room appear larger, or overhaul the entire room with some new furniture. Add a wall of windows to shed light on family dinners or install low-hanging chandeliers for delicate ambience.

Photo Courtesy: Arjun Shah

Eye-catching chandeliers are the hallmark of a well-designed dining room. You can even opt to modernize your dining room with industrial-style lighting and balancing their streamlined look by combining the lighting with natural furnishings, like wood tables and wicker chairs. There’s so much you can do, really.

The Week presents you some ideas that might inspire you the next time when you decide to redecorate your dining room.

Get the basics right; set the ambience
Place a carefully chosen artwork or something that holds special meaning to you, like a framed collage or family portrait at the center of the wall opposite to dining table. Add interest and pattern to your walls with a striped paint treatment or use stencils to create patterns. A simple makeover can take your dining room walls from boring to beautiful. Find something that’s uniquely you and personalize the space. Greenery or branches add a touch of the outdoors. There’s nothing like bringing the outdoors in to remind you that you’re snug and cozy inside.

Paint what you can’t replace
Maybe your dining room could use a little extra pizzazz. But you don’t want to buy new furniture. All you need is a little paint and a little bit of time. If you already own a matching set of chairs but want to inject a little color into the proceedings, why not paint them all different colors? Conversely, painting a bunch of dissimilar chairs the same color is a great way to achieve cohesiveness, and put the focus on the shapes of the different chairs. This is a great budget option. Since you don’t have to find a matched set of chairs, you can gather chairs from all over and make them a matched set.

Invest in an elegant dining table set for the centerpiece
Glass-topped tables look exquisite and elegant. A sturdy wooden one is more forgiving of stains and will last a lifetime if taken care of properly. While wooden tables are still the most readily available, tables in more unusual materials are increasingly popular and can really set the tone for a dramatic dining space. You can also place the dining table close to the window so that the views can be admired. At the same time, you can update boring old chairs using slipcovers and change the look of any upholstered chair. For added sophistication, have slipcovers made with your monogram, or use interesting patterned material. You can also add some fabric to the tabletop. Covering bare surfaces helps add warmth to your table.

Display beautiful cutlery and glassware
When it comes to setting your dining table, sometimes simple is best. Keeping classics on hand ensure a clean, chic, timeless table, regardless of the season or holiday. Neutral colors and natural materials always look great solo, together, or mixed in with special occasion wares. Invest in some chic serving bowls. They quickly dress up a dining table, plus they double as décor when not holding dinner. You can also make a style statement by displaying a favorite collection of dishes in glass cabinets or open shelves.

Focus on the details
When buying everyday objects, it’s incredibly easy to overlook the small stuff. But sometimes, it’s that small stuff that can bring the greatest doses of joy and character to a home. Interesting dining table accessories, like salt and pepper shakers, napkin holders and table mats, could add a little bit of zing to your space with their hyper-functional and hyper-fun designs. Even small accessories, like coasters, can have a big impact on the cohesiveness and personality of a room. Add some whimsy and show off your personality through knickknacks.

Alice in Kathmandu-land: Spin-off of traditional tastes

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 16:22:15 +0545

ASMITA MANANDHAR

Unlike the rising trend of establishing restaurants in busy marketplaces or in restaurant colonies of Jhamsikhel or Thamel, Alice Restaurant is set in a moderately off location. Located midway between Gairidhara and Baluwatar, just opposite to Sann International College, the first-timers have high probability of missing the lane that leads to the restaurant. But once you get to the place, you’ll be thankful for the perfect place for a dinner with family.

The ambience of the restaurant is basic yet elegant. The small waterspout right at the entrance and a small Japanese-style garden on the first floor give the feeling of visiting a small resort on the outskirts of town. The polite and friendly staffs have a calming effect even before you sit down for dinner.

Alice is certainly not dramatic in décor but the sparkling clean space will certainly make a good first impression. The variation in sitting arrangements will also strike you during your very first visit.

With low chairs and tables, the seating arrangements are spacious and comfortable. One can choose from indoors, terrace, semi-indoors to private family rooms. Standing true to its slogan, “A place for family,” the restaurant also has a playroom for kids and a nanny to take care of them. Though the children’s room is on the ground floor, it’s so interestingly constructed that parents can keep an eye on them even from the first-floor balcony.

But no matter how good the ambiance, it’s the food that’ll decide a restaurant’s credentials. The menu, to start off with, doesn’t disappoint at all. It features a large range of varieties from Thakali, Continental, Japanese, Italian, and Chinese cuisines. You’ll be surprised by the number of snacks offered by the restaurant. From traditional appetizers like Ragatko Sausage to Japanese-style okra salad, they also offer regular continental snacks. And if you aren’t in the mood to experiment with the meal, then you can also choose other familiar Nepali snacks.

The Week, on its part, recommends Alice’s special Baby Corn Chili for starters. The vegetarian snack has a unique but somehow familiar taste to it, a bit of spicy ingredients added to crunchy baby corns, making you go for every piece on the plate.

