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In 1994, in the southern hemisphere, touted as the ‘The Land Down Under’, once the sole habitat of the Aborigines, the primal, the flattest, and the aridest inhabited continent called Australia, a country steeped in geological contradictions and deep-seated enigmas—the world got bowled over a discovery made of a prehistoric flora. In the Mesozoic Era (252-66m years ago), when the dinosaurs once roamed this Blue Planet, strangely, alongside those prehistoric reptiles, lived and thrived a species of wild trees. Miraculously, they outstripped the dinosaurs and survived the ravages of time and natural catastrophes for all these legions of millenniums to this day—a bizarre mystery. The discovery was made by fluke by David Noble, a field officer from the National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales (NSW), with two of his avid bushwalker friends while abseiling down rugged canyons of Wollemi National Park. Established in 1979, covering an area of 5,017 sq km, Wollemi National Park is just 130 km northwest of Sydney, the largest city in Australia. Scarcely did David realize then the unearthing of the mysterious tree would go down in the annals of history. While having lunch in a secluded gorge with his mates, David, also a botanist, noticed a bunch of strange trees he had never seen before in his career. Curious, he collected a few leaves as samples to be identified by experts at the NPWS lab stationed in Blue Mountains, New South Wales. A passionate backpacker, and a fanatic of rappelling, David was obsessed with exploring newer gorges, canyons, and caves, least heard of and virtually untrodden by others in the vast wilderness of NSW. In his career with NSW National Parks, he had, nigh, scoured every inch of the Wollemi wilderness within the park. It soon led to the finding that the strange species of trees were none other than the prehistoric Wollemi pines that had lived in the epoch when dinosaurs dominated the Earth. Long believed by palaeo-botanists to be extinct and considered as just fossil remains, they got christened with the names the ‘Dinosaur Trees’, and ‘The Living Fossil Trees’, and several others. The species was named the Wollemi Nobilis after the groundbreaker, David Noble. The news spread like a wild bushfire and took the world by storm—it was as good as rediscovering live dinosaurs, alive and kicking. A miracle, indeed. “The Wollemia nobilis was common across Australia from more than 100m years ago to about 60m years ago. But, as the continent dried out while drifting north, about 30m years ago, the trees started to disappear,” wrote Teo Armus for a Washington Post story. The mysterious Wollemi pines/conifer trees grow as tall as 40 meters and belong to the evergreen family, bearing cones with spindly branches, coarse dark bark, and dense fern-like, lime-green foliage. The only kind in its genus, the Wollemi pine’s base, can get as thick as 1.2 meters. Botanists contend the Wollemi pine natural self-coppicing (sprouting multiple trunks) from its base enabled it to withstand the worst catastrophes. Australia has a lengthy history of natural disasters, such as severe heatwaves, drought, tropical cyclones, rainstorms, and summer bushfires. It was nothing short of an absolute miracle they miraculously endured all these years by the millions. Today, only 100-odd numbers of adult trees in different stands and 200 to 300 maturing juveniles remain in an area of 10 square kilometers in Wollemi National Park and the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, NSW,  Australia. Wollemi Park was categorized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002. These prehistoric pines are found only in Australia's Wollemi National Park and no other place on Earth. The NSW kept the Wollemi pines’ location classified to avert potential pathogen infection, vandalism, and illegal collection and to thwart human encroachment and predation. The primal species survive in a deep gorge between soaring sandstone cliffs, some from the Triassic period, in the Wollemi National Park. The NSW has still kept the exact location a ‘closely-guarded secret’. Like many endangered wild species of trees worldwide, the Wollemi pines, despite having survived millenniums, stand critically endangered today, claim senior phytologists. And one of the threats includes bushfires, among others. In 2019-2020 a chain of colossal bushfires dubbed the ‘Black Summer,’ which swept across the Aussieland, proved cataclysmic in Australia’s environmental history. The mega holocaust seared over 10m hectares, primarily forests in southeast Australia. A billion animals perished, and several endangered species—driven to extinction. In New South Wales alone, five million hectares of forestland, including some sections of the Wollemi National Park, was struck down by the devastating inferno and brought in its wake a colossal loss of human lives and property and a ‘silent death’ to invaluable flora and fauna by the millions. And, to the horror of the