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Balen Shah’s victory in the local elections in May earlier this year gave people a lot of hope. It seemed like the beginning of a much-needed change, said those ApEx spoke to. People wanted good, capable candidates—those who worked in favor of the people, rather than being driven by their biases and agendas. Political parties, they thought, would realize this and nominate worthy names for the federal parliament and provincial assembly elections scheduled for Nov 20. But the names that have been registered at the Election Commission reflect a different truth: It’s the same old faces—those that have been elected and reelected—from which we will have to choose once again. Madhab Maharjan, owner of Mandala Book Point in Jamal, Kathmandu, says he is unhappy with the way things have turned out. “I can stamp the ballot paper randomly as it doesn’t matter who is elected. It’s the same lot anyway and we know how they are,” he says. Nepali politics has always been a closed circle. Politicians favor their own. This, Maharjan points out, has been a trend in our society for eons and is unlikely to change soon. People must vote sensibly—choose the right person, rather than blindly follow a particular party, he says. Bhakti Shah, a transgender activist and member of Blue Diamond Society, says he is upset over the lack of representation of the LGBTIQA+ community in the upcoming elections. “With just nine percent of direct election candidates being women and only one from our community, the nominations paint a bleak picture,” he says. Grishma Ojha, a faculty member at Thames International College, says she has no faith in politics. The inclusive spirit of the constitution hasn’t been honored by the political parties. The required quota for women hasn’t been met and marginalized communities have, once again, been sidelined. Ojha is going to vote as it’s a right she believes she must exercise. But she wishes people had the option of rejecting all the candidates on the ballot paper, as they do in many other democratic countries. “Only then will things change,” she says. Political analyst Indra Adhikari says political parties’ blatant disregard of inclusion in candidate selection is shameful. Worse, she says, they will get away with it as the political nexus is strong. “Our party structure is such that there is no space for fresh faces and unless that changes, little else will,” she says.

Ten climbers from Nepal paused in the winter of 2021 not far from the peak of K2, the second-highest mountain in the world, which is located in Pakistan. They huddled and moved forward while humming the national anthem of Nepal ‘Sayaun thunga phulka hami.’ The group of elite Nepali climbers led by Nirmal Purja and Mingma G hailed their historic accomplishment as they reached the icy slope of ‘Savage Mountain’ at an altitude of 8611 meters. This was no ordinary feat. It was considered the pinnacle of climbing to complete a winter expedition on K2, one of the most difficult 8000-meter peaks. In fact, it was the only record that remained to be broken. The Nepali climbers, nine of whom were Sherpas, were eager to take home the last trophy. The majority of the K2 summiteers I spoke with in the spring of 2021 said that their expedition was motivated by the fact that the only remaining record to be broken on K2 was a winter climb. “Foreign climbers currently hold the record on these peaks. But the reality is that it’s not possible for them to climb any of these peaks without help from Sherpas,” one of them told me. Mountaineering doesn’t have a very extensive history. It coincided with the decline of the British Empire. In 1856, Peak XV (later known as Everest) was recognized as the highest mountain in the world. Early in the 20th century, European explorers started venturing into the eastern Himalayas. But after the survey of British India proclaimed the mountain to be the tallest in the world, it took climbers more than a century to achieve their goal of reaching the summit of Everest. Having lost its colonies in Asia and Africa, the British Empire was in retreat. Everest offered them the last frontier. A century ago, British explorers started their quest to conquer what is frequently referred to as the Third Pole. The victory over it became a powerful tool for reinvigorating their sense of national pride. For most of the 20th century, the mountain’s major decisions and rope fixing were mostly made by Western climbers. The Western explorers needed labor in the form of porters, cooks, Sirdars, guides. Before Nepal opened up to foreigners after the end of a century of Rana rule in 1951, expeditions were organized in the Indian mountain town of Darjeeling. Sherpas from Khumbu region flocked to Darjeeling for jobs as porters and cooks. Over the decades until the turn of the century, Sherpas became inevitable in mountaineering. Without