]]> http://www.hamroawaaz.com/2008/10/happy-bijaya-dashami-2065/feed/ http://www.hamroawaaz.com/2008/09/help-save-indrajatra-the-fact-behind-the-fury/ http://www.hamroawaaz.com/2008/09/help-save-indrajatra-the-fact-behind-the-fury/#comments Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:12:05 +0000 administrator http://www.hamroawaaz.com/?p=69

Indrajatra, one of the major Jatra (festivals) celebrated in the Kathmandu valley is a major occasion for any Newar residing in the valley. All of us belonging to different religions have festivals of our own and celebrate and rejoice them. Any festival celebrated in the country is seen with equal respect. Even the government has announced public holidays for many of the festivals celebrated by people from different clans.

The significance of Indrajatra need not be described to any one, be them be residing inside the valley or not. It is one of the major festivals celebrated in the valley for several days; with chariots of Ganesh, Kumari and Bhairav being taken around many city areas. There had always been a system in which a small amount of budget had been allotted for the occasion.

We like to address our country as one with many diverse and rich in our culture and traditions. Our country has so much rich culture, among which Newari culture and tradition is also an important one. Delegates from Nepal often introduce our country using the names of such traditional aspects such as Living Goddess- Kumari, Lakhe, different temples, etc. This is a good thing that our cultures are not only alive; it is also reviving our country’s existence in the world scenario.

Now going to the decision of our Finance Minister, it is contrary to the much significance which is given to our culture. We want to bring up our country in world scenario with the help of our culture… agreed. We want to keep our culture going and alive… agreed. So, how does the decision of cutting down of the budget for such festival help justify? Budget is just a small aspect of what keeps the festival going. The Newars have many festivals which are still going without any budget from government. And this festival can and will go on at any cost, with or without the support from the government. But this abrupt cut off shows the negligence of the policy makers towards the norms and values of the general public. This issue is an immediate concern for the Newars, but it is not just limited to Newars, if we give it a thought. Today it was Indrajatra. In the days to come, it can be Dashain or Lhosar or Idd.

It is a belief of the Newari culture that the festival should always go on the normal schedule with the dates to be fixed by our Guruju’s. Disturbance of any kind would mean a bad omen as per our belief. With all the confusion created beforehand and to add up on that, some smart leaders of our country, gave it a thought and decided that taking away the Lingo (Pillar) of Indrajatra, making it into pieces would suppress all the dispute. Let all such smart leaders be clear that this Lingo is meant to be taken safely to Bagmati and float it in it, and that way the festival is supposed to end. But many factors have not favored for the festival to be conducted and ended as per rituals.

We Nepalese have always been a unity amongst diversity (Anekata ma Ekata); so this is a moment to join hands. Every Nepalese who wants to keep our culture alive should put effort in his/her own personal level to stop anything which will devour our traditional norms. Let us all be proud of our culture and save it.

Administrator’s note: This article was submitted to us from one of our regular viewer Dr. Shrijana Manandhar.

But the current scenario is different, the government is not able to stop these wings of Maoist and UML and their activities are increasing by the day. In recent days, due to these forces, curfew had to be imposed in Dhankuta.

As for Kathmandu, our minister targeted the night life. He asked all the entertainment things that are run in Kathmandu valley. They should be closed by 11 pm in Kathmandu, 10 pm in Patan and Bhaktapur 9 pm. Don’t you think it is a straight interference on Human rights? We have rights to party, go to disco and pubs at night. Is this a type of democracy we were looking for?

If he thinks night life has increased crime, or if his security forces are not able to control the current situation then why not impose curfew at nights so that there won’t  be any crime at all.

In few weeks time, will be a peak tourist season. Many tourist’s have planned to come to Nepal as we heard that most of the flights to Nepal are packed and airlines are increasing the flight number to Kathmandu. How will they feel if they have to stay inside their hotel room by 11 pm? They are here for fun, excitement not to stay in a hotel room at 11 pm. They take a long break and make plan prior, what they want to do in Nepal. How will they feel if all the pubs and discos are closed at 11 pm? Many might cancel their trip after hearing this news. Tourist does not visit Nepal for traveling to remote area only. They spend a amount of time in pubs and discos too. Night life starts after 9-10 pm.

The other thing that our Home Minister announced was that he will shut down all the dance restaurants where nude dance are performed. Yeah nudity is illegal in Nepal but then also such nude dances are there. Why not to put some government regulation on such restaurants so that there are limitations imposed. We hear many rumors that even Police officers have been given bribed so that they do not take action to such restaurants.

If all these dance restaurants are shut down, then what effect it will have. Here is a general calculation. If there is 1000 dance restaurants in Kathmandu and each have 20 dancers then, there are 20,000 dancers. What will happen to them? Will the government have an alternate job for them? These people will be jobless.

