Happy Dashain!
Nepal still hurts my heart.
My thoughts turn to it again every year around this time. October was the most beautiful for many reasons—is still, I assume, even though I’ve been gone now for 6 years. When my Nepali friends share photos in October, it especially tugs at my memories.
October means Dashain, Nepal’s largest annual festival, going on now, I know. It also means Tihar—known as Diwali in India—just a couple weeks later, nearly as important, and even more lovely to me, with all the beautiful lights.
That’s also when we adopted our Nepali dog—she must have been born in early October, I guess, or late September, because we adopted her at the end of October, when she was estimated to be about a month old.
AND as if all that weren’t enough, October is also just a beautiful month in Nepal in general—just after the monsoon, so the air is still quite clear, but the clouds are gone, and you can expect cloudless days with no rain. Gorgeous. Typically not too hot, or too cold, from what I remember—it was just my favorite month in general.
No wonder there are so many wonderful celebrations scheduled then.
Of course Nepal has interesting holidays throughout the year, like many lands, but, hands down, October is my favorite. I’m reviewing my Nepali again, and the bit of Hindi and Sanskrit I learned as well; I’m reading yet another version of the Ramayana and more on the region in general. And I say again:
Dasaaiiko Shubhakamana!
Rebuilding Nepal, One Year On
One year ago today, I returned home from a day out, sat down, and scrolled through the news.
Then I stared for a while and started crying.
When my husband popped inside from playing with our kids, my voice was shaky:
“There was an earthquake in Nepal. It’s pretty bad.”
Of course, Nepal shook much more than my voice had.
Today, though, a year later, Nepal is working on its recovery.
Should it have recovered faster? Yes.
Is there still a lot to do? Yes.
In some ways, I think the earthquake spurred some of Nepal’s recent changes. After years of debate about a new constitution, at least one was formally approved and signed last fall. Granted, the too-often violent protests afterward mean that this beautiful country that I love still isn’t as calm or peaceful as I hope it will someday achieve.
But at least there has been progress, and on behalf of my friends still in Nepal—and all the millions of people there I never met—I share this round-up of updates I’ve seen today.
From Room to Read, an organization that has built many libraries and distributed many books in Nepal:
From USAID, the US government funded emergency and development aid to Nepal:
https://www.usaid.gov/nepal-earthquake
PRI, briefly explaining the lack of rebuilding:
Gordon Brown writing in the Huffington Post, in a longer article on the lack of rebuilding—especially the impact of the disruption to education:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gordon-brown/nepal-earthquake-anniversary_b_9769464.html
A short with dramatic pictures from Al Jazeera about a woman whose tea shop was destroyed in the earthquake:
http://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/shorts/nepal-hard-rock-cafe/
Finally, a longer piece about Nepal’s long artistic history—yes, it continues today:
http://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/Artistic-revival-in-wake-of-Nepal-s-massive-7330606.php
A few of the many organizations working in Nepal:
Maiti Nepal
Women’s Protection Center (one of my former students works here)
http://www.friendsofwpcnepal.org/
The KAT Centre, the organization that spays and vaccinates Nepal’s street dogs – we adopted our wonderful dog from them as a puppy (see the posts on this blog tagged puppy for more on her)
Himalayan Foundation (working on education and arts projects)
http://www.himalayan-foundation.org/
Soarway Foundation (the Executive Director is a former American Ambassador to Nepal)
Kukur Tihar
Today is Kukur Tihar—so, by the Nepali calendar, this is also the anniversary of the day we brought Alaska home to live with us. Apparently an auspicious day for it!
The funniest thing is that we really didn’t know anything about it. As noted earlier in this blog, my husband and I had discussed bringing home a dog for months. We asked around and got directions to the only shelter we’d heard of, the only shelter in Kathmandu at the time–and maybe still, as far as I know: the Kathmandu Animal Treatment Centre
(They always appreciate donations! They’re still working hard to humanely care for the street dogs of Kathmandu, including extra work this year caring for animals injured by the earthquakes. And their mission to vaccinate and neuter Kathmandu’s thousands of street dogs goes on.)
Even there, we dithered for a while. We were surprised; we’d gone thinking it would be kinder to offer to adopt an older dog (as is typically the case in the US), but the people at the shelter pointed out that adult dogs used to living on the street wouldn’t adjust easily to living in a house. Tiny puppies, on the other hand, which they happened to have at the moment and worry about, because they were so tiny and needed so much attention…
We examined the ridiculously adorable puppies. Five of them, at the time, motherless at the tender age of 4 weeks. We weren’t sure we were ready to devote attention to such a small puppy… but we came back a day or so later, and 2 of the puppies had happily found homes. So we carefully examined the final 3.