them, it’s difficult to climb a mountain higher than 8000 meters. Every year, Sherpas carve out a path in the mountains. Hundreds of climbers use the routes they make up, which they construct using ropes and ladders. For a long time, Sherpas have been treated by Western climbers as a mere footnote in their glory. Despite their heroics, bravery, and skills, it’s the western climber who gets all the attention. The Sherpas are frequently portrayed as faceless people, an insignificant cog in the multi- billion-dollar Everest machine. However, they have recently proven that they are the real heroes and master of mountaineering. How did this community of potato farmers and yak herders who lived beneath the tallest mountains on Earth, become accomplished mountaineers? How do they survive in the harsh, remote terrain that is prone to landslides and other natural disasters? Nepali journalists Pradeep Bashyal and Ankit Babu Adhikari trace the rise of Sherpas in their nonfiction narrative “Sherpa: Stories of Life and Death from the Forgotten Guardians of Everest.” The book features a wide variety of characters, from Tenzing Norgay to Kancha Sherpa, who was a member of the 1953 expedition but was unable to reach the planet’s highest point. There’s Mingma David Sherpa, a brave climber from Taplejung district, who originally intended to travel to Darjeeling, but ended up in Kathmandu (He was a member of the record-setting K2 expedition of 2021). The book also shines light on Sherpas who are not always in the limelight—There’s Phurba Tashi Sherpa, who summited Everest for 21 times, but gave up mountaineering after the death of his parents (although he had always told them that he hadn’t hiked up base camp). Then there is the tale of two women who made it to the summit of Everest after their spouses passed away. For me, Kushang Dorjee’s profile was the most captivating read. The dramatic plot twists and turns make the story read like a novel. Kushang traveled to the mountain country of Bhutan before returning to Darjeeling, where he fell in love with a woman and married her. It has all the makings of a fantastic plot, and the authors craft a compelling story out of it. It’s difficult to write narrative nonfiction. You must hone your narrative skills. You must choose the appropriate characters. To take the readers to the heart of the story, you must travel. Above all, it requires time and effort. The authors have carefully selected the characters for each chapter so that they can tell a mélange of mountain stories. They travel to all three valleys in eastern Nepal—Makalu, Rolwaling and Khumbu—to meet their subjects. The authors let their subjects share their stories at their own pace. On the road, they linger to get all the subtleties. In evocative passages, we learn about the evolution of Sherpas as elite climbers and the culture of these valleys Sherpa people call home. The result is an engaging work of storytelling that adds to the body of work on Everest, which already includes Wade Davis’ ‘Into the Silence’ and Jon Krakauer’s ‘Into Thin Air’. Sherpa is a must-read for those curious about the growing industry of mountaineering and the people who are at the center of it. SHERPA: Stories of Life and Death from the Forgotten Guardians of Everest Pradeep Bashyal & Ankit Babu Adhikari Publisher: Octopus Publishing/Hachette, UK Pages: 321, Paperback Deepak Adhikari covered mountaineering for international news agencies including AFP, DPA. He is currently the editor of NepalCheck.Org, a fact-checking platform

Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to clinch power for a third consecutive term this week. On October 16, hundreds of party delegates—provincial representatives, top military brass, and representation from farmers and minority communities—will assemble in the Great Hall of China to endorse Xi. The gathering will also pick new faces who shall dictate China’s military, economy, and foreign policies. Over the past decade, China has become more assertive, projecting itself as a superpower.  So what can Nepal expect from five more years of Xi?  Since he took office in 2013, like everywhere, China adopted an aggressive policy towards Nepal, particularly to counter Western influence. In 2019, Xi visited Nepal to elevate comprehensive bilateral ties into a “strategic” one. He pledged to transform Nepal from a “land-locked country to a land-linked country”. Since Xi’s trip, China has been pressing Nepal to implement the agreement reached between the two countries. Pramod Jaiswal, who follows China’s South Asia policy, says Xi is one of the few Chinese presidents to visit Nepal so he places a high priority on Nepal. “Xi sees Nepal as a gateway to South Asia,” says Jaiswal. “He views South Asia as a very important region to materialize his pet project, the Belt and Road Initiative. I believe that he is going to further deepen ties with Nepal during this third term.” Soon after taking charge as the president of China in 2013, Xi stressed peripheral diplomacy.  