Now that the names of the big tax dodgers and money launderers in the country have been made public by the Center for Investigative Journalism, Nepal, does the KP Oli government have the resolve to punish them? On the list of those who have invested abroad (it is illegal for Nepali citizens to do so), there is only a handful of politicians or their relatives. This should make it easier to marshal political consensus for prosecution. But even though top political leaders have been spared this time, among those named are the biggest businessmen and entrepreneurs of Nepal.This could be problematic because big business and politics have a close nexus. As our elections get more expensive, a huge sum is needed for a candidate to have a decent shot at winning. Reportedly, to contest a seat for the federal parliament, a major party candidate has to spend at least Rs 2-3 million—most of which comes from rich people like Binod Chaudhary and Upendra Mahato, both of whom are implicated via their associates in the latest CIJ Nepal exposé.

 There is no record of sums remitted out of Nepal informally in the form of hundi

Moreover, the current revelations—that Nepalis have deposited over Rs 52 billion in Swiss banks—represent only the tip of the iceberg. There is no accounting of the money siphoned off to neighbor­ing India, for instance. Nor is there any record of sums remitted out of Nepal informally in the form of hundi. Again, one reason no big politician features among the 55 Nepalis exposed this time could be that they are far too clever to park their ill-gotten wealth in Swiss banks and are rather using informal channels to expatriate their money—which is often later laun­dered back into the country as FDI.

People are not hopeful. The media have relentlessly writ­ten about the irregularities in the purchase of two Airbus aircraft—and which have been established by a parliamentary sub-committee no less—and yet the government has done nothing. Nor has there been much headway in prosecution on other big corruption cases like Sikta and Nepal Oil Corpo­ration. The ‘medical mafia’ that Dr Govinda KC rages against seems untouchable. It would thus be a miracle if any of those implicated in parking money abroad and/or laundering them back is punished. Those in power know the rot runs deep. They fear any attempt at fixing it could bring the whole gov­ernment edifice tumbling down.

Famous businessman, media personality and pilot Captain Rameshwar Thapa has come out with a simple yet riveting account of his involvement as a chopper pilot in the decade-long Mao­ist insurgency. Because the war ended over a decade ago, its viciousness has faded from our memory. But we cannot afford to forget an era that has massively shaped contempo­rary Nepali polity and society. Barud Mathi Uddaa (‘Flying over explosives’) is a note­worthy addition to Nepal’s insurgency-related literature.

The book provides glimpses of the various battles fought between the then Maoist rebels and the state security forces. Although Thapa was a commercial pilot, he was sought after by the security forces to mount rescue oper­ations and send in reinforce­ments. Despite the danger inherent in the work, Thapa was ever ready to fly.

The book also traces Tha­pa’s journey from a poor rural family in Kavre to Rus­sia where he trained to be a helicopter pilot. Thapa then went on to become one of the most successful businessmen in the country. He even had a role to play in bringing top leaders together to reach the 16-point agreement in June 2015, which paved the way for the constitution’s prom­ulgation.

The book will be of inter­est to academics and to gen­eral readers alike. An English translation of the book is also set to hit the shelves within a year.

EDM is the next big thing in Kathmandu and now you can begin your new year with one of the mad­dest music festivals in the country. Tangalwood Events and Tour.Lyf are hosting the Bloom Fes­tival—an electronic fiesta with artists from India playing alongside our homeboys, where the hills meet the valley on Jan 19 at Tangalwood, Naxal. The show will be followed by a late night after party at Club 25 Hours downstairs. Experience amazing music by Smokey, Ranzen and Bass Cult who are headlining the festival. Joining them will be many other head-banging talents.

As the air in Kathmandu gets thicker, what better way to spend your weekend than by breathing in fresh air of Namo Buddha while practicing yoga? This is the time to relax and replenish and revi­talize your body in this cold and dry season. The start of a new year is often filled with thoughts, wishes and expectations about the future. But just as important is to remind ourselves that all we truly have is NOW. If you want to celebrate the present moment, as raw and imperfect as it might be, join Lisa from January 26 to 27 on this yoga and meditation retreat. Spaces are limited.

