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On the occasion of the Mother’s Day this month, Hyatt Regency Kathmandu has launched special offers for the “most important women in our lives.”

Hyatt’s Pastry Chef Deepak has created a special Mother’s Day Cake—a sweet chocolate treat with a mixture of chocolate sponge, cointreau cream and mir­ror glaze at only Rs 900 (+taxes) a pound. The cake can be ordered eggless too.

Club Oasis spa at Hyatt also has a Mother’s Day Spa special pack­age which includes 45-minute manicure, 60-minute aroma ther­apy massage, 60-minute facial, plus use of steam, sauna and whirlpool at Rs 7,500 (+taxes).

The offers are valid from April 01-April 30.

Ncell Pvt Ltd has introduced ‘Pahilo SIM’ for the students who appeared in this year’s SEE (Secondary Education Exam).

Under this scheme, students can subscribe Ncell pre-paid SIM card at just Re 1, which can be loaded with exciting offers of iflix video streaming and My5 service on first recharge.

The Pahilo SIM users can also enjoy exclusively designed and more affordable data packs and bonuses on every top-up. The scheme that will remain in place for 90 days came into effect on March 2.

All SEE appeared students of 2018 can get Ncell pre-paid SIM card from nearest Ncell Centers on sub­mitting copies of their examination admit card and citizenship of their parents/guardian.

Two Australian kids of around 10 are trying to figure out the real name of the items in front: round, steamed balls of flour filled with chicken mince, and three-inch cylindrical pieces of flour filled with pork mince. The first kid says, “They are called dumplings.” “I’m not so sure because these [pointing to the cylindrical piec­es] are called gyoza,” replies the second kind. “But I heard them say ‘momo’ when we bought it,” says the first one. They are unsure but they both relish the taste and I watch them finish two plates quick. I walk to them and ask if they like what they just had. They smile, lick their lips and say they did. I then tell them the story of “momo”, the Nepali version of an item pop­ularly known around the world as dumplings.

A Greek man in his seventies is on a disability scooter. He buys three plates of momo, takeaway, hangs them on his scooter and is on his way out. I smile and ask him if he will finish all three. He says he’ll have one plate and save the other two for his grandkids who are visit­ing the next day.

I tell him, “But this place will be selling momo tomorrow too.” He smiles and says, “I know. I was here yesterday for my dinner, and today because of the foul weather, the event almost got cancelled. So I’m not taking any chances. Who knows with the unpredictable weather of Melbourne?”

A much-travelled Spanish couple in front of me have just ordered two plates of jhol momo (momo dipped in savoury soup), and they want extra chilli sauce on the side. I am intrigued. They tell me, “Momo is the only dumpling in the world served with savoury chilli. Most dumplings we have had around the world come with salty sauces. Thank god for the momo.”

A young Nepali girl shares her enthusiasm with me. “I arrived in Melbourne from Nepal three weeks ago to start my studies. I was abso­lutely homesick. Thanks to these momo, taas (fried mutton served with puffed rice) and chhoila (spicily marinated grilled meat), I can recon­nect with my land and my people.”

These are scenes from the just-concluded Momo Festival orga­nized by Solangture, which was held on March 24-26 at the Coburg Velodrome in Melbourne, Australia. These four stories are illustrative of the smiles spread by the Momo-Fest on the faces of more than 20,000 people who attended.

The Momo-fest was not only a gathering of Nepalis enjoying their favourite foods. It was also a pan­orama of Melbournians and visiting tourists, from Australia and abroad, connecting with Nepal, reigniting their gastronomic delights with Nepali cuisine. Added to this was an opportunity to enjoy soulful Nepali classical and folk music, played by Kutumba, and a platform for Nepali businesses to promote their products and services in Australia and beyond.

Raju Shakya, Creative Director of Solangture, describes the Momo Festival as a vehicle for promoting Nepal, its culinary delights and the overall message of peace and har­mony that Nepal embodies.

He explains that Solangture aims to connect cultures and assist in multicultural integration in Aus­tralia and beyond. “What better way to spread love and harmony than through the vehicle of food?” Raju asks.

A key issue that was also a stand-out was the management of rub­bish. Considering that the festival was organised over 7,000 sq meters of land with over 20,000 people attending, there was fear of how the rubbish would be managed. But the organizers left the space perfectly clean after the event. Sol­angture needs to be congratulated on this front.

The Momo Festival was also col­lecting donations for the MIT Foun­dation, a charity registered in Aus­tralia with the aim of helping rebuild schools and health institutions in Nepal, especially those devastated by the earthquake in 2015. Solang­ture collected AUD 10,700 in dona­tions during this momo-fest and added another AUD 1,300 from its own coffers for a total of AUD 12,000 for the cause.

This highlights the ‘giving’ nature of Melbourne residents and the role Nepali cuisine can play to bring different cultures together. Hip hip Hurray. Hip Hip Momo .

