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Janata Samajbadi Party Chairman Upendra Yadav has underlined the need of political cooperation and consensus to establish political stability in the Koshi Province.

Talking to media at Biratnagar Airport today, the leader insisted on the need of political stability in the province and of gearing up for addressing the people's issues.

He utilized the moment to say that the Socialist Front was formed on the advice of Nepali Congress and it would be supported by the party.

He described the NC and Socialist Front as mutual supporters, adding that such cooperation should be further promoted for the institutionalization of democracy, economic development, prosperity, federalism and the republic.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 44.30 points to close at 1,986.99 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index surged by 7.73 points to close at 381. 64 points.

A total of 4,742,511-unit shares of 278 companies were traded for Rs 1. 51 billion.

Meanwhile, Three Star Hydropower Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 9. 98 percent. Similarly, Siddhartha Investment Growth Scheme – 2 was the top loser as its price fell by 7.43 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 97 trillion.

Prajwal Parajuly is a Nepali-speaking Indian author whose works are centered on Nepali culture. He is the author of acclaimed books: The Gurkha’s Daughter and Land Where I Flee. Also a judge of Dylan Thomas Prize 2018 and 2023, Parajuly is currently in Nepal for the launch and reception of Chitralekhako Chaurasi, the Nepali translation of Land Where I Flee. Ken Subedi talked with him about his affinity for books and the current literature scene of Nepal.

What are some of your favorite books? 

I have many favorites. The favorites also keep changing. I have thoroughly enjoyed everything Anuradha Roy has written. I just re-read Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Marriage Plot and thought it was extraordinary. It’s a campus novel I wish I had written. Yiyun Li’s short stories are incredible. I also revisit the classics: I just finished reading A Tale of Two Cities and Persuasion. I will be that cliched Indian writer and mention Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things and Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies. Smriti Ravindra’s The Woman who Climbed Trees floored me. A childhood book I revisit is The Family at Red Roofs by Enid Blyton. What I read is often inspired by how I am feeling. Do I want to be completely immersed in a new world, or am I pressed for time and want to read in snatches? I often read short stories in the bathroom—read one, finish your business, and you’re done. Read another story the next day.

I am a slow reader. I have to read every word, every sentence. I don’t want to miss a single comma. I often find myself re-reading sentences. It can be exasperating.

How has reading books shaped your career as an author?

Every writer starts off as a reader. I had great English teachers in school. Everyone read at home and at school. I wouldn’t say I read a variety of books when I was young, but what I liked, I read and re-read. In seventh grade, I took it upon myself to memorize George Orwell’s Animal Farm. To this day, I can recite passages from the book. When you read in that intense a way as a child, and when the book is that well written, you’re bound to pick something up.

Why do you think only a handful of writers from Nepal are able to produce fiction in English? Why is Nepal’s representation in English fiction nowhere/negligible?

I think there’s extraordinary work coming out of Nepal. Look at Rabi Thapa, Shraddha Ghale, Prawin Adhikari, Sushma Joshi and Muna Gurung. I know I am forgetting a few other good writers. Have you read Smriti Ravindra? You absolutely must. Of course, I need not mention Manjushree Thapa’s output and versatility. To say that only a handful of writers are producing fiction in English here is to misrepresent facts. Compare the number of writers who write in English to the population of the country. Compare the number of writers to the number of English speakers in the country. I see the representation only increasing. I read the most recent issue of La.lit on holiday in Austria, and I was impressed.

How often do you follow Nepali literature? Can you recommend a few Nepali fiction books that you believe deserve translation into English?

I should do better. I make promises to myself about reading more Nepali books, and I start off rather enthusiastically, but life catches up. I think everything Narayan Wagle writes should be translated into many languages. Sanu Lama deserves to be widely translated. You are aware of the many Nepali-language books being translated into English. Take Chudin Kabimo’s Fatsung, translated as Song of the Soil, by Ajit Baral. Or Lekhnath Chhetri’s Falungey, translated as Fruits of the Barren Tree by Anurag Basnet.

In your opinion, why do some successful authors stop writing a new book after their few successful ventures?

There could be many reasons. Some writers evolve as writers between their first and latter books—nothing you write seems good enough. Others perhaps don’t feel the need to write. Success can be a double-edged sword. It’s easy to get carried away by the adulation around you—writing requires so much discipline. It’s never easy.

Why do you think the writing style of Indian authors writing in English, particularly so-called high-brow literature, is dense? Is it a strategy of postcolonial ‘writing back’?

Is it? I think the vast majority of literary fiction produced by Indian writers in English is accessible. The one dense book I can think of published in recent years is Geetanjali Shree’s Ret Samedhi, translated into English by Daisy Rockwell as Tomb of Sands.

Parajuly’s PICKS

The Marriage Plot By Jeffrey Eugenides

I love this book because it is the great campus novel I wish I had written.