Visit pranamaya-yoga.com for details

There is no denying that Twin­kle Khanna is smart and witty. Her fortnightly column in The Times of India is fun and the senti­ments hit home. It almost feels like she is in your head and is voicing out the very things you could never put into words and doing so quite eloquently to boot. Her first book, Mrs Funnybones, which came out in 2015 and was modeled on her wildly popular aforementioned col­umn of the same name, made her India’s highest-selling female writer of 2015. Her confession—that she is a way better writer than she was an actor—seems to be quite true indeed. Khanna’s third published work and her first fiction book, Pyjamas are Forgiving, is a drama that revolves around love, loss and longing, with marriage and infidelity thrown in the mix. It’s entertaining while it lasts, though it does have a few boring bits and pieces where Khanna goes off on some preachy rant of sorts. It’s definitely not Khanna at her best but it’s the same unpretentious writing that is her trademark that makes you want to keep reading.

The story is set in Kerala’s Shan­thamaaya Sthalam, a spa where peo­ple are supposed to live a simple life (clad in white cotton kurta and trou­sers) and consume copious amount of ghee to purge their systems of all the toxins they have accumulated in their day-to-day lives. The protago­nist is a middle-aged woman named Anshu who comes to the spa when­ever she’s feeling a bit unsettled. This time around, Anshu runs into her ex-husband, Jay, and his dim-witted young wife, Shalini, and it is this premise that makes most of the sto­ry. The backdrop—Dr Menon curing people of their doshas or imbalanced energies at the spa—makes for an interesting read as you watch Ans­hu’s life unfurl before you.

There are also other amusing char­acters that add an element of spunk to what could have otherwise been a monotonous narrative. The set­ting and mood are just right. You can almost smell the incense and hear the rustle of the leaves. It’s the metaphors, the forced clichés, and all the advice you have heard before and don’t want to hear anymore that weigh you down. Also, with her sharp comebacks, Anshu comes off as Mrs Funnybones and that’s not necessarily a good thing.

Khanna, in one of her interviews, admitted that she doesn’t want to be a dreary writer but, in her quest to be witty and entertaining, she runs the risk of being repetitive and crafting characters that will never feel wholly new. What Khanna lacks in insight and literary expertise, she makes up with her cynical tone and humor but that can only stretch a narrative so much. Pyjamas are Forgiving would have been a rather tedious read had it been any longer.

Book: Pyjamas are forgiving

Genre: Fiction

Author: Twinkle Khanna

Publisher: Juggernaut

Published: September 7, 2018

Language: English

Pages: 256, paperback

Rickshaws and motorbikes, temples and ultra-modern buildings, ancient statues and mod­ern graffiti, all come together in a collective display of pop-art at the Bikalpa Art Centre (BAC), Pulcho­wk. Digital images of collapsing houses supported by beams, mixed-media installation of children smiling on the back of a rickshaw, a panoramic collage of the chaotic life in Makhan Tole with the Taleju Bhawani temple in the backdrop reflect the voices of the people who live in the city.

“Kathmandu, My Fascination” by artist Prabod Shrestha is the result of his post-earthquake wan­derings around the city. The exhibition displays the lifestyle of modern Kathmandu, often con­necting the old and the new: the juxtaposition of ultra-modern buildings and pottery shops around Asan; the emerging coffee culture compared to the local tea shops; the chaotic life around Maru Ganesh in contrast to a woman sitting calmly in a corner smoking and selling vegetables.

The photos were a way to work through the earthquake trauma, and to reconnect with his childhood. After losing his gallery in the 2015 earthquake, Shrestha started wandering the streets of Kathmandu, taking pictures from his phone. “Despite the big changes I still recognized the old city that shaped me when I grew up. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by the pollution and the busy life of Kathmandu but sooner or later we recon­nect with its core and its vibrancy,” says Shrestha. “Earthquake was the main inspiration behind these pictures. I wanted to capture people’s lives after such a big disaster.”

The artist uses silk screen to transfer the pictures to the paper. Silk screen painting is an ancient tech­nique that is these days mainly used for printing images and designs on t-shirts, tote bags and other materials. It is rarely used for photographs.

He has worked as a freelancer with different advertising agencies and film producers to create award-winning (motion) graphics and designs. He plays with different graphic styles but mainly wants to show what makes the city so timeless and vibrant. Curator Saroj Mahato from the BAC calls the work “subtle and contemporary”.

