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Dashain is a dud in Kathman­du. The national capital and its surroundings, which oth­erwise pack in at least three mil­lion souls, is nearly empty during (and immediately after) the 10 days of Dashain. People leave for their ancestral homes to celebrate with their loved ones. Or, increasingly, the whole family goes abroad, to get an exotic taste of Nepal’s biggest festival. It is during the five days of Tihar, when most deserters have come back to light up their homes and welcome Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, that the valley comes alive. There is a tradition of worship­ping different animals during Tihar. Cows, for instance, are worshipped during Laxmi Puja, the third day of the festival, as an incarnation of Laxmi, even though this is a dying tradition; for one, cows are hard to find. We also worship crows, dogs and oxen. In the much-publicized new Nepal, isn’t it right that the ani­mals also have their days?

Likewise, every nook and cranny of one’s dwelling is lit up, mostly with string-lights these days. Per­haps some may miss the sound of the crackers that used to be so ubiquitous during Tihar. The police have done a rather efficient job of outlawing their use. Yet that alone has not been enough to dampen the festive spirit.

Consider the age-old tradition of deusi-bhailo, our own version of Halloween’s trick-or-treat. The old songs used for deusi and bhailo have been given clever twists and made more ‘modern’. Moreover, these days, the youngsters mostly prefer cash over Tihar goodies like sel-roti as their ‘treat’. In other words, our celebration of Tihar is changing in line with the constant social changes we witness all around us.

Kathmanduites are so used to complaining about bad roads and foul air and the rotten government, they hardly take time to reflect on the good in their lives. Tihar, which marks the victory of light over dark­ness, is thus also a time to put on our optimistic caps.

Tihar is perhaps the right time for our politicians and bureaucrats to renew their commitment to pub­lic service. An occasion for pen­ny-pinching businessmen to be a lit­tle less stingy, for spendthrift young­sters to be a little more respectful of money, and for everyone to lighten up. Let there be light.

Drive to Godawari Botanical garden on the southern fringe of the Kathmandu valley and hike to Phulchoki Danda, the highest hill surrounding the valley, and return to Godawari. This one day tour is sure to uplift your mood. While hiking, you can enjoy breathtaking view of valley and mountains. Also, enjoy a wide variety of birds and flowers. Get lost in the blissfulness of nature. Visit on a clear day to get a good view of Kathmandu.

The Annapurna Base Camp Trek is one of the best trekking routes in Nepal, popular as a “classical route”. The trekking area is to the north of Pokhara valley and just 27 km of aerial distance behind Mt. Fishtail (Machhapuchhere). The main tourist destinations in the area can be viewed on the way up to the Mt Annapurna Basecamp, from where the beautiful ranges of Machhapuchhre, Hiunchuli, Gangapurna and Annapurna (I, II, III, and IV) can be witnessed up close. The walk is mostly through beautiful terraced lands and forests of rhododendron (national flower of Nepal).

The Himalayan range of Nepal is important not only for summiting record holders but, with its innumerable mysteries, also for the geologists, environmentalists and sociologists. The Inter­national Mountain Museum in Pokhara, the one and only mountain museum in the world, strives to maintain systematic records of around 8,000 climbers till date who have scaled one or the other of the eight peaks above 8,000 meter that fall inside Nepal. The museum also records flora, fauna and human activities in the Hima­layas. The unique shape of the museum roof resembles a mountain skyline. This museum is a must-see for anyone interested in the Himalayas and mountaineering. If you are interested, there is a wall-climbing facility inside the museum premise. Contact: 977-61-460742; international­mountainmuseum.org

Any way you look at it, the recent labor agree­ment between Nepal and Malaysia is a land­mark deal. Nepali laborers will henceforth not have to pay a single rupee to go and work in what is Nepal’s number one labor importing country (besides India), with a floating population of around Nepali 400,000 workers. The recruitment service charges, two-way air fares, visa fees, medical check-up cost—all will now be borne by the employers in Malaysia. Nepal government had stopped sending workers to Malaysia five months ago, in protest against the hefty fees being imposed on its poor workers: on average, a worker had to fork out at least Rs 80,000 to cover all costs.

Minister for Labor Gokarna Bista had gotten a lot of flak for it. The south-east Asian country could never be forced to accept Nepali workers, the critics said, when it could easily import cheaper labor from Ban­gladesh and Pakistan. But Bista held his ground, firm in his belief that the quality of Nepali workers was superior—in that they are considered more adept and reliable—than those from other competing labor-ex­porting countries. His faith has been vindicated. This is another feather in the cap of Bista, who in his earlier avatar as the Minister of Energy had also done a com­mendable job.

