Submit your Article

Singer Bikki Pariyar has released his new music video ‘Ekai Najarma’ where model duo Bikash Lamichhane and Bina Raut are seen in a romantic aura. The song written by Bishnubabu Devkota has music by Tika Dahal.

The music video is directed by Keshav Raj Bhatta and has been edited by Dinson Shah.

Query

I am a 31-year-old mother of two. I live with my in-laws and work at a school. Lately, I have been struggling to maintain a balance between taking care of my family and doing my job well. It feels like I’m failing at everything. I feel stressed all the time and have lost my self-confidence. My children, too, aren’t getting the attention they need and my in-laws aren’t happy about that—and not a day goes by when I don’t feel guilty. I feel so lost. What should I do? -A struggling woman

Answer by Nishma Choudhary, Student of MA in Clinical Psychology and Co-Founder of My Sirani

One of the keys to a good relationship is communication. You can share with your family, your in-laws about where you’re at and what you’ve been going through. By communicating your feelings, you will break the wall of misunderstanding and that will create a space for empathizing with each other. Both your in-laws and you can talk about each other’s needs and come to an emotional understanding.

Secondly, as it is said, quality triumphs over quantity—try to spend some quality time with your children when you can. For instance, going on a mini-outing on weekends, or doing a family activity at home. They will treasure these little moments and it will contribute to that bond you have. 

At times there could be situations when you have to get to work and your children stay home, then you can teach them to do some personal things on their own. It can be the perfect excuse to teach them to be more independent and responsible. And once they start, you can show appreciation for these little chores. 

On days you feel burned out with the stress of work and home responsibilities, try to prioritize yourself. Maybe take 30 minutes out for yourself in the morning or in the evening to do something that is relaxing. Exercise, yoga, meditation, reading—anything that you love and makes you feel at peace. This 30-minute can do wonders to how you look at yourself and the emotional energy that you need to give to the family and work. 

Try to focus on your individuality, it can help you see where you stand and think about how you can take things from here that benefit you, your family, and your job.

Similarly, if your work is not in harmony with your mental health, you might want to rethink that as well. Your health comes first, and if what you do on a daily basis is negatively impacting you, ask yourself if it is really something worth doing. Is it something you are passionate about or makes you happy? You shouldn’t be afraid to give up things that hold you back. This could be the time to contemplate the things that will make you happy, where you can give your hundred percent, and change things about your life to reach that state.  

Finally, show yourself some love and appreciation!  

The Kathmandu District Court has ordered a halt to the share purchase process of Nepal Bangladesh Bank as IFIC Bangladesh, which holds 40 percent of the bank’s shares, reportedly wanted to sell the shares to the Chaudhary Group without proper competition and against the Nepal Rastra Bank ruling.

On 18 November 2021, ApEx had reported that IFIC was positive about selling the shares to the CG, but NRB has since declared them ‘unfit’ to buy the shares. IFIC then issued another notice asking for other buyers, whereby Moti Lal Dugar of MV Dugar Group applied. The two parties had even signed an agreement of purchase on 2 April 2021, but lately, IFIC has broken communications with Dugar and again proceeded to sell its shares to the CG. This has led Dugar to file a complaint against NBB, CG, and NRB.

Issuing the order on January 11, the court also asked the opposition NBB to submit a written reply within seven days.

Dugar has a group of seven partners and they had an internal agreement to distribute around seven percent shares to each group. They had agreed to buy at Rs 157 a share and submitted a copy of the agreement to the NRB and the Ministry of Finance.

The state’s failures in corona-control over the past few years are well documented. There was negligence in monitoring the country’s porous borders with India, even amid reports of a steady stream of people entering Nepal from Covid-19 hotspots there. Irregularities marred import of vaccines and vital medical supplies. As infections rose, our under-staffed and under-equipped healthcare centers struggled to cope. Nor could many people be persuaded to follow covid guidelines. Some of the same challenges are being seen again as new infections gallop up—the number of cases literally doubling by the day. A spate of new restrictions has been announced.

Yet as the country grapples with another Covid-19 surge and deals with the uncertainties around the new Omicron variant, it is worth considering that our governments can only do so much. Even the citizens who are well informed of the risks of the virus continue to be negligent. They blame the government for restricting their movement and for failing on timely booster doses, but then they themselves act utterly irresponsible: not putting on masks, spitting in public places, attending public functions without social distancing. They are putting themselves as well as those they come in contact with, including their kith and kin, at risk.

Also read: Editorial: Nepal’s vaccine botch-up 

Many are tired of being forced to follow restrictive rules for years. But others simply don’t care; they never have. Whatever the authorities do (or don’t), unless people cooperate to contain covid, there is again likely to be a big loss of lives and livelihoods. As we will have to live with the virus for years—perhaps forever—each of us must learn to adjust accordingly. We should all be doing what is feasible for us in the long run. But, then, if all of us do what we please during a pandemic, we will all be doomed. Even if most of us obeyed just the mask and crowd rules, we would have done a lot to keep ourselves safe. We can feel better still knowing that was also the responsible thing to do. 

