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For the past seven years, the Malla Incorporate has been supplying modern medical equipment to hospitals in more than 25 districts across Nepal. 

It is one of the subsidiaries of Malla Group with Dharatee Meditech as its parent company, which itself has been providing medical devices and surgical instruments to health facilities in Nepal for more than two decades now. 

Sajal Malla, the founder and managing director of the Malla Incorporate, says the company was established with the objective of introducing new technology-driven medical equipment in Nepali health institutions. 

She says her time at Dharatee Meditech as well as a student in India gave her the idea to supply modern medical devices in Nepal. 

“I had many opportunities to attend medical expos and study the market for modern medical devices in India as well,” she says. “These devices were revolutionizing the Indian health sector. So I thought this success could be replicated in Nepal too.”

Before the Malla Incorporate was established in 2015, Sajal says Nepal’s health sector was lagging behind on several new technologies.

“As the Indian market is similar to Nepal, their ideas were achievable,” she says. 

In India, Sajal consulted with several experts in the field of medical technology as well as businesspeople who imported medical equipment before starting the company.

The Malla Incorporate started out small, importing simple but essential equipment for Nepal’s hospitals.  

In the early days, there were issues concerning maintenance of the products that the company was supplying.

“We started getting a lot of complaints regarding our products. So we decided to focus on importing quality products that did not require frequent maintenance,” says Sajal. 

With the focus on importing only high quality equipment, the number of complaints dropped and so did the maintenance cost. 

Dermatology equipment is in high demand of late. So the Malla Incorporation has been supplying various dermatological treatment apparatuses in recent years. Its parent company, Dharatee Meditech, handles the import of other medical equipment.  

“We are solely focused on the import of quality dermatological treatment equipment these days,” say Sajal. “Before importing any device, we go through a meticulous process of picking the right one.” 

The Malla Incorporate, besides its own research, also consults doctors and experts before importing any medical device.

Sajal has also been working in the capacity of chief operating officer at Dharatee Meditech for the past two years.

She envisions hospitals all over Nepal to have the necessary health equipment so that no one is deprived of proper treatment and diagnosis. 

“I want to see the day when no Nepali will have to travel abroad for treatment. This starts with having quality medical equipment.” she says.

Under the hot afternoon sun, Devkumari Thapa Magar walks among the crowd at Kathmandu’s Basantapur, carrying a thermos and disposable cups. Every now and then, she stops in front of strangers, and asks them if they want tea. 

This has been Magar’s life for a decade now. Her day starts at five in the morning, when she leaves her home with four thermoses filled with tea to serve the people visiting Basantapur, most of them on their morning walks. She continues her work until ten and returns home. By four in the afternoon, she is back at Basantapur with her thermoses. Her work ends at nine, and it’s the same routine the day after.

Born and raised in Nuwakot district, Magar got married at the age of 15, and by 18, she was already a mother of two. 

She tells me she never went to school. “Girls were never really encouraged to study. It was not common in my village for a girl to go to school. So it never occurred to me that education was important,” says the 50-year-old.

With no education background and already a mother at a young age, Magar depended on the income of her husband to raise the family. Her life changed when her husband remarried. Magar decided to leave and lead her own life. 

“I wanted to take my children with me, but they didn’t want to live with me,” she says. 

It was painful for the young mother to see her children turn their mother down.

Magar started farming to eke out a living. She says no one turned up to help her, not even her own parents. As a single woman, she says, she had to deal with inappropriate behavior from many men.

After years of struggle in Nuwakot, Magar finally decided to take a huge leap in her life and came to Kathmandu in 2012. 

She rented a room at Basantapur, where she has been living ever since.

“It’s never easy for a single woman to make a living without facing abuse and harassment,” Magar says of her experience working as a tea seller.

She says many men come to her with ill intentions knowing that she is a single woman.

 “Some men would come ask for a cup of tea, and then something more,” she says. 

How does she deal with such men, I ask her. “It’s never easy,” she says. “But over the years I have learned to avoid them. I don’t even sell them tea.”

As we talked, I was following her everywhere she went in search of customers. She politely asks people if they want to drink some tea. Some people ignore her without so much as acknowledging her presence, some decline her politely and a few agree to buy tea from her.

Magar smiles at all her customers, even if they are rude. “It’s part of my job,” she says.

I follow her for about 15 minutes, observing her, before we finally sit down to resume our conversation.

“One thing I am happy about is that my children are settled now,” she tells me. “I never got to spend time with them when they were growing up. But they have finally accepted me.”

Her daughter is married with kids, and her son is working in Dubai. Knowing that her children are doing well puts her at ease. She also feels that she is finally getting to bond with her children. 

