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 As you sit in the pitch-dark hall of the Sarwanam Theater to watch “Janayudha Jari Cha?” you do not know what exactly to anticipate. But rest assured, this play will meet all your expectations. You will do well to closely watch. The actors are not just on the stage; they may, in the middle of an act, flood towards the audience, making the audience feel as if they are in a battlefield, first-hand witness of the decade-long Maoist rebellion. When the play starts, you get a sense that a lot of energy has gone into it. Everything looks well planned—the actors, stage decoration, and props.

At certain points, you even get goose­bumps, looking at the fantastic stage choreography, the ominous build-up to a climax or sharp dialogue delivery. “We spent five months just practicing. Three months we spent on outdoor training,” reveals Raj Shah, the writer, director and an actor of “Janayudha Jari Cha?”

In just an hour “Janayudha Jari Cha?” successfully shows you how young and patriotic Nepalis fought for their beliefs, the struggles they faced when leaving their families to join the revolu­tion, the pain they felt when they killed someone or when someone they knew died and how, at the end, they felt the sacrifices they made were for nothing as they did not really get what they aimed for—a better Nepal. Shah wrote the play as a homage to the young who died for a cause believed in. “I just want to do justice to the fighters who gave their all for the country,” Shah says. The play will be staged at 5:15 pm every day till October 7 (except on Thursdays) at Sarwanam Theater, Kalikasthan.

 Q. Describe your personality in three words

A. Since I am an extrovert: forthright, vibrant and outgoing

Q. One outfit that you cannot go wrong with

A. LBD (Little Black Dress)

Q. Biggest pet-peeve

A. People who appear too sweet on the face

Q. Three must-have things before leaving the house

A. My phone, mini perfume bottle, sunglasses

Q. Best piece of advice you’ve received

A. “Think before you speak.” I don’t know how to

Q. If you could have coffee with one celebrity who would it be?

      A. Bina Ghale

Pulsar deal with Martyr’s Memorial A-Division League

Bajaj Pulsar has just entered into a title sponsor­ship agreement with the Martyr’s Memorial A-Di­vision League, one of the most prominent football tournaments in the country. The partnership is for three years, as per a statement released by the company. The MOU for the sponsorship was signed this week by Shekhar Golchha, Managing Director of HH Bajaj, and Raj Humagain, Marketing Manager of the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA).

Daraz hosts first seller summit in Kathmandu

Popular e-commerce site Daraz hosted over 650 sellers at the first Seller summit in Kathmandu on September 18. The summit offered vendors looking to sell their products on Nepal’s fastest growing commerce platform an opportunity to learn and discover smarter ways to sell via Daraz. The e-com­merce firm introduced upgraded systems and soft­ware, said the press release.

The new three- step approach aims to improve seller engagement and enhance customer service.

 It’s been nearly two months since the brutal rape and mur­der of 13-year-old Nirmala Pant of Ultakham, Bhimdatta munici­pality in Kanchanpur district. But Nepal Police has thus far failed to get anywhere close to solving the crime, this despite the police claim to the contrary. “Our investigation has been rig­orous,” says investigation officer in the case Krishna Raj Ojha. “And yet we have been unable to uncover incriminating evidence.”

Bhimdatta locals suspect the police are dilly-dallying so that vital evidence can be tampered with, if that has not already happened.

After all, it has been established that police officials involved in initial investigation had tried to system­atically erase evidence from crime scene. Another established fact is that initial investigation was aimed more at finding a scapegoat than solving the crime.

After Nirmala’s body was dis­covered on July 26, Nepal Police had deployed a probe team from its Central Investigation Bureau, which looks into serious crimes. When this team completed its inves­tigation, in conjunction with local police, it paraded before the pub­lic 41-year-old Dilip Singh Bista, a mentally-challenged person, as the perpetrator of the crime.

But as soon as Bista was present­ed as the prime suspect, the locals erupted in protest. They could not believe a mentally-challenged per­son was capable of pulling off such a meticulously-orchestrated crime.

In the ensuing police firing one person was killed while doz­ens were injured. After this the government formed another investi­gation team under Hari Prasad Main­ali, a joint secretary at the Home Ministry. The Chief District Office of Kanchanpur as well as its head of police were recalled.

As the locals had been arguing all along, Dilip Singh Bista was prov­en innocent when his DNA sample didn’t match the sample collected from the deceased body. The other suspect, Chakradev Badu, was also exonerated on the same ground.

Now the police are reportedly in the process of testing the DNA of the suspended Superintendent of Police of Kanchanpur Dilliraj Bista, who was initially in charge of the investi­gation, as well as the DNA of his son Kiran Bista and one Ayush Bista.

Besides, yet another probe team under CIB’s senior superinten­dent Thakur Prasad Gyawali has been deployed. This is in addition to an expert group of criminolo­gists that has been constituted to look into this crime. Moreover, on Sept 18, a separate ‘ladies team’ under Superintendent of Police Durga Singh was sent to Kanchanpur for investigation.

Nirmala’s family suspects foul play as all these investigations have thus far born no fruit. “It’s been nearly two months and Nirmala’s killers are still at large,” says Laxmi Pant, Nirmala’s step-mother. “We have started doubting if we will ever get justice.” She says the officers who erased evidence must be taken into custody and investigated. “It is vital that we know why they destroyed crucial evidence,” she says.

