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Having friends over for lunch or dinner is always a good idea. It allows us to spend some time together while making our friends feel valued, thus cementing our bond. We spend a lot of time working on the menu. It has to be perfect. Good food is the key to a great time. But we often underestimate the importance of fun, party décor unless it’s a birthday or anniversary celebration.

 There’s more to décor than balloons and streamers when you are hosting. Small things can liven up the atmosphere of your home, making your guests feel at ease and put them in a peppy mood. Here we share some of our favorite décor ideas that are sure to make your house party a fun and wholesome event and make you the talk of the town (in your friend’s circle, at least).

Harness the flower power

Flowers, real or faux, can brighten up a space with minimal effort. But rather than just a bunch of flowers on the dining room table or the coffee table, consider breaking it up and having a few stems in different places around the house. Don’t forget to place some in the guest bathroom as well. Pair it with a lit candle if your bathroom doesn’t get natural light during the day. You can also use artificial flowers but be careful not to overdo it and try to stick to ones that look as natural as possible. You can also put some rose petals in an urn and place that at the entrance along with some floating candles. It will give your space a cozy yet regal vibe.

Display the essentials

Bring out the cutlery, napkins, and toothpicks and display them in an interesting manner—on trays, flower vases, small candle holders etc. You can get pretty, printed napkins these days or if you want to be sustainable, opt for cloth napkins, complete with metal napkin rings. Put a water jug and glasses on a large tray, along with an interesting décor accessory like a flower vase, candle, or a random figurine and have it ready on the dining table. It can be an interesting yet functional display. Display your glassware on the bar and coffee and tea things on the kitchen counter for easy access as well as practical décor. The idea here is to put things you will need in the course of entertaining on display and make it a part of the party décor.

Put up some lights

String lights are a charm to your space. Most of us keep this décor accessory stowed away for Tihar or Christmas. But you can actually use them all year round. They are cheap, easy to maintain, and look great when lit. We recommend warm lights instead of cool or multicolored ones but the choice is yours. String these up at the entrance or in the living or dining space for an instant festive feel. It will lend your space a peaceful ambiance. If you are entertaining in the evening, turn off the overhead lights and put on lamps or light candles. Light some scented candles in different areas of the house—this will brighten up yourspace while making it smell great.

Make some noise

What’s a party without good music? Create a party playlist depending on when you are hosting, who are the guests, and what the day or night is like. There is perhaps nothing good music can’t solve. If you want your guests to wind down with a drink, play some soothing tunes. If you want them to feel upbeat, put on some house music. The only rule here is that the playlist has to be long enough to last the course of the party. You shouldn’t have to keep getting up to change the tracks. If you are having an outdoor party, we also suggest you put up some windchimes. Hang them up from the tree, if you have one, or put up a few wherever possible to be soothed by some tinkling sounds as your friends sit around chatting.

Focus on fabulous food arrangement

Good food can taste even better if it’s rightly displayed and served. We feast with our eyes first before we sit down to eat, don’t we?  So, take out your best serving bowls. Serving food in cooking utensils is a big, resounding no. Use cake trays to serve finger foods. Get creative. Turn an old bucket into a bright, chic drink receptacle. Spray paint it a funky color and write down ‘Drinks’ on it to create a cool beverage chiller. Think vertical displays. If you have small racks or stools that you can put on countertops or tables, bring them out, drape a fancy napkin or cloth over it and use it as a place to serve drinks or desserts.

We crave change. We want to be fit and healthy, become better, do better, and be happy and content. The allure and the modus operandi or marketing strategy, if I might say so, of self-help books lies in people’s inherent desire to make their lives better. There are plenty of books that make lofty promises—you will be happier, you will learn to navigate relationships, you will thrive at work, etc. But reading about concepts and ways to change your life won’t actually do a thing unless you are willing to put in the hard work. And even then, what’s the guarantee that the things that worked for the author and his/her friends will work for you? This is one of the main reasons why I often steer clear of self-help books.

However, self-help books that are rooted in scientific or research-backed suggestions appeal to me. It puts me in the right mindset, one that makes me want to listen to the advice and implement them in my life. In that sense, ‘Everyday Ayurveda’ by Dr Bhaswati Bhattacharya is one of the best books I’ve read. Dr Bhattacharya is a licensed, board-certified physician who has been incorporating ayurveda in her treatments for the past 25 years. Her work was featured on The Discovery Channel’s documentary, Healers: Journey into Ayurveda.