The exhibition at the BAC runs from Dec 8 to Jan 15.

Disclosure: This review is being written by someone who has seen not one of the previous five ‘Transformers’ movies. This, he is finding out, can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, he can judge the sixth movie of the series, ‘Bumble­bee’, based solely on its cinematic merits. On the other, the review risks coming out as a little (or a lot) short-sighted.Anyway, let us jump right into it. First, it’s a storyline of a typical sci-fi movie: a tale of ‘good’ and weak­er creations of science triumphing over ‘bad’ and superior ones. On the planet of Cybertron, the good guys are the ‘Autobots’ who are in a civil war against the evil ‘Decep­ticons’. If the Autobots lose, the planet is doomed. But then they are losing the war.

They need time to regroup. Opti­mus Prime, the leader of the Auto­bots, sends B-127 to planet Earth where he will prospect the land for an Autobot base. If B-127 fails, that will be the end of the Auto­bots. Once on Earth, B-127, which can take the shape of any car in its view, opts for the body of a yellow Volkswagen Beetle.

Who should watch it?

If you are a die-hard fan of sci-fi action movies, and have loved previous Transformers flicks, you may like this one too. If you are not, you can skip it.

To cut a long story short, one day, teenager Charlie Watson (Hail­ee Steinfeld) finds this car in an old garage. She repairs the car and makes it come to life.

Watson finds that instead of an old car she has invited into her garage a good-hearted human­oid robot. Since the robot cannot speak, she names him Bumblebee. Unbeknown to Watson, when she starts the car, Watson also inad­vertently signals the Decepticons in Cybertron. They now know the Autobots are trying to regroup on planet Earth and resolve to destroy both the Autobots and the planet that could be their potential refuge. Without giving away the plot, what happens next should be familiar to any fan of a superhero movie.

 On planet Cybertron, the good guys are the ‘Autobots’ who are in a civil war against the evil ‘Decepticons’

Steinfeld’s performance as a fatherless 18-year-old rebel living with a stepfather she does not con­nect with is nearly faultless. She is that all-important human touch in a movie packed with metallic char­acters. There then is John Cena, the wrestler who plays an agent of Sector 7, a government agen­cy that monitors extra-terrestrial activities on Earth. He is a hard-noised former US Army Ranger who finds himself embroiled in the fight on Earth between the Autobots and Decepticons. Cena is perhaps the only wrestler in the WWE history who has been consistently projected as a ‘good guy’—an image that ‘Bumblebee’ amply exploits.

Based in 1987, ‘Bumblebee’ might offer those who grew up in the US at the time a sense of nostalgia. But for the rest the nei­ther-here-nor-there timeline can be hard to relate to. Moreover, the instant bonding between Watson and Bumblebee appears forced, as does the depiction of Watson’s love for her deceased father.

There are great action sequenc­es, especially the ones showing physical combat between the ‘good’ and ‘evil’ robots. And there are some hilarious moments when Watson is teaching the bungling Bumblebee disguise technics. Yet the film feels far too metallic and far too less humane. Not a bad movie at all. But it may not be to the taste of everyone.

Movie:  Bumblebee

Genre:  ACTION, SCI-FI

CAST:  Hailee Steinfeld, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Cena

DIRECTION: Travis Knight

Broader lessons

Lack of homework adds doubt to new alcohol rules

Although the cabinet is yet to pass Home Ministry’s pro­posed executive order that regulates alcohol “production, sales and consumption,” the government has already stepped up its anti-al­cohol game. Police are monitoring outdoor events that sell liquor, and the proposed “two liquor stores per ward” rule is being enforced. Ram Krishna Subedi, the Home Ministry spokesperson, says the goal is to control unchecked sale of liquor and curtail injurious drink­ing. He has a point.

According to a study of the Insti­tute for Health Matrices and Evalua­tion in the US, mortality by alcohol in Nepal increased by 376 percent between 1990 and 2016. It pointed out that 21 percent males and 1.5 percent females in Nepal are habit­ual drinkers. Liver diseases, cancers and other ailments caused by excess use of alcohol, it said, had claimed 3,972 Nepali lives in 2016.