There’s nothing extraordinary in the Baby Corn Chili but it’s certainly different from other baby corn dishes. Alice seems to have a lot of such twists in their dishes: buckwheat and spinach momos being other instances. The Thakali set, a popular combo among Nepalis, is also worth a mention for its finery in appearance and tastes.

But it’s the momos that takes the spotlight. Buckwheat momos can also be a guilt-free dish for diabetic patients. Likewise, the Thakali Set offers an array of traditional dishes; however, you can choose over the regular set or ask for buckwheat bread or Dhindo or Usina Rice instead. Even though these aren’t your favorite dishes, you should nevertheless give them a try because at Alice, they definitely taste better.

You can also order Sabasiyoyaki, a Japanese sea fish for a side dish and combine the local and international tastes in your meal.

The foods are extraordinary and you can pick on any dish from the menu even if you’re unfamiliar with them. The well-informed waiters will always be there to help you with your choices. The service is also very neat for dinner; but if you visiting the place for lunch, be prepared for a moderately slow service.

And if you want to end your meal with something sweet, then you can be a little disappointed for Alice certainly lags behind on desserts. The menu does offer cakes and ice-creams, but if you’re a lover of fine desserts after a delicious meal, then the place can be a big letdown.

Apart from that, the prices for all the dishes are quite moderate, with quantities enough for two people. The prices for the drinks, too, follow suit. Unlike in many restaurants, the prices for the liquor here aren’t outrageous. But if you prefer fancy drinks, then there are very few the bar can serve you with.

If you’re with the kids, they’ll certainly vote for it for the family’s next eating out. It’s ideal for family gatherings and business meetings, with the varieties of foods that are tailored to serve people of different ages and tastes.

The place is one of its own and is certainly a place for family. It serves you with pure delightful foods and has a good ambience for groups. If your family enjoys loud conversations and roars of laughter instead of live band or music at the backdrop, then it’s just the right place to be.

Fast facts
• Opening hours: 12 noon to 10 pm
• Budget: Rs 1,500-2,000 for a dinner for two
• Parking: Complimentary
• Call 01-4429207

Girl children's beauty Pageants

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:28:15 +0545

ASMITA MANANDHAR

Amidst a huge media speculation and a grand ceremony, this year’s Miss Nepal will be announced in less than a week. People attending the event or watching the live feed on their television sets will scrutinize each participant. While the beauties flaunt themselves on the stage, twelve years old Sumi Gamal will be watching their every move, making some mental notes and trying to copy their poses.

“I’m looking forward to participate in these contests after I reach the appropriate age,” says Sumi, the winner of Miss Little Lady 2012 beauty pageant organized by Kathmandu Jaycees.

Sumi participated in the pageant after her teachers at the school encouraged her. It was through her that her mother, Mina Gamal, came to know about the existence of such a pageant and agreed on her daughter’s participation.

“When she said that she wanted to participate, I decided to support her as I thought such events could boost up her confidence,” she says. And she’s quite happy with the outcome, adds the proud mother, with Sumi not only having been declared the winner but also coming out more self-assured and outspoken after the contest.

Miss Little Lady pageant has been organized in Nepal since 1988 which calls for participation of young girls aged eight to 11. But in recent days, apart from Miss Little Lady organized by Kathmandu Jaycees, there are many other similar contests held: Little Miss World, Little Lady Capital, and Little Star, to name just a few.

The rise in the number of beauty pageants targeted for kids signify that the popularity of such events is increasing in the capital. Schools and parents are seen to have taken a liking for these kinds of events and some schools even boast the participation of their students in such beauty pageants in their websites and brochures.

“We were able to continue this pageant because parents and schools showed their interest in the event,” says Suman Maharjan, Vice President of Kathmandu Jaycees. “These contests help the kids realize their potential as these are extracurricular activities. In Miss Little Lady pageant, the selected participants are not only trained to present themselves on the stage but are also groomed on personality development and leadership skills by the past presidents of Kathmandu Jaycees,” he adds.

Psychologist Rena Shrestha, however, begs to differ. “In their growing and development period, kids have very little idea of what they are doing, and the social pressures and parental expectations to excel in everything can be stressful for a child,” she says, adding, “While some kids can take competition well, others may not.”
She further states that such exposure to the importance of success and limelight may create personality crises in some kids. “They are expected to act in a certain way in public when they can have totally opposing personality. When they are conscious about people judging the way they behave, it can lead to pent-up anger and frustration as they grow up,” she says.

Though beauty contests for kids are a growing worldwide phenomenon, these events are also drawing global criticisms. Beauty contests are criticized on the grounds that these events emphasize young girls to follow certain appearance standards and give them the message that looking pretty is of utmost importance. Critics further add that these kinds of beauty contests can have negative impacts on children as they are taught to appear “sexy” from a very young age.

Gamal, however, disagrees that Miss Little Lady was focused on only beauty and appearance. “The Little Lady pageant was less focused on appearance and more on personality building and talents,” she says.