One was—I kid you not—sitting on top of the head of the other one. The first stood up and tried to bite us. The second wagged its tail politely but wasn’t very interested in us.
The third was Alaska.
Not yet, not quite, but there was a small white puppy huddled at the opposite end of the box from her sisters, staring up at us pleadingly the whole time, as if to say, “Get me away from this crazy place!”
We gingerly picked her up and she cuddled and licked us. We gently set her down and she trembled, unused to the freedom outside the walls of her box. She snuggled back against us instead, licking more and giving us more of the pleading looks.
So, yes, of course we took her home… and the rest of that saga is recorded on this blog. Little miracle puppy… how she survived simultaneous worms and parvovirus I’ll never quite know. Puppies that tiny are not supposed to have fevers so high they cause seizures. Puppies that tiny shouldn’t need to have an IV to be rehydrated. They certainly shouldn’t need so much medicine—too often hidden in food, so that they develop a very undoglike wariness of food that lasts an entire lifetime.
But those interventions surely saved Alaska’s life. I don’t know the fates of any other puppies born on Kathmandu’s streets that year, but surely she wouldn’t have made it through all that on her own.
And since then she’s gotten to travel to North America, South America, and now finally Europe. Everywhere she’s gone, she’s made new friends, with plenty of comments about her being the sweetest dog most people have ever met.
So, this kukur tihar, she gets extra treats.
And, on her behalf, I’ll ask that you visit the KAT Centre and see what they do. Or follow their latest updates on Facebook.
Nepali of the Day:
kukur: dog
Aja tihar cha: Today is Tihar.
Tiharko Shuvakamana!: Happy Tihar!
Earthquake
“Nepal? Is that somewhere in Tibet? Or India?”
“Kathmandu? Where’s that?”
“Nepal? No, never heard of it.”
“Oh. Well, I lived there for two years…”
The above are actual comments I’ve heard in the past few years. The last I’ve never actually said—but I’ve thought it.
I’m afraid about everyone in the world has heard of Kathmandu Nepal now.
*****
I never properly “finished” this blog. I was very distracted at the time we were leaving, much more distracted than I’d ever expected. Goodbyes to friends we might never see again, all my students, our jobs, our house, everything? Packing and packing and packing again… And then, too suddenly, gone?
I kept thinking I’d come back here someday, add another post or two summing up recommendations on some of the best places in Nepal to visit.
Now I’m truly broken-hearted, to come back like this, and to admit in horror that now some of those places I would have recommended no longer exist.
*****
I’ve been joking for years that Alaska is an honorary ambassador for Nepal. She’s certainly made many friends on three different continents ever since we adopted her and brought her from Nepal.
So many people have said: “What a wonderful dog! What breed is she?”
Shrug. “Nepali.”
“Ne… What?”
“She’s from Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal. She was abandoned on the streets as a puppy, and we adopted her when she was just five weeks old.”
The conversations about the existence—or non-existence—of Nepal usually began here. And often quickly progressed to:
“What’s it like there?”
“The country is beautiful. The most amazing mountains in the world, and some of the friendliest, kindest people I’ve ever met… And Alaska’s not unique. A lot of Nepali dogs are this sweet.”
Now I have half a mind to walk her as far as I can with a sign around her neck explaining how to denote to earthquake relief in Nepal.
*****
I can imagine how the earthquake siren in our house must have screamed when the big one hit. Really, I hated that sensor; step too heavily near it, and it would go off, with a short, high-pitched squeal… because it was convinced a tremor had just struck, and of course its dumb chore was to report those. It was mostly just aggravating because, as many times as I or someone else set it off accidentally, it never warned or confirmed an actual quake the entire time we were there. Still, it regularly gave me heart attacks, sounding so suddenly, while my mind whirred and I thought, too often: What if this REALLY is it?
It never was.
Not then.
