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Weavers are renowned for their remarkable nest-building skills. These small birds create intricate nests, often resembling woven baskets, using grasses, leaves, and various materials. These nests serve as excellent protection from predators and harsh weather conditions.

The tale of a weaver underscores the creativity and ingenuity of nature, inspiring humans to cherish and learn from the world around them. It also highlights how observing animal behavior can spark innovative ideas in human architecture and design.

Within weavers’ colonies, complex social structures exist, with dominance hierarchies among males impacting their access to resources and nesting sites.

Some weaver bird species nest in colonies, resulting in a captivating spectacle of numerous nests in close proximity. This communal nesting behavior offers collective vigilance against predators, ensuring better protection.

Similar to humans, male weavers showcase their nest-building prowess as a courtship display to attract females. The more elaborate the nest, the higher the chances of attracting a mate.

Females evaluate males based on the quality of their nests, as it signifies the male’s genetic fitness and ability to provide a safe environment for their offsprings.

Weavers use various vocalizations to communicate with one another. These sounds convey warnings about predators, signal social interactions, and establish territorial boundaries.

Certain weaver bird species are migratory, embarking on long journeys to find suitable breeding and feeding grounds. Every year, when spring season starts, weavers migrate from the Tarai region of Nepal to the bank of Balkhu river in Kathmandu. They reproduce and return in mid-summer.

Once the eggs hatch, both male and female weavers take care of the newborn. They feed the chicks and protect them from potential threats.

In this generation, depression and anxiety have become major issues and it’s high time we take care of our mental health. We should be cautious about mental health as we might not be aware of the potential triggers. Since anyone might go through mental health issues, priority must be given to it. When I experienced it, I understood it. 

Life was going well. I was having a good time and hanging out with my friends and family. Although there were highs and lows, I was satisfied with myself. As I mentioned, everything was going smoothly but one morning I woke up with a heavy pounding heart and didn’t know what was going on. I woke up because I felt a kind of shiver go through my body. I had a strange feeling as I was shivering rather than sweating during summer. The fear was there.

I looked around my room and suddenly felt like I didn’t belong there. I felt detached from myself, the surroundings, and reality. It was a battle with myself. I realized I was having anxiety and what felt like a panic attack. From that day, I started having anxiety frequently which was not normal at all. I thought I could take care of myself but it got worse. In time, I felt completely detached from myself and the world.

Voices were louder than before. I started feeling lightheaded, experiencing brain fog as I felt heavy and numb. I was having trouble thinking. When I was anxious, there used to be pain in both of my hands, like hundreds of needles were being stabbed inside them and my body temperature and heart rate used to increase. It felt unreal. I didn’t know what was going on. I used to cry a lot. When I looked in the mirror, I once had the impression that I didn’t know who I was, that something wasn’t right. That was the time I decided to go see a psychiatrist.

I was already experiencing anxiety while waiting for my turn in a hospital because the voices around me seemed loud and seeing so many people made me feel uneasy. During my session with the psychiatrist, I broke down in tears as I explained to him that if I have to endure these feelings for longer than a month, I don’t want to live. He advised me to give it some time and to keep a positive outlook because everything would be okay. He also recommended medications.

After the visit with the psychiatrist, I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder and depression. Every day was a struggle. I still felt like time was moving extremely slowly, that there was no point in life, and I lacked the energy to face another day during that time. As time went by, I started taking the medications and also went for counseling, and that really helped. Although I haven’t totally recovered yet, I’m getting better. However, there are times when I feel terribly depressed. 

Every day, I suffer mentally in different ways. I occasionally think I’m doing okay, but after a while, I start to doubt my abilities and start feeling worthless. Knowing my symptoms, I used to divert myself if I felt anxious. Walking and reading books were helpful. I used to stand up and walk whenever I felt anxious, and it helped. From my suffering, I got to learn so many things about mental health and how vital it is that we look after our mental health. And it is so important to prioritize ourselves.

Furthermore, to all those suffering mentally, I would like to say that I know it’s super hard but this will pass for sure. At some point, you may feel like you can’t make it and there is no hope but always respond to negative thoughts with positive ones. I know it may feel like a war in your mind but at least try and push yourself. Despite how simple it may seem, this is exhausting. Accepting that you have a mental disease is the first step towards overcoming it. That is why don’t forget that you are doing this for you. There’s always room for hope.