My interest in ayurveda probably comes from my mother. She is a medical doctor who has always supported the ayurvedic way of life. Watching her practice and recommend ayurvedic ways of healing has made me believe in its powers. I already knew many of the things mentioned in the book but it was still a good reminder of what I needed to do to be more active and agile. The book is divided into short chapters and the tone feels conversational and not preachy at all. The author is knowledgeable and the writing is thus convincing. Backed by evidence and anecdotes, Everyday Ayurveda makes for an interesting and eye-opening read.

Delving into the principles of ayurveda, Dr Bhattacharya tells us why and how we should listen to the signs our bodies give us. She urges readers to focus on self-care, building healthy habits, and following ancient wisdom and practices for sound health. You will pick up some helpful tips on how to turn your life around. Most of these tips don’t require much effort. They are just some basic modifications in your current lifestyle. Everyday Ayurveda, I believe, is an essential guide to a deeper understanding of yourself and the ways in which you can live a more fulfilling life.

Everyday Ayurveda

Dr Bhaswati Bhattacharya

Published: 2015

Publisher: Ebury Press
Pages: 298, Paperback

Breastfeeding is an act of feeding an infant or a child directly from the mother’s breast. There are tons of benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and baby as it helps to tackle various serious cases in the long run. Breast milk contains optimal nutrition, which provides an essential amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and antibodies to protect against various infectious diseases. It is rich in antibodies and immunoglobulins, which support the immune system of a child. Breast milk is easily digestible as it helps to prevent various gastrointestinal disorders. Various researches have shown that breastfeed babies have lower risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancers, respiratory infections later in life. Breastfeeding contributes to newborns’ physical and mental development apart from acting as a natural contraceptive, which helps mothers in birth spacing. Breastfeeding creates a bonding between a mother and a child where they get connected emotionally. It is the cost-free source that benefits both the mother and the child. As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life.

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every Aug 1-7. The theme of Breastfeeding Week 2024 is ‘Closing the gap. Breastfeeding support for all.’ The theme guides us about the practices of breastfeeding and equal participation in supporting the mothers. This year’s theme is aimed at ensuring equitable access to breastfeeding support for all mothers and families, regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or location. According to the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2022 report, 55 percent of children aged 0-23 months engaged in early initiation of breastfeeding whereas only 56 percent of children under six months were exclusively breastfeed. 

Looking at the table, we can observe that Nepal is not in a good phase as we need to work a lot and guide people about breastfeeding and its importance. The scenario is different today, due to modernization and working environment, mothers are more into work and children are suffering due to it. Maternity leave should be encouraged and the government as well as private sectors should be concerned about it. 

Investing in first 1,000 days

For mothers/primary caregivers of children aged 6-23 months, continue to breastfeed until your child is two years old, or beyond. Breast milk provides important nutrients, energy, and protection from illness and allergies, supporting healthy growth and development.

At six months, start feeding thick soft foods. Gradually introduce a variety of minced or mashed vegetables and egg/ fish/chicken/meat to enrich your baby’s porridge, feed fish/egg/chicken/meat at least once daily. Gradually increase the variety, frequency, amount and thickness of the food. For one year, give at least five food groups in every meal. 

Actively feed your baby. Avoid use of feeding bottles, gently and patiently encourage your baby to eat. Don’t force feed. Minimize other distractions.

Avoid giving young children sugary drinks and biscuits, tea, coffee, flavored milk, processed meat (such as sausages) or deep-fried foods.

ANC, PNC healthcare providers

• Routinely provide key messages and guidance at ANC and PNC contact points
• Be a positive model. Promote optimal dietary and feeding practices within the wider community

Pregnant and lactating women

• Eat a variety of foods every day from at least four food groups during pregnancy and lactation periods
• Before and during pregnancy, take folic acid and iron supplements, as recommended by the healthcare provider
• Eating fruits and vegetables and drinking water often helps reduce the risk of constipation from taking iron tablets

Up to six months after birth

• Put your baby to the breast immediately after birth
• Continue to feed only breast milk for the first six months of life
• Express your milk when you and your baby are separated following birth
• Breastfeed frequently when your baby demands, day and night, to build up your milk supply

Both the parents should be equally aware about the consequences of formula milk and also discuss time management skills. Father also plays an equal role in supporting the breastfeeding mother, he should know the importance of breastfeeding and how it impacts the health of his wife and a child. Family members play a crucial role in the health of the mother and the child, so they need to know about it and guide her if needed.