Since leaving Nepal, I lived for 2 years in Santiago, Chile—where I indeed felt quakes, many of them. But—paradoxically—we didn’t have a sensor at all. We were the sensors, usually, if the quake was big enough to feel. My favorite double-check was my water glass—I always have one near me, so, if I thought I felt mild trembling, my eyes would dart to its surface, searching for tiny, spreading ripples. If I caught any… Well, first thing, I’d grab the glass, to keep it from toppling, in case the quake was big. Then my eyes would jump around the room, looking for hazards, waiting on pins and needles to feel what would happen next. If there was nothing else to feel—which was most usual—I’d put the glass back down and check the US Geological Survey’s earthquake tracker, to confirm I wasn’t crazy. But… just occasionally… when I felt the ground start to move more… Well, then I’d dash for the nearest doorway, or under the nearest heavy piece of furniture… or, the couple of times I woke with the bed lurching, I hauled a pillow over my head.
I read and agonized over conflicting advice. Safest place? Under heavy furniture. No—huddled against a wall, where a pocket might be created if it collapsed. Stay in place. Move outside ASAP. Etc etc etc…
This was Chile, after all. It had suffered an 8.8 just months before we arrived. EIGHT-POINT-EIGHT. Ranked with the dubious honor of the 6th largest earthquake ever recorded. Terrifying.
Except…
Not.
Because, in Santiago itself, even my neighborhood? They’d shrugged it off. They knew they were in a dangerous seismic zone. They build for it, to withstand it—resist it, at least. After all, 50 years before that 8.8, Chile suffered the largest earthquake ever recorded, ever. 9.5 magnitude. Oh, yes, that sounds really, really bad… but, in a way, it wasn’t.
Comparatively, the 8.8 was even more mild. Five hundred people died. And that’s terrible.
But, in Nepal? They’re past five thousand, and they’re still counting.
This, for a mere 7.8?
Worse… we knew it was coming. Geologists predicted it a long time gone. After all, the Kathmandu Valley had suffered severe earthquakes in the past—the worst in recent memory in 1934.
But… Nepal was already dealing with so many issues that, apparently, one more was too much to cope with. How to worry about building earthquake-resistant structures… when some people didn’t have homes at all? Or barely obtained food? And when the infant mortality rate was already among the highest in the entire world?
The representatives of the Nepali government are writing a new constitution.
They have been writing a new constitution ever since we arrived… in 2010.
So… of course the situation is a mess. Even worse, I knew from my own students how remote some regions of Nepal are at the best of times. Several of them lived in a village they could only reach by traveling in the back of a pickup truck for four days… and then walking for two.
Now, landslides have blocked even many of the major roads. Phone service has been affected; some areas never had computer access, or even electricity, at all. And yet, within the first few days, Subhash Ghimire, the editor of one of the major Nepali newspapers, managed to reach his father in his remote village… who confirmed that all of the people there are now homeless.
That is one village.
This is a disaster almost beyond comprehension.
But… it’s not beyond relief.
I’ll be putting up a separate post with ideas on how you can help. In the meantime, this is the most comprehensive I’ve found:
http://www.usaid.gov/nepal-earthquake
Wishing you safer days, Nepal. We love you!
Chobhar Gorge
The pictures from the other day, by the way, are of Chobhar Gorge, which we visited a couple of months ago.
Strands of prayer flags strung across Chobhar Gorge
Chobhar Gorge is in the southern part of the Kathmandu Valley. It is where the holy Bagmati River flows out of the valley.
The Bagmati River as it flows through Chobhar Gorge, prayer flags fluttering above
Legend says–and geology agrees–that the entire Kathmandu Valley used to be a giant lake.
Legend also says that Chohar Gorge marks the place where a holy saint rent the rocks at the edge of the lake with a giant sword to drain the waters.
(Geology waffles a bit on the latter.)
Hmm, wonder where they got the idea that the rock was sliced with a sword?
For a very long time, it was a difficult area to cross.
Then, in 1903, a bridge was constructed in Scotland, shipped partway around the world,
then carried piece by painstaking piece over rugged paths into Nepal. And reassembled to span the gorge.
A view of Bagmati Bridge spanning Chobhar Gorge
The inscription on a pillar of Bagmati Bridge, reading "Chundra Bridge" June 1903; another inscription on the other side says Aberdeen, Scotland
Another view of the bridge, from the opposite direction
Of course, there’s now a larger, more modern bridge for cars, too. But, from either one, Chobhar Gorge is breathtaking.
Nepali of the Day:
nadi: river
paani: water
saphaa: clean
phohar: dirty
sarakchyan: conservation
upuhteka: valley
mandir: temple
purano: old
naya: new
phul: bridge
tol: lake
Not So Indefinite Bandh
After six days, the bandh is finally over.