Wollemi and NSW Parks officials, the bushfires threatened to destroy the small grove of fewer than 200 of the last surviving Wollemi pines in their mysterious haven in a deep gorge. Leaping flames and billowing waves of impenetrable smoke reaching the sky were reported approaching the site from Giant Gospers Mountain. The blaze was, however, doused as the Australian government, in a sweep-operation, mobilized the NSW Park officials on time to drop fire retardant in the area and deployed choppers to winch down highly pro firefighters into the ravine to install a hydration system to provide ample moisture to the trees to fight off the scorching heat. As the news about the safety of the iconic species traveled across, the anxious Australians sighed in relief. And, when in March 1999, the news broke out that the Queensland Forestry Research Institutes and Birkdale Nursery were going to propagate Wollemi pine commercially for sale to the public, it created an uproar in Australia. Soon, every Aussie household could have their cherished plant in their garden, patio, balcony, verandah, and backyard. Today, the potted Wollemi saplings get marketed internationally, and in New South Wales, Australia, it is priced at Aud $50. The first limited release of Wollemi pines was auctioned at Sotheby’s in New York for a whopping Aud $3,600 plus. The park curators maintained that should the legendary species perish, someday in the wild, it will live on across the globe, leastways to adorn people's gardens and homes—and thus save the prehistoric species perpetually from becoming extinct. The phenomenal scheme taken up by the Australian government bulwarked the legacy of the dinosaur trees. [email protected]

When I was in the sixth grade, I suffered from high fever and body pain for a month. Every doctor my parents took me to told me I had typhoid and put me on strong medicines. Nothing worked and I didn’t get better. My parents were sad and didn’t know what to do. Then, they took me to another doctor—one last attempt at finding out just what was wrong. This doctor finally figured out that I had a Urinary Tract Infection. I had been wrongly diagnosed for over a month. This taught me valuable lessons. One of those lessons was that it’s crucial to first identify what’s truly going on before we try to find solutions for it. And this is true for most aspects of life including our emotions as well. For the longest time in my life, I replaced hurt with anger. When I was hurting from inside and needed empathy and connection from people around me, I used to react in unhealthy ways that eventually pushed people away from me. The reason I couldn’t express I was feeling hurt was because my emotional vocabulary was limited to just ‘mad’, ‘sad’ and ‘glad’. Just like hazardous consequences occur when you are wrongly diagnosed in case of diseases, you get similar results when you try to mask all your emotions under obvious terms like ‘angry’, ‘stressed’ and ‘happy’. Labeling our emotions distinctly gives us the power to accept our emotions for what they truly are and manage them accordingly. Thankfully, I joined My Emotions Matter right on time. This is where I learned the skills to identify different emotions and express them positively, what we call ‘Emotional literacy’. Emotional literacy, or the ability to identify, understand, label, and express emotions positively is one of the foundational skills of emotional intelligence. As I have slowly started implementing the skills of emotional literacy, I’m getting a lot of compliments on how I’m a much calmer person now. While I appreciate these compliments, emotional literacy has truly benefited me by helping me love myself. Emotional literacy has helped me become closer to who I truly am and what I want in life. It has taught me that all our emotions have underlying messages. When we are equipped with the tools of emotional literacy, we can learn to unravel the hidden messages beneath our emotions. These messages can provide us with valuable information about ourselves. Now, a question that may arise is what kind of hidden messages do our emotions provide? Every emotion we feel is connected to our needs. When we experience a pleasant emotion, it’s because our needs have been met. Conversely, when we experience an unpleasant emotion, it’s a cry for us to get our needs fulfilled. For instance, I feel disgusted when someone raises their voice in an argument. Now, I delved deeper and asked myself why I feel disgusted when that happens. Slowly, I realized that when someone raises their voice when talking to me, my need for protection is not met. I sense potential harm when someone around me raises their voice and this triggers me. This was a moment of epiphany for me and this information that I have about myself has helped me a lot. Every time I make new friends, I tell them about this so they try to remain mindful of not raising their voices when talking to me. On the other hand, I feel joyful when I spend time with my mother. It’s because my need for connection and affection is met. Simply stated, pleasant emotions indicate things around us are happening to our liking, and unpleasant emotions indicate that things around us aren’t happening to our liking. Now you may wonder if it’s possible for things to always go as we want them to. And if things don’t go as we want them to, how justified is it to feel unpleasant emotions? Some people might also consider it a sign of immaturity to feel unpleasant emotions. From my childhood days, a constant message I received from people around me was that ‘you shouldn’t feel angry.’ Whenever I reacted in anger, people around me watched in contempt. Slowly, I too started judging myself when I felt angry. I thought feeling angry made me a bad person. I hated myself when I got angry. This self-hating business only pushed me away from self-love. This is also where emotional literacy has helped me. Emotional literacy gives you the space to experience difficult emotions freely. Another important concept provided by emotional literacy is that emotions are neither good nor bad. They are neutral. They can lead us to feel pleasant or unpleasant but they themselves are neither negative nor positive. It’s our reactions to our emotions that can potentially create harm. Feeling angry isn’t a problem but reacting in damaging ways like lashing out at people or going and hitting someone out of anger is where the problem lies. In fact, the world wouldn’t have been this way if it weren’t for our anger. Think of social injustice. If it weren’t for people feeling angry at the state of the world and wanting to do something about it, a lot of progress we see today wouldn’t exist. All our emotions carry important messages, it just takes the lens to look at it that way. For me, this lens was provided by emotional literacy. Emotional literacy enabled me to connect my emotions to my needs. This has empowered me to fully acknowledge all my pleasant or unpleasant feelings without judging myself for it. The author is the Project Coordinator at My Emotions Matter, an education initiative that helps individuals and teams learn the mindset and skills of Emotional Intelligence. You can learn more at myemotionsmatter.com

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is visiting India from May 31, his first abroad trip after assuming office on 25 Dec 2022.  The much-awaited visit was delayed primarily due to two key reasons: first due to the fluid political situation at home, and the second due to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s busy schedule. The Indian prime minister has just returned from Japan after participating in the Quad Leaders’ Summit. Over the past couple of years, India has been in the focus of global powers. In December last year, it assumed the G20 presidency and is preparing to convene the G20 leaders’ summit for the first time. India is also set to  host Quad Leaders’ Summit later this year. Prime Minister Dahal’s India visit will be meaningful amid growing US-China rivalry, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and  China and Russia coming closer for a shared objective of weakening the US global dominance. The Western bloc sees India as a counterweight to China’s influence in the South Asian region, and has come up with a series of policy and institutional measures to contain China’s growing military and economic influence in the smaller countries of this region. Meanwhile, after the Western sanctions, Russia too is looking at Asia to expand its trade and business, with India at the center. So far, India, one of the biggest powers in Asia, and other small countries of the Global South have refused to join bloc politics. They have taken a neutral and independent position on the Russia-Ukraine war. India, for example, continues to engage with Russia regardless of the criticisms from the Western powers. India’s economy is in the sixth position behind the US, China, Japan, Germany, and the UK, but it is poised to become the third largest economy, overcoming other powers. And as India increases its engagement with global powers, its top political level has little time to engage with small Asian countries, including its neighbors like Nepal. It takes several months for envoys of South Asian countries to even get to pay a courtesy call to Indian Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar. Through the G-20 presidency, India wants to shape global debates, says strategic analyst Binoj Basnyat. He adds India’s ambition to lead the Global South is evident in its influence in global political affairs and increased engagements with political-economic-security groupings like the Quad, BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the G7, G20 and ASEAN. Though the “neighborhood first” policy remains at the core of Nepal-India relationship, Basnyat says it is also important to acknowledge India’s expanding engagements with West Asia, East Asia and Far-East Asia. Prime Minister Dahal should be well-informed about where the world and Asia is heading when he holds talks with his Indian counterpart Modi. The