The author is nutritionist and dietician

The Constitution of Nepal, 2015 has given the National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission (NNRFC) the authority to recommend the basis for determining the share of investment and returns for the federal, provincial and local governments while mobilizing natural resources.

Similarly, the NNRFC is also tasked with the responsibility for studying potential disputes regarding distribution of natural resources between three tiers of government, and providing suggestions for their resolution. The essence of federalism is the practice of autonomous governments. The constitution envisaged the NNRFC to play a coordinating role in potential disputes, tensions or claims over natural resources and finances between the three governments.

Likewise, Part 4 of the Constitution outlines policies regarding the conservation, promotion and utilization of natural resources under the Directive Principles, Policies and Obligations of the State. It states that the state will adopt policies to conserve, promote and sustainably use available natural resources in the national interest and in line with intergenerational equity, while prioritizing local communities and ensuring equitable distribution of benefits. Here, we will discuss how effective the NNRFC has been in fulfilling these obligations.

Now work for 72 employees

When this scribe reached the office of the NNRFC near the close of the previous fiscal year, employees appeared to have little to do. While other government offices were extremely busy, employees of the commission just signed the attendance register and remained idle throughout the day. Government employees are required to give eight hours to the office. “We don’t have even one hour of work here,” one staff member of the NNRFC told this scribe. “In reality, the NNRFC has no work.”

On condition of anonymity, the staff said the NNRFC has failed to work according to its establishment and objectives. According to Article 250 (1) of the Constitution, the NNRFC should consist of a chairperson and four other members appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council. The tenure of the Chairperson and members is six years from the date of appointment. Nearly six years have passed since the first appointment, but the committee members have not been able to accomplish much.

The NNRFC currently has only four office-bearers. Even they lack unity among themselves. “The NNRFC has not been able to provide any output. The taxpayers’ money is not being utilized properly,” the staff added.

In India and other countries, such commissions are formed for a limited time and are closed after completing specific tasks. “The objective of the NNRFC is not clear; there is no end to the work. Employees don’t even have an hour’s worth of work. We are just passing time,” employees told this scribe. “This is supposed to be a research-based office. The constitution envisioned it with great ambition and goals. But in reality, it has become a stagnant office.”

The federal, provincial, and local governments need to effectively mobilize financial and natural resources to provide services to the people while promoting cooperation, coexistence and coordination among themselves. The NNRFC is required to play a crucial role in ensuring balanced and equitable distribution of financial transfers and natural resources among the three levels of government. Primarily, it has the authority to make recommendations regarding revenue sharing, financial equalization grants, conditional grants, internal loans and distribution of natural resources among federal, provincial, and local governments. "But in reality, it hasn't accomplished anything," the employee says.

Problems galore

NNRFC Chairperson Dr Balananda Poudel acknowledges that the distribution of natural resources as per the constitutional mandate has not been smooth. He claims that over five years, they have conducted studies, made recommendations, conducted research, provided suggestions and facilitated various tasks. “We were supposed to recommend a framework for investment and returns from natural resources. The study for this hasn’t been completed. The NNRFC has realized the need to pay more attention to this work,” he added. He also pointed to political instability and interference in the bureaucracy as root causes of the problems. “Secretaries are transferred every month. There is no coordination when sending staff to the NNRFC. Interest, patience and expertise are not considered while sending staff. The state doesn’t consider what kind of knowledge, skills, and qualifications are needed for the NNRFC,” he said. Although Paudel claimed that the NNRFC has been working to its capacity, he has no  visible achievements to show. “I feel we could have done more than what we have accomplished,” he said, adding that the NNRFC has provided suggestions to the government about its problems in their annual report.