So I’m inspired to add some more of my random Kathmandu pictures.
Because it feels like, over the past few days…
It feels like Nepal came to a crossing
And the two sides looked at each other, uncertain
And then finally decided to go across, together
Even though it was a narrow passing
Above a very dangerous abyss
Nepali of the Day:
malaai pir laagyo: I’m worried
malaai pir lageko chaina: I’m not worried
aja: today
ahile: now
yesma: this
siddiyo: is over, finished, done
tarkari: vegetables
paaincha: is available
bhiD: crowd
pasalmaa: in the store
sabhai: all
Aja bandh siddiyo!
Ahile Kathmandumaa tarkari paaincha!
Sabhai pasalmaa bhiD chha.
Indefinite Bandh Day 5
My latest round-up of articles about the bandh in Nepal; see below for my own pictures of the day.
Maoist General Strike Enters Day 5; Normal Life Badly Hit; Clashes in Birgunj
“Marketplaces, educational institutions and industries have also remained closed for almost a week now. Daily wage workers are badly hit due to the strike as they have not been able to work for many days.”
Capital Tense as Maoists, Locals Clash in Several Places
“Tension escalated in several places of the capital after the local youth leaders of the ruling parties took to demonstrations against the Maoists on Thursday”
DISTRICT ROUND-UP: Clashes in Several Places; Curfew in Humla, Birgunj, Dhankuta
“As the general strike called by the UCPN (Maoists) continues to cripple the normal life across the nation, voices against the banda seems to have gone louder with the increasing reports of confrontations between the locals and the Maoists…”
Clashes in Nepal as Frustration Grows at Shutdown
“Two doctors are working 24 hours and a few nurses are working double shifts,” Philip Shyam Ranjit, a doctor at B&B Hospital’s emergency department, told AFP. “A lot of people have no access to medical attention.”
Waiting at the Top of the World
“Tempers are flaring. It would not take much for people’s discontent with the strike to tip into civil unrest. Even before the strike, the country had entered an advanced state of entropy…”
Maoists Officially Decide to Fight Back Retaliation
“The UCPN (Maoist) on Thursday decided to retaliate against those who attempt to assault its cadres, concluding that premeditated attacks are being launched with the government backing against the Maoist during the course of banda.”
YCL Claims ‘Vigilante’ Groups Instigating Clashes During Maoist Protests
“YCL [Young Communist League] Nepal will counter any move by vigilantes to defy the peaceful demonstration by the protestors,” the statement said.
Time is Running Out for Attempts to Settle the Country’s Confrontation
“NEPAL’S Maoists can put on an impressive display. For the past week they have endured torrential rain and outbreaks of diarrhoea to bring the capital, Kathmandu, and the rest of the country, to a halt…”
Maoists Returning Homes on Daily Basis
“Those men and women on the way back said they decided to return home as they faced food and shelter problems in the capital and they started suffering from different diseases. ”
Vacate Schools, Colleges: Student Unions
“The examinations of twelfth grade have been disrupted due to the general strike. Schools and colleges have been converted into Maoist camps. This has violated students´ right to education. We condemn such acts,” said a joint statement issued by the student unions.
Kalimati Veg Market Runs Out of Stock
“He admitted that consumers are paying exorbitant prices for even decaying vegetables due to the absence of proper mechanism to regulate market during strikes.”
Markets to Open from 6-10 pm
“Maoists on Thursday decided not to disrupt vehicles carrying vegetables. The party also decided to let the markets open from 6 pm to 10 pm. ”
Tourists Caught up in Nepal Maoist Strike
“Hotel and restaurant owners say that Maoist supporters have threatened them, telling them to remain shut.”
Maoists Thrash 4 Journalists in Nepal
“Nepal’s Maoists have thrashed and beaten up four journalists while enforcing their strike in the national capital despite their commitment to respect press freedom.”
Trouble in Paradise
It’s a beautiful day. Not too hot, not too cold… pleasant breeze.
This morning
Who wouldn’t want to enjoy it, maybe go outside, get some work done?
The morning's normal rural-urban life in Kathmandu
Well, these people, I suppose:
Part of a wave of Maoists that started heading up the street mid-morning
Many of the Maoists carried sharpened sticks
There were a lot of them
For us, the bandh has been very quiet. We’ve stayed at home, reading the news or watching the television, doing housework. But this morning we kept looking out windows to find the source of the shouting, then dashing up to the roof to take pictures of the people marching down the street. Several hundred must have passed, in at least three different waves. They disappeared to the north, toward Budhanilkantha.
