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Mukam Ranamaidan

Mohan Mainali

History

Journalist and writer Mohan Mainali, who travels around the country and writes about the people he meets, has this time written about the fierce battle between Nepal and the British 209 years ago. For this, he has relied on the statements of people who fought, experienced, and witnessed that battle. He relies only on the wisdom of the people who hear and know things. He has not written accounts narrated by those who spoil the facts by getting carried away by emotions.

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop

Satoshi Yagisawa

Contemporary

When 25-year-old Takako’s boyfriend reveals he’s marrying someone else, she reluctantly accepts her eccentric uncle Satoru’s offer to live rent-free in the tiny room above his shop.

Hidden in Jimbocho, Tokyo, the Morisaki Bookshop is a booklover’s paradise. On a quiet corner in an old wooden building, the shop is filled with hundreds of second-hand books. It’s Satoru’s pride and joy, and he has devoted his life to the bookshop since his wife left him five years earlier. Hoping to nurse her broken heart in peace, Takako is surprised to encounter new worlds within the stacks of books lining the shop. As summer fades to autumn, Satoru and Takako discover they have more in common than they first thought. The Morisaki bookshop has something to teach them both about life, love, and the healing power of books.

The Compound Effect

Darren Hardy

Business/Self-help

This book reveals the core principles that drive success and presents the fundamental principles that have guided the most phenomenal successes in business, relationships, and beyond. This is an easy-to-use, step-by-step, no gimmicks, no hyperbole, no magic bullet operating system that allows you to multiply your success, chart your progress, and achieve anything you desire. It’s based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny and how little, everyday decisions will, by default, either take you to the life you desire or to disaster. If you’re serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of The Compound Effect to create the success you want. This book will teach you how to win every time, eradicate your bad habits, and how to get yourself to do things you don’t feel like doing. 

All these titles and more are available at Bookverse, Civil Mall, 4th floor, Sundhara, Kathmandu.

You will get 10% off when you buy four or more books and 15% off on Nepali books.

In the pursuit of personal growth and development, there’s often a virtue or habit that individuals aspire to cultivate. Whether it’s resilience, kindness, mindfulness, or any other quality, this intentional focus serves as a compass for navigating life’s journey. ApEx talked to three people about the specific virtues or habits they wish to cultivate and the underlying motivations behind their choices.

Prabesh Shrestha, 22

Resilience is like having a strong, flexible thread running through the tapestry of our lives. This thread helps us deal with tough situations, acting as a guide to navigate obstacles. Resilience is more than just surviving challenges. It’s about learning from them and emerging even stronger. It’s the inner power that allows us to bounce back from difficulties with determination and courage.

Imagine resilience as a compass that points us in the right direction during life’s ups and downs. Instead of just enduring problems, it enables us to adapt, grow, and find meaning in every twist and turn of our journey. Building resilience is a bit like discovering our inner superpower. It involves learning from our experiences, gaining wisdom, and finding significance in every part of our lives.

So, when we face challenges, resilience encourages us to approach them with a positive attitude. It’s like a tool that helps us not only survive but thrive, growing wiser with each obstacle we overcome. 

Shreeya Shakya, 22 

Aspiring to cultivate emotional well-being involves a journey of self-discovery and self-compassion. It’s akin to developing a deep understanding of oneself and extending kindness to one’s own feelings. Taking steps towards emotional well-being includes adopting strategies to effectively manage stress and navigate challenges, such as incorporating mindfulness practices into daily life.

Building and nurturing positive relationships become integral to this pursuit. Having a supportive network where one can freely express emotions and share moments of joy contributes significantly to emotional well-being. This involves not only communicating during tough times but also celebrating good ones together.

Prioritizing mental and emotional health in decision-making is a crucial aspect of fostering emotional well-being. This might involve making choices that align with personal values, setting boundaries, and recognizing when self-care is necessary. By consciously making these choices, individuals create a foundation for a happier and more balanced life, where emotional well-being becomes a central pillar supporting overall health and fulfillment.

Anjila Bhattarai, 21

The one virtue I wish to cultivate in life is kindness. Every time I go to Pashupatinath temple, mostly to see the aarati, I end up witnessing cremations as well. Just like that, people are gone. But it’s so surprising to me that despite the fragility of life, we don’t stop pointlessly competing and complaining. People are killing one another because of hunger, and abuse of power and authority. The greediness, jealousy, and pride we carry are nothing but an illusion of our minds that nurtures our ego.