Nepal government should be clear about where it stands amid the changing geopolitical landscape. The clarity of vision also applies when dealing with other powers like China and the US. Countries like Japan, South Korea, Canada, and Germany, among others, have come up with their own Indo-Pacific visions as per US’ Indo Pacific Strategy. India is already a member of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Will Prime Minister Dahal consider this changing global scenario and changing India when he sits for dialogue with Indian leadership? This time too Foreign Minister Narendra Saud has continued the customary practice of seeking suggestions from former foreign ministers and experts for the prime minister’s India visit. Obviously, Nepal and India have some long-standing issues such as border dispute and EPG (Eminent Persons’ Group) report that should get due priority when the two sides sit for a meeting during Dahal’s India trip. But Nepal should also look beyond these issues to foster a more dynamic relationship with India. Prime Minister Dahal should be able to present Nepal’s vision on how Nepal wants to take the economic benefit from India’s rise and changing global environment. For instance, Bangladesh has come up with the Indo-Pacific Outlook outlining guiding principles and objectives. The document recognizes the stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific as a crucial factor in realizing Bangladesh’s vision 2041. Nepal could make a similar vision on the Indo-Pacific which does not mean that Nepal should join the US' Indo-Pacific Strategy. The Quad Leaders’ Summit has come up with several initiatives and projects for the Indo-Pacific region. Nepal should be able to present its position through India. Likewise, Japan has shown greater interest to invest in the infrastructure of South Asia, which is an opportunity for Neap. Japan and Nepal can work jointly in connectivity projects including roads, railways and waterways. Nepal must have a concrete plan on how it will execute and use such projects for greater economic cooperation. South Korea has also shown its interest to engage with Nepal under its Indo-Pacific Strategy. Nepal and India can sign a long-term comprehensive economic cooperation in this regard. Nepal is going through an economic recession, unemployment rate is surging, and foreign investment is dwindling. In this scenario, Nepal should be able to lay out a clear vision on how it wants to engage with India on the economic front, instead of just seeking assistance for some development projects. Of late, there has been some progress on connectivity projects but there is no plan on how we are going to use those connectivity projects.  Similarly, the Nepal government needs to make preparations with how it is going to engage with Indian states that share borders with Nepal. India has already adopted a policy of competitive federalism which means Indian states compete with each other in attracting foreign investments and Nepal can take benefit from those Indian states. There should be introspection on how Indian investment is not coming to Nepal and why multinational companies are hesitating to invest. Until now, unskilled manpower and seasonal workers have been going to India for employment. Now, we can request India to provide certain quotas for skilled workers. Thousands of students who studied in India and Western universities could get high paying jobs in the Indian market. There has been good progress on energy cooperation between Nepal and India, but many issues are yet to be settled. Nepal has a high potential of contributing to the entire South Asia for clean energy. For that to happen, there is a need for collaboration between Nepal and India. India is the current chair of G20 and it is an opportunity for Nepal to make its voice heard at the international level. For instance, the impact of climate change on the Himalayas is an urgent issue of Nepal on which global attention is required. Nepal can ask India to make this one of the key agenda of G20. But Nepal’s plans and visions are unlikely to figure during Dahal’s India visit. It is already clear that his visit will revolve around the same old agendas, and that Prime Minister Dahal will most likely use the trip as an opportunity to cement his power. It is already too late to come up with a vision on how Nepal is going to engage with new India and other powers. .The same point is applicable with China, because Nepal is not prepared to take benefits from China’s rise. Many scholars have already started talking about G3 which means the US, India and China will shape the new world order. Uddhab Pyakurel, associate professor at Kathmandu University, says confusion in understanding Nepal’s geo-political reality has remained the main challenge for Dahal and his party. As the Maoist party has never been rational when dealing with Nepal’s immediate and distant neighbors, he adds to expect a major development in Nepal-India relations out of Prime Minister Dahal’s upcoming visit would be a folly.

