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Last week Shahidul Islam, Secretary General of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Eco­nomic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), met Nepal’s prime minister, the sub-regional grouping’s current chair, to firm up a date for the fifth BIMSTEC summit. The summit was supposed to be held in Nepal last year but wasn’t, as Nepal expressed its inability to host it—citing three different elections taking place in the country.As Nepal begins a period of sta­ble government after those elec­tions, it no longer has an excuse to defer this important summit. In fact, the current Nepali gov­ernment enjoys a very strong mandate at home, so it has an unprecedented opportunity to pursue win-win cooperation under all emerging bilateral and multilateral frameworks. Increas­ing engagement with China under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is definitely one avenue, but there is no reason Nepal should limit itself to one bloc. The lesson from the 2015 economic blockade, if anything, is that Nepal should diversify its trade, connectivity and engagements.

SAARC continues to be held hostage to India-Pakistan rival­ry and many in the region are increasingly looking toward new regional configuration as a vehicle for expediting regional integra­tion and achieving a degree of prosperity. But like SAARC, even BIMSTEC and BBIN have not been free from the typical South Asian malady: inserting politics where it does not belong. BIMSTEC, though it includes Thailand and Myanmar, is dominated by South Asian countries.

In its 21 years of existence, only three summits and one mini-sum­mit (BRICS-BIMSTEC Summit on the sidelines of BRICS Summit in Goa in 2016) have been held. Two of these were held in Thai­land and Myanmar, which means South Asia has hosted only one summit so far. Another issue with BIMSTEC is the lack of leader­ship. While technically the rotat­ing chairs would have to provide leadership, in reality, one or two countries with outsize influence or a bloc of smaller countries need to continuously push the engagement forward. In recent years, India has shown an interest in promoting BIMSTEC and BBIN as an alternative to SAARC and even as a way to counter the BRI, but New Delhi appears non-com­mittal at times.

Sectoral approach

BIMSTEC has a sector-driv­en approach and all member countries have technically been assigned as a sectoral lead. As of today, member states have signed on to 14 different sectors for cooperation, yet there has been very little progress. And it took 17 years for the member states to establish the permanent secretariat in Dhaka.

If this sectoral approach is to work, each sector needs to have its own secretariat, staff and funds to function. What BIMSTEC needs now is not more agreements but a clear implementation modality for the existing agreements. As the chair until the next summit, Nepal can influence the shap­ing of the agenda for the summit itself—which in turn can lead to a course correction in the tried and failed ways of the regional jambo­rees. For starters, Nepal should work with the Secretariat to put together a small preparatory team to work on the agenda for the next summit—which then could be floated among the BIMSTEC member countries. Even though Nepal will pass on the leader­ship to another member state, it can continue to work with other smaller countries to push the big­ger states to take initiatives as well as allocate resources.

How Nepal benefits?

Nepal and Bhutan stand to gain tremendously from BIMS­TEC, particularly on transport and connectivity. Their status as landlocked countries can become land-linked and water-linked if the full potential of this forum is exploited.

BIMSTEC Transport, Infrastruc­ture and Logistics Study conduct­ed with the ADB’s support has identified 167 projects at an esti­mated cost of US $ 45-50 billion to enhance connectivity in the region. This includes six projects in Nepal.

Prime Minister Oli has been widely mocked for saying that ships with Nepali flags would sail in the high seas. In fact, some of the items under discussion in BIM­STEC Transport Working Group include a draft Coastal Shipping Agreement. Combine this with the agreement to build inland waterways with India during Oli’s recent visit to the southern neighbor and his dream might just come true.

Nepal can also benefit from cooperation in other sectors such as energy, tourism and agricul­ture. The only question is whether Nepal is prepared to take advan­tage of the favorable environment at home and in the region—by tak­ing a proactive approach.