Doing well in peripheral diplomatic work, he said at the time, was necessary for China to achieve the "Two Centuries" objective and realize the great rejuvenation of Chinese nation. In the final days of this second term, Xi dispatched his senior colleagues to Nepal to keep tabs on the Western influence in Kathmandu. With growing tensions between Beijing and Washington over numerous issues, including the human rights issues of the Tibetan community, Xi’s China is likely to adopt a more aggressive approach to protect its security interest. Beijing is already pushing its new campaigns, such as Global Security Initiatives and Global Development Initiatives, which has put Kathmandu in a precarious position. Upendra Gautam, general secretary at China Study Center, says China’s key priorities are security and development. “Nepal can take a lot of economic benefits, but we do not have any clear vision on our engagement with China. We could not even take advantage of what Xi had pledged during his Nepal visit in 2019,” says Gautam. “The main problem is we are unable to take independent decisions when dealing with major powers.” He adds Nepal seldom does enough homework to identify its needs to present them before China. “Nepal should pursue an independent foreign policy. Geopolitical pressures and concerns are always there, but we can handle those issues with right vision and leadership.”

Rice farmers in Lumbini province saw their crop ruined by heavy downpour just as they were preparing for harvest last year. Over 130,000 hectares of rice fields were inundated, leaving hundreds of farmers high and dry. This year, too, rainfall has not stopped, even though it is well past the monsoon season. Changing weather patterns are affecting farmers as well as food production. Some food experts have already warned of low rice yield this year owing to climate change. Dr Sumitra Dhakal, climate change expert, says erratic weather is becoming common but no plans are in place to combat their impacts. “This is particularly true at the local level. Local governments and the general public are more or less ignorant about climate change and its effects,” she says. While provincial and local governments in Lumbini claim to have launched various climate campaigns, they seem to be largely formalities without any tangible outcomes. For instance, a budget of Rs 25 million has been allocated for a campaign that envisions one pond in every ward of every district in the province. But the majority of local governments have not implemented the campaign’s goal. Rather, they are stripping down forests and burying natural ponds and streams to open roadways. Finance and Cooperatives Minister Krishna Dhwoj Khadka does not agree this is the case. He says campaigns like ‘One Ward, One Pond’ and ‘One House, Two Trees’ will promote greenery in Lumbini province. “These campaigns will create more green spaces and help in water management,” says Khadka. “But it is important for local governments to cooperate to execute the plans brought by the provincial government.” The cooperation that Minister Khadka seeks is not there. Climate and environment experts say pond construction and tree plantation alone will not solve the climate crisis. They emphasize the need for reorienting and rethinking development goals. For the running fiscal year alone, Lumbini province has allocated a budget for nearly 2,000 road projects. Experts say when these projects get under way, their impacts on the environment are rarely taken into account. Forests are indiscriminately razed down and water bodies are either buried or their areas heavily encroached. Records show in the last five years, 12 local units in Gulmi district alone felled over 28,000 trees to open roadways. Environment activist Yubaraj Kandel says the situation in other hill districts in Lumbini province, such as Pyuthan, Arghakhanchi, Ropla and Palpa are no different. “Haphazard road construction has invited the problem of landslides in the hill districts and flooding in the plains,” says Kandel. “Water scarcity is becoming a major problem in many villages. People are deserting their homes, but the concerned government bodies are not taking any step to address the issue.” Narayan Dev Bhattarai, chief of Forest Management and Monitoring Department under Forest and Environment Ministry of Lumbini Province, says the problem of environment degradation is caused by a lack of coordination among the ministries involved in development projects. Climate experts have warned of unimaginable catastrophes if the government ministries and agencies continue to remain idle “To date, authorities concerned have no clear climate policy. They have no idea on how to mitigate or adapt to the changing climate,” says Dhakal. “They do not realize that time is running out.”