The collapse of a ten-year-old friendship between Mahesh, a tech entre­preneur (played by Karma) and Anil, a dentist (played by Raymon Das Shrestha), begins when the latter buys an expensive painting. Their mutual buddy Devashish, a DJ who will soon inherit his father’s pashmina busi­ness (played by Kundoon) and who usually does not care about the world, is frus­trated as he finds himself buffeted by the envy, pride and self-centric nature of his two friends.

Based on an award-win­ning play by Yasmina Reza, and directed by Sabine Lehmann, ‘Art’ highlights the destructive nature of our negative emotions and how even an age-old friendship can fray when they go untethered.

The characters, their suppressed emotions and the events leading up to the opening of the play are introduced through humor­ous monologues. One can espy mutual bitterness of the characters towards each other through their restless­ness and the allusions they make. Mahesh’s envy of Anil is so strong that at times it becomes laughable. Devash­ish’s frustrated attempts to ease the tension between Mahesh and Anil also create some hilarious moments.

The experience is further enhanced by the musicals reiterating the events and the excellent soundtrack of Aman Karna and Prince Nepali which blends tunes of sarangis, guitars and electronic music. Kun­doon introduces his char­acter Devashish through a contemporary and catchy rap. Director Sabine Leh­mann and set director Lud­milla Hungerhuber make a brief appearance in the musical and proclaim the arrival of dark moments between the friends. Despite all the negativity the musi­cal packs in, it still evokes smiles and even laughter from the audience.

Further, moments of slap­stick keep the audience pre­pared for the exhilarating or devastating moments that are about to unfold. The ele­vating anger and the silly actions of the characters are accompanied by short sarangi notes. The repetitive, energetic electronic music played when the stage is being prepared between acts makes time flow slowly, thus giving us a perception that no time passed at all. The music also serves to heighten the tension.

The set is also colorful, and flooded with bright lights. Devashish’s messy room reflects his lack of care for life while Anil’s room sug­gests his grandiose personal­ity. The dresses of the char­acters are also revelatory. Anil is decked out in a white suit while Mahesh is draped in a black one, clearly show­ing the disharmony between the two characters. Devash­ish, in his role of a mediator who seeks to lower tension between his two friends, is dressed in a black and white t-shirt, showing that he is completely neutral.

The play suggests that we better learn to keep our emo­tions in check if we are not to let them destroy our lives. And it is worth watching. The show starts at 7:15 every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (from Dec 14 to 23). The final run will be from Dec 27-29. The venue is Hotel Vajra, Bijeswari, Swayambhu, and reservations can be made by calling 01-4271545.

Most of the world’s problems arise when emotions overtake us

APEX CHAT with Sabine Lehmann, Director, Studio 7 - Naga Theater

What inspired you to direct this play?

I like the works of Yas­mina Reza because they are quite straightforward in terms of human emotions. Her works vividly portray human behaviors and how negative emotions manifest and destroy everything. But her plays are not com­pletely dark as the char­acters always reconcile in the end and the entire pro­cess is filled with humor. Apart from my love of the source material, I also like working with Karma, Kun­doon and Raymon, as they understand and cooperate with each other. I wanted to challenge them to per­form a play like this where the portrayal of the human emotions needs to be pitch-perfect.

What is your favorite part of the play?

There are many parts that I like but the favorite part is probably the reali­zation and reconciliation phase, when the characters realize how their negative emotions will gradually destroy everything if let loose. It is then that they confront the fact that it takes a lot of time to change their feelings towards each other. Since they have insulted each other mercilessly and in an evil way, reconciliation seems impossible. But something dramatic happens and set­tles the tension between the two friends. It is this moment that makes this play a rollercoaster ride.

Was there any message you wanted to convey through this play?

Most of the world’s prob­lems arise when emotions overtake us. This explains why political systems fail, why rapes continue, why the society is getting sub­missive, why countries declare war and why men get into a mess. If we know how to deal with negative emotions, we get closer to solving those issues. It is okay for people to pursue wealth, power and rec­ognition but they should not forget the essentials. The first step towards such a healthy pursuit is to recognize the negative impulses within us. Kar­ma’s character starts this in the play when he says to Raymon’s character that they were happy with each other when they were not acting independently with regards to their taste.