Nisma Tamrakar, mother of 11-year-old Najejda Tamrakar, 1st runner-up at the same pageant, agrees with Gamal. But unlike in Gamal’s case where her daughter wanted to participate on her own, it was Tamrakar herself who took the initiative to get her daughter to participate in the competition.

“I believe that these kinds of competition are necessary for a child’s overall development. So, when I found out that the pageant was taking place, I got my daughter to participate in order to expose her talents,” Nishma says.

But even though such pageants help in a child’s development, it’s carried out in a very competitive environment. The participating children, in addition, have to go through a 20-day or month-long training before the finale, which requires them to spend their time after school, rehearsing for the contest.

This almost always takes a toll on children due to the hectic schedule, as they are required to attend extra hours of grooming apart from their school hours and homework later in the evening.

The organizers, on the other hand, refuse to be held accountable for such claims and criticisms. “Hard work is a must if you want to win. It’s the same with this event as well. The kids need to put in extra efforts if they want to stand out,” says Maharjan of Kathmandu Jaycees.

Raju Khadgi, program director of yet another similar beauty pageant, Little Lady Capital, claims that they organize the event taking care of such situations. “We basically organize the event during the time when schools generally have winter vacation. The event is usually organized to utilize such children’s free time so that they can learn something different while they take break from their studies,” he says.

But it isn’t as easy for the kids. The organizers provide no facility for transportation to and from the training venue which requires schools or parents to manage transportation for their kids. Tamrakar says that during the training course, she had to take leave from her work many times to pick up her daughter. She also agrees that her child had some stressful moments during the training period as she had to juggle between her study and competition.

“But it was all worthwhile. She learnt many things about confidence, determination and success,” says Tamrakar. Apart from beauty contests, she also lets her child compete in other events, such as handwriting and art competitions.

“She’s a very intelligent child and I want her to realize her potential as soon as she can. There’s heavy competition these days and I want her to be ready to face anything,” she says.

Tamrakar’s statement voices the opinions of many parents like her. From playgroup, parents rush to expose their kids to the world outside their home. With interaction and integration of children in playgroups and kindergartens, a community of their own, urban kids of every age today has raised the aptitude bar, and in addition, they are put in an environment where they are expected to outdo the other. And to top it off, beauty pageants set them up with adult accessories and guide them to act like one.

“Children of those age groups are definitely not in the stage to decide for their own good. So, it’s basically the parents’ call, whether or not they want their kids to participate in beauty pageants,” says woman activist Sapana Pradhan Malla. She also adds that it’s better to let children participate in other creative activities than beauty contests. (See interview)

Many, like Sumi, have succeeded, as children want to participate in beauty contests as they grow up. The success that they have acquired persuades them to be loyal consumers of the hyped definition of beauty fed by the growing celebrity culture. At 12, Sumi believes that she’s good with makeup, excited about current fashion and enjoys dressing up.

“(But) I think that there should a certain age bar set to be able to participate in beauty contests when the participants themselves can decide on whether they should participate or not,” Malla says. She also adds that kids are prone to manipulation and brainwashing, and exposing them to beauty contests can make them vulnerable to commercial and consumerist culture.

Though these contests may help girl children realize important life skills such as determination and presence of mind, these can also strip the kids off their childhood experience and force them to act as adults. As they learn to pose and pout and are subjected to scrutiny for the same, there are high chances that they measure their self-worth by how pretty they are. While confidence boost and self-assurance are positive points, extreme self-love and narcissism can be equally harmful for the kids.

The downsides of beauty pageants

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:27:50 +0545

THE WEEK BUREAU

Beauty pageants have been gaining a lot of popularity in Nepal with different contests being organized and held every year. Apart from pageants focused on the youth, girl children’s beauty pageants are also becoming a rage of sorts.

The Week talked to lawyer and women’s rights activist Sapana Pradhan Malla regarding the downside of beauty pageants that are organized exclusively for girl children.

The Week File Photo

Do you think beauty pageants for girl children are necessary?
I don’t find it necessary for girl children to focus on their beauty and looks at a tender age. Rather than just focusing on how to do catwalks and apply makeup, girl children should be involved in intellectual activities. Girl children participating at such pageants at times don’t even know what they’re getting involved in. So it’s important to have their better interests at heart. Competition as such is alright but it’s not right to encourage the girl child to think that such pageants should be taken up as career. Beauty pageants will make girl children more conscious about style from an early age when we should in fact focus on their physical and mental development. I believe that such pageants may spread the message that looking pretty is a goal that must be obtained by any means.

What kind of impact do you think such pageants have on young minds?
Introducing children to the world of glitz and glamour also means that we’re inviting feelings that give looks the first priority. I think that such pageants focus on the commoditization of children and may develop feelings of adulthood from early on as they become more conscious of their appearance. Many kids become precocious as a result and behave older than they are. This kind of attitude from an early age may hinder their natural physical and mental growth.

What can be the alternatives to such pageants?
I support the idea that rather than beauty pageants, children should be allowed to focus on exploring various creative opportunities that are offered at their schools. After reaching a certain age, they can definitely choose to participate in any beauty competitions. But from a very young age, they should be guided to focus on activities that enhance their wellbeing and overall growth. There are many activities, like debates, sports, cultural and talent competitions in schools where children get to express their creativity. So it should rather be that way than just focusing on enhancing their beauty.

