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August 30, 2021. That was when the United States completed the pullout of its troops from a war-torn Afghanistan. This withdrawal marked the end of a 20-year American operation in Afghanistan that started after the 11 September 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States homeland. Interestingly, roughly a decade before that important date, troops from the erstwhile USSR had pulled out from the neighboring Afghanistan after their failure to establish a socialist/communist regime in that strife-torn country. Apparently, the US support for the Mujahideen fighters gave the Soviets a bloody nose and prompted their hasty withdrawal. Coincidentally, the dissolution of the USSR followed the Afghan pullout. The story does not end there, though. In time, it became clear that the fighters, who gave the Soviets a hard time, would not spare the Americans either. Historically Afghanistan has been known for making foreign invaders bite the dust. Before the Soviets and the Americans, great powers like the Brits, the Persians, the Greeks, the Arabs, the Turks and the Mongols suffered a fate no different. They all incurred colossal losses in the rugged terrains. All that makes Afghanistan a graveyard of empires. Prolonged American presence in Afghanistan was a matter of concern, especially for two mighty countries in the neighborhood—Russia and China. No wonder the American withdrawal provided them some solace, offered them an opportunity for celebration, for shoring up their presence in their ‘backyard’. But the party time appears to be over. Towards the end of 2021, the movement of Russian men and machines into Ukraine began. This indicated that the theaters of war were shifting in a fast-changing world marked by increasing sub-regional, regional and international tensions and the formation of defense-military alliances like the AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and another bloc called the Quad (loosely termed the Asian NATO) consisting of the United States, Japan, Australia and India. Apparently, these groupings are meant to bolster a US-led international order by curtailing the rise of China that has countries like Iran, North Korea, Russia and Pakistan as its allies (or so it seems), at least for now. While all this was going on, another international war theater emerged. Russia started the invasion of Ukraine towards the last week of February, 2022. The involvement of the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the conflict has complicated matters further not just for the immediate neighborhood but for the entire world. After the start of the war in Ukraine and the involvement of NATO in the same, it will be no surprise if the crop of experts reading the tea leaves start having second thoughts about their analysis vis-a-vis the decline of the reigning superpower and the automatic ascension of China in the coveted position. Indeed, decline of global powers is a slow and painful process marked by years of conflict, fall of economic fortunes and military might. For example, decades have passed since the sun set on the British Empire but the Brits continue to be a formidable force in South Asia and beyond. Following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, prices of oil and gas are skyrocketing, leading to hikes in the prices of both goods and services throughout the world. Disruption in the supply of wheat and sunflower oil from the Black Sea region, one of the six grain baskets of the world, has worsened food insecurity in ill-prepared countries like Nepal. That again is not the end of the story. Ratcheting up tensions not only in the already-tense Taiwan Straits but well beyond, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (HoR), visited Taiwan in early August 2022 leading a congressional delegation. Reports indicate that the Joe Biden administration was not comfortable with the visit of Pelosi. She has consistently raised issues like the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, held talks with the Dalai Lama and other pro-democracy activists, and expressed support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, much to the discomfort of Beijing. The high-profile Taiwan visit of the American leader that comes 25 years after another important visit—of then Speaker of the HoR Newt Gingrich—has Beijing seething. In the wake of the visit, the People’s Liberation Army fired missiles that landed not only in Taiwan but also in Japan’s exclusive economic zone. These shots may continue to reverberate in the Asia-Pacific region and much beyond. The Pelosi visit and the PLA shots come amid talks of the Asian century marked by a steady rise of China and India, increasing tensions between the two neighbors and a steady decline of our national prowess. Also, they come at a time when at least a section of the Japanese ruling elite wants to do away with the Pacific Charter and wants the country’s defense-military wings to play an active role in national defense as well as global peace and security. Add to it Nepal’s recent hush-hush high-profile visits to New Delhi and the oncoming five-day visit of India’s Chief of Army Staff here. Five days are a long time in a country whose rulers have gained infamy for taking important yet very controversial decisions at the stroke of midnight, regardless of where they stand in the ideological spectrum. Not to be forgotten is the recent assassination of Japan’s former prime minister Shinjo Abe in the calm waters of Nara, the murder of a staunch Vladimir Putin supporter in the heart of Moscow and a fresh push for lax citizenship provisions in Nepal that’s been sheltering displaced populations not only from the extended neighbourhood but well beyond, thanks to a border that’s open on our side. All these scenarios have geostrategic dimensions and make it clear that the waters of the Asia-Pacific region will get choppier in the days to come. Nepal is not known for navigating roiling waters well. Treading with caution by adopting a policy of pragmatic neutrality may be the best bet for Nepal, given that the country has lost pounds of flesh during turbulent times when things fall apart and Singha Durbar cannot hold. The Treaty of Sugauli with the Brits (1816) and the 1950’s India-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty are two cases in point and so are controversial accords over ‘sharing’ of our lifelines—our rivers. Who knows this better than our mandarins in the Lion Palace?

