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Former winners of the Miss Nepal pageant, in association with DM Foundation, a non-profit, are introducing a scholarship program under which students who have lost their parents or guardians to Covid-19 will get grants to continue their studies. Those who wish to apply for the scholarship can do so online (ims-np.com/fmnw-scholarship-form).

A promotional video for this initiative has also been made in collaboration with YouTuber Sisan Baniya, photojournalist Sulav Shrestha, and photo company Creative D Studio.

Former pageant winners Shrinkhala Khatiwada, Malina Joshi, Evana Manandhar, Nikita Chandak, Usha Khadgi, Sadichha Shrestha, Sugarika KC and Anuskha Shrestha are among those promoting the cause.

Canalys, the leading global market research firm, launched its Q2 global smartphone market report in which Xiaomi claimed the second spot with a 17 percent share and an 83 percent year-on-year growth, surpassing Apple.

According to the report, Xiaomi is now transforming its business model from a challenger to an incumbent, with initiatives such as channel partner consolidation and more careful management in the open market. Canalys commented that Xiaomi’s new goal is to displace Samsung to become the world’s largest vendor.

Xiaomi’s global expansion as well as transformation in new retail channels have been an important driving force in helping the company become the second largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. According to the latest global smartphone data Xiaomi is expanding fast in overseas markets, reaching over 300 percent year-on-year growth in Latin America, 150 percent in Africa and over 50 percent in Western Europe.

Colors of Shrawan: A shopkeeper works on a new pote, a necklace made from small beads sewn together on a thread, at the Pote Bazaar in Indrachowk, New Road, Kathmandu. The sales of pote and bangles increase many-fold in the Nepali month of Shrawan, as Hindu women all over the country adorn themselves in green and fast through the month | Pratik Rayamajhi 

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Renault Nepal announced the price of its all-new Kiger model and also started booking for the vehicle at its 15 outlets spread across the country. The starting price of Kiger is Rs 2.8 million

Renault Kiger will be offered in 1.0L version in both MT and AMT options. Customers can choose from four available trims–RXE, RXL, RXT & RXZ. Each version is built considering the customers’ requirements and needs in the segment and has been attractively priced across all trims, the company said in a statement.

On the accessories and personalization front, customers can choose from a smart range of specially curated accessory packs which take Kiger to the next level. There are five exclusive personalization packs: SUV, Attractive, Essential, Smart, Smart Plus, including tech accessories such as wireless charger and air purifier.

The outgoing Oli government has given yet another exemption to Smart Telecom, which owes the government over Rs 6 billion in taxes. Smart Telecom is yet to clear its frequency and license renewal fees. The last cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on July 12 gave Smart Telecom a six-month extension to clear its arrears.

Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) had last year decided to cancel the license of Smart Telecom, which had failed to clear its dues even after repeated extensions of payment deadlines over the past four years. The Oli government had earlier given a deadline of February this year, which was then extended to July. Now, the deadline has been extended again to January 2022.

Smart Telecom had filed an application with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on June 26, demanding yet another extension. A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on July 12 decided to extend the term by six months, also informing NTA about the decision on the same day.

The Cabinet decision also states that government’s prior approval will be mandatory for the sale of shares and assets of Smart Telecom.

According to the NTA payment plans, the company had to pay a frequency fee of Rs 598.86 million in the first installment, Rs 832.3 million in the second, Rs 774 million in the third, Rs 715.6 million in the fourth, and Rs 657.2 million in the fifth. Besides the set installments, Smart Telecom also has to pay another Rs 1.25 billion in license renewal fees.

Amita Suman, a Nepal-born British actress, recently gave a critically acclaimed performance in the hit Netflix series ‘Shadow and Bone’. Suman, born in Bedhihari, Parsa, had moved to England at the age of seven. Since graduating from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in 2018, she’s starred in popular shows such as ‘The Outpost’ and ‘Doctor Who’.

In ‘Shadow and Bone’—based on a bestselling trilogy with the same title set in a fictional universe called Grishaverse—Suman plays Inej Ghafa, a child acrobat kidnapped and sold into sex slavery but who works as a spy for a gang called The Dregs. She portrays one of the six main protagonists in the book.

The series has already been renewed for a second season and Suman is set to return. Fans of the character have praised Inej’s casting and the actress’s performance. Suman’s role in the show will grow more significant with each season as the story progresses. The 24-year-old actress has been using her Instagram page—with more than 434k followers—to raise global awareness about the effects of Covid-19 in Nepal.

