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 Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy drama, ‘The Shape of Water’, emerged as the ultimate win­ner at the 2018 Academy Awards. It had been nominated for 13 Oscars and won four, including best director and best picture. Starring Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spenser, and Richard Jenkins, the movie was a visual marvel, one that tugged at your heartstrings. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of its novel coun­terpart, the pace of which is a little sluggish and thus makes you want to skim through the pages halfway through. You already know the ending anyway.

For those of you who haven’t watched the movie yet, the basic premise is this: Set in America of the 1960s, Elisa, a mute janitor working at a government research center in Baltimore, falls in love with an imprisoned amphibi­ous man who is being tortured at the lab. The military responsi­ble for its capture then decide to kill the creature to dissect him for further research and Elisa, with a little help from her friends, plans a rescue operation.

The filmmaker Toro collabo­rated with author Daniel Kraus to bring the cinematic experience unto paper and the book was published a little less than two months after the movie’s release. The book was supposed to expand and enrich the story but what it does instead is make you feel like you are reading the first draft of the movie script.

The filmmaker and author both no doubt felt that a movie, at two hours, could only scratch the sur­face of human emotions and strug­gles. The novel thus takes its time to dra

w out the characters and delve deep into their minds. The result is a bit tedious. This is per­haps because you feel you know the characters and what they are thinking, having met them in the movie already.

That being said, The Shape of Water isn’t a bad book. Not by any means. It’s just that you have already watched (and loved) the movie, and seen the char­acters through their trails and tribulations that there’s no shaking off the feeling of déjà vu you inev­itably get. That is what takes away from the reading experience and makes the narrative seem long and stretched. You already know where it’s going yet you have to bear through pages of introspection and (oftentimes) pointless drama to get there. If you haven’t watched the movie, we recommend you read the book. If you have, you might be better off finding something else to read

Perhaps the Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) leaders who had gone to meet Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Oct 8 were well aware that little gets done during the over a month-long holiday sea­son that starts with Dashain and ends with Chhath. That is why when Prime Minister Oli assured the RJPN leaders that their demands would be fulfilled by the end of Dashain the Madhesi leaders said they were happy to give him until the end of Chhath. Who knows, they too might have been in a festive spirit not to make a hard push. Dashain remains the most widely celebrated festival in Nepal, even though not everyone celebrating it is religious. They will go to different Shakti Peeths during the Navaratri, the ‘nine nights’ and 10 days of Dashain (See Sabhyata Jha’s sto­ry, Page 8-9), to imbibe the festive spirit if nothing else. There is also a growing trend of people leaving Nepal to visit other countries during Dashain, as they are unlikely to get another holiday nearly as long. This also signals the dwindling religious importance of Dashain even as its cultural and socio-economic signif­icance remains high.

For meat-eaters, this is the time to gorge on goat, a Dashain delicacy. But interestingly the trend of people becoming vegetarians, nay, even vegans, is rocketing as well, partly because of the violence associated with animal killings (See Main story, Page 7). Another popular pastime this Dashain, at least for those who remain in the country, will be play­ing cards, often with the involve­ment of huge sums, never mind that the government has banned any kind of gambling.

Many bemoan the days when the whole extended family used to get together to celebrate, often by vis­iting their ancestral homes. Now half the family is invariably abroad during Dashain, working there or on vacation. But it would be unreal­istic to expect the country’s biggest festival to remain static in a society that has been in a state of constant flux since the 1990 political change.

Rather than resist the inevita­ble change perhaps it is a better idea to gracefully accept it. Let us celebrate today and look for­ward to a better tomorrow. Happy Dashain, everyone.

Nepali politics tends to heat up after over a month-long festive season that starts with Dashain and ends with Chhath. This year it is the two largest Madhes-based parties that could cause the biggest ruction, and mount per­haps the first serious challenge to the mighty government of KP Sharma Oli. Numerically weak, they may not as yet be able to unseat Oli but they could make things rather dicey for him.PM Oli has time and again assured the Federal Socialist Forum Nepal (FSFN)—a part of the federal government Oli leads—and the Rastriya Janashakti Party Nepal (RJPN)—that supports the federal government but is not a part of it—that the constitution ‘should and will’ be amended as per their demands. He better do so, the two parties say, as only reason they supported his government was because of a credible assurance on amendment.