Manpower agencies in Nepal are now cribbing and complaining. According to the new agreement, they will from now on be paid directly by the companies hiring Nepali manpower. Their cut will amount to half a month’s salary of the recruited worker. They say it is nearly not enough to cover their costs and have threat­ed to stop recruiting people to go to Malaysia if they cannot get at least a month’s salary of the recruited workers. The way we see it, with Nepal exporting an average of around 600,000 workers a year, the man­power agencies can still earn enough. If they want still more, they are in the wrong business.

No business should be allowed to thrive on exploita­tion of some of the poorest people in the society. Hav­ing inked the deal with Malaysia, the government must now not give in to the manpower agencies’ pressure tactics. It is unlikely to, in any case. Rumors are that the government is preparing similar agreements with oth­er big importers of Nepali labor in the Gulf. Perhaps the days of the unscrupulous manpower agencies are truly numbered.

The Palk Strait separating India and Sri Lanka, 82 km at its widest, did not prevent India from sending its mili­tary to Sri Lanka in 1987, purportedly to save the Tamil minority from the excesses of the Sinhalese government in Colombo. Tamil extremists would later be crushed with Chi­na’s military support. Likewise, even though around 4,000 km separates Sri Lanka and China, the Middle Kingdom has been more and more active in the smallish South Asian country of 21 million souls. Most notably, in 2017, Sri Lanka was forced to hand over the strategic port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease after being unable to service its debts—to India’s horror. This old geopolitical competition between India and China is once again being played out in Sri Lanka with President Maithripala Sirisena’s unexpected sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Oct 26. In Wickremesinghe’s place Sirisena appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa, a former president known for his cozy ties with Beijing. (It was Rajapaksa who had negotiated the building of Hambantota with China.) Sirisena in fact was elected as the executive president in 2015 on an explicit anti-Ra­japaksa platform. He had promised to help his coun­try emerge from China’s debt trap. His prime minister, Wickremesinghe, had been particularly keen to improve ties with India.

While this political drama in Sri Lanka still unfolding, it is nonetheless a stark reminder to Nepal that navigating the choppy waters of India-China geopolitics will not be easy in the days ahead. Rumors are already swirling inside the rul­ing Nepal Communist Party of how India is plotting to bring down the ‘pro-China’ KP Oli. Reportedly, party co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has of late been assuring India that he is firmly in their camp. This in turn has raised the hackles of the Oli faction that sees deepened ties with China as indis­pensable to balance the ‘big brother’.

Recently, Nepal government extended a warm welcome to the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marx­ist), Sitaram Yechuri, a harsh critic of the BJP-led government in India. One of the goals of his visit was said to be to keep Oli from sidling too close to Modi. The BJP leadership will see it as yet another ‘provocation’ of Oli government.

Be it the blockade in Nepal, recent elections in the Mal­dives, or the Sri Lankan PM’s sacking, no big political devel­opment in South Asia remains untouched by the new great game in South Asia.

Tihar is never complete with­out homemade ‘sel rotis’ and ‘phinis’ among other assort­ed desserts. It’s true that we today can easily procure them, ready­made, from one of the stores. Yet there can surely be no substitute for cooking them, fresh, in our own kitchen. APEX caught up with Chef Sandeep Khatri, also known as Pak Shastri, to get some tips. With 20-plus years of experi­ence in food experimentation, Khatri brings you contemporized versions of the traditional bread-based delicacies—exclusively for APEX.

First, a little info about the chef. Khatri learned culinary arts in Europe and he has travelled the world, learning, practicing and mastering his skills. Khatri is also an educator and founder of the Global Nepalese Chef Forum, which is working in collaboration with Global Chefs to make Nepali food popular around the world. His recent venture, Ka’ffi Global Catering, specializes in catering to the Nepali movie industry.

Sel Roti

(Authentic crispy rice donuts, coated with dark chocolate and coconut powder)

Sel roti is made in such a way that it will not go bad for months. Nor will it get fungus as it is deep-fried. It actually tastes better the next day, at least to some peo­ple. The sel roti is like an arti­san’s baguette or other Europe­an bread which they make and store to consume for days and months. That’s the reason they ferment the dough. Sel roti was historically the staple for travel­ers who walked up to Tibet for days to trade salt. Here we offer a lip-smacking version of it, sel 2.0 if you will.

