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Singer, director and journalist Phurba Sherpa has managed to set yet another record. Recently, while accepting the certificate for his previous record, Sherpa made another one: accepting the certificate of his record at a world-record height of 5,364 meters from the sea level. 

Sherpa had made it to the Guinness Book of World Records in 2004 by singing an entire song with only one letter of the Devanagari script “Ma” on the album “Geet Ek Akshar Ko.” Recently, the UK’s World Book of Records had accepted it as a record as well. Phurba got the official certificate of the World Book of Records at the Everest base camp.

Birth: 11 April 1946, Kurseong
Death: 23 May 2021, Kathmandu

Banira Giri had wanted to study Nepali literature since her early school days. But on completing her Bachelor’s degree from North Bengal University in India, she learned that she didn’t have the option of studying Nepali there. As luck would have it, she would travel to Nepal in 1965 for an award ceremony. 

Giri had submitted a poem for a competition held by the then Royal Academy. She eventually stood second and got a medal at the hands of King Mahendra.

During a short meeting with the king, Giri conveyed her interest in pursuing an MA in Nepali literature from Tribhuvan University, and the difficulties she faced in doing so. Soon, the Royal Secretariat invited her to Kathmandu with a scholarship to study at Nepal’s only university.

After a year in Nepal, she met Shankar Giri, an engineer who always motivated her to publish. They fell in love and tied the knot in 1967. Shankar played a key role in establishing Banira in Nepali literature. In 2019, he set up the Banira Foundation—a non-profit to help writers financially and in other ways. The foundation also aims to archive photo galleries, published books, manuscripts, awards, and Giri’s every unpublished piece.

After getting her Master’s degree, Giri started teaching at Padma Kanya Campus. For her doctorate, she studied the poetry of Gopal Prasad Rimal and soon became the first woman to complete a PhD in Nepali Literature. She continued teaching at various colleges affiliated to Tribhuvan University.

Although she published countless pieces in magazines in both Nepal and India, her first published book was Euta Euta Juido Jung Bahadur. She got positive reviews for her work and soon came up with the next poem collection, Jiwan Thayamaru. Her third book was a novel, Kaaragar, a 1985 bestseller. 

She is one of the few Nepali female writers celebrated outside Nepal as well. In 1975, she was invited to attend the Afro-Asian Poet Conference in Russia, becoming only the second Nepali writer to get the honor, after Laxmi Prasad Devkota. In 1997, the Japan Foundation Asia Center decorated Giri with the Takeshi Kaiko Memorial Award for her solo poetry recitation in three major Japanese cities. The American Library of Congress has archived eight of her literary works.

Shabdatit Shantanu, a poetic fantasy, helped her win the Shajha Puraskar in 1999, again becoming the first woman to do so. The government also recognized her with Suprabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu, the second highest honor in the Kingdom of Nepal.

Of late Giri had been busy with her autobiography before dementia hit her three years ago. She had been infected by Covid-19 but it was a cardiac arrest that killed her at 75. 

Giri is survived by her husband, a son and a daughter.  

Birth: 27 January 1976, Mahottari
Death: 13 May 2021, Lalitpur

It was late September 2019 when Manavsewa Ashram—a social organization dedicated to rescuing homeless people—was managing logistics to start its new branch in Bhaktapur. A large sum of money was needed. But no one knew where it would come from.

Bijay Jalan, executive director and co-founder of Worldlink Communications, heard about it and donated a million rupees to the charity. Manavsewa Ashram has since considered him its advisor and guardian. 

Jalan didn’t hesitate to get actively involved in a good cause. He also didn’t hesitate when he had the idea of launching an internet service provider company in the country—even when the internet was in its nascent stage.

In 1995, Jalan, along with one of his cousins, started Worldlink—one of the pioneer internet service providers in Nepal. In the early days, the duo used to visit customers’ houses and install the service. More and more people subscribed to Worldlink in the years to come.

But in 2008, the ISP business in Nepal witnessed a slump, and Worldlink was no exception. Nepal Telecom started its ADSL service, which provided better internet connectivity compared to other companies. The situation worsened so much that Jalan and the team almost shut down the company. 

But Jalan didn’t give up. His company invested heavily in new technology and ensuring faster connectivity. Things improved gradually with the introduction of optical fiber networks and NTC’s ADSL would be no match against the new services.

Worldlink is now the largest ISP in the country as well as the largest taxpayer from the ICT sector. Almost 45 percent of internet traffic in Nepal passes through Worldlink.

Jalan recently showed mild symptoms of Covid-19. When he got himself tested, he was immediately admitted to a hospital in Lalitpur and kept on a ventilator for a week. The 45-year-old passed away on May 13. 

He is survived by his wife Anupa Jalan and son Ashwin.

During the 1930s, education in the country was limited to those within the royal palace. The common people were denied access to schools.

But Laxman Rajbanshi got the opportunity to study at a one of the finest schools in the country thanks to his father’s service to the palace.

Although Rajbanshi could now study at Durbar High School, he was uninterested in attending classes. For he had found his calling even before his matriculation (SEE) examination.