By Ashish Sitoula, Melbourne

Kathmandu: The Pashupati Area Development Trust has announced the Pashupati area would be free of beggars. Speak­ing at a program on April 3, Min­ister for Culture and Tourism and Chair of the PADT Govern­ing Council Rabindra Adhikari suggested the PADT should help rehabilitate those for whom beg­ging is a profession and instead teach them livelihood skills.

According to a study, there are 182 beggars inside the Pashupati main temple premises. In col­laboration with the Manav Sewa Ashram 80 beggars have already been rehabilitated in Gongobu and Budhanilakantha Ashram, according to the PADT. RSS

Kathmandu: Construction of Kathmandu View Tower at the Old Bus Park in Kathmandu is moving ahead at a snail’s pace, according to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Work on building the foundation, in what is the first phase, is still going on, said KMC’s Public-Private Partnership Unit Chief Mahesh Kafle. The initial plan was to build a 29-storey building, but the project was reduced to 12 floors following the April 2015 earthquake. RSS

Surkhet: “A Buddha Airlines air­craft successfully conducted a Sur­khet-Kathmandu test flight on April 4,” said Binod Kumar Panta, Chief of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, Surkhet. Surkhet is the capital of Karnali province. A 47-seat aircraft will start regular flights from April 14. This is in line with the demand of the locals of Karnali province that an air-link be established with Kathmandu. RSS

Dhan Bahadur Roka, 69, has been suffering from a nerve impairment for the past 10 years. His limbs don’t function well if he doesn’t take medicine every day. He needs help moving around. His wife Lilamati Roka, 64, suffers from hypertension and gastritis. But these physical ailments of this couple from Malika rural municipality in the western hill district of Myagdi pale in comparison to another pain they have had to endure for the past 12 years.

Of their four sons, three have died abroad— two in Malaysia and one in Qatar. On March 24, the youngest, Dharma Lal, was found dead in his room in Malaysia, where he worked as a security guard. The second son, Bhakta Bahadur, had died 12 years ago in Qatar. Two years after that, the eldest son, Sama Bahadur, died in Malaysia. None of them had any serious illness.

Dhan Bahadur couldn’t control his emotions when he saw his youngest son’s body in a coffin last week. Lalamati is barely conscious with grief.

Their third son, Tham Bahadur, had come home from Malaysia on March 22, just two days before Dharma Lal breathed his last. He and Dharma Lal had gone to Malaysia within a span of seven months.

“My elder brother Bhakta Bahadur died 21 months after he went to Qatar. He had recently been married and his wife was pregnant. He couldn’t see his child. Then my eldest brother went to Malaysia. He died there,” says Tham Bahadur. “For a few years, my youngest brother, Dharma Lal, and I tried to work here in Nepal. But we eventually chose foreign employment because of the lack of decent job prospects here.”

Although Tham Bahadur and Dharma Lal worked for different companies, they saw each other every month. “Dharma Lal asked me to go home first and said he would come for Dashain. He was planning on getting married then,” laments Tham Bahadur. “I’m worried. How will I manage family expenses all by myself now?”

Dhan Bahadur and Lilamati require medication worth Rs 5,000 every month. Of their two married daughters, the younger one, Shashikala, helps with the expenses. But Tham Bahadur has the added responsibil­ity of taking care of his elder brothers’ three young children. “Sometimes I wonder why I’m alive,” he rues.

“Dharma Lal told me that he’d bring gold necklaces for his two sisters when he would come for Dashain. But he’s come home in a coffin,” says Shashikala, weeping disconsolately.

The loss of yet another son has plunged the Roka family into dire financial straits. Sri Prasad Roka, head of the Malika rural munici­pality, pledged financial help, both for the last rites and for the children’s education. Various organizations and individuals handed over Rs 30,000 to the Roka family last week to help with Dharma Lal’s last rites expenses.  

By Gopal Chhantyal | Beni

By limiting his India trip to three days, Prime Minister KP Oli has broken with the tradition of new Nepali prime ministers coming here at least for a week. Oli has tried to make the visit businesslike by wrapping up official duties in a single day. Previous visits of Nepali prime ministers generally included such ancillary tasks as observation of development projects in other parts of India, visits to religious sites, acceptance of an honorary degree from a university, etc. In fact, even Oli’s last trip to New Delhi as prime minister—from February 19-24, 2018—was twice as long as his current visit. In New Delhi, Oli and Modi will remotely inaugurate the integrated check point at Birgunj as well as lay the foundation of the Arun III hydroelectric project. There had been considerable diplomatic effort to credit the inaugurations of these projects to Sher Bahadur Deuba while he was heading the previous Nepali Congress-Maoist Center gov­ernment. Former Nepali ambassa­dor to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, had even tried to persuade Modi to go to Nepal, but New Delhi con­sidered such a visit inappropriate at a time when Nepal was caught up in election fever. As a result, Oli will get the credit for inaugurating these projects. Some view this as an expression of Delhi’s commitment to carry out major projects even when there is a communist govern­ment in Nepal.