A few weeks ago, if you are now a regular reader of this column, I suggested carpooling might be a good idea in Kathmandu. I was thinking of something more formal, like in some cities in other countries. But perhaps we have something better here… I suspect many of you have never heard of the Carpooling Kathmandu Facebook page. But it’s a great ini­tiative! During the blockade in the winter of 2015/16, a group of young people came up with the idea of sharing transport at this time of fuel shortages and strikes. I don’t actu­ally know who these young people are but what a great idea! Encourag­ing those with bikes, cars, or taking taxis to advertise their routes so that others could get a ride, this group has been idling in the background for the past couple of years, jumping into action when there has been a public transport strike. In addition to posting on the Facebook page, the group suggests calling at bus stops to offer rides to those waiting there. For those looking for rides, they suggest flagging down passing bikes and cars.

I saw this in action during the blockade and witnessed older, as well as younger, people being offered rides on motorbikes. I also saw a few funny incidents when the person being offered a ride obvi­ously had no idea about this sys­tem. A couple of young girls almost slapped the driver for suggesting they get on the back of his bike. An aunty shouted loudly at another driver, who was pretty taken aback at this reaction to his kind offer. I saw a few car drivers who were obviously clueless wondering why a group of people were trying to stop their vehicle - were they going to rob them of their precious petrol perhaps? I have yet to see someone offer a ride to a stranger on their cycle. Perhaps that’s just taking the whole thing too far!

Stickers were introduced during the blockade to advertise a car or bike was in this scheme. It would be great if these were reintroduced for the longer term – a kind of ID card for carpoolers so those not in the know will see that this is a legitimate offer. It would also avoid drivers getting slapped!

A word of caution however: to my casual glance, there seem to be fewer females posting that they are offering rides through the Carpool Kathmandu page. Perhaps a section for female drivers offering rides to female passengers would be a nice addition and provide real and perceived safety for both driver and rider. The trick is of course that this service is offered free – or through petrol sharing on longer out-of-town routes. Carpooling is not supposed to become a business opportunity. That misses the point entirely.

Naturally, carpooling not only helps in times of shortages and public transport strikes. It can also lead to a reduction of pollution with fewer cars and bikes on the road. That might take some time to achieve but every journey starts with a single step. And how about it as a, yes lets use the same imagery, slap in the face for those taxi driv­ers who are now so precious that they decide which routes they will go and how much they will charge? With Tootle (a motorbike taxi ser­vice similar to that in Thailand) and the other Uber like services now on offer in Kathmandu, you would think taxi drivers would be a little aware of the consequences of turn­ing down work. Apparently not. But I digress…Next time a young hunk offers you a ride, or a gorgeous girl steps out in front of your car, don’t be overly flattered. They may simply be part of the carpooling group and want your transport, not your body! And, please, don’t forget to pick up aunty, grandpa or grandma on your travels. Happy sharing.

Do you prefer to be called by your first name, full name, or some suffix/prefix added to your name such as sir/madam/maam/miss/dai/didi or ji at the workplace? Although I do not have data on the use of people's preferred suffix/prefix, what I've noticed is that the practice of the 'sir culture' is widespread. Yes, I said 'sir' because it's so prev­alent that although there are women in a group being addressed, the likelihood of only 'sir' being used is still high. Of course, it's not every­where, and not everyone disregards the presence of women, but I have witnessed this on several occa­sions. I've made it a point to let the speakers know that there are women members too who don't feel comfortable being overlooked, but the behavioral transformation is hardly seen.

This 'sir culture', I believe, is an outcome of a hierarchical mindset and our traditional thoughts that suggest we need to be too respectful and too humble in front of a boss, especially a male boss. It's a fact that it took a long time for women to deserve and secure senior positions at work and it could be a reason why many stick with the old-fash­ioned style, as workplaces are still dominated by men.

At schools and colleges in Nepal, it's fine to call your teachers or faculty members sir/miss/madam. Perhaps, through a demonstration effect, people use the same word beyond the educational institutions. But they could simply be called a teacher, just like we call a doctor ‘doctor’ and not 'sir' or 'madam'. Our culture and limited vocabulary to address people higher in author­ity or their professions could be another reason why people use the word 'sir', so much so that a group comprising men and women also appears as 'sir' to them.

