Exercise and have fun while trying the adventure sport of climbing in the safe confines of the Astrek Climbing Wall. The Astrek Climbing Wall, located at Thamel in the heart of Kathman­du, is easy to get to and open every day, including all holidays. At 50 feet high, this is the tallest climbing wall in Nepal and there are 20 different routes for all experience levels. There are also two awesome bouldering walls for those who enjoy full-bodied climb.

The Club House boasts of a fully stocked bar and serves good food. They also offer free Wi-Fi Internet and access to a music system for those who would just like to relax or check emails or Facebook.

Call: 01-4419265; Visit:astrekclimbing.com

What do you get at a typical bar and grill house? Beer and barbecues mostly. But Oskar Bar and Grill at Panipokhari Heights (opposite the Japanese Embassy) offers much more, both in terms of food and ambience. Apart from the regular grilled meat options, Oskar’s menu has special considerations for vege­tarians and other less voracious meat eaters too. So the menu offers everything from falafels to tacos, hummus and pita to bruschetta, pizzas, pastas and more, all with vegetarian options.

What separates Oskar from other eateries is that it is much more than just a restaurant. Oskar hosts a variety of events in its premises and hence has become a favorite hangout for its regular clients, celebrities and socialites. Music nights, football screenings, cocktail parties and salsa nights are a regular feature at Oskar besides the special events and programs it hosts.

THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Mediterranean Tacos

- Nicoise Salad

- Penne Arrabiata

Opening hours:

- 11 am to 11 pm

Location:

- Panipokhari, Ktm

Cards:

- Accepted

Meal for 2:

- Rs 2500

Reservations:

- 01-4418648

Kathmandu is soon going to witness its own version of the global ‘Come Together’ music festival, to be held for one whole week, from Nov 17-25. Six international acts will be joining a number of local Nepali bands at different venues to celebrate the festival.

In its first year, the goal is to bring musicians from around the world to Kathmandu and raise money for projects that The Active Community (the organizers) are involved in. They plan to make it an annual event.

JJ Empower has been the man on the ground in Nepal sourcing bands and venues for this international festival to come to Kathmandu and his band Kazukij will be launching their new album at the festival as well.

The Come Together festivals are already operating in Brixton, London and in Noosa, Australia and will soon be set up in Peru for the Amazon Come Together, which will also include breaking the world record for the longest performance: 65 hours non-stop.

The Active Community have broken the world record for the ‘highest concert’ on Mera Peak in Solukhumbu and raised money to build a shelter for girls in Dhulikhel with their partners Help Nepal.

They hope to use the event to lure more tourists to Nepal to help rebuild the economy. The ultimate goal is to establish it as one of the major music events in all of Asia.

 For more information go to the Facebook page- Kathmandu Come Together or visit:

http://www.theactivecommunity.org/festivals/kathmandu-music-festival/

Q. Three adjectives that best describe you

A. Compassionate, sympathetic and hypersensitive

Q. Dream musical collaboration

A. Between me and Breaking Benjamin

Q. Your biggest musical influence

A. Too many to choose from

Q. Nepali artist that you would love to work with

A. Albatross

Q. Most admirable quality in a person

A. Sense of humor

Q. Best compliment that you have ever received

A. Haven’t received it yet

Q. A stereotype in our society you wish would be broken

A. ‘Real men don’t cry’

One widely accepted reason for the poor showing of Nepali Congress in the 2017 elections was the manifest failure of party president Sher Bahadur Deuba to make his foot-soldiers, all shocked by the sudden left merger, believe that the party could still do well. The old problem of factionalism in Congress was compounded by Deuba’s inabil­ity to come up with a credible electoral slogan to challenge the twin communist agendas of ‘stability’ and ‘prosperity’. Now ahead of the meeting of NC Mahasamiti, the party’s second most-powerful body, scheduled for Dec 14-18, Deuba seems to be hanging on for dear life. Senior leader Ram Chan­dra Poudel, General Secretary Shashank Koirala, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Prakash Man Singh—they are all miffed at what they see as Deuba’s go-alone mentality. Deuba’s unilateral appointment of Bijaya Kumar Gachchadar, someone who has only recently joined the party, as vice-president seemed to be the last straw. One thing these forever feuding leaders now agree on is that Deuba must go, at any cost.

