By Shashi P.B.B. Malla
“Why Nepal’s communal tensions keep returning”. By: Pranaya Rana, The
Kathmandu Post, August 2.
This eminently readable essay was originally published in Kalam Weekly, Rana’s personal current affairs on-line media offering.
The veteran journalist writes that Nepal’s latest communal violence in Madhesh did not emerge overnight.
It was the result of a familiar mix of provocation, online misinformation, political neglect and heavy-handed policing that turned isolated altercation into recurring flashpoints across our
southern districts.
Rana has researched his topic very well and writes fluently and dispassionately.
His main points of discussion
are:
- How did we get here?
- A history of violence
- Why the Madhesh?
- Patterns of hate
- The Balendra Shah response
- What is to be done?
In the last section, Rana does not shy away from making concrete proposals to prevent such instances like the ‘Sunsari incident’ from recurring in the future.
“Shinta Mani Mustang crowned world’s top luxury hotel”. By: Kiran Lama in The Himalayan Times, July 28.
Lama writes beautifully about how years of consistent effort, vision and uncompromising quality has elevated a prime property in Mustang to the world’s number one luxury hotel.
It is indeed a defining moment for Nepal, demonstrating that the country’s mountains, culture and heritage can compete with the finest names in international hospitality.
It should be an eye-opener for the Nepal Tourism Board and the government that the national tourism policy must be that of quality over quantity – the accolade is a recognition of the country as a world class luxury destination.
This is the result of unique entrepreneurship in the private sector and the Sherpa Hospitality Group is to be congratulated for their outstanding vision.
“The language of Paubha”. By: Rivash Rijal. In: The Kathmandu Post, July 31.
In this essay, Rijal narrates the rich symbolism and meticulous craftsmanship in the exhibition ‘Traditional Paubha Paintings’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery [until August 15] and explores the narratives behind Nepal’s sacred painting tradition.
As Rijal writes: “The more you look, the more there is to see” in the gifted religious artists Shankar Kumar Joshi’s and Sankha Narayan Shrestha’s Paubha paintings.
These fabulous depictions are characterized by supreme intricacy and attention to detail.
Perhaps there are also ways and means to make such religious paintings accessible
to our foreign guests, for example by holding exhibitions on a rotating basis in the major hotels of the country.
[There are two other indigenous painting traditions in Nepal that should be promoted and incorporated into the larger Nepali consciousness and made
part and parcel of the tourism experience:
- The Sherpa ‘naïve’ art centred in Khumjung
- The Maithili art of eastern Madhesh]
The writer can be reached at: shashimalla125@gmail.com
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