September 22nd, 2018—it was a good evening at home before I fell on the staircases and hurt my knee. I was in pain, but I was sure I would be okay. Not much later, as I was about to call it a day and go to sleep, I lost my balance and fell again. I heard a popping sound from my left knee, and a shrill cry escaped my mouth. I felt extreme pain in my left leg. It was an unceasing torment for hours. The next day at the hospital, the doctor found I had a medial collateral knee ligament tear. They prescribed some medicines and suggested precautions. The sky fell on me when they told me I should be on bed rest for at least three months to recover well. My eyes instantly filled with tears, and I could not process for hours what I had heard. I came back home to have a crushing breakdown. I resented that I had to walk on crutches. I turned bitter because I had to depend on others for the smallest of my needs. I often questioned what I had done to deserve such a misfortune. I felt isolated and disconnected as I could not go to work and meet my colleagues and friends. The loss of autonomy made me hopeless. As days passed and it all got too much to take—I started seeing how I was walking away from the kind of person I have always wanted to be: thoughtful, reflective, and empathic. After the accident, I lost touch with those values. I realized how I was constructing my ‘narrative identity’ into a ‘contaminative’ one. Dan McAdams, a psychologist at Northwestern University, describes the narrative identity as the internalized story we create about ourselves based on our life experiences. We make narrative choices based on the extraordinary events we experience, both good and bad. Such experiences help make sense of life and shape us. Based on these narrative choices, we tell two kinds of stories—redemptive and contaminative. The kind of stories I told myself while initially recovering from the injury was contaminative. Such stories make individuals interpret and express their lives as going from 'good' to 'bad.' Telling a contaminative story, as McAdams puts it, makes us less generative or driven to contribute to the lives of others. We are also likely to be more stressed and anxious. We see life as meaningless. Reflecting on these aspects, I soon felt I needed to change my approach to seeing the situation. I knew that if I continued to feel miserable, it would change me for the worse. Soon, I started revisiting pursuits and people that made my life meaningful. I took time to meditate, journal, and read. I wrote poems to revive my creativity. Talking to my close friends gave me immense hope. I utilized my days reevaluating choices—ranging from decluttering my social media feed to decluttering my relationships. Soon the agony and angst I had toward life started transforming into meaningful engagement and gratitude. This change in choice of my narrative made me view my life through a redemptive lens. People tell redemptive stories when they see their lives going from bad to good. Based on several years of his studies, McAdams has found that behind redemptive stories are people who find their lives meaningful—as defined by growth, belonging, and purpose. It allows individuals to see life constructively. They have a sense of autonomy over their lives and feel love and gratitude. They find it easier to let go and remove the obstacles they face through the good outcomes they experience. Ideally, we would all want to tell redemptive stories, but speaking from my experience—it is easier said than done. It needs grit, gratitude, and an optimal everyday effort to see our lives in a redemptive light. Loss of autonomy, strained relationships, unproductive work indulgence, and existential dread are among the many things that can go wrong in our lives. The choice is ours. Do we want to tell contaminative stories by blowing all the unfortunate things out of proportion? Or do we want to tell redemptive stories defined by growth, contribution, and emotional maturity instead? The author is Linchpin at My Emotions Matter, an education initiative that helps individuals and teams learn the mindset and skills of Emotional Intelligence. Learn more at myemotionsmatter.com

A small group of female dancers are busy warming up and getting ready for their class as I enter the Aesthetics Dance Studio housed in the ground floor of a building in Anamnagar, Kathmandu.  They are all dressed in lime-green kurta salwar; the only thing setting one apart from the other are their shawls, tied sideways from their shoulders.  The studio is immaculate: neat parqueted floor, white walls and white curtains, and a large floor-to-ceiling mirror.     The young women are here to learn the classical Indian dance form of Kathak.  Their teacher, Namrata KC, is a graceful woman dressed in a red-and-white sari with a floral pattern and a red blouse.       She is a Kathak veteran who studied the dance-form in Uttar Pradesh, India. She’s been running the studio for the past six years. “Kathak is one of the eight classical dance forms believed to have originated in Uttar Pradesh,” KC tells me. “The word ‘Kathak’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘Katha’ or story. So this is a storytelling dance-form.” Most dance numbers are based on the stories of Hindu gods and goddesses.  “Dancers emote the stories through various hand movements called ‘mudras’, complex footwork as well as facial expressions.”  Dancers also tie ghungroos (musical anklets) to their feet to set the sound and rhythm of their dance movements, which are equally meaningful in storytelling.   Aesthetics Dance Studio is among the few dance conservatories in Nepal that teach Kathak. KC is glad that many young people are showing interest in the dance. Most of her students are in the 22-35 age group. Every now and then, KC and her students also participate in cultural shows and festivals to showcase their skills.  “My students come from various professional backgrounds,” says KC. “They are here to learn Kathak out of passion, which is what you need the most to master this dance-form.”      