Although I am not a night prowler, many of the youths who enjoy night life in Nepal are unhappy with this decision. Before the police take another bribe and allow these restaurants to open beyond the Minister’s assign time, dear minister take your decision back. At least let the people enjoy our night life; people who enjoy night life are all not criminals.

We will fight for our rights, you cannot suppress out rights. Resign if you cannot provide security.

His eyes used to be silent and attractive, attractive in the sense of having tendency to make curious about he. He, 20-year-old, became emotionally blinded and got fall in love with 40-year-old woman having her two daughters too. Now-a-days, after this event, I in my imagination only seeing waves and tides of emotions in his silent and peaceful eyes.

What made him to take that decision ? He, a student, dependent on family, took such a decision which is totally wrong for a guy like him. To marry at that young age is itself wrong, here he not only did marry but to a woman having her own family and highly aged. In the response of “why” , he just do answer…..”It’s the love my friend , just love”.

But in my opinion, it’s the emotion that bound him to walk in that way where he will found no any way. Emotion wrapped his eyes and in blindness he choose such a wrong and unsuitable decision.

A simple analysis of my own shows that whenever a lady do suicide, it’s EVENT that made her to do that while in man case, it’s the EMOTION that excites him to take such action.

The writer’s own analysis (he may be wrong too)  forced him to write that emotion doesn’t have power to easily disrupt male mind but if it got a chance, then it disrupts more than any female mind. Female by crying and doing whatever (which suits them) controls the emotions but in male case, it overlaps all surrounding and make a dark environment to him, consequently, in blindness he use to choose a wrong path like my actor (real) took in above.

Moral

Each one has feeling and emotion.  Emotion regarding male, I found more dangerous than female. Male are too poor to handle it if it got a chance to capture one’s mind in comparision to female because god has given a special power to play with emotion in nice manner to lady while in male , I think they are not so luckly.

The initial Damage and Emergency Need Assessment carried out by Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) has shown that more than 54,000 people living in the eastern belt of the Saptakoshi River have been displaced so far as the river changed its course through densely populated human settlements on 18 August 2008. According to the assessment, 8 Village Development Committees (VDC) are badly affected, and some others are still at risk of flooding.

Displaced persons are currently being accommodated in schools and campuses with relatives or in other open buildings. A significant number of affected people are unwilling to leave their houses and belongings and are thus staying in the affected area where security forces continuing to rescue people. Currently, 26 temporary shelter camps have been established in schools in Inaruwa. More than 17,000 displaced have been supported with the most necessary relief goods. As there is need to support the displaced people outside the camps, the NRCS regional warehouses located at Biratnagar and Birgunj have also dispatched tarpaulins to support emergency shelters for the affected population staying in the both eastern and western sides of the Saptakoshi River.

Thousands of displaced people are taking shelter in the camps setup in the area. However, official fear that an epidemic might break in these camps as hundreds of people are already suffering from pneumonia and high fever. It is also reported that two of them have already died with more than two dozen in critical condition. Making things worse, according to Kantipur (news daily), women at flood-victim camps are facing risk of sexual harassment and exploitation. Pregnant women and nursing mothers in the camp are not getting nutritious food and are compelled to sleep in the cold and wet floor. According to doctors, lack of safe-drinking water, sanitation, bedding, food, and inadequate medicines is triggering the hazard inside the camps.

Furthermore, bridges and culverts have collapsed. Land and mobile phone networks have been out of service for two days and are only gradually being repaired. Drinking water and electricity supplies, schools and public buildings are destroyed. Local reports state that thousands of people are still located in the inundated area and waiting for rescue.

In this situation, people from many different fields have donated for the flood victims. But we can see many different groups asking for money or other stuff. But we should be aware that we donate to the right person so that our donation reaches the needy people in the Terai region. We must be aware that we donate to the right organization like the Red Cross.

Note: We will be updating this article with latest news and updates; and also adding up the bank account numbers where from you can donate to the flood affected.

Following the election at the CA in New Baneshwor, CA Chairman Subash Chandra Nemwang announced Dahal’s victory after the proposal for his election as Prime Minister was supported by 464 CA members. While Dahal’s rival and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, a Nepali Congress candidate, who had became the Prime Minister three times earlier, garnered only 113 votes in his favor.

Before even the votes were cast, all factors had already indicated that Maoist Chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, whose party emerged as the single largest party in the Constituent Assembly (CA) after the April 10 elections, would win the race and become the new Prime Minister.

Following the election, Nemwang said that the CA session will now remain suspended till another decision.

Related news in international media:

• BBC, August 15, 2008
• Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), August 15, 2008
• Xinhuanet, August 15, 2008

Who is responsible for the stray animals in busy streets of Kathmandu: Farmers, locals or the municipality ?