Considering that you do not share the cultural background of your audience how do you ensure that the underly­ing message resonates?

I did not think that was the problem as human emotions are common across all cultures. You can recognize them and relate to the actions performed under their influence. Any­body will be able to grasp instances in the play where negative emotions are slowly gripping the minds of the characters. They will have no problem recogniz­ing them and getting what happens in the play.

Ram Bahadur Kurumbang, the Chief District Officer of Bardiya, who brought ‘government to people’s homes,’ emerged victorious in the final round of the Integrity Idol 2018 held on Dec 7 at Karki Banquet, Maitighar, Kathmandu. A panel of judges had selected five contestants among thousands of nominees. Then it was left to the public to pick one winner.

Selecting the top five was difficult. “We had to compile and analyze reports from numerous sources. Besides the large volume of information, it was also difficult to separate reliable sources from unreliable ones,” said public administration expert and former secretary of the government of Nepal Dr. Kashi Raj Dahal, and one of the Integrity Idol judges. “But the endeavor was worth it. We must reward honesty in order to build a corruption-free Nepal.”

Asked how he was feeling on being selected Interiority Idol 2018, Kurumbang said, “The joy of winning faded quickly and was replaced by an immense sense of responsibility to maintain the good work which brought me to this stage.” During his tenure as the CDO of eight districts, including Bardiya, he established and ran ghumti sivirs that brought governmental services to individual households in some of the most inaccessible parts of the country.

Other Integrity Idol 2018 finalists didn’t go home empty-handed either. Sita Kumari Sharma, a senior A.N.M. of Birendranagar Municipal health office, Surkhet, won the ‘Integrity with compassion’ award; Mahedra Prasad Paudyal, an undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, bagged the ‘Integrity with inspiration’ award; Arun Kafle, a senior horticulture development officer, Khumaltar, Lalitpur was given the ‘Integrity with Innovation’; likewise, the ‘Integrity with Action’ prize was given to Dhruba Raj Acharya, the chief administrative officer of Tikapur Municipality, Kailali.

Integrity Idol started in Nepal in 2014, following its global success. The number of votes in Nepal for the final five contestants has risen steadily in past four years, from 400 in 2014 to approximately 4,000 in 2018. Similarly, the number of volunteers doing the selection has also steadily increased. In 2014 nominees were selected from only 33 districts. This year the nominations came from 77 districts.

Interview

Can you tell us a bit about your career in government service?

I have been working as a government official for the past 30 years, even though my tenure was briefly interrupted by military service. When people find out that I am the CDO, they like to stereotype me as an unapproachable bureaucrat, but I consider myself no more than a devoted public servant. Before I was stationed in Bardiya, I had already worked as the CDO of seven other districts including Taplejung, Solukhumbu, Achham and Pyuthan. Throughout my career I have considered the people I am supposed to serve an integral part of my work.

What inspired you to enter public service?

I was a studious child born into a middle-class family. I thus felt obligated to work hard for a living. But I wouldn’t take a job where I had to know someone to be eligible. So I ended up taking the Public Service Commission examinations, where only my knowledge counted. I entered government service in 1988 and I am still a happy civil servant.

How has your experience as a civil servant been?

Being a civil servant in a country where people have lost faith in the government has been challenging. I believe that the absence of dedicated and honest officials is one reason why our country lags behind others. We have also been unable to utilize our resources, time most importantly. There are officials who do not work full time. Since people stereotype all government officials as bigots who care only about money, it is difficult to convince them there are also public officials who operate within the bounds of morality and are committed to the country’s development. I feel immense pride in saying that I am among the honest officials with high moral values and dedication for my work, and one who is not intimidated by challenges.

What inspired you to go to remote homes to offer government services?

There was an interaction program in an inaccessible village in the district of Myagdi. In that program I noticed that the villagers were reluctant to go to district headquarters and that they didn’t even have citizenship certificates. They had not heard about land revenue and survey departments. Their health was deplorable and the disabled had no identification certificates. There were other problems too. It was then I thought of the ghumti shivir, a government camp that would visit the most inaccessible parts and render government services.