A section of one of the crowds
Soon after, the media outlets lit up with the news from Budhanilkantha, with video on the TV and articles online.
Capital Tense as Maoists, Locals Clash in Several Places
“Tension escalated in several places of the capital after the local youth leaders of the ruling parties took to demonstrations against the Maoists on Thursday”
General Strike Turns Violent; Clashes in Various Places
“Situation is tense in Budhanilkantha, too. There were clashes between locals and Maoist cadres this morning. At least three persons including a minor were injured in the incident. Police fired six rounds of tear gas shells to take the situation in control. ”
Meanwhile I was watching the sky. The breeze had kicked up; it whipped my clothes around me and made it harder to hold the camera. I watched the lowering clouds descending from the barrier of hills at the edge of Shivapuri National Park. They rolled over Budhanilkantha first.
It started to get darker
Clouds engulfed the hills just north of Budhanilkantha, then rolled south
I think the gods are crying
Nepali of the Day:
baadal lagyo: it’s cloudy
paani paryo: it’s raining
malaii dukha lagyo: I’m sad
Indefinite Bandh Continued
Latest cull of the news stories on the bandh, as we’ve finished day 4 and are gloomily looking forward to day 5.
Maoist Strike Imperils Nepal Peace
“Protesters shouted antigovernment slogans and called for the ouster of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.”
Ministers Attend Office Before Dawn
“They had to go to the offices before the dawn as per the directive of the prime minister after Maoists declared to bar the ministers from entering the government´s principal secretariat.”
Situation Turning Grave as Maoist Strike Enters Day Four
“Farmers dumped their vegetables on the streets in Kalaiya of Bara district while in Kavre farmers poured the milk on the road after the agitators prevented them from carrying the milk to the market.”
Scarcity of Daily Commodities Looming Large
“Many shopkeepers say they will soon completely run out of stocks of daily consumables like rice, pulse, beaten rice, oil and other essentials if strike continues.”
Armed Guards Escort Supplies into Strike-Hit Nepal
“I haven’t been working for three days. My children depend on me. We are eating one meal a day now. If this strike continues, even that will not be possible.”
Maoist Strike Causes Food Shortage In Nepal
“Farmers in Chitwan are protesting the strike and say vegetables worth millions are rotting in the fields because they can’t be transported.”
Nepal Strike Empties Kathmandu’s Streets
“The [Maoist] supporters who attempted to leave Kathmandu after last weekend’s demonstrations were shocked to find that the free bus ride was only a one-way ticket. Stranded in the capital, many chose to make multi-day treks home with no food or funds instead of remaining in the city.”
Nepal’s Maoist Leader Warns That Protests Could Turn Violent
“The leader of Nepal’s Maoists… says the street action, so far, has been peaceful and the party does not want to resort to violence or rioting. But if the governing coalition does not agree to the Maoists’ demands then, he said, the demonstrations might take a turn for the worse, deteriorating each day from Wednesday.”
Sporadic Violence Marks Fourth Day of Maoist Strike in Nepal
“Unidentified persons fired two shots during a confrontation between supporters of UCPN (Maoist) and Youth Force, the youth wing of ruling CPN (UML), at Bhaktapur near the capital. No one was injured. Fifteen policemen sustained injuries while controlling a clash between Youth Force and UCPN (M) cadres…”
Maoist Cadres Clash with Police in Butwal; Over Dozen Injured
“The clash started after the police tried to evacuate the Maoist cadres from the Butwal Municipality building which they had ‘captured’ and placed their party flags. Police baton-charged on the protesting crowd and used several rounds of teargas shells.”
Children in Demos Worries UN Bodies
“There are alarming and confirmed reports of large numbers of children present in demonstrations and in some cases actively participating in the enforcement of the bandh,” UNICEF and OHCHR said in a joint press statement.”
Youth Spend Banda Days Creatively
“The debate was organized by Nepali Youth Debaters Club (NYDC), a club of young debaters… The club aims to organize similar events every time there is a banda. When everyone is spending time at home getting bored, these youthd hope to have fun and do something innovative.”
Ban Notes Lack of Progress in Peace Process
“Since the last report of the Secretary-General to the Council in January 2010, no substantive progress has been made on the main outstanding tasks of the peace process,” the statement said.
