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FICTION

In the Midst of Winter

Isabel Allende

Translated into English by Nick Caistor and Amanda Hopkinson

Published: October 2017

Publisher: Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster UK Ltd

Pages: 342, paperback

In an interview, Isabel Allende said that she wrote ‘In the Midst of Winter’ in 2016 just when she was coming out of a divorce after 28 years of marriage and her agent, three close friends, and dog had all died. It was during these trying times that she came upon a quote by Albert Camus: “In the midst of winter, I finally found there was within me an invincible sum­mer. For the summer that we all have inside to manifest we need to open the heart and take risks.” And that’s what the book is about: Three traumatized people trapped in a snowstorm in Brooklyn, New York facing a life-and-death situation. By choosing to support one another and being kind, they ultimately dis­cover the invincible summers that lie within them. The book opens with a minor car collision, between 60-year old scholar Richard Bowmaster and Evelyn Ortega, an undocumented Guatemalan refugee. This incident sets into motion a chain of events which forces the two and 62-year-old Lucia Maraz, a visiting profes­sor at NYU, who is also Bowmas­ter’s coworker and tenant, to deal with a situation that, to begin with, is not their problem, and which seems to be spiraling out of control by the minute.

While ‘In the Midst of Winter’ mostly focuses on Richard, Lucia, and Evelyn’s seemingly ordinary lives, mystery and intrigue simul­taneously weave their way into the story, making what would otherwise have been a slow narrative into a gripping can’t-stop-till-I-know-what-happens-next read.

Lucia and Evelyn sometimes feel like extensions of Allende’s personal history as the author has said, time and again, that, for much of her life, she’s felt like a foreigner. And it seems here, through them, Allende is taking the liberty to make her readers understand what the immi­grant experience is like.

Though there can be no better time to tell immigrants’ stories, you sometimes wish the writing were a little less flowery, allowing you to focus on the character’s lives instead of getting stuck in the imageries it manages to conjure.

Also, ‘In the Midst of Winter’ feels a little awkward because something doesn’t seem right and the ending too is a bit off. But, all in all, Allende deserves to be read because her stories get you thinking about the many things you tend to take for granted in life.

The book takes its readers deep into the intrigues of the Narayanhiti Royal Palace and provides an inside view into the momentous events of our times: the Royal Palace Massacre, king Gyanendra’s wresting of executive pow­ers, the Maoist armed rebel­lion, its genesis and the forces backing it, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the mainstream political parties and the Maoists, the end of monarchy and the advent of republicanism in Nepal.

Written with valor and at great personal risk, the book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand Nepal’s contemporary history.

At the launch of ‘Wit­nessing Palace, Power and Politics’ this week in Kath­mandu, author Shah said that many friends had requested him to translate ‘Maile Dekheko Durbar’ as soon as it was out. “Now that the translation has come out,” he says, “many people who didn’t have access to Nepali can enjoy the book.”

“The book is a living his­tory,” he adds.

The book is published by FinePrint in hardcover and is priced at Rs 1,012.

The Zen Bistro & Café serves ‘authentic’ Thai Cuisine inside its calm and discreet premise at Bansbari, on the way to Narayanthan. “Food so authentic, you’ll have to double-check whether you’re in Bangkok” — Zen’s Facebook page reads and the many reviews by its customers on the page back it up. Zen’s Pork BBQs, Delicious Shrimps Wrapped in Bacon, Wonderful Crispy Spinach and Spicy Lemon Fish are dishes its customers swear by.

With ample parking space and also easily accessible by public transportation, Zen’s location away from the core city’s hustle makes it an ideal place for a quiet evening dinner or a lazy afternoon brunch.

 THE MENU

Chef’s Special: Tom Yum Soup, Summer Style Papaya Salad, Deep Fried Fish with Panag Sauce

Opening hours 

11:00 am - 10:00 pm

8:00 am - 10 pm (Saturday)

Live Music: Every Friday

Cards: Accepted

For reservations: 014017654

Developed for the first time in 1954 in the Bell laboratories, Solar cells are revolutionary technology to har­ness the free energy provided by the sun. One hour of solar energy that falls on the earth in a day is capable of powering the world economy for that day. Solar energy also provides great scope for job creation.

Solar is being productively har­nessed by both India and China. Nar­endra Modi recently had the 75 MW solar plant in Uttar Pradesh com­missioned by the French President Emmanuel Macron and China has the world’s largest installed capacity for renewable energy.