We not only distributed citizenship certificates, but also all sorts of state documents like questionnaires for survey, disabled identification card, to altogether 117 inaccessible destinations. While residents of those communities benefitted, we government officials too got to hear people’s concerns and complaints firsthand. Government-citizen bond was thus strengthened. I have since carried over this idea to the other districts where I have served as the CDO.

Organizing the ghumti shivirs must have been challenging.

The primary challenge was to motivate other officials to join me in my quest to offer quality services to the people. They were reluctant as there would be no modern amenities in the remote areas we were visiting. Another big challenge was ensuring that the goods that we were delivering actually reached their destination. For example, often, the medications that were supposed to be delivered to health posts would not get there. The situation was worse during the monsoon where rains would make the process of delivering goods and services almost impossible.

How do you feel about winning Integrity Idol Nepal?

To be honest, I am quite intimidated, as public expectations have greatly increased. This may require me to double my output, but I am happy to do so. I may not have specific plans at the moment but I will continue with the work that I have been doing, with even more dedication.  

What message would you like to give to the youths who want to join public service?

The applicant pool for Public Service Commission examinations is fairly big because of limited job opportunities in our country. Despite such a large pool, most of the talented individuals are not attracted to government jobs. This should not be happening. Government officials are the ones who make plans and policies that have the biggest impact on the society. So until those who are honest and talented do not get into public service, we as a country cannot develop. The youngsters should view public sector as a platform to serve their motherland and its people.

Having worked as a coun­selor for over 11 years, Ajay Karki has seen it all, even though he is only 33. From young drug users breaking down into tears as they narrate their seemingly insurmountable addictions, to adults choking on their words as they describe their terrible relationships. But what was it that initially piqued his interest in psy­chology and counselling? “I had always been interested in other peoples’ lives, and how thoughts brew inside the human brain and how they shape our personality,” Karki says. He first wanted to pur­sue a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Tribhuvan University. But as soon as he heard of psychology—a subject which not only granted an opportunity to investigate the human mind, he found out, but also to directly help peo­ple—Karki changed his mind. His passion for psychology has not faded since.

As a counselor and hypno­therapist, Karki has worked with hundreds of patients at his clinic, Healing Rain­bow, Nepal, “a platform for psycho-spiritual coun­seling, energy healing, personal growth and col­lective evolution”.

"I will never offer free counseling, as making someone pay is also a way to make them accountable for their outcome" Ajay Karki counselor and hypnotherapist

Karki charges a patient between Rs 1,500 to 2,000 a session

Most of Karki’s patients are young and typically struggling with anxiety and depres­sion, and thus unable to realize their full poten­tial. But as the young are more open-minded, “what I find is that they are able to overcome their mental problems sooner compared to the adults,” Karki says.

He also works with school students, and the most common prob­lem there is performance anxiety, which stems from huge expectations regarding grades and per­formance. But he also gets cases whereby someone from a rural area has been brought to him after all else has failed, including a trip to the local dhami. At this latter stage of mental illness, Karki can do little.

Is there any other notewor­thy commonality among his patients besides them being mostly young? “One common problem is that by the time someone comes to my coun­selling session, that person would have already gotten countless suggestions from people with limited knowl­edge of how the human mind works,” Karki says. “Casual advice like reminding the sufferer how strong he or she is right now can actually backfire as the person could then start comparing their troubled present to a trou­ble-free past.”

Then there are the chal­lenges of working as a coun­sellor in a poor country. “With less than 1,000 mental health personnel in Nepal, we often have to advise patients in areas that are not our spe­cialization,” Karki says. He says that such a situation was bound to come as the oldest institution of higher learning in Nepal, Tribhuvan Univer­sity, did not offer specializa­tions in Master’s degrees in Psychology until 2017.

The pay is also dismal, with a counsellor making any­where between Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 a month. Karki say that he charges a patient between Rs 1,500 to 2,000 a session. Those from impover­ished families get a discount.

“But I will never offer free counseling, as making some­one pay is also a way to make them accountable for their outcome,” he says.

“Only individuals who are extremely patient and who have problem-solving skills are suited for this profession,” Karki says. However, he also says that, seeing people come out of their mental anguish is highly rewarding. “The smile that accompanies their ‘thank you!’ when they get better is almost heavenly,” he says.