The government also believes that domestic violence, mainly violence against women, is largely the result of alcohol consumption. “In over 50 percent of these cases, the males get violent against their female partners after consuming alcohol,” says Narayan Prasad Sharma Bidari, says joint Home secretary.

Critics retort that while some pro­posed regulations make sense, in totality, it is bound to fail. Econ­omist Biswo Poudel calls them “nonsensical” and brought without home¬work. If anything, smugglers and bootleggers will now be encour­aged, he says. Sarad Pradhan, a con­sultant for Nepal Tourism Board, predicts that if alcohol is made a social taboo, many foreigners might not come to Nepal. “Countless jobs will be lost. The government tax receipt will dwindle,” he cautions.

Diwas Raja KC, a researcher who has closely studied the temperance movement in the US, is also against such moral policing. “Alcohol alone does not result in domestic violence. Alcohol consumption plus intense patriarchy can,” he says. He points out how the American temperance movement had the bootleggers laughing all their way to the bank.

The “populist” move, say the crit­ics, is intended to draw attention away the government’s signature failures. “With the government seemingly incapable of solving high-profile cases like the rape-and-murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Pant of Kanchanpur, and the resulting public backlash, the government had to show that it was not sitting idle,” a Home Ministry source said.

Many are still unaware of the exec­utive order. Even those who are have little idea how it is going to affect their lives. Alcohol is also culturally important for indigenous communi­ties like Newars and Tamangs.

“These regulations might be suitable for parts of our country. But in those areas where alcohol is considered an integral part of local communities, the government has to think carefully,” says Kashinath Tamot, a historian.

While tough anti-alcohol rules may seem like the perfect solution to many social evils, they are hard to implement. Nor may it be desirable in all cases. Globally, with or without more restrictive alcohol rules, there will be fewer regular drinkers in 2019 than there were in 2018. But perhaps the most troubling aspect about the new regulations in Nepal is lack of homework. This risks not only a backlash. It could also pro­mote hooch. In the Indian state of Bihar the number of those killed by consuming spurious alcohol has shot up following the state’s blanket ban in 2016.

APEX supports sensible measures like stopping teens from buying alco­hol and forbidding kirana pasals from stocking alcohol. It would also be a lot more amenable to new reg­ulations had the government first taken the time to closely study and debate this complex issue. This is not something that can be settled behind closed doors.

Different strokes for different folks

Afghanistan, Brunei Darus­salam, Iran, Libya, Mauritania, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen have totally banned alcoholic bever­ages. As alcohol is forbidden in Islam, there are prohibition on production, sale and consumption of alcohol beverages in some Mus­lim-majority countries.

In India, manufacture, sale or consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Bihar, Gujarat, Mani­pur, Nagaland and the union ter­ritory of Lakshadweep. Indian states observe dry days when alcohol sale is banned, although consumption is permitted. Dry days are usually observed on vot­ing days and national holidays throughout India.

Around 10 percent of the US, by area, forbids sale of alcoholic beverages, especially in the South. Even “moist” counties permit drinking in certain areas, or limit drinking in other ways. Around 18 million Americans live in places where the selling alcohol is illegal. The law restricts import, sale and consumption of alcoholic bev­erages in Bangladesh. No Bangla­deshi Muslim person is given the permit to drink liquor without the written prescription of an associ­ate professor of a medical college or a civil surgeon. It is legal to sell and drink alco­hol in Australia. However, con­sumption of alcohol in designated alcohol-free zones is illegal.

With the exception of some minor local regulations, there are no liquor laws in China. The German and Brazilian laws reg­ulating alcohol use and sale are some of the least restrictive. Anyone aged 18 years or over and who shows approved ID can enter licensed premises and buy alcohol in New Zealand. 

Lithuania’s new liquor law increased the legal drinking age from 18 to 20, significantly cur­tailed opening hours for liquor stores and banned alcohol adver­tising.In the UK, those over 18 can drink in public, except in areas of towns where Public Space Protec­tion Orders are in place. Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia have no restrictions and alcohol is freely available in restaurants, bars and shops. Argentina, Peru, Colom­bia and Paraguay have set minimum legal drinking age. But apart from that, there are no restrictions. Agencies