They are all jockeying for a favorable position in lieu of the national general convention, the party’s supreme legislative and electoral body, slated for March 2020. Among other things, the general conven­tion will elect a new lead­ership. But that is still some way off. Right now, the focus should be on giving final shape to a new statute that will help the party restructure in line with the federal setup. When that draft is finalized, it will have to be endorsed by the Mahasamiti. Yet as the battle between the ‘establishment’ and ‘anti-establishment’ factions intensifies, the taskforce formed to finalize the draft has not even been able to meet regularly. This tardy progress on the statute could in turn further delay the Mahasamiti meet.

Opportunism characterizes all politicians to an extent. Yet it is shocking to see how little the party leadership has learned from their drubbing in the last elections. Amid their little personal battles, a hard truth seems to have escaped them: it will be impossible for Congress to win an election unless one, it can clearly articulate its vision of the new fed­eral Nepal and two, unless people know how the party will tackle their bread-and-butter issues. Deuba’s failure on these two fronts cost them the last set of elections. And yet none of the senior Congress leaders who are challenging Deuba has thus far shown any inclination, or imagination, to suggest that they are any better.

Eminent Nepali writer and journalist Aswini Koirala has been honored in Japan for his contribution to Nepali literature and journal­ism. He was feted at the Inter­national Nepali Haiku Conven­tion 2018, jointly organized by the World Haiku Organization and the International Nepali Literary Society, Japan Chap­ter. The program was held in the premises of the Nepali Embassy in Japan. Eminent Japanese writer and director of World Haiku Association, Ban Ya Natu­ishi, honored Koirala with a certificate and cash. At the event, Koirala’s new book ‘Parijat’, a collection of Nepali haiku poems, was also launched. Koirala is the writer of bestselling Nepali novels Premalaya and Zukerberg’s Café.

“I am really happy to honor a celebrated Nepali writer in Japan. I hope this opens doors to a strong literary bond between Nepali and Japanese literature,” said Natuishi.

“This kind of program will strengthen cultural ties between Nepal and Japan,” said Krishna Chandra Aryal, First Secretary of Nepali Embassy in Japan.

Daraz’s “11.11” on cards  

 D a r a z — one of the b i g g e s t online mar­ketplaces in Nepal—is bringing 11.11, known as the ‘world’s biggest sale day’, to Nepal for the first time. 11.11 is the numeric short form for November 11 and hence the date will see Daraz’s online portal featuring massive deals, flash sales, brand vouchers, mystery boxes, give­aways and much more. The one-day sale event on the new Daraz App will be the biggest to date for the e-commerce company.

Handicraft Trade Fair from Nov 14  

 The 13th Handicraft Trade Fair and the 14th Hand­icraft Competition is scheduled to start at Bhri­kutimandap on November 14. Jointly organized by the Federation of Handicraft Association of Nepal, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply and Trade and the Export Promotion Center, the five-day event aims to develop and promote the domestic handicraft market.

The fair will have 200 stalls including those from district and commodity associations. Similarly, there will be around 20 stalls for international handicraft traders from India, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The slogan for this year’s trade fair is ‘Handicraft: Prospects for Prosperity’.

Q. Three words to describe yourself

A. I am a very simple person but I live for the arts. So I could probably describe myself as simple, creative and perhaps romantic.

Q. Your biggest source of inspiration

A. I was educated in Mirik, a beautiful small town in Darjeeling. There were forests all around and a beautiful lake. I grew up running around forests and eating wild berries. Nature was in abundance and that’s when I started painting and writ­ing poetry. So nature has to be my biggest inspiration.

Q. Three of your favorite possessions

A. I am very close to my mother and my brother. So my family has to be my most favorite possession. People say I sound good on the radio, so perhaps my voice could be another pos­session I should be proud of. Also, I play the guitar and have a small collection. I love my guitars.

Q. A common misconception about you

A. I am a visual artist. And there is a mis­conception about the arts in general. I would rather talk about this now, than just about myself. A lot of people think art is difficult to understand and it’s for a select audience. This is not the case. If you make a little effort, art can make you think and make you feel things that nothing else would.

Q. Three qualities you seek in your friends

A. I am a very simple person, so I like spending time with people who are simple and down to earth. I am a big foodie, so it would be nice to be with friends who enjoy food. I also love music and it’s always wonderful to spend time with musicians or people who appre­ciate good music.

Q. Most attractive quality in a person

A. I admire and respect honest people and people who have a sense of gratitude.