The Woman Who Climbed Trees By Smriti Ravindra

The great Nepali novel. The words sing. The characters stay with you forever.

The Family At Red Roofs By Enid Blyton

Written by English author Enid Blyton, the book is a family saga I never tire of revisiting.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has directed Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to not stop electricity supply to the industries until the dispute over the tariff related to dedicated feeder and trunk line is resolved. He said a study is being carried out to resolve the dispute over the tariff.

PM Dahal telephoned NEA Managing Director Kulman Ghising and issued this directive following his meeting with a delegation of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) led by its president Chandra Prasad Dhakal at the Prime Minister's official residence at Baluwatar today.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister assured that he would take initiatives to sort out the dispute at the earliest by keeping the FNCCI, the Electricity Regulation Commission and NEA at one place.

The NEA had on September 3 issued a notice requiring the industries to pay within 15 days their outstanding electricity tariff of the dedicated feeder and trunk line. It had cautioned the industries that electricity supply would be stopped if they failed to clear the due tariff amount within the deadline.

FNCCI has suggested to the government that special initiatives were needed to protect the industries in the present time of economic crisis when they are operating at less than 40 percent of their capacity.

"We need support and cooperation at the present time. Our demand is that more problems should not be created," said the FNCCI president Dhakal. FNCCI says the industries and businesses are facing continued crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic and the entrepreneurs would be further discouraged if power supply is cut in such a situation.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 100 per tola in the domestic market on Monday.

According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 112, 000 per tola today. It was traded at Rs 111, 900 per tola on Sunday.

Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 111, 450 per tola. It was traded at Rs 111, 350 per tola.

Similarly, the silver is being traded at Rs 1,400 per tola today.

Police have arrested Khagendra Sapkota, officer at the Land Revenue Office, Tulsipur with Rs 2.6 million from the Nepalgunj Airport.

DSP Narayan Dangi, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Banke said that Sapkota was apprehended with Rs 2. 6 million undeclared money during a regular security check while he was about to board a flight to Kathmandu from Nepalgunj.

DSP Dangi said that Sapkota was taken under control after he was found carrying a huge amount of undeclared money with him.

Further investigation into the case is underway, police said.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is holding a comprehensive discussion with the Nepali Ambassadors in the destination countries to make foreign employment orderly, dignified and safe.

The ambassadors and heads of delegations of the destination countries have arrived in Kathmandu for discussions to be held on Monday and Tuesday at the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers at Singha Durbar.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, the discussion to be chaired by Prime Minister Dahal will focus on labor migration issues and the role of diplomatic missions.

The meeting will deal with the problems faced by the workers going for foreign employment from the time they get the work permit to the workplace, find ways to solve them and turn the conclusions into decisions.

The Ministry of Labor and Employment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also participate in the discussion. The meeting will identify necessary legal and structural reforms required for a safe labor destination.

This is the first-of-its-kind meeting being held in Nepal at the initiative of the Prime Minister.

A working group consisting of secretaries of relevant ministries was formed under the leadership of the chief secretary to collect the necessary data from the Nepali embassies in the destination countries and ways to solve the problems seen in the foreign employment sector.

The District Court, Kathmandu has ordered to release 17 individuals including the Chairman of Managing Director of Bhatbhateni Super Market arrested in connection with the Lalita Niwas land grab case on bail.

A single bench of Judge Bholanath Dhakal issued the order to release one of the 18 people to be released on a general date.

He also sought Rs 24. 6 million as a bail bond from Gurung, the operator of the Bhatbhateni Supermarket.

The hearing was started on September 3 after recording the statements of 18 persons were completed.

A case was filed against 312 defendants in the Lalita Niwas land scam.

A case of forgery of government documents was filed at the Kathmandu District Court against them.

The recording of the statements of the defendants, who were in custody, was started on August 28.

ALSO READ: ApEx Explainer: Everything you need to know about Lalita Niwas scam

The Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police has started the investigation based on the complaint registered by Mukunda Prasad Panta, Chief of the Summer Jung Company.

The CIB had submitted the report prepared after 57 days of investigation to the Attorney’s Office on August 22.

The Attorney’s Office filed the case at the Kathmandu District Court after studying the report on August 27.

The CIB gave final shape to the investigation after interrogating former prime ministers Baburam Bhattarai and Madhav Nepal among others involved in the case.

A total of 18 persons including Krishna Bahadur Raut, Secretary at the Communications Ministry, Gurung, operator of Bhatbhateni Supermarket, Sudhir Kumar Shah, former commissioner of the Election Commission and former government employees were apprehended in connection with the Lalita Niwas land scam.

The CIB had started investigating the case in 2019 in relation to forged documents and fake governmental stamps related to Lalita Niwas land transactions.