Until the yester days, finding stray dogs in streets and gallis of Kathmandu was not an unusual scene. No proper solution of this has emerged yet. To add up in this, we now see stray livestock in the busy streets of Kathmandu.

Animals, which are sometimes chewing the cud amidst heavy traffic, some being shooed away by the traffic police or the drivers and finally some heartless driver brutally hitting the animals. Death would mean freedom for the innocent animals but what if they survive? Will the hit ill animals get any medication? Let alone medicine, will they have anything to eat?

Farmers usually have a trend of throwing away any unproductive animals. Financially this may seem correct to them. But, being the most civilized animal in the society, isn’t it our duty to help our lower contemporaries?

Our municipality has been upgraded to Metropolitan and sub-metropolitan cities for considerable number of years now. What is the real impact of this upgradement? If they can’t do anything about the animals, can they at least shift them to the sub-urbs. They have a right to live; not amidst heavy traffic but somewhere they won’t be hit by vehicles or shooed away to nowhere….

Administrator’s note: This is a guest post from Mr. Anup KC who is currently in Sydney, Australia.

It’s just pretty sad to see and a tragic too when people can’t see what’s happening around them and in their society and the country itself. So, blind by their arrogance and hypocrisies, self contained and f%#@ing blaming attitude of Nepalese that their blind and dumb politicians of present Nepal could do nothing but to lead the country to astray; as they are not fit for this 21st century. They are too old, crippled and outdated.

They have got no idea of what so ever is happening besides there 3 km radius which is why they all (including all ranas, kings, and all political parties) believe that country is running smoothly and performing well and all we need is stability. STABILITY is what you say we need and all we do is sit stable, quiet in our house dreaming of future turning blind eye to what is happening today in country without realizing; today makes tomorrow. Hence, your no effort to do anything today will lead to nowhere tomorrow.

Now the people (president) who justifies as our vice president did that, regardless what we wear or dress or speak we are Nepalese for most and got to remain like that but why say so if u can’t just be a Nepali from your heart and mean what you say and do something. Doesn’t anyone know the difference of having this kind of opinion in your house, and in the house of parliament makes a huge difference? It is not where you party and show how harmonious and friendly you are with the other origin and species of people. This is where you represent your country not yourself. Thank you Mr. Stupid President.

It’s the sovereignty, dignity, individuality, culture, glory of a country that has its own language (national), culture, and everything which needs to be flashed out every time it comes in media as this is watched by everyone in the world and which helps the international public and media to carve the image of the county itself. Here we could hence say, any country’s sovereignty and language is more important than what a president or vice president thinks. Now, no matter what the vice president speaks and wears that is what he can do when he is at home not at the media or when he is doing something regarding to represent the country of my own not his alone. If he can’t understand this he can go to hell.

It is the country that he is representing not himself to justify that his one of the most beloved language is Hindi and not Nepali and would love to speak as it suits, fit to him then why not just leave the country and go to hell where he likes. Or else justice must be done; example must be set. So we could opt for extreme option as to jail him for whole life or expel him form the country to where he gets to exercise his beloved language “H” or sack him forever to take any political move in the country. This is no joke what he has done now for every Nepalese to understand as something like this is never to happen again. He must be punished or else if nothing like this is exercised no one will ever learn a lesson, no one will ever think twice before they act and speak and will keep on doing what they want and all we will be doing is protesting and this will take us nowhere.

Having your interest and likes is not what you bring in the media when you are doing something to represent Nepal and Nepali. If u can’t just understand that then mate I believe that he/she should never be allowed to stand before the Nepali people and media as he so blind by his won stupidity that he is just unable to come out of it. You see Why not just punish him for his act who still thinks he hasn’t done anything wrong when he has challenged the sovereignty of Nepal staying at the position where he should be guarding it with his life. It is a matter of laugh if even today Nepalese can’t understand it and go for strike and destroy the public property. Instead just grab his neck and kick him out of the country and set and example what happens when you play with Nepalese heart and try to provoke. I say shoot that son of a bitch. And let the entire politician have a respect for the law and learn how to behave.

Look all around us what has they done and gave to us. Since the democracy came to Nepal in 1951 all they did was what they saw rana was doing fighting for the status and power. They spoke against rana so they could give the power to people and look after them but is that really what they did or just the opposite.

Haven’t we really gone back to time? I’m not in favor of rana, king or have a dislike of politicians. I just love Nepal and being Nepali I can’t take this shit anymore and live dying everyday seeing country going to astray.

Long live Nepal and Nepali but just mere saying and doing nothing will do nothing. As we all know there needs to be some input to generate output. All we have done is sit and watch, protest and destroy public property. Why not change that strategy for a while and think calmly and rather stand that culprit politician who lies to justice and punish them. No excuse not at all to them. They are no just a simple Nepali; they are the representative of the Nepalese people and Nepal. Not a joke mate, not a joke. If they are simply unable then let them resign or else let’s demand for the result and the things they have promised. Wouldn’t that be proper democracy and proper way dealing things?