Preparation Time: 3 hrs

Cooking time: 15 mins

Batch: 15 each

Ingredients

• Rice flour: 800 gm soaked for at least one hour

• Regular flour: 300 gm (Mixed well with rice flour in a batter, just as in pancake)

• Sugar: As per taste (Standard will be 10 tablespoons)

• Coconut powder: 1 cup

• Chocolate block: 1 cup (Micro­wave it to melt)

• Sesame seeds: Handful

• Water: 6 to 8 cups

• Baking powder: 1 teaspoon

• Spices like cinnamon powder, cardamom and vanilla are optional (for a tangy twist)

• Chocolate syrup

• Ice cream: The best would be vanilla but you can get a flavor of your choice

• Dry fruits: Crushed, to sprinkle on top

• Mint leaves for garnishing

Method

• Take a mixing bowl and add both rice and regular flours. Pour water gradually

• Add sugar and keep mixing, adding more water

• Dip the spoon and run your fingers on the back of it. The paste should be no more than 1 cm thick

• Then add the spices of your choice

• Again add sug­ar to ensure it is up to your taste

• S p r i n k l e some white s e s a m e seeds

• Let the mixture then ferment for three hours to get a nice texture

• Add baking powder (optional, and to be used only if you want to get fluffy sel rotis)

• In a deep pan, heat oil. It should be enough to submerge the dough

• Take a mineral water bottle and cut it in half. Use the neck part of the bottle to give your sel rotis a consistent, circular shape

• Put the dough in the half-cut bottle and pour it in the heated oil, in a circular shape

• Use a wooden stick or ladle to turn the sel roti

• Once it is golden brown, remove the roti from the pan

Time for the twist now

• Soak one side of the sel roti with melted chocolate on a serving plate

• Sprinkle some coconut powder and Gems chocolates on top

• Once the melted chocolate dries, top it up with vanilla ice-cream and pour some chocolate sauce

• Enjoy your contemporary sel roti

Phini Roti

(Nepali puff layered bread, with spinach and beet-root)

Preparation Time: 1 day

Cooking time: 30 mins

Batch: 15 each

Ingredients

Regular flour: 500 gm

Rice flour: 500 gm

Clarified butter (Ghee): 1 cup

Water: 3 to 5 cups

Beetroot: Bake or boil one medi­um-sized beetroot. Mash it up in a blender and let the water drain so that just the chunks remain

Spinach juice: Blanch a few spin­ach leaves and make puree in the blender

Method

• Add the spinach puree into regu­lar flour to make soft dough

• Add clarified butter/ghee with the rice flour and mix well to get your ‘satho’ ready

• Once the dough is ready, oil a flat, hard surface (maybe the marble in your kitchen or a sturdy chopping board) and roll the dough into a square, thin surface

• Add the mix of ‘satho’ on top

• Add some chunks of beet root

• Roll the dough from one side, just like you would roll a news­paper

• Once the roll is ready, cut the dough evenly into small sizes

• Roll the small cut-outs into square or round shapes. Don’t flip the phini while rolling, unlike you would do to normal roti

• Once rolled into the shapes you want, make at least 2/3 small cuts in the center of your phini so that they don’t get too puffed up while frying

• Fry the phini in a deep pan, just like you would the sel roti

• But do not flip the phini while frying. Use a ladle to pour hot oil on top of the phini while frying

The spinach and beet-root will give exotic colors to your regular phinis. Feel free to exper­iment with the sizes, shapes and presentation.

With the aim of bringing Nepal’s air safety record up to the inter­national standards the ‘Helicopter Society of Nepal’ has been estab­lished under the chairmanship of Capt Rameshwar Thapa.

Thapa, who is the chairman of Simrik Air, is among Nepal’s most reputed rescue pilots. Before his latest appointment, he had twice served as the chairman of the Airlines Operators Association of Nepal.

Besides Thapa, tourism entrepre­neur and chairman of Dynasty Air Ang Tshering Sherpa and executive chairman of Manang Air Satish Prad­han have been chosen as vice-chair­men of the working committee. Likewise, the CEO of Heli Everest Yograj Sharma has been chosen as general secretary while Janak Thapa, also of Heli Everest, serves as the treasurer.

Likewise, Chairman of Altitude Air Nimanuru Sherpa, manag­ing director of Prabhu Helicopter Binod Thakali, managing director of Simrik Air Capt Siddhartha Jung Gurung and Shree Air’s corpo­rate director Anil Manandar have been chosen as member of the working committee.

The non-profit hopes to help improve Nepal’s aviation record, as well as to build safe helipads and increase the availability of trained manpower in the field.

The society will work for the devel­opment of aviation and tourism under the government’s remit and take the initiative to highlight the importance of helicopter companies for the country.

Also, it will reward those who have made significant contribution for the development of helicopter transport in Nepal. Towards this goal, different kinds of programs will be being organized right across the country. Moreover, the society will try to disseminate right information about the recently reported problem of ‘fake rescues’.