Why is it necessary to encourage girl children to focus on creative activities rather than attract them to the glamour world?
If girl children are made to participate in such glamour competitions, they will be focused to only a limited world. At an age when they should be paying attention to their studies and school activities, their concentration may be diverted to something else. By being exposed to the world of beauty and glamour, they may grow up thinking that beauty is the most important thing, and in the process may become someone else and lose their uniqueness. So I think that we should focus on developing the personality of the girl child so that she grows to become a confident person and can also choose her interests wisely in the future.

The Living Dolls: Children should play not pose and pout!

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:26:05 +0545

CILLA KHATRY

After hours of being primped and preened and with faces done up with cakes of foundation, eyes lined with dark kohl and pouty lips with bright lipstick, the contestants of child beauty pageants walk the ramp looking like mini versions of glamorous models. In a country increasingly enamored with beauty and image consciousness, beauty pageants have been on a steady rise, and lately, it seems even children haven’t been spared. The displays of prepubescent glamour have become a global phenomenon.

Beauty pageants started in Canada in 1921, when a hotel owner came up with the idea to boost tourism. However, by then, the “Most Beautiful Child” contests were already being held in major cities across the country. The Little Miss America pageant began in the 1960s and after that the trend of child beauty pageants slowly but steady took over the world. Today, it stands as a most lucrative business.

Nepal has been organizing child beauty pageants since 1988 with the initiation of “Miss Little Lady” and ever since then such pageants have risen exponentially with many similar contests being organized every year. But there’s something about the sight of a ten-year-old girl made up to look like an overly enthusiastic beauty queen double her age that makes most people cringe.

Moreover, the child beauty pageants focus on aesthetics and external attributes enforcing the message that physical appearance is of paramount importance from an early age. Not only are such pageants exploitative, they pressurize children to adopt sexualized adult mannerisms they don’t really understand.
Pageants, in general, are often criticized for ranking women like prize horses and creating a potentially unattainable ideal beauty; and child beauty pageants, in particular, have always been generating heated debates.

In a paper published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Martina M. Cartwright, Ph.D., a registered dietician and Adjunct Professor in the University of Arizona’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, writes that participation in such pageants can be harmful to the children’s health and self esteem.

While some believe that children should not be allowed to parade in clothes and makeup that are not age-appropriate, others claim that it boosts confidence and self esteem. Critics have often claimed that parents are living vicariously through their kids by enrolling them in pageants while many parents believe that giving their children the platform helps them overcome shyness and build better personalities.

According to them, the pride of standing and modeling in front of an audience instills self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment. The child contestants have to walk the ramp to showcase their looks, poise and confidence in different types of costumes. The training program and subsequent practice sessions of a pageant are grueling. At a very young age, the child learns discipline, patience and confidence.

Despite claims from parents, who have entered their children in beauty pageants, that their children have benefited from such competitions, the industry continues to face barrage of criticism. According to a study in 2005, those who competed in beauty pageants as children were more dissatisfied with their bodies and have trust issues than those who did not participate.

What is interesting to note is that beauty pageants can also contribute to the sexualization of girls in very concrete ways at a time when they are just starting to understand their bodies. Eight to 11 years olds (the age criteria for child beauty contests in Nepal) entering the beauty contests engage in practices that are socially associated with sexiness, from putting on bright lipstick to emphasized full lips, long eyelashes and flushed cheeks to donning high heels and revealing gowns.
There is also a lot of pressure on children to perform on the stage. If the child happens to lose, frustrations might creep in. The frustration leads to depression and other psychological complications. There is also the stress of competition and the danger of undermining a child’s self-confidence, especially when she loses, if the message she receives is that how she looks is the most important aspect of who she is.

Beauty pageants stress looks, glamour and often even provocative attire. And children can easily fall into the trap of measuring their self worth by their look and become obsessed about external and superficial aspects of beauty instead of developing internal values and a love of learning.

However, organizers of child beauty pageants state that pageants should be treated like extracurricular activities, and should not interfere with academics. The conventions and connotations of child beauty pageants are derived from glamorized versions of beauty contests, and only when and if the pageants stop stressing on outward beauty and focus more on overall development will the society be able to protect its most vulnerable and precious asset – its children.

Climate changes in the Himalaya: Farmers dealing with the unknown

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:25:34 +0545

UJJWALA MAHARJAN

There’s a wedding today in Lamdihi. Women in bright red saris sing and dance to local dohori songs along the beats of madal. Almost the entire village is here, rapt in celebration. Mid-winter, though, this joyous farming village in Kavre district which contributes a bulk of vegetable supply to Kathmandu, was hit by an uncommon weather that propelled them into a state of mourning.

“The Poush 24 (January 8) frost destroyed my entire potato crop over 10 ropanis of land,” says Goma Adhikari, a Lamdihi farmer.
She describes the morning as unusually chilly.

