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Holi, the festival of colors, began with the installation of a 'Chir' (bamboo pole) decorated with colorful strips of cloths at Hanumandhoka Durbar Square in Basantapur on Sunday.. 

The ‘Chir’ was erected at 7:47 am today. Erection of the pole in Basantapur marks the beginning of the festival which lasts for a week.

Holi will be celebrated in Kathmandu valley and hilly districts on March 24 and in Tarai on March 25.
 

The ‘Chir’ will be erected in Patan and Bhaktapur also.    

Following the completion of the Holi festival, people would collect the pieces of cloths from the Chir and keep it in their homes with a belief that it will bring good luck for them.  

The Chir will be dispersed in local Tundikhel.

Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that a new power equation had to be formed to bring about change in the speed of the government and for collaboration between the communist forces.

Addressing a gathering of the party's leaders and cadres in Pokhara this morning, Prime Minister Dahal said the Congress has betrayed many times and it was not likely that votes would be 'transferred' from the Congress to our party. "On the one hand the government was not accelerating while on the other there was mistrust towards the coalition, hence a new coalition had to be formed," Dahal said.

On the occasion, the CPN (Maoist Center) chair also shared that a month-long campaign is being organized to strengthen the party. "We are conducting a national awareness campaign covering the Tarai-Madhesh from east to west. The campaign will also connect the mountains, hills and Tarai-Madhesh north-south," he said.

According to the personal secretariat of the Prime Minister, Dahal said that there is a possibility that the Maoists will take over the leadership in Gandaki Province. "We are doing homework for the formation of the government in Gandaki. Once that is over, we will come to a conclusion.”

The Prime Minister also made it clear that the defense and strengthening of the constitution and consolidating the communist movement are the main basis of forming a new coalition in the center.

"When the communist movement is divided, the reactionary forces become stronger in national politics. It would bring a crisis to the governance. That challenge has been overcome. The country's politics is now on the right track," he said.

Two male rhinos of Chitwan National Park have been translocated internally.

The rhinos were transferred from the west to the eastern region of the park.

A male Rhino was brought from near Divyapuri post of Nawalparasi (Bardghat-Sustapurt to the interior of the Kuchkuche area in the eastern region of the park on Saturday. 

The 17-year-old male rhino was captured from the Divya Buffer Community Forest and released in the interior area across the Rapti River, said information officer of the park, Ganesh Prasad Tiwari.

Earlier on Friday, a rhinoceros was brought from the Kawasoti area of Nawalpur to the east. The male rhino of around 28 years old was released in the east from Kasara. This rhino used to come to the human settlement and cause trouble.

As the number of rhinos has increased in the western part of the park, some of them are going to be internally transferred to the eastern part of the park.

A total of 60 human resources including elephants, elephant mahouts, technical personnel, staff, Nepali army personnel were deployed for the rhino relocation. The park is now preparing to transfer six rhinos internally. Rhinos over eight years old will be transferred, added Tiwari.

According to the latest count, Nepal is home to 752 rhinos.

Of them, 694 rhinos are in Chitwan National Park. Likewise, 38 rhinos are in Bardiya national park and 17 in Shuklaphanta national park.

There are three rhinos in Parsa National Park.

Indra Chaudhary, 31, is a folk story writer from Kanchanpur. He is currently teaching in Makwanpur. Before this, he was involved in theater. He performed in several dramas and radio plays. He has also acted in a Tharu movie ‘Bhura Bhura Rahar’ which will be released soon. Nowadays, he focuses on writing folk stories that explore culture, language, and community rituals.

He has published two books, ‘Rana Tharu Ma Prachalit Lok Katha Tatha Mithak’ and ‘Tip Tip’ which was introduced at the 8th Tharu Literature Festival in Sunsari this year. He also writes children’s stories. ‘Dhola Farkiyo ta?’, ‘Naya Ban Paley’, and ‘Kapash Ko Ghoda’ have all been inspired by folk tales. In a conversation with Babita Shrestha from ApEx, Chaudhary spoke about his goal of preserving our heritage through cultural writing.

What inspired you to pursue writing as a career?

When I came to Kathmandu to pursue an M.Phil. degree, I got involved in theater. I got to work with different artists. I’m from the Tharu community and while I was there, I realized that there wasn’t much documentation of our folk tales and culture. I decided to do some research for my academic writing. My professors and friends liked my work and encouraged me to write more for Nepali literature. I wrote my first story, ‘Bhumika’ which got published in the Tharu Literary Quarterly. Since then, I’ve been writing with the aim of sharing stories about our culture.

Could you run us through your writing process?

Before I start writing stories, I talk to people from the specific culture I’m exploring. I pay attention to how they talk, their language, and all the little details of their lifestyle. Sometimes, people want to know why I’m doing all that. I explain  that I want to document our culture, traditions, and art to preserve our identity. I learn about their culture and then try to weave those insights into my writing. Right now, I’m researching about the Chepang community. I’m gathering myths and stories for my next project. 

