Board Meeting &More Club @@Himalaya The Resort, Windy Hills, Nagarkot, Bhaktapur, Nepal Tel: 6680045 - 47/80/83 | Fax: 6680068 E-mail: [email protected] Hotel Ambassador, Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 4414432, 4410432 Nagarkot Resort E-mail: [email protected] cover.pm6 1 5/16/04, 2:27 AM Wholistic Development In House Swimming Pool Creative Language Creative Art Music & Dance Science Discovery GymPlay Outdoor Activities Indoor Activities Pre-Maths Activities Computer Learning Fun-Cookery And Many Many More We believe that each child is a unique indiviual who has the potential to be the best that he or she can be. A whole new concept in learning.... In Association with LITTLE CAMBRIDGE KINGDOM Child Development Centre Singapore Child Development Centre Kathmandu "SHAH MAHAL' HOUSE NO-613, SAMA MARG, OPP-IGP HOUSE,GAIRIDHARA,NAXAL KATHMANDU, NEPAL PHONE: 4413928,4416539 cover.pm6 2 5/16/04, 2:27 AM 16 Policing The Poachers MAY 23, 2004 By Prakash Sharma VOL. 1, NO. 5 Conservationists are nervous COVER : Kishor Kayastha (98510 52778) that Nepal’s sterling conserva- www.nation.com.np tion efforts—revival of the one-horned rhino, for one—will continue to take a backseat for some time due to overwhelming security concerns and political uncertainty. 24 Does Anybody Care? By Satish Jung Shahi Deportations of Nepalis workers have almost become a routine affair: angry newspaper headlines followed by the customary silence. 26 The Lunch Hour Rush By Tiku Gauchan Kathmandu is literally littered with eateries. That’s good news for office workers. COVER STORY ARTS & SOCIETY 30 Who Art Thou? 18 The King and Them By Sushma Joshi By Suman Pradhan The excitement of installation lies in its novelty, its use of mixed media and its While the stalemate over the choice of the new prime daring breakage of narrative. In minister may eventually be resolved one way or another, Kathmandu, installation is still a new art the inordinate delay clearly underscores the King’s form, still in the act of destabilizing the supremacy of painting. fundamental lack of trust of the parties. 32 Ram Man Dai COLUMNS By Sanjeev Uprety This league of leaders, epitomized by Ram Man Dai’s search for 11 The Gall of Gallup BP Koirala, could have included more. an all-purpose medical By Yubaraj Ghimire panacea began in 1960 when Why don’t pre-poll and exit poll 34 Diversity Unchained he started experimenting surveys quite work in India unlike in By Ujol Sherchan with various combinations western democracies? Casting of vote The 1990 Constitution was designed to of ghee, local herbs like saldhoop and in the west by and large reflects perpetuate the monolithic Hindu state as gokuldhoop and fitkiri to create individual choice. In India, and in the a check against the competing demand of Himali Malam. region in general, the individual vote the ‘Diversity.’ In this respect, the is still part of a larger ‘deal’. democracy ushered in 1990 has not been DEPARTMENTS democratic enough. 28 Leaders Classified 6 LETTERS By Swarnim Waglé 36 Bush Begone! 10 PICTURE OF THE WEEK Public intellectuals with formidable By Samrat Upadhyay 14 CAPSULES mass support, charismatic and incor- I’ve called America home for the last ruptible: these are the progressives 20 years, but since George W. Bush 35 CITY PAGE who are as much at ease in the fishing took office in 2001, and especially 40 KHULA MANCH: MILAN RAI villages of Saptari as when sharing after 9-11, I’ve lived in a political 41 BOOKS lobster meals with statesmen in Oslo. nightmare. 42 LAST WORD 5 Letters Nation Weekly, The Media House, Tripureshor, Nation looks good but Kathmandu, Nepal (Regd. 113/059-060). Tel: 2111102, 4229825, 4261831, 4263098 you will do well not to EDITOR: Akhilesh Upadhyay [email protected] CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Suman Pradhan ignore issues outside COPY EDITOR: Tiku Gauchan STAFF WRITERS: Sushma Joshi, Satish Jung Shahi “ PHOTOGRAPHER: Sagar Shrestha DESIGNER: Raj Kumar Shrestha Kathmandu AD & CIRCULATION DIRECTOR: Krishna Shrestha MARKETING EXECUTIVES: Sarita Gautam and Rameshwor Ghimire BINOD SHRESTHA [email protected] MARKETING CONSULTANT: Kreepa Shrestha CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Nripendra Karmacharya Business news finally about us—and our children. We still are SUBSCRIPTION: Ashish Bhattarai ” [email protected] I WAS ALMOST BEGINNING TO very much Nepalis, though we don’t PUBLISHER: The Mirror Media Pvt. Ltd despair whether Nation was ever go- send money home. ing to do anything remotely related to SUMAN AD ENQUIRIES: Tel. 4229825, 4261831, 4263098 COLOR SEPARATION: ScanPro, Pulchowk, 5548861, 5552335 “business.” The article by Satish Jung VIA EMAIL PRINTING: Variety Printing Press, 4278869 DISTRIBUTION: R.B. News, 4232784, 4244679 Shahi and Tiku Gauchan on how re- mittances have fuelled the construc- Uprety’s compassion Nation Weekly is published every Monday by The Mirror Media Pvt. Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The reproduction of the contents of this tion boom in the Valley is timely and I AM IMPRESSED BY SANJEEV UPRETY’S publication, in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the prior consent of the publisher. interesting (“A House for Mr. Pathak,” Arts & Society pieces. His humane treat- Vol. 1, No. 5. For the week May 17-23, 2004, released on May 17 Remittance, May 16). As the article ment of ordinary characters reminds me points out, little colonies have of celebrated writer Joseph Mitchell’s pro- CONTACT sprouted on the outskirts of files in the New Yorker magazine. Just like Mitchell, Uprety elevates what could be www.nation.com.np Kathmandu and many of these settle- ments have now developed into a world boring renditions of marginalized lives by in themselves. Dhapasi, Sitapaila, Tikhe highlighting the alienated man’s will to Dewal and Kusunti, for example, have survive in the face of overwhelming odds, We prefer to receive letters via e-mail, without clusters of houses not just on the and still come out a better human being. attachments. Writers should disclose any connection fringes of Ring Road but even quite a Both the Pheri Jogi (“Not Coming Back or relationship with the subject of their comments. All letters must include an address and daytime and distance away and the neighborhoods Again,”Arts & Society, May 2) and Buddhi evening phone numbers. We reserve the right to edit are ever expanding. What the article ig- Thapa (“The Sky in his Eyes,” Arts & Soci- letters for clarity and space. nores, however, is similar construction ety, April 19-25) maintain a faith in the E-mail: [email protected] greater common good despite upheavals. Fax: 4216281 booms in cities, towns, and tiny high- Mail: Nation Weekly way hubs all over Nepal, particularly Uprety’s distillations from such narratives The Media House, GPO 8975, EPC 5620 in Tarai—along the East-West Highway, read like compassionate yet earthily funny Tripureshor, Kathmandu, Nepal. for one. Then in Biratnagar, Itahari, documentaries made by an ace director. I SUBSCRIPTION Dharan, but also in Chandranighapur, guess some people do possess the third E-mail: [email protected] Lalbandi and Birtamod. A lot of these eye after all. Nation Weekly, The Media House, GPO 8975 houses are built on remittance money. BHUPAL GURUNG EPC 5620, Tripureshor, Kathmandu, Nepal Whatever little I have seen of Nation VIA EMAIL Tel: 2111102, 4229825, 4261831, 4263098 Fax: 4216281 so far looks good but you will do well not to ignore issues outside Kathmandu. After all, you have very correctly raised issues of inclusion in your paper. BINOD SHRESTHA CHHATA CHOWK DHARAN subscription WHILE PEOPLE LIKE MR. PATHAK ARE still hoping to return home to Nepal [email protected] some day, you should also keep in mind the tens of thousands of other Nepalis who are building our houses—and Thank you 2111102 dreams—in our adopted country. I hope HERE’S FINALLY THE KIND OF some day you will have time to write magazine I have been looking for. I like SEE PAGE 22. 6 MAY 23, 2004 | nation weekly your “Picture of the Week” section and book reviews. The political issues are well covered and there is ample room for those who aren’t interested in politics. A thumbs-up to the Nation’s team. JOSEPH GABA VIA E-MAIL We’re committed YOUR WRITE-UP ON THEATRE (“More Matter With Less Art,” by Ajit to you Baral, May 16) was a welcome break. Indeed, the plays hosted by the Interna- tional Theatre Institute at Gurukul gave Here at Nation Weekly the very same care and attention that many of us the opportunity to see en- go into our magazine go into customer service. This means that if tirely different types of plays. Probir Nation Weekly Guha’s Alternative Living Theatre was you’re a subscriber, your complete satisfaction obviously the star attraction. Commit- is guaranteed because it’s our top priority. ted theatre artists like Sunil Pokhrel do deserve their share of public adulation. Thanks Nation and thanks Ajit Baral. We’re always ! When you have SURESH MALLA here to help…. suggestions BANESHWORE or comments - especially about ways ! When you have a in which we can improve subscription I HAVE BEEN READING NATION’S question service - we welcome them. web editions for the last two weeks. As about your subscription, such as a Nepali who has spent most of her life undelivered issues, duplicate ! When you want outside the country, news from home invoices, your subscription uninteruupted delivery - gives me a sense of where I come from. expiration date, or anything else guaranteed In the last few years, almost all the ma- – please don’t hesitate to get in please be sure to renew your jor newspapers have been out there for touch.