“My front garden was white – completely covered with frost,” she recalls. “By noon, the frost had melted and then the potato plants started wilting.”
She had hoped it was just her vegetable garden, and the potato yield in her field was unharmed. Unfortunately, the news of the frost destroying the potato crops of the entire village reached her before she even had time to check her fields.

“After that, I didn’t go to the fields for three days. I couldn’t bear it,” she says. “Later, I somehow mustered up the courage to go and consoled myself that it wasn’t just me. The whole village had to go through the loss.”

Saraswati Bhetwal, 47, another local farmer and the village social worker, says this was the first time she had seen such a frost and encountered this big of a loss in potato farming.

“We’ll probably have some potatoes left but the yield won’t have grown as much and will be worth very less in the market,” says Bhetwal.

The farmers of Lamdihi and some other neighboring villages in Kavre switched to more profitable cash-crop farming over the last 10 years. Accordingly, the economic condition of the villagers has progressed over the years. The villagers are now able to better provide for their families, send their kids to good schools and support further education. But new problems have started threatening their livelihood already.

“The rainfall has been much lesser and more delayed over the past four or five years,” says Bhetwal. “There are more pests now, the water sources are drying up, reduced to almost half of its original volume and then there’s this kind of sudden frost that destroys our crops.”

Photo Courtesy: Nabin Baral
The farmers of Lamdihi are still hopeful of a better second cycle of potato crop.

Bhetwal and Adhikari farm their own family plots. The ones who are hardest hit are always poor farmers like Arjun Bhujel, working in leased lands.

“We have to pay Rs 7,000 as annual rent per ropani,” says Bhujel who farms eight ropanis of land belonging to Sabitri Adhikari of the same village, “Add to that the costs of manure, pesticides and labor, the investment adds up to more than one hundred thousand Rupees.”

Located in the Jhiku watershed area, Lamdihi previously had enough water for irrigation from the rainfall, springs and the Jhiku stream. Bhujel, whose family has been farming for generations, says that because people nowadays cannot depend on just the rainfall or the small irrigation channels, they sometimes have to use water pumps to irrigate their fields.

“The pump uses up almost Rs 300 worth of fuel per hour to irrigate half a ropani of land. That’s a lot of extra cost we need to bear.”

With all three of their sons away in Kathmandu working and barely earning for themselves, Bhujel’s family here in Lamdihi has himself as the head, his wife, a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter. And the mere amount they get out of selling vegetables is their only means to sustain themselves.

“It’s from selling potatoes that we get our bulk of earning, “says Nani Maiya Bhujel, Arjun’s wife. “So when the frost destroyed the crops, it was like we lost the ground beneath our feet.”

Still hopeful of a healthier yield in the coming three months though, they’ve started planting a second cycle of potato crops for this year.

When asked about how they would overcome the loss they’ve had with the previous planting, Nani Maiya sighs and says, “We can only pray that the second yield can lessen our burden. But we’ve already gone into debt for this year and we have to accept it.”

In drier villages of Kavre like Dadagaun, which doesn’t fall in the watershed area, it’s even more difficult to sustain farming, say locals. Fortunately for them, they hadn’t planted potato yet and the frost didn’t affect much of their other crops.

Senior climate expert at ICIMOD, Erling Val Damer, and a local farmer at Dadagaun, Buddhiman Tamang, both stress that there would be less risk of frost damage had the farmers avoided to plant the potatoes too early and stuck with the local agricultural calendar. Even traditionally, the farmers wouldn’t have started planting the potatoes before the first week of February to avoid the frosts, affirms Tamang, but nowadays that’s when farmers start preparing for the second round of potato plantation in a year.

Val Damer explains that the winter weather of the mid-hills in Nepal are subject to the influence of several dynamic climate systems, and the weather conditions they produce include variations of all kinds that happen now and again. Farmers throughout the Himalaya have learnt about these conditions over the generations and established a local agricultural calendar which he says people pay very less attention to nowadays with the availability of more crop varieties and market demands.
“A few nights’ winter frost is normal in mid-hill areas,” he says and points that the fact that there hasn’t been such a frost in Kavre for so many years may suggest in time another weather pattern change – of frost becoming a rarity.

Furthermore, the locals Dadagaon and Lamdihi have also noticed another curious event with their mango and jackfruit trees bearing fruits way earlier.
“It’s also unusual to see the peach blossoms already in full bloom at this time of the year,” says Nila Raj Regmi, Junior Technical Officer at Dadagaun. “This is almost a month and a half earlier than their usual blooming period.”

These unique events have left the farmers confused.

Experts, like Bed Mani Dahal, Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of Kathmandu University, are also baffled by the unpredictable weather trends.

“If we analyze the literature from the past, we see that the average rainfall volume of Nepal hasn’t really changed too much but the timings have changed for sure,” says Dahal. “We don’t have downscaled rainfall data and trends for particular areas but reports of lesser and erratic rainfall is common in these (Kavre and Dhulikhel) areas.”