It’s very important for us to spread a little bit of kindness whenever possible as we never know what the other person is going through. Practicing kindness is good for your mental well-being too. Death is the ultimate truth and so it’s important to live well. And if you can be responsible for someone else’s smiles or happiness, there is nothing better than that. For that reason, I’d like to choose kindness over everything else. I would also want to be talked about and remembered as someone who was nice to people and animals as well.

Muhammad Ali is believed to have said that service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth. This statement really hits home with me and I want to live by it.

We all want our homes to look beautiful and stylish. But we might not always have the time or the resources to opt for a complete makeover. Figuring out how to spruce up your home can sometimes be overwhelming. If your home is due a makeover, we are here to break things down for you. Focus on one area at a time. Details matter when doing up a home. Even if it’s wallpapering an area to give it a facelift or adding throw pillows on the couch, little things, done tastefully, can over time elevate your space. Here is a list of some great ideas that can get the ball rolling.

Use throw pillows

Adding some throw pillows or cushions can instantly change the mood of a space, making it feel more relaxed. Try playing with different colors and patterns. Whenever you get bored, you can simply swap the pillows or use different covers and change the look and feel of a space. Choose soft-to-touch fabrics like velvet if you want a classy touch.

Create a bar

It doesn’t have to be elaborate and lavish. A small table with a couple of bottles of good liquor or wine and a few glasses with a small decorative item or a flower vase can serve as an area of interest in your living room. Or you can also repurpose an old cabinet to create a proper bar area.

Add a floating shelf

Not only do floating shelves look great but they are easily one of the best home decor ideas that create more space on your walls and serve as easy ways to display your favorite things. Find a spot that could use one and create a small art and books gallery wall. You can rotate the items on display to change things up.

Decorate your coffee table

The coffee table is generally the focus of your living space. It’s, after all, mostly placed at the center of the seating area. So do it up and make it pretty. Use a table runner or a pretty tray and decorate it with books, vases, and flowers to give it a Pinterest-worthy look. Play around with scale for a great visual effect. Like throw pillows, you can occasionally change the items to refresh the look.

Wallpaper a small space

You don’t have to wallpaper an entire room. Just a small wall or a corner will do. There are many patterns and prints available these days so you can pick one to match your style. It’s fast, easy, and makes a world of difference. Go for just a hint of shine with a semi-gloss or luster sheen to keep it classy.

Hang art

You don’t have to go out and buy art. You can simply frame some of your favorite pictures or postcards from your travels and display them on your walls. Buy some matching, sleek frames and create a gallery wall that will make you smile while adding a nice personal touch to your space. For a cohesive look, choose frames that work together. Picking two or three colors like black and gold or silver and white will help the display look coordinated.

Bring in the old

We tend to toss out the old and bring in new stuff but antique pieces can be great conversation starters. A black and white portrait of your grandparents, that vinyl record player that has been gathering dust in your parent’s store room, or the old teapot set—sometimes adding an old item into your space can make it charming. Just make sure it means something to you.

Switch out a light fixture

Light fixtures are often referred to as the ‘jewelry’ of a home. They can add a wow factor in the most serious of spaces. Wicker shades are in trend. Paper lampshades, especially large round or oval ones, can work beautifully in small spaces. Alternatively, you can also add a floor lamp to a room to give it a regal touch.

Move things around

Sometimes the easiest way to spruce up your space is to just move things around the house. You don’t have to buy anything new. Change the placements of the things you already have. It doesn’t sound like much but it works wonders in making a space look and feel different. Try it, you will be surprised.

Pick pretty towels

There might not be much you can do to revamp a bathroom on a low-budget but pretty towels or an area rug under the sink can work their magic. Ditch boring towels in favor of interestingly patterned ones. Add a small jute rug under the sink and top it with a pair of lush bathroom slippers for a relaxed feel to the space.

Keep your space clean

Follow the rule of threes (objects look best when organized in odd numbers, especially threes) and leave a generous amount of white space on your walls and surfaces. When it comes to looking elegant, less is always more. File paperwork out of sight, stow away cables when not in use, find a home for everything, and get rid of clutter.

An unhealthy or sick body requires treatment. There are different treatment methods that are being practiced. The most common ones in modern times are medications and surgeries. But, physiotherapy has remained an alternative treatment method for a long time now and its practitioners are increasing in Nepal, owing to significant results they have demonstrated in patients.