“My elder daughter comes to visit me often. Maybe after becoming a mother herself, she understands my struggle,” she says. 

Magar has struggled for most part of her life, but she feels proud of where she has come.

“I’m still struggling but I'm also happy,” she says 

Sometimes, Magar tells me,  she wonders how her life would have turned out had she been educated. 

“They used to say girls would elope if they went to school,” she scoffs. 

“If only I was allowed to go to school, my life would have been different than this.”

But Magar has made peace with the way her life turned out. She is proud of the fact that she made it this far without anyone’s help.

She is not sure for how long she will continue to sell tea. Her sales number has dropped over the years. There was a time when she used to sell up to ten thermoses of tea in a day. 

“I hardly sell four thermoses these days. It’s getting difficult, but I don’t know what to do,” Magar says.

She takes her life one day at a time.

“I will continue working as long as I can. Beyond that, I have no idea,”  she says.

In the fiscal year 2020-21, Nepal Police recorded 2,532 cases of rape, 735 of attempt to rape and 281 of child sexual abuse. But there are many incidents of sexual crime and violence that go unreported. This became amply evident when a former teenage beauty pageant participant shared her harrowing experience of being repeatedly raped by the contest organizer eight years ago. Her alleged rapist is currently in police custody. But his arrest came only after a widespread street protest that impelled the House of Representatives to direct the police authority to investigate the case. The incident has also raised a crucial question about reviewing the one-year statute of limitations in rape incidents. Anushka Nepal of ApEx interviews 10 experts on this issue. 

Samikshya Baskota, Advocate 

A lot of reformations are needed in our judicial system when it comes to handling the cases of sexual harassment and violence. We should be able to support the survivor whenever she chooses to come out, instead of having a statute of limitations to file the case. 

For cases so sensitive like sexual assault, survivors are asked to talk or listen about the incidend they faced over and over. They are made to relive the moment every time in the court, which is very traumatizing for the survivors. I believe it is time to move towards silent hearing for cases of sexual assault for the wellbeing of the survivors.

Nirvana Bhandari, Feminist and digital activist

It is a good sign that people were out on the street demanding justice for the survivor. We need this unity in times like this. But there are many cases that have not come out. There are various reasons behind this; one of them is our society, which has not created an environment for survivors to speak up. 

These incidents happen in many sectors, but they seem to be more prevalent in the entertainment industry. I believe that many survivors have chosen to remain silent out of fear that calling out their abusers could hamper their career.

I hope that the courage shown by the girl in this latest case will lead to a bigger #MeToo movement in Nepal. The media should not stop covering these issues. We need to keep the conversation going. 

Mohna Ansari, Advocate

The first step needed from the government is to provide safety to the survivors who have reached out to the authorities for justice. It is also necessary to stop putting the burden of proof on the survivor. It should instead be placed on the alleged perpetrator. In many countries, the system of placing the burden of proof on the survivors has changed. It can also be seen in many verdicts of our own Supreme Court, which has concluded that the voice of the survivor is the ultimate evidence. 

But some part of it still exists. For instance, the medical examination of the survivor is one of the proofs that the authority looks for in these cases. Also, our society is quick to blame the survivors. So, this shift in the burden of proof is important to change the perception of the society towards rape and sexual abuse survivors. 

Bhawana Raut, Social activist

I believe that we as a society have failed to show that support. If our government and our society had stood alongside the survivors, assured them they had a place to go in search for justice, then many of them would have had the courage to hold the perpetrators accountable. 

But we, as a society, failed to take that responsibility. In this latest case, the survivor tried to seek help, only to be turned down by someone she considered her guardian. So I see this as the failure of our society to create a proper environment for survivors to come forward. 

Instead, it has made every place so unsafe that we have to think twice to even order a drink in a well-known hotel. That says a lot about how unsafe our society has become for women. I think we need to question our society as a whole, rather than just the enablers, as they themselves are the representatives of our society. 

Dr Meena Uprety, Sociologist

One of the reasons why survivors aren’t able to come out is the failure of our society to hold perpetrators to account. While boys enjoy the privilege to be outspoken, girls are forced to remain silent. Men can get away without being questioned or being held accountable. 

Another problem is the general attitude of disrespect our society has towards women. Nepali society has been leeching on the phrase “boys will be boys” for decades. Such an attitude has given men the free pass to act as they please towards women. This has to stop. 

Durga Ghimire, Women’s right’s activist and the founder of ABC Nepal

There are many people who aren’t aware of their rights. Not just rights, many people, especially in rural areas, don’t even know that they are being harassed. 