In 1952, menial workers in the valley launched protests demanding salary-hike. The police brutally suppressed their agitation. School students, including Rajbanshi, who had also joined the protests, were arrested with only a few days to go for his Grade X exams.

Rajbanshi was charged with ‘engaging in criminal activities’ and given three years in jail. But thanks to a generous judge, his sentence was reduced to three months. And he also did appear in the exam—becoming the first one to do so from jail.

He failed in two subjects but later passed in the third division. Interestingly, he completed his intermediate in arts (high school) in the third division from the then Durbar College, now Tahachal Campus.

Always having a soft spot for the poor and downtrodden, it was only a matter of time before Rajbanshi was attracted to communist ideology. When he was pursuing his BA, he was elected chair of the student wing of the Communist Party of Nepal’s Tri Chandra College unit.

He had played a key role in starting an MA program at Durbar College. For this, Rajbanshi had to leave Tri Chandra and join Durbar College as the college needed to have a certain number of students to start the MA program. He was later expelled from the college for his involvement in communist politics.

Rajbanshi then joined Shankerdev Campus to complete his BA, again in the third division. He enrolled at the Tribhuvan University for his MA but there also, he was blacklisted due to his political ideology.

It was because of the same political ideology that the famous communist ideologue Pushpa Lal Shrestha and Rajbanshi developed a special bond. In 1959, Shrestha sent him to Palpa to campaign for the party ahead of elections. Right after the election, he received a telegram asking him to return to Kathmandu immediately. On reaching home, he found that Shrestha had found him a bride, his sister-in-law. He tied the knot with Sovana Rajbanshi in 1959.

Rajbansji, who faced expulsion from various schools and colleges in his student years, would soon transform himself into a reformer of the country’s education system. It all started when he was appointed headmaster of Aanand Kuti School; one of his students soon topped the SLC board. Those who knew him say his focus on practical education was a totally new experiment in the country.

In 1973, he was appointed principal of Siddhartha Vanasthali, a school mired in mismanagement with just 72 students. The teachers had been deprived of their pay for three months and the school owed Rs 36,000 to its debtors.

But the school, which would become synonymous with Rajbanshi’s name, saw its fortunes change when the veteran educationist took over its reigns. It would soon became one of the best in Nepal. There’s a saying: “Every hospital in the country has at least one doctor who went to Siddhartha Vanasthali School.”

Rajbanshi, who also worked as an advisor to the education minister in 1990, was elected to the first Constituent Assembly under the proportional system. He even presided over one of its meeting in the absence of the speaker and the deputy speaker.

Rajbanshi has numerous books to his name. He has written books and articles in Newari, Nepali, and English.

A couple of weeks ago, he slipped from the stairs and fainted in his home, family members say. Rajbanshi was rushed to Norvic Hospital, Thapathali, where he received treatment for 12 days. He died from a blood clot in his head. Rajbanshi is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Birth: November 7, 1937, Thankot
Death: March 29, 2021, Moscow

Krishna Prakash Shrestha wanted to study journalism in the US, the most technologically advanced country in the world.

But when the Soviet Union launched its first satellite, the Sputnik 1, Shrestha’s interest in communist Russia grew to a point that he no longer wanted to go to the US.

In 1959, Shrestha received a scholarship from Moscow State University for an MA in Journalism. On the completion of his studies, he planned on returning Nepal to serve at Gorkhapatra, Nepal’s longest surviving state-run newspaper. But that was not to be.

Shrestha, whom his colleagues and friends remember as being “straight-forward”, never wanted to work abroad, but destiny had other plans. As the Cold War intensified, the Soviet Union was eager to establish a Nepali service at Radio Moscow to counter the BBC’s Hindi and Nepali services. In Shrestha, it saw the perfect person to run the Nepali service.

Shrestha initially declined the offer but had to accept it after pressure from friends and family. Russia not only gave him a job, but also his life partner. While working for Radio Moscow, he fell in love with a Russian, Erina, and the couple took their vows in 1964.

Besides working for the radio, Shrestha was actively involved in translating Russian literature into Nepali and vice-versa. His incomparable skills gave Nepali readers masterpieces such as Gypsy, Belkin ka katha and Dubrovsky. His translation of Nepali works such as Yamalok ko juido machhe, Langado ko sathi, Muna-madan in turn gave Russian readers a glimpse of Nepali literature.

Shrestha was an active member of the Russian Writers Union and also served as a central advisor to the World Federation of Nepali Literature as well as an honorary member of Nepal Children’s Literature Society. During his 60 years in Russia, he also helped bring together peoples of two countries.

Having won the trust of officials in both the countries, he was seen by many as an unofficial Nepali diplomat in Russia. He also worked as an official translator during Nepal-Russia governmental meetings.

As it became difficult to travel, he had to renounce his Nepali citizenship at the age of 70, with a heavy heart. There were times Russian officials suspected him of being involved in espionage.

Three years ago, Erina died, leaving behind their two daughters, Janna and Marina. A devastated Shrestha took time to return to his daily schedule. During the Covid-19 lockdown, he made himself busy by attending almost every online event he was invited to.