But seven-and-a-half months into Oli’s prime ministership there has been no headway on that front. Chief among the Madhesi parties’ demands are revision of provincial borders, amendment in citizenship clauses, proportional represen­tation of Madhesis in state organs, and release of Madhesi cadres arrested during various protests. They also want RJPN’s Resham Chaudhary—who was elected to the federal lower house from Kailali district, but was barred from taking office after being accused of masterminding the killings of eight police officers during protests in 2015—sworn-in as a lawmaker.

None of these demands will be easy to meet. The consti­tution makes redrawing provincial boundaries a herculean endeavor; most in the ruling NCP party deem even current citizenship provisions for Madhesis lax; on proportional representation, NCP is under tremendous pressure not to ‘dilute’ the rights of the Pahades in the name of empowering Madhesis; and the entire police apparatus will resist swear­ing-in Chaudhary.

With the growing appeal of secessionist forces in Madhes, especially among its youth, token concessions from the NCP-led government will not cut ice. The two mainstream Madhesi parties fear irrelevance if they can­not wring out substantive constitutional changes from the federal government. But if the stalemate persists even after Chhath, it is not farfetched to imagine the two par­ties making common cause with extremists like CK Raut. In fact, there have been plenty of hints that they are contem­plating this course.

As Oli strives to keep his own wrangling party in order he will have his task cut out managing the growing challenge from Tarai-Madhesh as well.

Electoral outcome and party leadership are closely tied in mature parliamentary democracies. If the party does well, the credit goes largely to the leader. If it does not, the leader assumes full responsibility and resigns. Perhaps there could be no better example of this than the case of the otherwise powerful British Prime Minister David Cameron resigning as the leader of the ruling Conservative Party after the Britons voted to leave the European Union (Cameron had made a strong pitch for staying.) In fact tradition dictates that among the two main British parties, the leader of the one that fares poorly in vital elections resigns. Not so in Nepal. It is hard to think of a single instance whereby the leader of Nepali Congress or the erstwhile CPN-UML, the country’s two main parties until recently, resigned after an electoral debacle. Most recently, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba refused to accept responsibil­ity for his party’s poor showing in the three tiers of elections in 2017, and sought to hang on through means fair and foul. This, coupled with the party’s failure as the main opposition and Deuba’s rule-by-fiat, has bolstered those in the party clamoring for change.

Those in the party calling on Deuba to make amends have gained a new voice ahead of the crucial meeting of NC Mahasamiti—the party’s second-most important deci­sion-making body after the national convention—slated for the end of November. President Deuba is said to have repeat­edly postponed the meeting as he feared his rivals would use the body to ‘gang up’ against him. He seems to have relented only after immense pressure from the party rank and file.

Deuba does not want to relinquish the top post. But at the next national convention in 2020 he is likely to get a tough competition from one of the scions of the powerful Koirala family, which has controlled the party for most of past 70 years. Also in the fray for party leadership will be veteran leaders like Ram Chandra Poudel and Krishna Prasad Sitaula. As much as Deuba hates having to step down—ever—the day of reckoning seems to be getting closer. In the meantime, at the upcoming Mahasamiti meet, he will try to tweak the party statute to further centralize decision-making. The goal is to amass enough pork to pass around for his future bid for another term as party president o

 Around 300 bikers and pillion riders, all dressed and deked out, gathered at the Tangalwood premises on September 29 for The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride’s Nepal edition. A global event to combat the stereotype of men on motorcycles, and to connect the global motor­cycle communities, the ride which started in 2012 is now helping raise funds for men’s mental health programs and for prostate cancer research through its new official charity partner—The Movember Foundation.

Founded in Sydney, Australia by Mark Hawwa, The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride this year was conducted a day later on Sept 30 in over 650 cities worldwide. Taking part were 120,000 distinguished gentlefolk donning their dapper clothes and riding their vintage motorcycles.

The Nepal chapter of the DGR was hosted jointly by Tangalwood Events and RS Moto and saw men and women, both locals as well as expats, take part with great zeal.