I believe it is necessary to make them aware about their rights as well as the injustice that they are facing or might have faced in the past. We cannot expect them to seek help if they are not clear on what might be considered harassment. 

Survivors who are unaware about their rights will not go to the authorities for justice. 

I believe it is important to spread this awareness in every corner of the country and help the ones that come forward. 

Charimaya Tamang, Founder of Shakti Samuha 

Our society has become unsafe for women and children. And when someone speaks up about their story or tries to hold someone accountable, the survivor gets questioned instead of the perpetrator. The incident does not even reach the court since the survivor is questioned even by her family. This only discourages them from bringing their perpetrator to justice. The perpetrator, meanwhile, is emboldened by this silence and goes on to commit more heinous acts. I see this as a lack of moral education that our society has failed to provide to the people.

Prakriti Bhattarai Basnet, Founder and chairperson of Political Literacy for Women

When we dig deeper on women's issues, it all comes down to patriarchy. There are many countries that still carry patriarchy as a belief system. But, in Nepal, patriarchy is not just a belief system; it has become the way of living for many of us. If it was just a belief system, it could be eradicated through speech, rally, and activism, or by changing the law–a top-down approach. But since it has become the way of living for many of us, it is essential to take both top-down and bottom-to-top simultaneously. This starts from minimizing the influence of patriarchy from each and every household. 

If the changes do not come from the core of society, the laws will keep on changing while the situation remains the same. 

Binod Deuba Thakuri, Youth leader (Central Committee Member at Youth Congress Nepal) 

It is the responsibility of the government to ensure the safety of its citizens through the existing laws. The main focus of the government should be towards prosecuting the perpetrators, and not to have the statute of limitations for the survivors of rape and sexual violence. 

But what scares me is how our society has generalized these heinous acts. Our society as a whole has not been able to accept the existence of women. These factors are the result of the environment that every child grows up in, within the patriarchal belief system that our society holds. That is why I believe that change is needed in every household and not just the government and laws. 

Mamta Siwakoti, Digital lawyer

The first thing I think we need to address is the statute of limitations. Many survivors in our society do not have the legal literacy to understand their rights. And the statute of limitations gives them very little time to address the issue and reach to the authority. Secondly, because of psychological and societal reasons, it is impractical to expect a survivor to report the case within one year. So, I believe that the statute of limitations should be eradicated completely. 

It is also necessary to educate people from their childhood on what is considered as sexual assault. It must be included in school curriculum so that children are aware of the good touch and bad touch. There is also a deeply rooted stigma attached to incidents like rape. It questions the honor of the survivor, which has stopped many from speaking up. It is necessary to bring changes from the grassroots level, only then can we expect our society to be better and safer for every individual. 

There was a time Nepal saw up to 16 hours of daily power cuts. Enter Hydro Village Pvt. Ltd. 

The company, which came into being in 2015, was established with the intent of converting the country’s untapped water resources into electricity to power up communities. 

Myagdi Khola Hydropower Project is one of the company’s major projects. Set to be developed at Dhaulagiri Rural Municipality-4 in Myagdi district, the run-of-river hydel project aims to generate 500MW of electricity by 2035.

“The company’s goal is to increase the country’s electricity production and contribute to its economy,” says Sushil Pokharel, managing director of Hydro Village. 

Starting a hydropower project is no joke, Pokharel says. It calls for intensive study and research. Almost five years went into research before the project development work actually started. 

“This study includes monitoring of environmental factors like weather of the proposed project site, assessment of disasters like landslides, geotechnical investigation, as well as evaluation of the power generation capacity and revenues,” he adds. 

Myagdi Khola Hydropower Project is a long-term undertaking. Even mid-range projects with 50-100MW capacity take at least seven to 10 years to complete. Pokharel says it will take much longer for them to develop a 500MW project.  

Project work has been delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. But now, with the study and other preliminary works over, construction is set to start in September 2022. 

“We are currently in the first phase of this project that starts with producing 57MW,” says Pokharel. Hydro Village is also planning electricity projects in other parts of the country.

“We are trying to enhance hydropower development in Nepal, as well as contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” says Pokharel. “To that end, we are also committed to clean and sustainable energy.” 

Moreover, almost every project the company is developing or planning is based in rural areas. 

“Developing hydropower projects in rural areas means development of proper roadways, which is the key to economic growth,” says Pokharel. “Rural communities will have access to more opportunities, especially new businesses. Local economic growth will in turn benefit the country’s economy.” 

Many rural areas of Nepal lack good health facilities. With proper road access brought by hydropower projects, Pokharel says many people can at least travel to health facilities outside their areas during medical emergencies. 