And one for thing before I stop for today if anyone has noticed before election it was prchanda who was going to be the president of Nepal but as soon as the elections was over and politician decided to shift power from president to prime minister how quickly he swapped his position without any shame and guilt. How could one be so shameless and represent country and promise to do something for the countrymen when we all can see that all he is doing is running for power and seat as the congress and UML and rest are doing. A bunch of shameless, old and gay are ruling our country and us just looking at the act for free not realizing we are paying our life and country’s sovereignty for this.

News about protest in international media:

• yahoo.com
• boston.com
• xinhuanet.com
• foxnews.com
• nzherald.co.nz

Nepali Congress (NC) General Secretary candidate Dr. Ram Baran Yadav has become the first president of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, securing a comfortable majority in the presidential run-off held on Monday, July 22, 2008. Constituent Assembly (CA) chairman K. B. Gurung announced in the CA meeting this evening that Dr. Yadav had been elected president by a simple majority.

Dr Yadav, gained 308 out of 590 votes on Monday’s presidential run-off, while his opponent Maoist-backed Ram Raja Prasad Singh got 282 votes. Yadav was supported by CPN (UML), Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, CPN (ML), Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, CPN (United), Rastriya Janamorcha, Rastriya Janashakti Party and a few other fringe parties.The 61-year-old president elect hails from Dhanusha district and was the general secretary of the Congress party.

Altogether 590 votes were cast in today’s run-off poll. The run-off voting was conducted as none of the candidates reached the magic number, 298, in Saturday’s election. Madhesi Janadhikar Forum candidate Parmananda Jha was elected vice president in the previous voting.

Speaking to media personnels, Dr. Yadav said, “This is the victory of democracy. This is the victory of all Nepalis people” and added, “I will work towards strengthening democracy“. He also thanked all the members of the Constituent Assembly.

Dr Yadav had a very humble beginning. Born to a simple farmer family in Magh 22, 2004 B.S. in Safai VDC of Dhanusha district in the Terai plains of Nepal, Dr Yadav was the fourth son of Dhan Yadav and Ram Rati Yadav.

He completed his initial education in Dhanusha district and then came to Kathmandu for higher studies. As he was keen on studying medicine, the young Ram Baran Yadav went to Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India, and got admission in Calcutta Medical College from where he received his M.B.B.S degree and became a practicing doctor. Later he acquired M.D degree from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh of India in the year 2040 B.S.

Dr Yadav was actively involved in politics since the 1960s students’ movement. He participated in the campaigns favouring multi-party democracy when the referendum was held in 1980 during the Panchayat regime. Since 2043, Dr Yadav was deeply engaged in the politics leaving behind his medical career.

He won the elections held in 1990 and 1998/99 from NC. Lady luck favored even in the year 2008 as he was directly elected to the Constituent Assembly (CA) through the landmark election held in April. Dr Yadav had already held the position of Minister three times before.

The newly elected president Dr. Ram Baran Yadav is set to be sworn in on Wednesday. As per the constitution, Chief Justice will administer the oath of office and secrecy to the President. The President will then administer the oath of office to vice president.

What! Food Shortage in Nepal? Can this happen in my country? How can this happen?

But its’ true, I don’t think the report by Charles Haviland from BBC did not write this on assumption.

My mind went through so many thoughts; the faces of innocent children, women and men came in front of me. I remember many years ago on NTV news showing the scenes from Somalia, when the airplane throwing food to the people and people were running after it. I used to feel bad when I used to see such news on television.

I never thought that such situation might occur in Nepal. I used to think that how much poor the people are in Nepal but they don’t have to die due to starvation. But see, it is really going to happen in Nepal. How much unaware are we? (I’m assuming that most of the readers of this blog are like me)

We are living in cities where we have every facility; we really don’t have time to think about the other people from remote part of Nepal. We think all Nepalese have life like ours, at least not starving and but surviving.

There was big news a year ago, it was from Karnali zone. The news was that the rice which should have been provided to the people of remote area of Karnali zone, this rice were stored and got rotten before they were delivered to people. Due to lack of good transportation, and high charge by helicopter they were not able to distribute to the needy people from there.

When the news was flashed that the rotten rice was dumped, people went to the dumped site to get those rotten rice too, so that they can eat it.

This is the real scenario of remote Nepal.

Can we think how we can resolve such problems, so that in later years we don’t have to hear that people are starving in remote areas of Nepal? This news really makes our head down in the International arena.

Hey guys, I think we can at least contribute something to overcome such problem. What you guys think. Please comment why people in remote area of Nepal are still facing such situation and living like in hell.

* some related news

• Inedible rice
• Food politics
• Our Poverty, What an Irony