Nepal has to spend more than 50 percent of its foreign currency to import petroleum products, two-thirds of which is used to power the hungry transport system. Diverting these resources to electrically-pow­ered zero emission vehicles can cre­ate job opportunities never before imagined. Solar, wind and hydro powered charging stations for elec­trical vehicles can be deployed even in the remotest corners of Nepal.

Kathmandu’s tourism opportu­nities are overshadowed by its ill repute as the world’s most polluted cities. Protecting its cultural heritage from pollution has been a challenge. Going green can expand and save the economy in more than one way.

The traditional pollution-based economy has created two classes of people: have and haves not. But dis­tributed renewable energy will gen­erate equal income for all involved stakeholders. These sources of energy can be people-owned, and as such the fruits of the economy will be widely shared.

Renewable sources of energy are easily deployed and scalable, espe­cially solar. Technological develop­ment over past four years in Solar PV systems goes beyond hydro and wind. With vocational training a college graduate can be the sole required skilled manpower. Solar PV system thus has been responsible for three million jobs around the globe. Bringing our brothers and sisters back home though creation of lucra­tive jobs is the need of the hour.

The renewable energy penetration for China and India are 15 and 25 percent respectively, as of 2015. With other renewable energy, the major challenge is to store for emergency use; hydro has the most feasible storage option.

With combined development of solar and hydro in Nepal, we can eas­ily be a renewable energy supplier to both these economies. There are tremendous growth opportunities in these energy markets. The long-term objective of creating a sustainable Nepali economy goes hand in hand with the interests of our neighbors and leading world economies.

Our economy can be a role model and develop concurrent to the 17 sustainable development goals of United Nations. The goals are broad and interrelated, with one common thread: renewable energy. So long as anybody can remember, the water has never stopped flowing, the wind has never stopped blowing and there is sunshine year round.

BY SOUGAT DHUNGEL

The Hyatt Global Month of Community Service program encourages hotels around the world to give something back to the communities they call home. A total of 30 associates from dif­ferent departments participated in the construction activity in an effort to strengthen their com­mitment and bond with the local communities.

The team of associates trav­eled 47 kilometers to volunteer in building a house for 56-year-old Lata Man Tamang, living in Panchkal. His house was com­pletely destroyed during the earthquakes in 2015. The Partic­ipatory Approach for Safe Shel­ter Awareness (PASSA), a group formed as part of Habitat Nepal’s Nepal Earthquake Assistance Program, identified as one of the most vulnerable persons in the community, allowing him to receive extra support, such as goods-in-kind, top-ups and labor support, on top of the typical reconstruction grants offered to rebuild his house.

Marking the special occasion of New Year 2075 BS and as a part of its 3rd Anniversary cele­brations, Himalaya Airlines has reinforced its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by extending its association with Prayas Nepal, by contributing kitchen utilities and a yearlong supply of notebooks for chil­dren for the educational year of 2075/76.

“We sincerely hope our small contribution supports Prayas Nepal’s efforts to encourage and empower the children, to help them thrive and grow into confident, healthy and strong adults,” Ujjwala Dali, Head of Department, Brand and Service Improvement of Himalaya Air­lines, said at a program inside Prayas premises.

Smart, innovative, energy effi­cient and eco-friendly are words commonly used to describe any consumer electronic or home appliance product. LG refriger­ators have always been popular in the Nepali market as well. The durability, features, aesthetics, after sales service, warranty, and energy savings, are few rea­sons why LG refrigerators have acquired the number 1 position in the Nepali market.

CG Impex (P) Ltd., the sole dis­tributor for LG in Nepal, brings the best refrigerators ranging from single door units to side by side refrigerators with InstaView Door-In-Door features. The new line-ups of the double door units that are common in the Nepali households are equipped with trademark features like Linear Cooling, Door Cooling, Smart Diagnosis, Auto Smart Connect among others.

As part of its CSR, Hotel Yak & Yeti organized an event in honor of Earth Day 2018 this week. Earth Day is the world’s largest environmental movement and the theme for this year was “End Plastic Pollution.” Hotel Yak & Yeti hosted an interactive program in which it invited fifteen Grade 7 students from Tangal Secondary School (Tangal Madhyamik Bidhyalaya) to engage in activities like recycling plastic bottles, planting seeds and trees in the east side garden and making drawings on Earth Day 2018.

Hotel Yak & Yeti’s in-house gardener demonstrated how to make plant pots out of recycled bottles and the children followed. The children of Tangal Secondary School were encouraged to participate in activities such as seeds and tree plantations in the garden as an honor to Mother Earth. There was a special healthy snack box menu prepared by Executive Chef Sagar Singh Rawat for the children and teachers participat­ing in the event.