After a long wait, Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal is set to embark on a four-day official visit to India on May 31. This visit holds immense significance as it was declared as his top priority upon assuming office for the third time, albeit in a tumultuous political landscape. Initially supported by KP Sharma Oli, Dahal soon separated from him and formed an alliance with Sher Bahadur Deuba. Now, the government is expediting preparations to ensure the ‘success’ of this visit. Before the formal announcement of the trip, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) initiated consultations with former foreign ministers, foreign secretaries, and foreign affairs experts to set the agendas for the visit. Foreign Minister Narayan Prasad Saud has been selectively seeking input, carefully considering the recommendations put forth. To understand PM Dahal’s visit, it is essential to examine it from three perspectives: Domestic adversaries, external challenges, and agenda-wise. Firstly, considering the domestic adversaries, Dahal’s capacity to exercise power is severely constrained. Despite a parliamentary majority, he is arguably the weakest Prime Minister in 17 years since the country’s switch to a federal democratic republic. Consequently, while India will respect him as the Prime Minister of a sovereign neighboring nation, it will also take into account Nepal's divided mandate. Dahal’s visit may be perceived as lacking the ability to represent the national conscience and psyche adequately. Secondly, Dahal’s term as PM is fixed for an initial two years as per a gentlemen’s agreement. Sher Bahadur Deuba, the chairman of the largest party in the ruling alliance, is next in line for the premiership. The last one year has been allocated to Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Nepal Socialist Party, which broke away from the CPN-UML. This distribution of the five-year term limits the extent to which any foreign counterpart, government, or party can fully support and collaborate with a PM during his tenure. Although Indian officials may not explicitly convey this, it will inevitably influence every meeting and interaction. Thirdly, the infamous fake Bhutanese refugees’ scandal has impacted national image. Nepal, proud of its history of never being colonized, has now been affected by acts of treason and organized crime. Consequently, these factors will subtly influence PM Dahal’s meeting with his Indian counterpart. Despite these domestic adversaries, the PM can collectively represent national self-confidence and sentiments by engaging with opposition leaders. He can emphasize that his visit to India is guided by a list of common agendas supported by all Nepali parties and stakeholders. Turning to external adversaries, India is not only our neighbor but also an emerging Asian power and a global strategic player. India maintains '’strategic partnerships'’ with the United States, ‘engages’ with Russia as it has done since the time of Indira Gandhi, and balances ‘conflicting and coordinated’ roles with China. Under the ‘neighbor first’ policy, Nepal is given priority, although relatively lesser when compared to global powers such as the USA, Russia, China, and other regional players. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is known to be one of the busiest leaders globally, further reinforcing the need for realistic expectations regarding the extent of India’s focus on Nepal. Furthermore, the inclusion of the China factor in the preparations for the Indian visit has added complexity to the dynamics. PM Dahal himself recently revealed that he had received an invitation to attend the BOAO Forum for Asia, but it was abruptly canceled following consultation with the Chinese ambassador. The sudden change in the Chinese government's decision to invite and then withdraw the invitation raises questions about the ongoing Nepal-China relations. The PM must understand that, when planning a visit to India, it is important to refrain from bringing China into the discourse or involving Beijing in his plans, and vice-versa. Some Previous Nepali PMs have made the mistake of either excessively engaging with neighboring powers or displaying an inferiority complex. A sovereign PM should have the confidence to exercise power independently, regardless of the size or development level of other countries. Equally sensitive and significant is the decision regarding which country should a PM visit first. Typically, the visit of a PM is determined on the bases of agendas and necessities. If the PM can explain the reason behind choosing a particular country for his first foreign trip, that decision should be fully supported. The question of the PM’s first foreign visit to India has not been raised because there are numerous issues that need to be resolved between the two countries. However, it is not the time to choose one country over the other; it is time to maintain a ‘relative balance’ considering the strong historical and multifaceted relations and contributions both countries have made to Nepal. It is important to understand that Nepal-India relations cannot be compared with Nepal-China relations and vice-versa as they have different dynamics. The third aspect to consider is the agenda. Nepal should not approach foreign visits with an extensive shopping list. Instead, Nepal should prioritize projects based on the nation’s needs, with a focus on completing previously agreed-upon projects. Nepal should also raise border issues and seek to resolve them through diplomatic negotiations. In such sensitive matters, there is no need for a display of pseudo-nationalism. If Prime Minister Dahal has mentioned raising the issue of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) and borders, it should not be for public consumption. Apart from border issues, there are no other genuine problems between the two countries. Perceived problems largely stem from misunderstandings that need to be addressed. The leaders of both the countries should move away from this ‘perceptional enmity’. Nepali leaders should refrain from involving India in their domestic issues, and India should respect Nepal’s internal affairs. This change is necessary because the era of political extremism is now over. Diplomatic relations between the two countries should be assessed on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit. Since diplomacy is not a zero-sum game, both countries should strive for a win-win situation. Nepal can expect support from India, an emerging leader in Asia and an influential neighbor, based on the principle of ‘'non-reciprocity’ 'as outlined in the ‘Gujral Doctrine’ by former Indian Prime Minister IK Gujaral. During PM Dahal’s visit, several agreements can be signed, and commitments to diplomatic negotiations for problem-solving can be made. However, the most crucial aspect of all is to bridge trust deficits between the two countries and strive to build a relationship on the basis of renewed trust.