“Besides, we hope rural areas get their own health facilities once they have proper roads,” Pokharel says. There is also the chance of more schools being built or at least more children getting access to education. 

Hydro Village is developing not just hydropower projects and power stations. It is developing the whole country—one village at a time.

Tirtha Raj Upadhyay, a prominent Chartered Accountant (CA) and founding member of the Association of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ACAN), passed away on 13 May. He was 74.

Born in Saptari district, Upadhyay spent most of his life working as a CA and as an advisor to large private and government corporations as well as banks. He also served as ACAN’s chairperson.

Upadhyay had played an important role in the drafting of Nepal Chartered Accountants Act (1997). The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN) formed under the Act not only brought social recognition to but also regulated the accountancy profession.  

There was no institute in Nepal where people could pursue the CA course prior to the Act. Upadhyay was part of the first council of ICAN, where he served in the capacity of both vice-president and president.

In his career, Upadhyay also led Nepal's Accounting Standard Board Nepal, and Nepal Accounting Technician Institute as their chairperson.

His highly successful accounting firm TR Upadhya & Co advised and worked with, among others, Office of the Auditor General, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Nepal Telecom, and Standard Chartered Bank Nepal.

In addition, he led various initiatives like the ‘Public Audit Reform Project of the Office of the Auditor General Nepal 2004-05’. 

Binod Neupane, the current ICAN director, remembers Upadhyay as his guardian and mentor.

“He was a dynamic leader, extremely professional, and highly determined,” says Neupane. “He taught me that one should always look ahead and keep moving.”

Mistakes and regrets, Neupane remembers Upadhyay telling him, are “part and parcel of life which help a person grow and improve”.

“He believed that we need to keep improving on whatever we do and never give up,” Neupane says. “I had talked to him just a week before he left for the US, which was a month ago.” 

Upadhyay and his wife were visiting their two daughters and grandchildren in the US, where he died after falling down a flight of stairs at a shopping center in Clarksburg, Maryland.

Upadhyay suffered a severed head trauma and was put on life support. He died 30 hours later.  

Upadhyay is survived by his wife, two daughters and grandchildren.

Birth: 9 Feb 1948, Saptari

Death: 13 May 2022, US 

“I started posting contents on YouTube out of boredom,” says Rastra Bimochan Timalsena, the creator of the channel Random Nepali. That was back in 2015. Over the years, his channel has amassed over 216K subscribers and clocked over 18m views. 

His early posts used to be a hodgepodge of contents about Nepal and Nepali people that were light and funny. They were true to the channel’s description on its ‘About’ section: “Videos about Nepal and Nepali people and things that will make you think “Oh yes, I know this””  

“I was a random Nepali posting videos on YouTube, hence the name of my channel,” he chuckles. 

The 31-year-old didn’t expect his channel to grow so big. He was just another guy who created and posted funny YouTube content in his spare time. He was a random Nepali, anonymous to his viewers—and he preferred it that way at the time. 

Timalsena’s viewers learned about his law background after he started a series on crimes, criminals, and law. Besides being a YouTuber, he is an advocate of criminal and cyber law, as well as the principle of National Law College. 

He completed his B.A L.L.B from National Law School of India University in early 2014, and his master’s degree from the Tribhuvan University. 

In fact, Timalsena’s YouTube channel started gaining viewers and subscribers after he started the crime series.  

“I was getting a lot of queries from people, many of whom were from the law background,” Timalsena says. “It was then that I realized it’s time to switch to informative content.” 

The name of his channel remained unchanged though. Today, his videos are mostly focused on crime and laws. 

As a legal expert, this transition wasn’t particularly difficult for Timalsena. In fact, everyone in his family comes from the legal background. From early on, he had an inkling that he too would grow to become a law practitioner. 

“It wasn’t family pressure. I could have studied anything,” he says. 

Soon after he got his practice license in 2014, he had applied for the position of deputy director at National Law College. “I was always interested in academics and teaching,” he says. 

That he has a passion for teaching can be seen in many of his posts, where he relies on whiteboard animation videos that simulate writing and sketching. 

Timalsena is a wellspring of information and knowledge regarding law and justice that he shares in his class and YouTube channel. 

What he does is definitely not easy, yet he is humble enough to admit that he is still learning. 

As an advocate, Timalsena mainly looks into cases involving criminal and cyber laws. But he keeps himself abreast with the cases being discussed in public. “I might not have full knowledge on some cases, but I do what I can to explain their nature and legalities for people’s benefit,” he says. 

Timalsena mostly takes up sexual assault and harassment-related cases for his YouTube series. “Of course, every case is important, but the ones involving assault disturb me emotionally,” he says 

At just 31, Timalsena has already accomplished a lot. He is not so sure about his future plans though. 