This writer had met Jay Prakash Kapari (PT) some six years ago with complaints of severe back pain and diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis. After several medications, the pain had not subsided and medicines did not settle the pain. With a tiny hope, I had visited his clinic Ortho-Neuro Rehab Centre, located near Gwarko. Surprisingly, a few days of session gradually subsided my pain. Later, changing the medication along with physical therapy interventions helped me overcome spondylitis.

Whenever my pain is unbearable, due to various factors, I visit him and he performs manual therapy including chiropractic, cupping, NDT and others and the results have been positive. After conversing with him during our multiple meetings and seeing him progress over the years, I believe there is a large scope of physical therapy treatments in Nepal. 

When asked how he became a physiotherapist, he recounts, “Some of my friends wanted to become a medical doctor, some engineers and others lawyer and teacher, but I wanted to become a little different and I ended up joining physiotherapy considering the future potential.” 

Kapari remembers how he could secure his enrollment in one of the reputed colleges in India for physiotherapy after his high school in Nepal. He completed his Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy from Dolphin PG Institute of Bio-Medical and Natural Sciences and later Master’s of Physiotherapy in Neurology as well from the same institute. He crosses the memory lane and shares a happy moment when he stood the university topper.

Soon after earning his master’s degree, Kapari attended a number of seminars, received fellowships and participated in workshops and trainings, all related to chiropractic, NDT, Dry needling, Vestibular Rehab, PNF, Cupping Therapy, Osteopathy, Mulligan, etc. After lots of training and practice, he returned to Nepal with an aim to serve the local people needing his services. Kapari then joined a few hospitals and clinics in Nepal. He also taught a few physiotherapy classes in colleges. 

After working for a while, an idea hit him that would take his service to a larger community. He decided to start his own clinic in order to provide direct therapy sessions to community people and provide employment to a few of his juniors. He resigned from his job and provided treatment in his own clinic for long hours. He is also found to be teaching his juniors for them to be better physiotherapists. 

Kapari also travels to other cities of Nepal, providing planned physiotherapy training to physiotherapists running clinics there. He says, “Besides running my own clinic, I want to share my skills and experiences with other physiotherapists who are less experienced than me. This lets them increase their knowledge as well as their new skills can benefit their community people. After all, I will be satisfied because I won’t be able to visit all the places for the sake of treatment.”

Every day is not the same for him. Most cases are repetitive and a few new cases require thorough study and planning. Kapari reminisces about some critical cases when asked what sort of difficult cases he has come across. He says, “In my clinic, I provided treatment for many critical cases like brain stroke, Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Cord injury, Guillain Barre Syndrome, head injury, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Arthritis, Nerve Compression, PIVD, Parkinson, Bell’s Palsy, etc.”  Asked how he feels when his patients recover, Kapari says, “When severe cases are treated successfully, the patients call the treatment a miracle and their family members consider it totally unbelievable.”

Kapari shares a case of a GBS (Guillain-Barré Syndrome) on a 12 year-old boy who had suddenly found his four limbs not working and was totally bedridden. “All of his family members lost their hope initially but after a month of my treatment, the boy was cured and was back to normal,” he says. 

Another challenging case was of a 32 years old female suffering from PIVD (Prolapsed intervertebral disc). “The woman was very frustrated and depressed because she took many treatments in numerous hospitals and clinics, but to no avail. One of her relatives told me about my clinic and she visited me. After just seven sessions of chiropractic treatment, she became totally fine and fit.”

There was another critical case which required his serious attention. It was a three-year-old child unable to sit, stand and walk. After pediatric rehabilitation he was completely cured and then he could join the school. 

Kapari’s Ortho-Neuro Rehab Centre has been providing highly advanced and newly researched specific treatment method for patents ranging from Chiropractic (Spinal manipulation, traditional bone setting), manual therapy, dry needling, cupping therapy, vestibular rehab, neuroplasticity, kinesiology taping, ergonomics training, electrotherapy and exercise therapy.

When asked how he feels now after a decade of service and after treating thousands of people, he says, “I have been seeing lots of people not undergoing appropriate treatment and visiting India and other countries with high hopes of cure. I have been working very hard to make such an environment here in Nepal so they need not take sorrows with them while they travel outside Nepal and receive standard reliable treatments in their own country.”