(To contact Karki search for ‘Healing Rainbow Nepal’ on Facebook

 In light of dwindling greenery of Kathmandu and virtually no open space for gardens and backyards in its houses, a special store spe­cializing in indoor plants has just opened. Located in Jhamsikhel, in front of Moksh Restaurant, Plant Shop Kathmandu sells a variety of indoor plants like Succulents, Palms, Crotons, Snake plants and Monstera. But selling plants is just one of its fortes. Along with a myriad of plants for sale, the shop offers services seldom provided by other nurseries in Kath­mandu. If the plants bought from the shop wither to an extent that there is an imminent chance of the plant dying, Plant Shop will try to revive those plants for you for free.

According to Maya Ghale, the owner of the shop, there should be a “reasonable chance” of the withering plants surviving in order to access such rehabilitative ser­vices. “For instance you cannot expect us to revive a Cacti with rot­ten roots,” says Ghale. She adds that if the shop personnel are free they are also willing to accept and revive plants that not bought from their shop.

Apart from free plant repairs, Plant Shop also offers consultation services to those looking to deco­rate their homes with indoor plants. “For first-timers, we recommend plants that require less care. But our suggestion also depends on the kind of decoration you want in your home,” she says. Moreover, Plant Shop warns visitors of hazards of keeping indoor plants—for example related to their toxicity and their potential to cause an allergic reac­tion—which can be major concerns if there are kids or pets in your house. Besides providing these services the shop also sells gardening accessories like flowerpots.

“Both my parents and grandpar­ents were enthusiastic about tending plants, and so I was constantly sur­rounded by greenery. Such greenery ensured that I too inherited the same enthusiasm to experiment with the plants in the garden, thus giving me the same set of skills that I would have otherwise acquired with formal education in tending plants,” she says. According to Ghale the same motivation inspired the Plant Shop. She specifically wanted to promote indoor plants that require less care and can be easily accommodated even in the crammed homes of Kath­mandu.

In two months of its existence the shop has already garnered a lot of attention. According to Ghale, the place is not only a site where plant-lovers can buy plants to adorn their homes but also a place where people can enjoy the balance between concrete and greenery. The next step for Ghale? To con­duct workshops to further promote indoor plants.

For customers who want to know more about the plants on sale at the Plant Shop, visit its Instagram page plantshopktm or contact theplant­[email protected]

In Hindu mythology cow rep­resents Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. Thus, during Laxmi puja, the third day of the ‘festival of lights’ or Tihar, there is a tradition of wor­shipping cows. On the fourth day, the Hindus worship oxen, which are representation of the Goverdhan mountain that Lord Krishna lifted to protect his devotees from incessant rains. But while oxen worship has always been limited, people used to enthusiastically worship the cow on the third day. The cows were gar­landed and offered Tihar delicacies like sel and anarsa. But cow worship is a dying tradi­tion in urban areas. In rapidly urban­izing regions like Kathmandu, there is no place for cowsheds, save for a few pocket areas like Kapan and the banks of Bagmati river. People these days also seem to have no patience to go out in search of cows to worship, especially when they are dog-tired cleaning their homes during Tihar.

According to Prem Katuwal, who has been rearing cows in Kathmandu for the past 15 years, there has been a marked drop in the number of people who visit his shed to worship the cows on the third day of Tihar.

“I would say over the past 10 years there has been an approximate 75 percent drop,” he says. He also says that lack of cowsheds and exhaustion are just excuses. “In my village, peo­ple still worship cows with the same reverence that their forefathers had. But here in the city, people are either too lazy or too hesitant to come near these animals that in their reckoning smell.” He also reports that mostly it is the Brahmins and Chhetris who have given up this age-old tradition, but that the indigenous Newar com­munity has not.

However, it is not necessary to visit cowsheds or to endure cattle smell to worship cows. “On Gai Tihar, the cow rearers bring cows that have been properly washed to our neigh­borhood,” says Kanchan Acharya, a resident of Thapathali. “In fact, the same cows that we worship are taken as far as Pulchowk. Frankly, the real devotees should not have much of a problem finding cows.”