 As the country marked the third anniversary of the promulgation of the new constitution perhaps no other issue made as many headlines as the real or perceived disputes between the federal and provincial governments. Intentionally or not, the federal government has found it increasingly hard to devolve adequate power and resources to the seven provinces. There are a few reasons for this. One, most of the federal-level ministers and senior bureau­crats, long trained on the old unitary ways, are not used to such devolution. More accustomed to giving directives and having them blindly followed, they are struggling to internalize the fact of decentralization and devolution of decision-making: These days the provincial and local bod­ies have their own executive and legislative organs and the constitution empowers them to deal with most local issues on their own.

Two, the bureaucrats who were supposed to imple­ment the constitution and ensure smooth functioning of the new federation were never prepared for the tran­sition. They got no training or counselling. As such the provincial authorities are having a hard time convinc­ing them work under the new setup. The Chief District Officers for instance still prefer to report to the center rather than to province chiefs. Since many of the new laws to operationalize the federal system have not been formed, the judiciary also finds it easy to adjudicate in favor of the federal government during disputes.

Three, there is still a lot of trust deficit between the center and the lower tiers of government, even though the same coalition runs the federal government as well as all seven provinces. This owes to the fear among the federal leaders that the provincial chiefs perhaps want to establish alternate power centers. The federal government is also being blamed for allowing local and provincial governments to collect their own ‘punitive’ taxes, even though the constitution explicitly allows this. And when the federal government intervenes, it is castigated for usurping the prerogative of the lower tiers.

There are signs that the seven provinces will increasingly work together to secure greater autonomy for themselves. In a way, the provinces feel shortchanged as the federal and local governments between them are seen as making all vital decisions. It could be a while yet before a modus vivendi can be worked out between the center and the provinces.

Conceived in 2007, Amal­gam Exhibition showcases works by senior artists while also serving as a platform for young Nepali artists and some visiting international artists. The seventh edition this year features the works of 40 Nepali artists including Aditya Aryal, Bidhyaman Tamang, Dipak Lama, Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha, Hari Adhikari, Hit Man Gurung, Ishan Pariyar and Sushma Shakya.

In addition, four guest art­ists—Birendra Pratap Singh, S.C. Suman, Seema Sharma Shah and Uma Shankhar Shah—are the part of the exhibit this year. This edition of Amalgam embraces mul­tiple mediums, as well as a small selection of prints by Printmaking Nepal featuring works of Lok Chitrakar and Late Manuj Baba Mishra.

Providing a rare insight into the contemporary art scene of Nepal, the exhibition spills over from the Babar Mahal main gallery into the outer Pipal bot as well. On Sept 8 and 9, there was a rare oppor­tunity to learn raku ceramic technique with master artist Gopal Kalapremi Shrestha. The main exhibition is open until September 28, 12 pm-5 pm, every day

 WATCH

Sunday Movie Night

6.30 pm, Sunday, Sept 23

Bikalpa Art Café & Bar

Pulchowk, Lalitpur

Get the week up and off with some blasts from the past. This Sunday night features “Foreign Correspondent”, also popular as “imposter” or “personal history”, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

PARTICIPATE

 3rd BASS DAY NEPAL

1 pm, Saturday, Sept 22

Shisha Lounge & Bar

Thamel, Kathmandu

Witness the performances of some of the best bass players in Nepal. Attend the Bass Clinic by Marcus Dengate and see Rizu Tuladhar present “Bass— A musical tool in context of Nepali artist”.

Entry: Rs 200

 ATTEND

The Comedy Tuk Tuk Show

7:45 pm, Saturday, Sept 22

SukraBar, Lazimpat

Book tickets for a night of laughter as three amazing stand-up comedians in K-Town tickle all your funny bones! Comedians Aadarsh Mishra, Alan Jung Thapa and Rajina Shrestha will definitely help put a hysteric end to your hectic week. Pre-purchase tickets at Sukrabar or pay at the door (by 7:25 PM).

Price: Rs.100 per person

 LISTEN

 TMR Trio Blues Session

7 pm, Friday Sept 21

Social Café

Gairidhara, Kathmandu

This Friday night, the TMR Trio featuring Nikhil Tuladhar will be performing an intimate session of blues and rocknroll at the Social Cafe.

 Located at north Lakeside Pokhara, The Office Bar is one office where you would be more than happy to go every day. At its heart, The Office Bar is a place to chill, with good company and great music. With cozy indoor and relaxing outdoor settings in close proximity to nature, away from the hustle and bustle of central Lakeside, The Office at present is one of the favorite venues for live music in Pokhara.

Not that its food is any bad. Its selection of drinks is also among the best in P-town. Yet The Office’s choice of live music is undoubtedly its biggest draw. Talented local musicians perform in a wide genre of music at The Office, much different to the Nepali and Bollywood repertoire you get in central areas. Underground jazz and blues bands from Kathmandu are regulars at weekends along with travelling for­eign musicians hitting the stage for some jamming. And yes, the prices at The Office are reasonable too considering how expensive Pokhara has become.

 THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Baked Fish

- Pepper Steak

- Chicken Kabab Wraps

Opening hours:

1:00 pm to 12:00 am

Location:

Baidam Road, Pkr

Cards:

Not Accepted

Meal for 2:

Rs 1200

Reservations:

9804117934