“I guess I will continue to be a YouTuber, an advocate, and a principal as long as I can juggle between them well enough,” he says. “But the day will come when I have to choose one and stick to it.”

Hem Bahadur Lama, Nepal’s tennis patron and veteran film director, passed away on May 16 at the age of 94. 

Lama was born in Bhojpur district, Nepal but spent most of his childhood in Burma, now Myanmar. That is where he learned to play tennis. After returning to Nepal in 1965, Lama began teaching tennis in his free time and later went on to establish a tennis institution, Hem’s Tennis Academy. 

For Nepali tennis athletes and enthusiasts, Lama was the pioneer of the game in the country. He is credited not just for introducing tennis in Nepal but also for training countless players. 

He became the treasurer of All Nepal Lawn Tennis Federation in 1969.  

Besides his contribution to tennis, Lama was also one of Nepal’s foremost filmmakers who launched the career of many actors, including Anshumala Shahi, Sunny Rauniyar, Mohan Niroula, and his son Vijay Lama. They all starred in Lama’s 1984 directorial debut “Adarsh Nari”. 

“I met him at the premier of Adarsh Nari,” says Tulsi Ghimire, a veteran film director. “He was a natural, with an almost instinctive feel for filmmaking.”

“Was there something he could improve on?”, Ghimire remembers Lama asking him after the premier. 

“The making of Adarsh Nari was in itself a milestone in the Nepali film industry. And I told him exactly that,” Ghimire says. 

He adds Lama had a unique approach to direction.

“He once told me that he would close his eyes and visualize scenes before filming,” Ghimire recalls. “He had this uncanny ability to bring his imagination to life on the film-set.”

Lama's passing is a big loss to the Nepali film industry and sporting community.

Many athletes, both from the past and present, and people in the Nepali film fraternity paid tribute to Lama for his contributions.

His son Vijay, who is better known today as an airline captain, was one of his greatest admirers. 

"Dad, I'm not used to living without you. Your memory will haunt me, but I'm sure you're happy wherever you are," Vijay wrote on his Facebook in memory of his late father.

Vijay, who is active in various social media platforms, used to sometimes film his banters with his father. 

Lama was joyful and full of energy even in his dotage. His love for tennis remained intact as well.

Lama breathed his last at Manmohan Cardiothoracic Vascular and Transplant Center in Maharajgunj, Kathmandu. 

He is survived by three sons and a daughter.

Birth: 28 December 1927, Bhojpur

Death: 15 May 2022, Kathmandu

Birth: 6 Dec 1999, Banke
Death: 10 May 2022, Lalitpur 

Sanju Chaudhary, who made history by becoming the only female weightlifter to win a gold medal at the 13th South Asian Games (SAG), died aged 22 from of an apparent suicide. 

Born and raised in Nepalgunj of Banke district, Chaudhary began her athletic career as a cricketer when she was selected in the Region 5 Nepalgunj Cricket Team. She became a professional weightlifter only in 2016 and represented Nepal at the 24th Asian Junior and Youth Championship held in Kathmandu in 2017. 

Chaudhary’s coach Sanjay Maharjan remembers her as a talented athlete with a great potential. 

“She was obedient and trained hard. She didn’t talk much but you could see that she was very determined,” says Maharjan. 

That hard work of hers paid off when she won gold medal at the 13th SAG. She had previously won various medals and set national weightlifting records as well.   

Besides being a national level athlete, Chaudhary was also a police officer.

“She was loved by her friends, fellow athletes, colleagues and trainers,” says Tikamaya Gurung, a fellow weightlifter, friend and police colleague. “I never thought we would lose her this way.” 

Gurung and Chaudhary became friends when they competed in the 24th Asian Junior and Youth Championship.  

“She was quick at making friends but not much of a talker. There were times when she seemed upset, but she never talked about it,” says Gurung.  “She will be sorely missed.” 

Chaudhary had come to Kathmandu for the qualifiers of the 19th Asian Games, which took place on April 30. After being selected in the qualifiers, she had been living at Maharjan’s house in Lubhu, Lalitpur for training. 

Maharjan says nothing seemed out of the ordinary with Chaudhary the day before her death. She had participated in a gathering with fellow athletes and trainers at Maharjan’s house. The next morning she had a morning training session at Satdobato.

“We have lost a promising talent who still had a lot to win and give to this country,” says Maharjan. “She will always be remembered for her achievements in the field of weightlifting.” 

Chaudhary was found dead at Maharjan’s house on the morning of May 10. She is survived by her parents and two siblings.