As Taalo is just two months old and is implementing a novel con­cept of upcycling, its accessories are limited to bowties, neckties and headbands. But there are plans to extend this list to other accessories like scarfs and gloves. The fabrics used to make the accessories depend on the products. For instance, the headbands are made of smooth cot­ton, Lycra, Sinker and Viscose, while the ties are made from silk and other scrap textiles obtained from saris.

When asked how such an idea came to his mind, Taalo’s founder, Sujhan Ghimire, replies, “When I paid a visit to my father’s factory two years ago, I realized that so much of the textiles were being thrown as waste. A day before I had learnt about the imminent problem of waste mismanagement in my school. This had a profound impact on me and compelled me to start Taalo.” Today Ghimire uses scrap textiles from that factory in an attempt to reduce waste. The firm is attempting to collaborate with many such fac­tories, boutiques and leather work­shops around Nepal to further push their campaign of waste reduction and upcycling.

Environmental conservation through waste management is not the only lofty ideal upon which Taalo is built. Ghimire also points out that Taalo employs emancipated “Kam­laris”, giving them decent wage, freedom, dignity and a chance to assimilate back into Nepali society. To make their products affordable to all Nepalis, Taalo has been selling at the lowest possible prices, between Rs 120 to Rs 200. There are six or seven options for each product, offering customers a wide range of designs to choose from. The prod­ucts are intended for the age group 15-30 and those who follow formal trends, for both the sexes. (To view the options, visit Taalo’s Instagram or Facebook page.)

Currently, Taalo products have not hit the shelves of supermarkets or other clothing stores, but they can be purchased through their own web­site or Instagram. If you are uncom­fortable with online shopping, you can also purchase them at Sujha Traders and Exports, Samakhusi Chowk, Tokha road. Payment options include E-sewa or Khalti or cash on delivery. There is no deliv­ery charge if the products are to be delivered within the Ring Road, but an additional Rs 50 is charged for deliveries outside.

According to Ghimire, in the first week itself, Taalo managed to sell to 37 different customers. Their prod­uct called “Rabbit” is already sold out. This is indeed a feat considering that the firm is still in its infancy and that it sells upcycled products with a cheap price tag. The future of Taalo appears bright considering it plans to launch a new type of product in the coming month. Given the prog­ress it has made in such a short time and the creative vision that it carries, Taalo is perhaps an ideal example of an emerging startup. 

 As in the Olympics where ath­letes compete to prove their physical prowess, teenagers too compete to prove their mental acuity on the global Olympic stage. There are various types of Interna­tional Olympiads they take part in, for instance those related to physics, biology and literature. But none rivals the prestige of the oldest of them all: The International Mathe­matics Olympiad (IMO). Considered by many to be the hardest Olympiad, IMO has con­tinued to fascinate students from around the world since its inception in 1959.

The IMO lasts for two days and students are given three problems to solve each day. The problems relate to different aspects of mathematics like number theory, geometry, com­binatorics and algebra.

Many countries have been par­ticipating in the IMO for decades, but Nepal started doing so only in 2017 at the 58th International Math­ematics Olympiad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the team of Awanish Khanal, Bibek Panthi, Bivek Pan­thi, Prabin Mahato, Ajay Pokharel and Prasanna Shrestha. They were led by team leader Deepak Bastola, deputy leader Pitambar Acharya and Prof. Dr. Bhadra Man Shrestha. Nepal also took part in the 2018 IMO held in Cluz, Romania.

Every country has an organization to oversee selection for the Olym­piad and to provide resources for prospective participants. In Nepal, Mathematics Olympiad of Nepal (MOON), a non-profit, has taken up this mantle. MOON, registered as the body overseeing IMO-related activities in Nepal by the IMO board in 2015, has since extended the selection process to all 77 districts in the country.

The winners at the district lev­el selection rounds compete at province level rounds. After the final national round among Top 50 contestants, six are picked for the Olympiad.

The questions at the province lev­el and national level rounds are comparable to those asked at the IMO, making these rounds chal­lenging even for the most intelligent minds. In addition to managing the selection process, MOON is also trying to conduct training programs and to provide resources for self-study through cooperation with other countries’ teams.