Erik Solheim, a well-known global leader on environment and development, has joined Annapurna Media Network’s Unity for Sustainability Campaign as a green Ambassador.

“Nepal is a beautiful country, with fantastic people. It is also vulnerable to climate—shifting rains in the Terai or Himalayan glacier melting. I am happy to join Annapurna Unity for Sustainability as green Ambassador,” he said through a tweet.

He served as Norwegian Minister of Environment and International Development from 2005-12. During that period, he initiated the global program for the conservation of rainforests and brought through game-changing National legislation- among them the Biodiversity Act and legislation to protect Oslo city forests. He brought Norwegian development assistance to 1 percent, the highest in the world.

Solheim has been chair of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (the main body of world donors) as well as Executive Director of UN Environment. He led the peace efforts in Sri Lanka as the main negotiator of the peace process and played a vital role in peace efforts in Nepal, Myanmar, and Sudan.

Currently, he is a senior adviser at World Resources Institute and President of the Belt and Road Green Development Institute in Beijing.

Solheim is Chief Mentor of Global Alliance for Sustainable Planet and Chairman of the Board of Afroz Shah Foundation in Mumbai. He is an adviser to April/RGE world’s largest paper and pulp company in Indonesia, to Aker Horizons, Norway’s leading green industry player, and to Norwegian electric battery company Morrows.  He serves as chairman of the development roundtable in Green Hydrogen Organization as well as co-chair of Treelion a green blockchain company in Hong Kong.

AMN’s campaign aims to highlight climate change issues. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the campaign amid a special function organized on January 7 in Kathmandu. To fight climate change individual steps are not enough and all stakeholders need to jointly work and raise their voices. Right now, these stakeholders are not working in unison and there is a lack of coordination, and hence no concrete output. AMN hopes to change this state of affairs by bringing together climate stakeholders and fostering meaningful interactions between them.

Band Champion Nepal, a national musician band competition showcasing the best of the best bands in Nepal, is being aired on AP1 HD TV from 9 pm to 10 pm every Saturday, starting from 15 January 2022. 

From a total of 200 bands that auditioned, top 26 bands were selected for the competition. The first phase of the competition will be the ‘Judge Audition Round’, with Dev Rana, Jyoti Ghimire, and Robin Tamang acting as judges. Megha Shrestha will host the show. The winning band will get a cash prize of Rs 2 million. 

The Consulate General of Nepal, and the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, jointly announced the return of two art objects from Rubin's permanent collection to Nepal.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Acting Consul General  Bishnu Prasad Gautam, and Executive Director Jorrit Britschgi, on their respective behalf of the Government of Nepal, and the Rubin Museum of Art, at a ceremony organized at the Museum for this purpose.

The artworks scheduled to return include an upper section of a Frieze/Torana (17th century) and a Garland Bearing flying Apsara/Gandharva (14th century). The Torana was lost from the main door of Yampi Mahavihara/I-Bahi, Patan, Lalitpur. According to the Museum officials, the artwork arrived at the Museum in 2010. The work of flying Apsara is originally from Keshchandra Mahavihara, Itum Bahal, Kathmandu which was lost in 1999 and added to the Museum's collection in 2003.

Receiving the art objects, the Acting Consul General remarked, "The proactive and warm response and thoughtful collaboration from the Rubin have positively contributed to Nepal’s national efforts to recover and reinstate the lost artifacts".  He expressed deep gratitude to the Rubin Museum, it's Executive Director, Board of Trustees, the Museum’s scholars, and officials for their initiative and cooperation in returning these artifacts back to Nepal. He also appreciated the support received from the media, civil society, and others in this endeavor 

The Consulate General and the Museum collaborated to verify the origin of these arts, possibilities to return to the original sites, and repatriation. During this process, the Museum engaged two scholars of Nepali art to further examine and research the known provenance of the artworks. Inputs to determine the ownership and origin of the artworks were received from the Department of Archaeology of the Government of Nepal.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jorrit Britschgi, Executive Director of the Rubin Museum commented, “As custodians of the art in our collection, the Rubin recognizes that we have an ongoing duty to carefully research the art and objects we collect and exhibit. The theft of archaeological objects continues to be a major concern in the art world. Rubin’s collecting activities adhere to the highest standards of ethical and professional practice related to provenance. We believe it is our responsibility to address and resolve issues of cultural property, including helping to facilitate the return of the two objects in question".

The Consulate General and the Rubin Museum expressed their willingness to work closely in the promotion of art and culture, including Himalayan art, as these collaborative efforts contribute to the preservation of the cultural heritage, and further strengthen the long-standing people-to-people ties between Nepal and the United States of America.

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu organized a function to mark World Hindi Day on January 10, 2022. After the first World Hindi Conference was organized in Nagpur, India on 10 January 1975, World Hindi Day is celebrated every year on 10 January in India and in various Indian Embassies and High Commissions abroad, Embassy said in a press statement.

The program was presided over by the Head of Press, Information and Culture Wing Shri Naveen Kumar, First Secretary. He shared the message given by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Twelve students from different schools of Kathmandu also recited Hindi poetry in the program.