Physical and mental issues exist. Everyone takes medication when they experience physical difficulties, so it’s crucial to consider doing the same if you are experiencing mental issues. Additionally, keep in mind that seeing a psychiatrist and/or a counselor is not a huge thing, and taking medication if necessary is acceptable. This is just a simple reminder that we will get through this and that you aren’t alone.

The government on Thursday inked a seven-point agreement with an organization representing the depositors, who have been staging a protest as part of their long struggle to get their savings back from different cooperatives.

The deal that led to suspension of the ongoing protest came at a meeting between the victims of cooperatives, Minister for Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation Ranjita Shrestha Chaudhary, Secretary Gokarnamani Duwadi, Registrar at the Cooperatives Department Namaraj Ghimire at Singhadurbar.  

“The meeting agreed to set up a savings and credit protection fund to ensure that the depositors get their money back,” said Prakash Joshi, spokesperson at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation.

As part of the deal, the ministry has pledged to establish a credit information center and a credit recovery tribunal to speed up the deposit recovery process.

Per the deal, the ministry will coordinate with problematic cooperatives such as Oriental through their management committees to form a clear action plan and ensure its implementation for repayment of the depositors’ funds.

The two sides also agreed to protect the interests of depositors through the Cooperative Reform Suggestion Taskforce, formed by the Council of Ministers to give suggestions for reforms in the cooperative sector, by including a maximum of three representatives from among the victims, including those taking part in protest, as the taskforce’s invitee members.

“The minister has promised to meet our major demand—the repayment of our principal with interest,” said Harish Chandra Shrestha, coordinator of a federation representing the depositors defrauded by cooperatives.

Earlier in the day, the victims staged a demonstration at Bijulibazaar demanding that the government ensure the return of their savings with interest and pay them from the state coffers if the cooperatives fail to do so. Police stopped the demonstrators at Bijulibazaar Bridge while they were on their way to New Baneshwor for staging a protest outside the Parliament building.

The cooperatives had lured the depositors by promising high interest rates, only to deny them even the principal citing a liquidity crisis. The victims have been making rounds of government offices in their desperate bid to get their savings back through government intervention.

Earlier, an interim report of the Cooperative Problem Solving Suggestion Taskforce was handed over to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

The interim report includes a 26-point suggestion on ways to handle problems plaguing the cooperatives across the country.

The report has suggested a number of measures including early establishment of a savings protection fund for the protection of depositors’ savings, a halt in the registration of new cooperatives and proper regulation of those currently operating.

Major political parties have led a number of movements for the establishment and re-establishment of democracy in a space of eight decades. Successive generations of Nepalis have taken part in these movements, offering blood, sweat, toil and tears in their perennial struggle for cherished ideals like democracy, human dignity, the rule of law and good governance. 

Despite waves of change, popular aspirations have remained unrealized, by and large, with the leaders behind these waves of change themselves grossly misusing the organs of the state to fulfill their vested interests. 

Every now and then, the top brass of the big parties remind the public of their struggle against tyranny, including years spent behind bars and torture meted out against them, forgetting completely that one cannot live on their past laurels forever.
But the people often find in the statements and acts of their erstwhile heroes tell-tale signs of dictators donning the garb of democracy. 

Their deepening impression is that the more things change, the more they remain the same—in Nepal. 

Democracy is a culture and a way of life. Who knows this better than the leaders at the forefront of democratic movements?  

But then how many of our ‘champions of democracy’ have been living by their ideals after their victory against tyranny? Select figures of the big parties, for example, have been holding leadership positions for decades on end instead of making way for transfer of power by grooming their successors. Granted that transfer of power to the younger generation was easier said than done during the decade-long insurgency and the royal rule with democratic processes largely on hold. 

But even in the post-conflict scenario, practices aimed at promoting democracy within the respective parties continue to be a rarity.    

Such is the situation that the parties do not even bother to hold their central committee meetings, leave alone general conventions and policy conventions. That’s why, a party holding a meeting becomes big news and so does another party planning its jamboree, in a democracy! 

Having helmed party leadership positions for decades and discharged their duties as the chief executive of the country, it’s time our seasoned politicians did some serious soul-searching and started adopting democracy as a way of life. 

Freeing themselves from the coteries of their kith and kin can help boost internal democracy and so can regular party meetings. 

It’s time for our leaders to practice what they preach, if they really want to protect democracy from the specter of autocracy.