When asked about the consequences that early blossoms and fruit bearing could have on agricultural production, Dahal points out that it definitely means the yields wouldn’t be normal, and wouldn’t grow to its full capacity. Dahal, however, is more worried about soil erosion and the use of more pesticides and chemical fertilizers in the name of commercial farming, which he says is diminishing the soil’s fertility at an alarming rate.

As climate unpredictability surrounds the weather-dependent agriculture system, coupled with less availability of water and the lure of market demands vs. the agricultural costs increasing every year, the local farmers at Lamdihi who seem to have reached the crest of their agricultural progress now face an unknown adversary.

The best and the most effective adaptation measures are still unknown to many of these farmers, let alone practiced. But for today, they are still hopeful and able to celebrate – putting out of their mind for now the losses they’ve had to incur in the past and losses they might have to face in the future.

The writer finds inspiration in people´s stories.
ujjwala.maharjan@gmail.com

Heart attack: Awareness and Preparedness

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:25:10 +0545

NISTHA RAYAMAJHI

Dr Thapa explains how high blood pressure, diabetes, over-consumption of high-calorie fatty foods, excessive drinking and smoking invite risks of heart attacks not only to people who have crossed the age of 60 but among those in their 30s or even younger are susceptible to cases of heart problems as well.

Sandesh Bajracharya, a thirty-one-year old banker based in Kathmandu, suffered from unusual heaviness and prolonged chest pain. Upon returning from work one day, he lost consciousness. Though he survived, the sudden blackout was diagnosed as a minor heart attack. At 31, Sandesh had never even imagined he would ever suffer from one.

Blaming his tedious work hours, Sandesh says that he hardly had time to engage in physical activities. Also a chain smoker and an occasional drinker, despite not having any history of family heart attacks, his doctors alerted him that it was his unhealthy lifestyle, including lack of physical activities and continuous abuse of his body with cigarette smoking that led to the stroke.

Heart attacks, for many, seem like a problem that may affect only the older generation but sudden heart problems can occur much earlier in life, says Dr Loke Bikram Thapa, Chairman of Himal Hospital.

“There are three to four types of heart attacks but the cases of attacks led by unhealthy lifestyle like excessive drinking and consuming oily foods are increasing lately,” says Thapa who is also Professor of Surgery at Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences.

While making a healthier lifestyle a part of your daily routine by eating nutritious diet, maintaining normal weight, quitting smoking and drinking can be a safe bet, you can be at a greater risk if you have a family history of heart attacks.

Dr Thapa explains that the most prevalent heart problem is congenital heart disease which is caused by birth. “When the child is in the mother’s womb, the child may inherit the disease due to the genetic link which can cause it if the mother has viral infections or diseases,” he says. The symptoms of congenital heart defects may be seen at birth, later in childhood or even adulthood.

Battling her weight issues since schooldays, Sulochana Vaidya never had imagined going through a heart problem at the age of 33. Like Sandesh, she had instances of intense chest pain at times but she chose to ignore it, as she thought that the pain would subside with time. Being overweight had been of utmost concern to her since she could feel fatigue and rapid heartbeats even while taking short walks. She often felt nauseated, dizzy and pale after such walks or after hectic household chores as well.

After a regular medical checkup, she was informed of coronary artery disease (CAD), a case when the arteries of the heart are coated with fatty deposits due to high cholesterol which further restricts the proper flow of blood to the heart.

She was then asked to lower her cholesterol level and has been taking medication. But she fears of having to go through a heart bypass surgery which many people who have worse cases of CAD are advised in order to redirect the blood flow around the clogged arteries.

Dr Thapa explains how high blood pressure, diabetes, over-consumption of high-calorie fatty foods, excessive drinking and smoking invite risks of heart attacks not only to people who have crossed the age of 60 but among those in their 30s or even younger are susceptible to cases of heart problems as well.

Sulochana is more at risk as she also has a family history of heart diseases. She’s anxious since her grandfather also died of a heart-related problem at the age of 40.

According to Thapa, heart problems caused by unhealthy lifestyle are common in England and America as well due to the soaring popularity of fast food culture. Due to a lot of awareness campaigns on the ill impact of fast food, the risks of heart attacks have been reduced to some extent in such developed countries, but in the context of South Asia, including Nepal, the trend of consuming fast food has picked up over the years.

The findings of a recent research show that even abroad, the risks of gene-defective diseases or coronary heart disease and heart attacks has been higher among the Asian communities, says Thapa.

He informs that in Nepal, proper research and studies on congenital diseases haven’t been carried out and the main issue is that many people are not even properly diagnosed. He confirms that compared to earlier days, congenital heart diseases have been reduced to some extent but cases of heart attacks and heart diseases due to unhealthy lifestyle has been increasing.

“Earlier, people had no option but to walk but now people are accustomed to the easy way out which is why overweight issues are a huge problem. People consume sugary and fatty food which has increased medical ailments like diabetes as well,” he says.

Thapa talks about a case where a person who had high blood pressure had been postponing his visit to the doctor although he was warned. Without showing any symptoms, he then passed away with a sudden massive heart attack. Such cases of carelessness and ignoring the early symptoms can be severe than expected, he says.