Professional Groups Want Ongoing Strike to be Withdrawn; Will Organize Peace Rally on May 7
“The programme which is scheduled to start at 9 am is being organized with the view to resolve all problems through dialogue while giving central priority to the peace process and constitution drafting…”
Nepal Police Evacuate Hundreds of Tourists Stranded by Strike
“Police escorted hundreds of tourists to border towns and the international airport as a nationwide general strike entered its fourth day Wednesday.”
Nepal News Photo Gallery, Day 4
Images of the day’s protests on nepalnews.com
Nepali of the Day:
raastriya: country
shahar: city
prahari: police
ketaketi: children
tarkari: vegetables
bhaat: rice
liiaunu: to carry, take to
linu: to take
dinu: to give
ke bhayo?: what’s happening?
diin: day
chaar: four
paanch: five
Indefinite Bandh
There have been very few posts in a very long time because I have been very busy. However…
Now that I’m basically under involuntary house arrest, afflicted with a Maoist-imposed vacation, I have finally gotten caught up on everything and have time to post again.
Too, I’m frustrated at the difficulty of finding online articles about the bandh. I’m checking nepalnews.com, googlenews, and random articles suggested by friends, and compiling them for myself in a scrapbook so I can always remember: “Ah, those were the days…”
In the meantime, I’ll aggregate some of my favorite articles here:
Maoist Strike Shuts Down Nepal; Gov’t Urges Talks
“Maoist opposition supporters armed with bamboo sticks enforced a general strike that closed transportation, schools and markets across Nepal on Sunday to demand the prime minister’s resignation.”
Maoist Strike Closes Down Businesses, Govt Offices
“With shops, businesses, factories, educational institutions in the capital and major towns across the country closed due to Unified CPN (Maoist) called general strike, the protestors are not even allowing government and private offices to run discreetly in various parts of the country on Monday.”
Travellers Warned of Disruption as Maoist-led Strike Shuts Down Nepal
“The international airport remains open although most people had to walk there carrying their luggage. The government has provided foreign tourists with free shuttle buses from the airport to their hotels.”
Tourists Hit by Maoist Shutdown in Nepal
“Buses carrying stranded tourists were allowed through Maoist roadblocks to the airport, witnesses said, adding that protesters checked that all passengers were foreigners.”
Hoteliers Urge to Ensure Free Movement to Tourists During Bandh
“Tourists who have come to Pokhara are not only stranded, but also unable to move around and eat.”
Maoist General Strike Strangling Business Community
“In fact, the business community has also lamented that the Maoists have repeatedly overlooked their plea to stay away from the activities that can ultimately lead the economy to collapse.”
Food Shortages Hit Nepal as Maoist Strike Enters Third Day
“Businesses were unable to bring fresh supplies to the capital Kathmandu and other cities across the Himalayan nation.”
Strike Deal, Call Off Strike: Civil Society
“Civil society leaders on Tuesday urged the government and agitating UCPN (Maoist) to instantly forge consensus and take back indefinite general strike to save the country from possible catastrophe.”
Maoists Form Human Chain Around the Capital
“Maoist cadres, mostly clad in red, brought from various districts and those in the capital lined up holding each other’s hand on both sides of the street along the 27-kilometre ring road… Thousands of Kathmandu locals, otherwise irritated with the Maoist bandh, stood beside the ring road and watched the human-chain made by the Maoists.”
Maoist Strike Brings Traffic to Halt
“Dang [district in western Nepal] — UCPN (Maoist) cadres have been using many vehicles to ferry people from villages to the district headquarters for their protests even as they have strictly brought public transportation to a complete halt during the general strike since Sunday.”
Maoists Attack Nepali Congress Leader’s House
“The Maoist cadres attacked the house of a senior Nepali Congress leader as the former rebels laid siege to the capital today in a political standoff with the government.”
Turn Likely, for Better or Worse
“The arrest of Maoist cadres with homemade weapons on the eve of the strike had raised fears of things taking a nasty turn. However, except for stray incidents, the protest has not erupted in any clash between the demonstrators and the police.”
Bandh Pictures
Various photo galleries on nepalnews.com with images from the May Day rally in the center of Kathmandu and the bandh since then.
Nepali of the Day:
thulo samasya: big problem
sarkari: government
maubodi: Maoists
baaTo: road
gaaDi: car
manche[haru]: people
videshee: foreigner
paryatak: tourist
pasal: store
chha: is
chhaina: is not
bandh: general strike
banda garnu: to close
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KC Casey and Cats in Kathmandu 