Also in 2020, he produced a book Two Capitals: Moscow and Kathmandu by coordinating with 10 writers each from Nepal and Russia.

Shrestha received various awards and recognitions: Outstanding Radio and Television Jockey (1988), Mahakabi Devkota Satabdi Samman (2008), Jagadamba Shree (2014), Satya Mohan Joshi Satabdi (2016), among others. Besides, for the first time, Nepal Academy had announced to award Shrestha with the biggest honor in translation, Anubaad Pragya Samman.

But before he could make it to Nepal to receive the award at the President's hands, he passed away, aged 82, from Covid-19 complications at a Moscow hospital.

April 18 marked the 2nd anniversary of the Kathmandu Marriott Hotel, an international hotel, providing one of the finest hospitality to both local and international travellers in Nepal.

“In pursuit of providing the best service, we are constantly adapting and innovating. The journey to achieving this milestone has been challenging, however, we are here due to the hard work and dedication of our associates and stakeholder,” Fabien Martinez, General Manager, said through a press release issued by the hotel. Kathmandu Marriott is one of the few hotels that stayed open throughout the pandemic, continuously providing a much-needed safe space for travellers.

Throughout its two-year run, the hotel has introduced new cuisines to the food lovers of Kathmandu with various offers and food festivals, the press release reads. The latest being the Lebanese Food Festival. The hotel has recently opened a Mediterranean restaurant, Tahina Terrace.

To celebrate the milestone, Kathmandu Marriott Hotel is offering a special Anniversary Celebration Package for only Rs 12,021 Net till the end of April 2021. More about the package can be found on the hotel’s website: marriottkathmandu.com.

Birth: 8 April 1931, Thamel
Death: 4 April 2021, Chhauni

During the 1950s, education for Nepalis outside Asia was still an abstract dream, even for the elites. So Arjun Narsingha Rana struggled to convince his family to let him pursue his studies in the US. Nonetheless, after joining the Royal Nepali Army, he ended up becoming the first Nepali to complete a US Staff College course.

Regarded as a trendsetter who wanted to reform the then Royal Nepali Army, Rana was responsible for instituting many changes in the institution. The United Nations had started deploying peacekeeping forces to troubled places in the world in 1948. But it was only in 1974 that Nepal expressed its interest to deploy its army on such missions. Under the leadership of the then colonel Rana, (now) Nepal Army sent 571 peacekeepers to UNEF-II in Egypt from the Purano Gorakh Battalion, the first such contingent of UN peacekeeping troops from Nepal.

Gradually, after almost 10 years, in 1983, Rana got promoted to the Chief of Army Staff for a four-year term. Under his leadership the army in 1986 established the Directorate of Military Materials Production and the Directorate of Health Services, with the goals of manufacturing necessaries for the army inside the country and for free treatment of army personnel and families, respectively.

Even now, the Directorate of Military Materials Production oversees Sundarijal Arsenal, Saywambhu Baroodkhana, Multipurpose Garment and Plastic Industry, and Sunachuri Emulsion Plant.

Similarly, in 1986, Rana’s command inaugurated the Directorate of Animal Development and Medicine that supplies to Army Animal Hospital, Soldier Stud Farm Centre and Bhairab Bahan Battalion. It also includes the Training and Animal Selection Guide for veterinary training, animal breeding, diagnosis and treatment of army pets.

Moreover, he wanted to modernize the force and with this intent established, first, a taskforce for air service and air defense, and then built a separate army air base. He also ensured proper combat dress and insurance for every army personnel.

After retirement, Rana served as Nepal’s ambassador to Pakistan (1988-1992).

Rana completed his schooling from Aligadh and Banaras, India and returned to Nepal for his Bachelor degree education at Tri Chandra College. He joined the then Royal Nepal Army as a Second lieutenant in 1952

Rana had been admitted to Birendra Military Hospital, Chhauni when he contracted Covid-19 at the age of 91. He later passed away from pneumonia.

Three years ago, he had lost his wife and only a month ago his only son, Arun Narsingha, to cancer. He is survived by his four daughters and a daughter-in-law.

Nepal Finance Limited (NFS) this opened a new branch at Bhurjungkhola in Machhapuchre Rural Municipality-2, Kaski. The branch became operational from April 4.

NFS, which is the first finance in Nepal to open through private sectors, was established in 1992. With its head office at Kamaladi, Kathmandu, NFS currently has branch offices in Pulchowk, Lalitpur; Banepa, Kavrepalanchowk; Murgiya, Rupandehi and Nawalpur, Gaindakot.

After the opening of the new branch in Kaski, NFS plans to expand its services with new branch offices at Dahnushadham, Janakpur and Hetuada, Makwanpur within this fiscal year. The finance company also plans to open services counter at Kantipath and Kalimati in Kathmandu within the same period.

Presiding over the eveng was NFS Chairman Prof. Hirendra Man Pradhan, along with Promoter/director Diprash Shakya, Chandra Kumar Rai, Rajan Prajapati, Laxmi Maharjan,  CEO Uddhab Raj Thapalia and Assistant CEO Bishnu Prasad Gautam.