As most people would know, 'sir' is a honorary title given to people who have done something extraordi­nary, where it is used as a prefix. Sir Elton John for example. But in Nepal and many South Asian cultures, it's used as a suffix: ‘Elton sir’ or ‘Lax­man sir’. Unlike other countries, we simply cannot call people by their names, particularly those who are senior to us, both by profession and age.

It can be a problem when in the quest to show respect you're still promoting the stereotype. Although Nepali society is changing, people in senior positions still do not eas­ily welcome challenging thoughts and critiques and find it uncom­fortable to engage in constructive discussions. That's why there still are terminologies like 'yes man' or 'yes woman'. I see a direct relation between the 'sir culture' and these 'yes fellas'.

So, how should the new gener­ation show respect for their col­leagues without being offensive? Well, I think, just add a 'ji', which would be suitable for both men and women, regardless of their age or authority.

Tragicomedy

HARI

CAST: Bipin Karki, Sunita Shrestha Thakur, Kamal Mani Nepal, Thinley Lhamo

DIRECTION: Safal KC and Pratik Gurung

4 stars ****

I’ve never used the word “Kafkaesque” to describe a Nepali feature film. But it is the only word I could find to sum up the experience of watching Safal KC and Pratik Gurung’s ‘Hari’. Just like Franz Kafka takes his mundane stories into strange and dreamy landscapes, Hari juxtaposes elements of realism and surrealism to give us a quirky and lighthearted fantasy about a man having an identity crisis. Thirty-year-old Hari (Bipin Karki) is a bachelor and a momma’s boy. His possessive and controlling mother (Sunita Thakur Shrestha) still packs him his lunch, picks what he should wear for office and makes him sit through her favorite TV seri­als. She’s indoctrinated the meek Hari to become a god-fearing vege­tarian, the kind that considers garlic and onions unholy. At work, Hari’s tormented at the hands of his junior colleagues, mostly by the mean-spir­ited Akash (Kamal Mani Nepal). They make fun of him behind his back and take advantage of his submissive nature to dodge work.

Thus Hari’s life is unhurried and ordered, stretched between office and home, and between a dominating mother and disobey­ing colleagues. Nothing happens to him out of the ordinary. Then something almost insignificant upends Hari’s sedate life, thrust­ing him into a spiral of ups and downs. He finds himself doing things that he would rather not do, from being infatuated to a girl (Thin­ley Lhamo) to taking a stand against his office bullies.

KC and Gurung belong to the new crop of Nepali filmmakers who are daring enough to introduce nuanced cinematic style in their storytelling, to subvert established narrative norms and carve out a niche that is fresh and original. At a time when our cinema is thriving on big budgeted romantic musicals and ensem­ble comedies at one end and pretentious experimental mis­fires at the other, the Kafkaesque ‘Hari’ is in the sweet spot of the world cinema that is both accessible and inoffensive.

Chintan Raj Bhandari’s cinema­tography and Sajan Thapa Magar’s production design gives the film a distinctly original look. Much work has gone into the framing and lighting of the scenes to capture an overall modernistic European art house feel.

Its visually innovative sequences are glued together with Hari’s metamorphosis and ultimate explosion. And with what brilliance Bipin Karki pulls off this charac­ter! He’s the right cut for Hari, who often seems like a long lost sib­ling of the henpecked Phanindra of ‘Jatra’. Karki makes Hari’s struggles believable even when things become hazy and otherworldly.

A true cinephile will rejoice in KC and Gurung’s effort to create the atmosphere and aesthetics we are used to seeing and admiring in films of auteur direc­tors like Wes Anderson, Terry Gil­liam and Richard Ayoade. The two Nepali directors’ approach not only pays homage to the filmmakers they love but also displays the courage to achieve a grand visual design with limited budget, small crew and not a little determination.

In that regard ‘Hari’ is a total winner. But the film will polarize audience. The story progresses without an obvious causality of events and intentionally conceals layers of ambiguity. So viewers will not get an ending that neatly ties up everything.

I don’t know if this stylistically crafted yet off-kilter comedy will rake in profit for its makers but I’m confident that ‘Hari’ is an ideal rep­resentation of the changing face of Nepali cinema. This is a movie that will age well and wouldn’t be dismissed or undervalued because of its poor theatrical run.