How would you describe your writing style?

When I write stories, I try to capture the actual words and phrases spoken by the native community. This not only adds a personal touch but also keeps the stories authentic. I also include translated statements in Nepali so that everyone, even those who aren’t Tharu, can understand it. I want to make my work lively and interesting so that readers won’t get bored. I want them to feel like they’re listening to these folk stories. I keep the plot engaging and informative to make readers curious. Take, for instance, my book ‘Tip Tip’, a collection of 18 stories published by Maya Publication, which focuses on the Rana Tharu community. It’s full of folk stories I wrote to grab the reader’s attention, each with a captivating climax and a powerful message. I have employed a funny tone to convey a deeper psychological message and symbol. 

Have you faced any significant challenges during your writing journey?

One of the main challenges I have faced in cultural writing is that people often aren’t interested in reading books written in a native language. I noticed this at literature festivals where people hesitated to buy books written in Tharu because they couldn’t understand the language. To tackle this issue, I started including Nepali translations within the lines of my writing to reach a wider audience. Another challenge is raising awareness among locals about reviving fading cultures. Many have lost hope. That is why I feel it’s my duty to preserve our cultural heritage.

Are there any authors that have had a significant impact on your writing?

When I started reading folk literature, I got passionate about working with folk stories. Govinda Acharya’s ‘Tharu Jati ko Lok Geet Ra Lok Sangeet’ has been a huge inspiration. It’s about the eastern Tharu community. That’s when I decided to write about the Rana Tharu community in Kailali and Kanchanpur. Cultural writing became my focus after that. I also want to acknowledge Krishna Raj Sarbahari who guided me on how to proceed with cultural writing. He was the one who told me that it was possible to publish a book in my mother tongue through Pragya Pratisthan.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

I believe cultural writing has a bright future as it’s all about people and their identities, which is important for civilization. So to those thinking of taking up writing, I want to say it’s very important to study and understand your culture and spread awareness about it in any way you can.

The government has decided to immediately implement the probe commission's report on gold smuggling.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held today made the decision to this effect.

The probe commission formed to investigate the gold smuggling had submitted its report to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Rabi Lamichhane on Thursday.

Government Spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Rekha Sharma informed the media persons that the Cabinet decided to immediately bring the report to implementation.

The government and the victims of microfinance institutions have signed a six-point agreement on Friday.

Government’s talks team coordinator Narayan Prasad Risal and central chairman Punaram Gyawali from the agitating side signed the agreement.

Following the agreement, the protest programs have been postponed.

It has been agreed that the microfinance institutions can charge the interest rate and service fee from the borrowers as per the Nepal Rastra Bank’s directives.

Earlier, the Finance Ministry had formed a committee under the headship of Joint Secretary Narayan Prasad Risal to hold talks with the microfinance victims.

Finance Minister Barsaman Pun has directed the Finance Committee of the Legislature-Parliament to hold talks with the victims and submit a report with ways to address their demands.

A high-level probe commission formed to investigate the gold smuggling has recommended action against 21 individuals including nine Chinese nationals.

The commission has also recommended action against 12 persons including former Speaker and CPN (Maoist Center) Vice-Chairman Krishna Bahadur Mahara.

Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane submitted the report, presented by the commission on Thursday, to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday.

Commission Chairman Dilliraj Acharya confirmed the involvement of nine Chinese citizens in the gold smuggling.

He said that the weaknesses have also been seen on the part of police in the investigation.

“We have also recommended departmental action against those police personnel who did not carry out their duties seriously,” he said.

A Home Ministry source said that departmental action has been recommended against AIG Kiran Bajracharya, SP Sanjay Singh Thapa, DSP Rugam Kunwar and Durga Dahal.

It has been said that the Home Ministry has directed the Nepal Police headquarters to suspend AIG Bajracharya.

The commission has also recommended action against Mahara, Jeevan Gurung, Jeevan Chalaune, Pranish Pun and Manjil Gurung.

Mahara’s son Rahul has already been arrested and is in police custody.

Similarly, the commission has expressed doubts over the role of Basudev Sharma and Janakraj Ghimire of the public prosecutor’s office.

Chairman Acharya said that departmental action has been recommended against them.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has summoned a Cabinet meeting.

It has been learnt that he called the meeting to discuss the probe commission’s report on gold smuggling.

A staff nurse was found murdered in Biratnagar on Friday.

DSP Ranjan Kumar Dahal of the District Police Office, Morang said that Chandrika Kumari Das (22), who has been living at a rented room in Biratnagar-4, was found murdered this afternoon.

According to him, Das was working at the Nobel Teaching Hospital in Biratngar.

Das, a permanent resident of Phulkahakatti, Siraha, has been living as a tenant in the house of Dhirenda Giri at Budhathoki Marga in Biratnagar-4 near the hospital.

DSP Dahal said that the body was found in a toilet of the house at around 12 pm.

He said that she was murdered by using a sharp weapon.

Further investigation into the incident is underway, police said.