Dr JP Jaiswal, Senior Consultant Cardiologist at Norvic Hospital, says that it’s also important to balance the Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) Cholesterol and High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) Cholesterol levels of our body. Since cholesterol cannot dissolve in blood, they are transported by lipoproteins like LDL and HDL. But it’s important that the HDL and LDL levels should be between 40 and 60 mg/dl which are considered normal.

“If your LDL cholesterol is high and HDL is low, it can put you to risk for a heart attack, and for instance, if your HDL is 39 mg/dl, then there’s two percent more risk of heart attacks,” he explains.

It is therefore important to get your cholesterol levels checked, as depending on your unbalanced cholesterol levels, further treatments can reduce your chances of future heart attacks.

Dr Jaiswal is of the opinion that cases of heart attacks among youth are also high among those who are addicted to drugs like cocaine and marijuana.
According to Dr Kamal Raj Thapa, physician at Bir Hospital, 20 percent of the total population of the country is suffering from hypertension which is considered one of the major risk factors of heart attacks.

He explains that the primary causes of heart attacks can be usually unknown, but among the younger population, it is mostly caused by obesity, alcohol, smoking and lack of physical activities. The secondary causes of such attacks are due to kidney diseases, high blood pressure, thyroids or sometimes due to overuse of oral contraceptives and painkillers as well.

There are curative approaches after the early symptoms occur in both cases of mild and severe attacks where the patients can undergo treatments. But Dr Thapa advises that it is better if we follow both preventive and promotive approaches which involve enhancing your current health condition by adopting healthy lifestyle even if you don’t have any diseases.

“Young people should be active and should increase their resistance by leading a healthy lifestyle before they become victims of severe heart attack which can be totally avoided in their age,” he suggests.

The symbolic of disorder

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:24:23 +0545

CK LAL

The symbolic of language encompasses a set of values and preferences that includes and excludes without anyone noticing its intricacies. The inherent message, however, is unmistakable. Hegemony works because its subjects accept it not just willingly but enthusiastically.

Very often, time heals personal as well as social injuries. Some wounds, however, are too deep to be left at the mercy of natural progression. In such cases, balms have to be applied to speed up the process of convalescence.

In the last week of 2009, organizers of the “End Violence Campaign” had chosen Nepalgunj to hold its public meeting to help ease some of the persistent pains of communal riots that had engulfed the town three years earlier.

A huge ground was the venue of the mass meeting. The stage was elevated and grand. Bamboo barricades had been put up to prevent intruders from climbing up the lofty platform. A posse of policeman guarded the route. Volunteers formed a human chain to help speakers get on the stage without being mobbed by the masses. All this bandobast had been necessary to protect three superstars—Rajesh Hamal, Madan Krishna Shrestha, and Haribansha Acharya—from their legions of fans that had been waiting for hours to get a glimpse of their idols.

It was unusually warm for December. Despite all efforts, it’s very difficult to begin such programs on schedule. Guest speakers—“patrons” in the NGO-speak of organizers, perhaps to denote that they weren’t being paid for their time and effort—had been waiting in a corner for the show to begin. Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the late-morning heat, Haribansha whispered to Madan Krishna, “It would’ve been better if we hadn’t worn the trouser.” Kanak Mani Dixit joined the conversation, “Then worn what? Have you brought your shorts?”

Haribansha probably guessed that Kanak had been referring to a “pair of trousers” rather than a trouser, in singular, that he was wearing under his ‘pant.’ The proper term for such underpants is probably thermals, inner wears, layers, or even long johns.

Words that one uses, knowingly or unknowingly, is an indication of the social standing of the person. The symbolic, argues Jacques Lacan, is a function of speech and language. Words and worldview then gets intertwined.

Had community been the only criterion of belongingness, it should’ve been easier for Haribansha to share his feelings with someone from his own Acharya sub-caste, Nepali linguistic background, and perhaps similar lifestyle as well. Distinctions of background, upbringing, education, occupation and networks differentiate even a member of the ruling community from one another. The outlook of the marginalized and the externalized is drastically different from the real, imagined or the symbolic mainstream.

Photo: Chandra Shekhar Karki

Class, too, doesn’t put two people on equal footing in societies bound by tradition and hierarchy. Binod Chaudhary may yell from the rooftops that he has done his country proud by becoming the first-ever ‘Dollar Billionaire’ from Nepal, but it’s unlikely that his ‘Nobel-like’ achievement has made even middle-class Bahun, Chhetri, and Newar (BCN) compatriots, let alone Swadeshi capitalists of the Maoist school, accept him as their social equal. They may hesitate to articulate their disapproval—money, too, is a form of power—but for the BCN ‘patriots,’ Binod will forever be a Marwari who manipulated his way to the top. The billionaire’s achievements then become the cause of jealousy and resentment rather than admiration and inspiration.