Besides these, Oli and his Indian counterpart will discuss many old bilateral issues. Still, says a high-lev­el officer at the Nepali Embassy, the visit will focus exclusively on economic and development issues. Agreements are likely on, among other things, agriculture modern­ization, water transport, integrated check posts and new air routes. According to the acting ambassa­dor to India, Bharat Kumar Regmi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made preparations to make the visit ‘substantial’. He says discussions between the two prime ministers will center on issues of mutual inter­est, including implementation of past agreements.

Only a formality?

But according to Nihar R. Nayak, a research fellow at the Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, over the past few decades, there has hardly been any difference between the numerous high-level visits of Nepali prime min­isters to India. “It’s the second visit of a Nepali prime minister in just seven months. Sher Bahadur Deu­ba had come here in August. Such frequent visits suggest they are no more than a formality,” says Nayak.

But, he adds, New Delhi’s ‘course correction’ is an encouraging sign. “It was during Oli’s previous term as prime minister that ties between India and Nepal had soured. This visit will re-orient bilateral relations in a positive direction.”

Oli will need economic aid from both India and China in order to implement federalism. His relations with China are already cordial. Now he is in search of better rela­tions with India. At the same time, China also wants to push trilateral relationship with India and Nepal. But it cannot make those lucrative inroads into the big Indian markets if Nepal-India ties remain patchy. China, in other words, needs Nepal’s help for the success of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Nayak speculates that Oli could have made India his first foreign destination after taking China into confidence. “It’s possi­ble that Oli will raise the issue of trilateral cooperation.”

You first

Modi had invited Oli even before Oli became the prime minister. “You first,” Oli had responded. Indeed there had been diplomatic efforts to get Modi to visit Nepal first. But with­out a plenipotentiary ambassador in India, this was always going to be a tall order. In contrast, many in New Delhi praise the active and incisive role being played by Manjeev Singh Puri, the Indian ambassador to Nepal. Puri, who enjoys special rap­port with Modi, is generally credited for salvaging New Delhi’s relations with Oli. But many here also view the left unity and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s abrupt visit to Nepal as evidence of Puri’s shortcomings.

Modi last visited Nepal in 2014. There has not been a high-level visit from India to Nepal after the then Indian president Pranab Mukher­jee’s November 2016 trip. The Nepali side, as such, was eager to get Modi to Nepal first, but to no avail.

On the other hand, Modi has been successful in getting Oli to visit India before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Nepal, and before the Nepali prime minister has had a chance to go to China. Modi rolling out the red carpet for Oli and Oli making India his maiden foreign trip show that the two prime ministers see each other as indispensable.

New dimensions

Ashok Mehta, a retired major gen­eral in the Indian Army and an old Nepal hand, reckons India will find it easy to work with the current Nepali government that is guaran­teed to survive at least the next two years. Mehta, who is wary of the practical aspects of the left unity in Nepal, also thinks Oli’s pro-China tilt will make him view Nepal-India ties differently. “Oli, nonetheless, understands Nepal’s geopolitical situation and the indispensabili­ty of India. So he’s continuing the tradition of Nepali prime ministers making India their first foreign trip”.

During every India visit of a Nepali prime minister, there is talk of strengthen­ing the historical, economic and socio-cultural ties between the two neighbors. Over the past four years, the visits of previous Prime Ministers Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Sher Bahadur Deuba as well as that of President Bidya Devi Bhandari all revolved around the cli­chéd ‘new dimension in Nepal-India relations’.

But the Indian intelli­gentsia and media persons have consistently pointed out the necessity of acknowledging the practical challenges inherent in Nepal-India relations. SD Muni, a professor emeritus of international relations at Jawaharlal Nehru Uni­versity, New Delhi, has repeatedly stressed the importance of timely implementation of Indian projects in Nepal.

In a recent talk-show, Muni said that although India cannot compete against China in financial terms, it should still adopt a policy of com­pleting and handing over such proj­ects on time. In the same show, Suhasini Haidar, an Indian journalist and foreign policy analyst, argued that relations between India and Nepal soured after India tried to flex its muscles.

By organizing this visit, the Indian side wants to convey that India’s relationship with PM Oli is normal. But others argue that India is once again continuing with its flawed pol­icy of providing patronage to indi­vidual leaders rather than improv­ing institutional ties.

Mutually beneficial

Whatever the case, strained ties with neighbors could pose problems for the ruling BJP in the general elections next year. As the main opposition, the Indian National Con­gress, has ramped up its criticism of Modi’s mishandling of South Asia policy, the BJP appears intent on improving neighborhood ties. For one, it does not want to be seen as ‘losing Nepal to China’.

Oli for his part seems to understand that Nepal has no option but to maintain good relations with India, so he too has embraced India’s forget-past-bitterness-and-move-ahead strategy.

In the lead up to the visit, the common feeling here in New Delhi was that ‘pro-China’ Oli may be hard to turn around, but he has certainly made the right start by making India his first foreign stop.

 BY ASHA THAPALIYA | New Delhi