 Hydro Village Private Limited (HVPL) signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Nepal Elec­tricity Authority (NEA) amid a func­tion in the capital on Sept 26.

According to a press release issued by HVPL, Managing Director of NEA Kul Man Ghising and Chairman of HVPL Capt. Rameshwar Thapa signed the agreement for the 57.3 MW Myagdi Khola Hydro Power Proj­ect in Myagdi district.

The project’s estimated cost is Rs 10 billion and required commer­cial operation date is September, 2023. “We are determined to com­plete the project on time even in an unfavorable situation,” Thapa said in a statement.

Managing Director of HVPL Sushil Pokharel said that 30 percent invest­ment will be managed by the com­pany from foreign direct investment as well as local investment and the remaining 70 percent will be bor­rowed from banks. “We will be build­ing access road of 24 km to project site on the first stage and the con­struction will then start,” he added.

The project will have annual aver­age production of 335.99 GWh (dry season, 103.11 GWh; and wet season, 232.88 GWh). Per unit rate of elec­tricity has been fixed at Rs 4.80 and Rs 8.40 for the wet season and dry season, respectively.

 .The Nepal Communist Party has virtual control over all three tiers of government. It has over two-thirds majority in the federal parliament, and runs six of the seven provinces as well as most local units. It was precisely with this intent that the two biggest communist forces had formally united over four months ago. At the time, the two co-chairmen, KP Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, had assured their skeptical countrymen that rather than wrangling they would work together as ‘co-pilots’ of the same airplane. It has not been a smooth flight. Dahal wasted no time in projecting himself as the prime minister-in-waiting, even as he was eerily silent on the many criticisms that came the way of the Oli government. Oli for his part has ruled both the country and his party by diktat. Dahal seems to have taken after Oli on this. Disenchantment among the rank and file is growing. This displeasure with the party leadership was evi­dent most recently after the selection of the NCP provincial in-charges (with the largely ceremonial role of overall party management in the province) and provincial committee chairpersons (who enjoy most executive powers).

The party statute confers this selection right on the 45-member standing committee. The committee members were thus aghast when the nine-member secretariat, under the effective control of the two co-chairmen, announced the names of these province-level officials—without informing the committee. Interestingly, four leaders close to Dahal and three close to Oli were made provincial committee chairper­sons; contenders from other factions were sidelined.

Meanwhile, those close to Dahal say he has already had a ‘serious discussion’ with Oli about the government’s inability to meet public expectation. They say he is as yet not angling for the post of prime minister or party chairman. He will go with the status quo for the first two years of Oli’s prime ministership. After that, “all bets are off”.

But even if Dahal is patient enough to bide his time, other party colleagues are getting antsy. Senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has grown progressively distant from Oli. Another senior leader Jhalanath Khanal has always been uncomfortable with the terms of party unification. Narayan Kaji Shrestha has resigned as spokesperson. And Ram Baha­dur Thapa, the Maoist home minister, seems intent on under­mining his prime minister every step of the way.

When the prime minister touches down on TIA on October 4 after an extended foreign trip he will have his hands full trying to paper over the growing cracks in the party edifice.

The third edition of the Kathmandu Blues and Roots music festival is all set to take place this Saturday, Sept 29, at the Tangalwood premises. This time, the orga­nizers promise a bigger and better edition of Kathmandu’s homegrown homage to the music from the Americas. With an international act The Well, all the way from the US, the Kathmandu Blues and Roots this year boasts of a versatile lineup of local musicians tak­ing the stage to play the blues. Nepal’s folk-blues legends Mukti and Revival will be headlining the event with Newaz, TMR Trio, Illusion, Kathmandu Cats and Millions Addicts—the winners of the Blues and Roots online contest—slated to perform at the all-day affair.

The event, organized by Tarang Entertainment, will begin at 12:30 pm with the tra­ditional Gulan Baja from Ason opening the event. The Distin­guished Gentleman’s Ride hap­pening on the same day is also sharing the Tangalwood venue and the riders of the DGR are expected to merge into the audi­ence of Blues and Roots, making it even grander.

Tickets (Rs 300 each) to the event can be purchased at the door