The symbolic of language encompasses a set of values and preferences that includes and excludes without anyone noticing its intricacies. The inherent message, however, is unmistakable. Hegemony works because its subjects accept it not just willingly but enthusiastically.

Lowered eyes
The most happening place in Bhairahawa, the gateway to Lumbini, is the Devkota Chowk. Around here, there are upscale hotels with casinos and swimming pools, travel agencies that can manage seats on ‘fully booked’ flights to Kathmandu, car rentals that openly admit of surviving on NGO-activism, and conference facilities frequented by parachutists from Kathmandu and beyond.

The most distinctive feature of Devkota Chowk, however, is that nobody here speaks Awadhi, the lingua franca of the countryside in the Tarai-Madhesh of Lumbini and Bheri region. When a fruit seller, a wage laborer, or a rickshaw puller has to respond in the local language, they lower their voice. The naming of the Chowk is indicative enough.

It’s not known whether Tulsidas or Malik Mohammad Jaisi, two of the greatest literary masters of the 16th century in Awadhi, or any other language for that matter, have a memorial built in their honor anywhere in the Awadh region of Nepal. Tulsi’s “Ramcharitmanas” (believed to have been composed in the 1570s) is a part of cultural-mental furniture of Hindus not only of Indians residing in the plains north of Vindhyas and Nepalis living in the lowlands south of the Mahabharat Ranges, but also of diasporic communities from these regions in Mauritius, the Caribbean, and countries of Europe and America. Sufi allegories of Jayasi in Padmavat continue to be a masterpiece read by scholars of Indo-Aryan languages everywhere.

A little deeper inside, westwards along a fairly comfortable single-lane road, Awadhi is spoken as a matter of course in Taulihawa. At a public hearing, even the Chief District Officer, the local Raja for all practical purposes, claims that he can’t speak Awadhi but understands it well enough to respond in Hindi. So, Hindi, after all, is more useful for the Pahadi ruling community in Tarai-Madhesh than the Madheshis. Meanwhile, Awadhis try their best to impress officers manning outposts of the state in the frontier district by speaking in Nepali and repeatedly fail to properly express themselves.

Apart from government officials, the Ranas didn’t expect ordinary Madheshis to speak Gorkha Bhasha. Gorkhali agents of the state in the Tarai-Madhesh were then forced to eat, dress and talk like locals except when they were to present themselves to inspection teams from the center. It was King Mahendra who killed the diversity of the country and sapped the creativity of the countryside with his one-language, one-culture, one-religion and one-dress formula.

Critics find fault with symbols of uniformity on the grounds of impracticality. There’s nothing impractical about Nepali. It’s a rich, vibrant and growing language and is rooted deeply in the local and diasporic cultures of the Karnali, Rapti, and Gandak Basins. Distinctive dress of an influential community of Nepal, the Labeda Suruwal—teamed with black pump shoes, western-style formal jacket, wide woven belt with shiny buckles, and Bhadgaunle black or multi-color Dhaka topi—is a spectacular, if somewhat extravagant, ensemble. Their power lies in the fact that the ensemble makes those not accustomed to the specific culture feel inferior. The CDO doesn’t have to force a petitioner speak in Nepali as the Commissioners of the Panchayat era once did. It’s the perception among the masses that failure to adopt the lifestyles of the ruling community would put them at a disadvantage that turns them into mimic men of Naipaulian allusions.

Managed expectations
Creating conditions for the emergence of caricature and making copycats respectable is the fundamental technique of enslavement. Macaulay manufactured the Brown Englishman and enchained the Indian mind for a long time to come. Mahendrism has produced Nationalist Madheshis who refuse to realize that they would perhaps be better Nepalis by being what they are rather than wasting their energy in becoming what they can never authentically be.

Social scientists define worldview as a “pattern of beliefs, behaviours, and perceptions that are shared by a population based on similar socialization and life experiences.” The aspired worldview, however, is mainly affected by the use of resources—the social, human and cultural capital—that helps establish norms and values of the mainstream.

Social capital is made up of connections, relationships, and networks, and functions around “who you know.” Despite the wave of the Madhesh Uprising, voters of Kapilvastu sent Dip Kumar Upadhyaya (Lamichhane?) to the dissolved Constituent Assembly where he spent more time running down Madheshi aspirations for federalism and inclusion than in protecting, let alone promoting, their interests.

The “what you know” factor of the human and intellectual capital, too, is not entirely free of who puts a value and what is perceived as true knowledge. It’s the cultural capital—a complex web of rituals, arts, customs, languages, songs, dances, and ceremonial practices—that marks a member of an externalized community as an outsider. In his eagerness to prove belongingness, he fakes, fails and falls in his own eyes.

An influential section of Madheshis has been conditioned to accept their humiliation (“the enforced lowering of a person or group, a process of subjugation that damages or strips away their pride, honor or dignity”) as normal and are frightened to emerge out of the mainstream mask. Recognition of difference is perhaps the point of departure for empowerment. Subjection begins to weaken the moment its existence is accepted with dignity.

Lal contributes to the week with his biweekly column Reflections. He is one of the widely read poliitical analysts in Nepal.