The ‘second wave’ of covid had us shutting ourselves for months again. Now that everything around us is opening, including restaurants and cafes, we still advise you to exercise caution and try to limit your excursions to outdoor venues only.

Talking about outdoor venues, we highly recommend our favorite ‘Calm’ at Tangalwood. The host for two editions of ‘The Annapurna Express Music Festival,’ Calm is now a redesigned restaurant under new management that offers a unique selection of food, drinks and desserts. The multicuisine restaurant has been exploring fusion food and by the reviews we’ve read, it seems to be working.

The best part, almost 70 percent of its seating arrangement is outdoors and it has plenty of parking space to accommodate your rides even on the busiest days.

Not open for breakfast yet, Calm is an excellent choice for brunches, afternoon snacks and even late-night dinners.

Calm, Tangalwood
Tangal, Kathmandu
Cards: Accepted
Opening time: 12pm to 12am
For reservations: 014443904
Meal for two: Rs 2,000

Chef’s Special:
Sambal Prawn Pasta
Buff Sukuti Risotto

Cultivating and protecting our well-being is deeply personal. It requires us to check in with ourselves regularly and be open to whatever we may need to feel less stressed, more fulfilled, and generally at ease. In this guide to well-being, you’ll explore nine habits to integrate into your daily life that will serve as helpful tools in sustaining emotional wellness.

Meditation 

Meditation is exploring. It’s not a fixed destination. Your head doesn’t become vacuumed free of thought, utterly undistracted. It’s a special place where each and every moment is momentous. When we meditate we venture into the workings of our minds: our sensations (air blowing on our skin or a harsh smell wafting into the room), our emotions (love this, hate that, crave this, loathe that) and thoughts (wouldn’t it be weird to see an elephant playing a trumpet?).

Mindfulness meditation asks us to suspend judgment and unleash our natural curiosity about the workings of the mind, approaching our experience with warmth and kindness to ourselves and others.

Meditation does not take any single form. Instead, meditation is a term that describes an array of practices designed to cultivate well-being. Most of these practices fall within three broad categories:

• Focused-attention meditation: The aim here is to train the mind’s capacity for concentration and awareness of the present moment by focusing on a single point of attention (such as the breath). If you are new to meditation, this is a good place to begin.

• Open awareness meditation: Rather than focusing on a specific object of attention, in this form of meditation you keep your field of awareness open, allowing you to simply observe your thoughts and thereby become less reactive to emotions and sensory experiences. This is a more advanced practice, as it requires a certain level of mental stability to watch thoughts, emotions, and sensations move through the mind without getting hooked by them.

• Loving-kindness meditation: The aim of this practice is to cultivate deep compassion for all beings, starting with oneself and then extending compassion to friends and family, to people you find difficult, and eventually to all beings. 

Benefits of meditation

1.       Increased resilience: Meditation is associated with a reduction in activity in the part of the brain (the amygdala) that reacts to stress. This enhances our ability to stay calm and responsive in the midst of stressful situations.

2.       Increased focus: Meditation activates additional circuits in the brain that allow for sharper and more efficient concentration.

3.       Decreased mind wandering: Meditation reduces moments when our attention wanders away from what is happening here and now.

4.       Enhanced pain tolerance: From a practical standpoint, mindfulness for pain relief could be a cost-effective option that doesn’t rely on potentially harmful or addictive drugs, and that doesn’t appear to have a plateau point.

5.       Enhanced immunity: Meditation has been found to reduce markers of inflammation in the body and to strengthen the response of the immune system.

10-minute guide for meditation

1. First, feel your bottom on the seat, and your feet on the floor or the ground, flat, touching the earth. Your eyes can be open or closed, head tilted slightly down. Your shoulders are relaxed, your hands are resting on your thighs and your upper arms are parallel to your torso. Just take a moment to feel that posture. 

2. Now we’re going to use the breath as an anchor for our attention. We don’t concern ourselves with trying to adjust the rate of the breath, we just come with whatever breath we have.

3. One of the first things we notice naturally as we try to pay attention to breath coming in and out is our mind is filled with thoughts. It’s like a waterfall of thoughts. And in mindfulness practice, just notice the thought. Touch it, and go back to the breath.

4. No matter what’s been going on in the session, you don’t need to evaluate it, just let it go. As the session ends, open your eyes, and enjoy what’s coming next.

Mindful.org