Despite the rigorous selection that skims the most intelligent youngsters of our country, Nepal’s performance at the IMO has been mediocre. Says Bibek Panthi, a two-time IMO con­testant, “Our course content is poor compared to that of other countries. While I was in Romania I saw a kid in the eighth grade doing homework on projections, a concept that we are taught only at +2 level.”

Deepak Bastola, the president of MOON, points out other reasons for poor results. “The problem is not lack of resources or finances, for they can be managed easily,” he says. “The real problem is peo­ple’s attitude to competitions such as IMO and, most importantly, towards mathematics.” Bastola says that while they were searching for prospective Olympiad candidates in schools around the country, some schools refused to cooperate. “They were concerned that good students would ruin their grades if they were sidetracked by such competitions.”

Parents are also uninterested for the same reason. “Our society is against mathematics,” Bastola adds. “Mathematics is constantly demon­ized in front of children before they even get a chance to explore it.”

The second reason for lack of interest is that “the society is not aware of the applications of math­ematics and its nature that chang­es according to the situation.” To explain his latter claim, he offers a riddle: “A mom and a son go to a movie theater. A dad and a son go to the same theater. How many people in total went to the theater?” Think about it.

Training for IMO 2019 will begin this month, and the selection pro­cess will start within a few months. According to ex-contestants, anyone interested should just go for it. “I highly recommend students at the secondary level and those under 19 years of age to take part. They will not only get an opportunity to repre­sent Nepal at the world stage. They will also in the process develop a wide range of inter-personal skills,” says Awanish Khanal, another contestant representing Nepal in 2017 Rio IMO.

Panthi agrees, as getting to meet people from different cultural back­grounds and assimilating in such a diverse community are invaluable opportunities that contribute to one’s social development. If you need an additional incentive, a big proportion of Fields medalists (the ‘Nobel in mathematics’) and Nobel laureates have won some medals at the IMO.

Established in 1956, the American Women of Nepal (AWON) library, was for long the favorite haunt of booklovers in Kathmandu. One of the earliest public libraries in Nepal, it nurtured generations of book-readers.

 
AWON’s popularity started to somewhat decline with easier availability of English books in Nepali markets. Moreover, all the classics could now be downloaded for free from the internet. But it was the 2015 earthquake that literally shook the foundation of AWON library. 

Following the earthquake, it had to shift from its two-story spacious location in Kupondole, opposite Hotel Himalaya, to a small corner of the Rotary Building in Tripureshwor. While in Kupondole the library used to see hundreds of visitors a day, in the new locale hardly 20 people come visit, even on Saturdays. Many are unaware of the new location. But even for those who make it to the Rotary building, finding the book they are looking for can be tough.   

“Most of the books are not indexed and arranged properly, and readers can find themselves at total loss,” says Sanjay Lamichhane who has been coming to AWON for ten years. 

“We lost many machines such as barcode readers and computers in the earthquake and the subsequent transfer of books,” says Padam Acharya, a volunteer at AWON. “It is thus difficult for us to keep track of books.” 

A group of girls from the Rato Bangla School hostel are among a handful of people who do visit the library frequently but they too have several complaints. “The library is so dirty, there is dust everywhere,” says one. Another girl says that there aren’t enough chairs and tables to accommodate all of them and they have to sit on the floor, which is seldom cleaned. Another visitor, Manoj Pant, says, “The library also does not have backup power, which can be a problem during power cuts.”

According to Acharya, the volunteer, there is an acute shortage of space. There isn’t much space for bookshelves and all the donated books are stacked randomly. Moreover, fewer and fewer volunteers are coming. “The number of volunteers that we receive has almost halved,” says Acharya, “making it difficult to index the books and 
place them right.” 

Despite these problems the visitors did point to several good points about AWON library. Lamichhane says non-fiction section is still well-equipped, and that this is still best library in town. Ujjwal Shrestha, a social studies teacher at GEMS school, agrees, and recommends the library for people of all ages. 

The RBS students were of the view that in order to boost its popularity the library could invite prominent authors to come and speak. Manoj Pant suggests coordinating with local clubs and NGOs to bring in volunteers and to raise money for machinery. One thing is certain: only extensive cooperation among book lovers from all walks of life will save this landmark library.