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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.

For the past 28 years, Fulmaya Podeni has devoted her life to sweeping the dusty streets of Kathmandu. 

Born and raised in Makwanpur, she came to Kathmandu at the age of 20 to make a living in the city. With some help from her new peers, she was able to land a sweeper’s job. 

Today, every morning, the 48-year-old travels from Swayambhu to Bhotahiti, where her work starts. She sweeps the main road leading from Bhotahiti to Bhadrakali. 

Becoming a cleaner was not what Podeni had envisioned for herself. But without any education or other skill, she had few other options. 

Even as a kid, she wanted to be educated but her family wouldn’t allow her to go to school. 

“I was a girl so I was given the household responsibility while the boys in the family were sent to school,” she says. 

Nevertheless, she was determined to one day make her own living. It was this determination, she says, that brought her to Kathmandu. 

But life in the city was not what she had imagined it to be. And the job she took on was not just difficult, people also considered it undignified.      

“They saw me as a filth rather than a working woman,” she says. Even her own friends and family looked down upon her for being a sweeper. 

Podeni was 22 when she got married to a fresh army recruit. She became a mother a year later. As her husband was mostly away for work, it was her responsibility to raise the baby, a girl. At the time, she lived with her brother-in-law and his family. 

“It was the most difficult time of my life,” she says.

With a newborn slung on her back, she used to walk to work every single day. “It was more a necessity than a choice,” she says with a tinge of sadness on her face. 

“I had to keep my daughter with me even if my work meant exposing her to dust and dirt. There were no one to look after her,” she says. 

Back in those days, she says, her work was much more demanding as there were so few sweepers. 

“Working hours were long and besides the sweeping duty, we also had to load collected garbage onto trucks,” Podeni says. 

What little she made during those days she had to hand it over to her brother-in-law in return for renting out his place. 

“Yes, I had to struggle at work. But more than that I regretted not being able to look after my first child well, to bring her up in a healthy environment,” she says. Comparably, her second and third child had much better childhoods. 

One thing Podeni is most proud of is sending all her three children to school. She takes joy in knowing that they will have a better life than hers. 

“I was not allowed to go to school, and it felt terrible. I was thus determined to educate all my children,” she says. 

Podeni has long moved out of her brother-in-law’s and rented her own place. She is at more peace today, she says. 

She likes to think that her days of struggle are finally over. 

Her husband has retired from the Nepal Army and works as a taxi driver. 

Podeni still goes to work every morning, but the workload is much lighter. After the Covid-19 pandemic, she only has one long day a week. 

“I finally get to spend some quality time with my family as I am no longer tired from working,” she says. 

Podeni has also learned to accept her work. She doesn’t care about what others think of her so long as her children look up to her—and they do. 

“Remembering the struggles I went through tears me up,” she says. “But then I look at my children and I cheer up instantly.” 

In the otherwise somber settings of Pashupati Aryaghat lies a healing center to look after the terminally ill. The patients who get there are often in the last stage of their life, seeking the comfort they could not find elsewhere.

The belief that taking one’s last breath in Bramhanal—a holy spot with holy water located right below the healing center—ensures a place in heaven prompts many people to live out the final days of their life at this healing center. And this is where Kalyani Bista, a medical nurse, has been volunteering for the past eight years.

Born and raised in Gokarna, Bista always dreamed of being a nurse. But she never pictured herself devoting her life to the patients who come looking for Ghate Baidhya (‘a crematorium doctor’). The 33-year-old first visited the healing center at the age of 16 and she was instantly engulfed by a deep sense of sadness. “I was barely able to process what was happening around me, leave alone think of working there,” she says.

After completing her education in 2013, she visited the place again. Something in her had changed by then, says Bista. She now felt completely at home there and was this time determined to serve the dying. Eight years later, she could not be more satisfied with what she does every single day.

“Most of the patients who come here are very old,” says Bista. For some, she is the sole source of comfort when their family leaves them in her hands.

Most patients she gets are ventilated or in a coma, but the ones who are conscious seek her presence all the time. She remembers quite a few who held her hand and asked her to stay by their side when the pain from their illness became unbearable.

“There is no break in this line of work, which is why I live at the healing center,” adds Bista. Many patients request her to take them to Bramhanal for their last breath. Because of which she always has to be on an alert for such requests. Besides that, she stays with her patients to ease their pain by providing them painkillers and keeping their surroundings clean. Although she finds her work fulfilling, it is mighty challenging too.

Bista has to deal with a lot of emotional trauma every day. “I have seen and heard things that could mortify anybody,” she says. Some families just abandon their elders, some elders have no families, while some pass away desperately wanting to see their children one last time. “I get attached to them emotionally, and seeing them in pain leaves me in tears,” adds Bista.

There is one particular incident that still keeps her up at night. This was when a newborn passed away in her arms. The child had multiple organ failure and there was no possibility of saving him. It was a lot of sleepless nights for her, and the pain of losing him still haunts Bista. “I took care of him like he was my own. When he passed away in my arms, I was devastated,” she says.

But such trauma has not stopped her from working. Bista believes that helping the ill is the responsibility that she took upon herself a long time ago. Although there are many emotionally draining moments, she believes she is meant for this work. “I have always had a deep attachment for the children and the eldery. Being able to take care of them when they need me is deeply satisfying,” she adds.

Some patients Bista treated have returned home and most of them passed away within a week or month of returning. But she remembers one particular patient from three years back who returned home and is still alive and kicking. “Among all the sad cases, that one case brings me great joy,” she says. “It is satisfying to see a patient of mine regain health and return to me with a smile on their face.”

But Bista wants to do more. “My wish is to someday open a care home for the elderly who have no one to look after them,” says Bista.

She wants to serve the elderly not just in the last stage of their life but right through their dotage. But for the past three months she has been volunteering as a nurse at Sadgamaya Briddha Kuti, an old age home in Boudha. “Serving the elderly and the sick is my life’s purpose,” says Bista, “and something I intend to continue doing so long as my health holds up.”