Nepal Police data show there were 191 deaths from road traffic accidents in the past fiscal: 85 of these casualties were pedestrians. Randomly and wrongly parked vehicles, on the footpath and the streetside, compel people to walk on the road where they are often hit by speeding vehicles, says Rajendra Prasad Bhatta, spokesperson of the Metropolitan Traffic Police Department. These deaths could be averted if there were a proper parking system in the city. “You can’t park on the road. This is true for inner roads as well. But, in Kathmandu, every road is littered with parked bikes and cars. It’s a safety hazard besides a leading cause of traffic jams,” says Bhatta. The MTPD is trying to control this by fining such vehicle owners but Bhatta says they is only so much they can do with limited manpower and resources. He laments that people seem to obey the rules only when the police are patrolling the streets. Else, it is chaos, he says. This comes from a lack of conscience as well as blatant disregard of the rules. People think they can get away with anything, with a little bit of aggression and connection. Then there’s also the fact that parking in Kathmandu is a huge problem. Available parking spaces are usually full, far away from your destination, or expensive (most parking lots charge above Rs 80 an hour for four-wheelers). But that still doesn’t mean you get to park on the road, Bhatta adds, even if it’s “just for five minutes” as most people claim when the police book them for the offense. Suman Meher Shrestha, urban planner, applauds mayor Balen Shah’s efforts to demolish illegal structures in Kathmandu. This, Shrestha believes, will ease Kathmandu’s parking problems by at least 30 to 40 percent as both private and government buildings have been using parking spaces for other purposes. The mayor’s actions, Shrestha says, will also reinstate the rule of law in Kathmandu. “It’s total anarchy right now because there is no monitoring and enforcement of laws. Shah is definitely going to change that and restore order,” he adds. The building bylaws have various provisions to facilitate parking in the city. Every commercial building must have its own parking area. The government has given incentives like tax deductions to systemize parking. But most building owners are taking advantage of weak monitoring to maximize profits by renting out parking lots or constructing stores or ATM lounges in the space. The local authorities could fix this problem and that is one of the many things mayor Shah is trying to do at the moment. Talking to ApEx, many Kathmandu residents complained of haphazard parking. Recounting incidents of parked cars obstructing traffic in inner roads, to handle-locked motorbikes in front of main gates, people were clearly frustrated with the lack of a system. A local of Sanepa recalled an incident where an ambulance couldn’t reach its destination as a car was parked in the one-lane street leading to the house. They had to carry the unconscious patient till the main road. Spokesperson Bhatta says people must be proactive and call the police and report such wrongdoings. This will, in the long run, make them conscious of their actions. Ganesh Karmacharya, project head, Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, on the other hand, says Kathmandu isn’t a planned city and that is the root of all our urban problems like narrow roads, lack of open spaces, congestion, etc. There is no option to constructing multistory parking lots in Kathmandu. We must use vertical space to mitigate parking problems in the city, he says. It’s not only the government’s responsibility either. Karmacharya says the private sector can and must be engaged in this. “The government can direct the private sector to make use of this opportunity in a way that benefits them as well as the state,” he says. However, parking problems can’t be solved by focusing on parking solutions alone, say the experts ApEx spoke to. Our public transport system is in a complete mess. This has forced people to invest in their own bikes or cars the moment they have saved enough or are able to take a loan for it. Shrestha says if Kathmandu had an effective and reliable public transport system, people wouldn’t need to rely on private vehicles. Arjun Koirala, senior urban planner, says other major cities in Nepal will also face problems that Kathmandu is going through right now if proper plans aren’t crafted and executed immediately. Core city areas are already congested and, with vehicle imports increasing every year, things will only get worse. “If we turn open areas into parking lots, we run the risk of losing essential breathing spaces. It’s a challenge to create more parking lots without ruining the city’s aesthetics and compromising on the greenery,” says Koirala. The current situation is the result of poor planning and lack of foresight. Karmacharya says the government needs to take urgent action—maybe start by monitoring whether building bylaws are being properly followed. Then, it has to have elaborate discussions, at all levels, on how to manage parking in the city and come up with some concrete plans. “Our economy is also suffering because of the lack of parking spaces. People hesitate to go to many places in the city—like New Road, Bagbazaar, and Putalisadak, to name a few—as they don’t know where to park,” adds Koirala. Limiting vehicular access to certain roads during certain hours could also help clear the roads. However, Koirala says this can affect people who reside in those areas so it’s best to weigh in the pros and cons before executing such plans. Another option would be using available, empty private plots as temporary parking spaces by collaborating with the owners. The KMC in its current demolition drive is taking stock of what parking places are already available. These are, however, only a few possible options for immediate management of an escalating problem. For a sustainable and effective long-term solution, experts are of the unanimous view that the focus must be on changing our mode of transport. Koirala argues that as the city grows, vehicles will only increase. That will put more demand on the roads unless the government can provide mass transport. Shrestha adds that parking and congestion issues can’t be solved unless there is a solid public transport network in Kathmandu and people no longer have to rely on private vehicles as their primary commute option.