Slow collection of royalties

The modality for sharing royalties from natural resources has been determined. However, other laws play a more important role than the NNRFC in this. According to Section 7 of the Intergovernmental Fiscal Management Act, 2017, 50 percent of the royalties from mountaineering, electricity, forests, mines and minerals, water, and other natural resources should go to the federal government, and 25 percent each to the related provincial and local governments. The annual report of the Financial Comptroller General Office, 2021/22, states that a total of Rs 5.72bn was collected as royalties from  mountaineering, electricity, forests and mines and minerals and distributed among three tiers of governments. Of this, electricity contributed the highest at 53.4 percent, followed by forests at 22.9 percent, mines and minerals at 14.4 percent, and mountaineering at 9.3 percent.

Office-bearers not in friendly terms

Dissatisfaction and discord can be felt among office-bearers which has affected the NNRFC’s work. Amar Raj Mishra, a member of the NNRFC, expressed dissatisfaction with the chairperson’s work. “The NNRFC is being run by one person’s decisions,” he said. Mishra has even filed a writ petition in court against the chairperson’s conduct. “I have been saying that the NNRFC should not work in a haphazard manner. Now, I have become like an opposition. There is no consensus even on issues that need to be improved through discussion,” he added. Mishra said he moved the court to improve affairs at the NNRFC, but things have not improved. “The NNFRC’s work has been limited to formality. There is no proper procedure. Wrong data is being used. There is no profile for any project,” he added.

The NNRFC is supposed to recommend the equitable distribution of government-collected revenue among federal, provincial and local levels, and determine the amount of fiscal transfers to provinces and local levels. However, Mishra accuses the NNFRC of using inaccurate data for grant allocation and distribution of tax and royalty revenue. He claimed that local governments are being unfairly treated due to the use of old data by the NNRFC. Mishra has filed petitions against the NNRFC’s decision to recommend grant distributions without conducting any discussions within the commission. The NNRFC Regulations, 2019, stipulates that the distribution and division of work among the chairperson and members should be determined in commission meetings. Mishra, however, claimed that many decisions have been made arbitrarily.

Incomplete commission

The NNRFC is supposed to have five members including the Chairperson. For about two years, only the chairperson ran the NNRFC single-handedly. Later, three members were added. Currently, there are only four members. The position of a female member is still vacant. The other two members are Juddha Bahadur Gurung and Bipin Raj Niraula.

Gurung claimed that work is progressing in a satisfactory manner. “We have been handling responsibilities related to natural resources including royalty distribution,” he said. “Studies and research are being conducted. Sufficient work has been done since the NNRFC’s formation,” he said. “The seed has been planted and is sprouting. Studies are being conducted to define natural resources. Results will be seen gradually.” However, a staff member told this scribe that the software created to make the NNRFC’s work transparent and smooth has been sitting idle for two years.

Weak federalism

Federalism expert Khimlal Devkota believes that federalism itself has become weak due to the ineffectiveness of the NNRFC which is considered the main link in implementing federalism. “The federal government has become dominant. It either hasn’t given grants to provinces and local levels or has reduced them,” he said. “The NNRFC should put a strong pressure on the government in this matter, but it hasn’t been able to do so.” Devkota said there is no need for such an extensive structure if it is to only make general recommendations occasionally. “The NNRFC has failed to work according to the expectations of the parliamentary committee. The parliamentary committee is not satisfied with the NNRFC’s work,” he said, adding: “There is no point in continuing the NNRFC if it cannot come up with a substantial report.” Forest expert Naya Sharma Poudel also said that the NNRFC has not been able to work as expected. “Not much seems to have been done in the field of natural resources. Political parties and officials need to pay attention to this,” he said

Natural resources still overlooked

The NNRFC hasn’t been able to do anything concrete on the management of royalties for many natural resources. The NNRFC has said in its fifth annual report that there are some potential sources from which royalties can be obtained in the future from the mobilization of water and other natural resources. These categories include inter-basin drinking water, inter-basin irrigation, bottled water use, industrial use of water, groundwater resources, water transportation, water recreation, fish farming and hydrogen energy. Similarly, potential sources of royalties from the mobilization of other natural resources in the future include solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, thermal energy, fossil energy, nuclear energy, petrol, coal and telecommunications (frequency). But it has failed to suggest necessary legislation for the same. As per Article 251 (2) of the constitution, the NNRFC should conduct necessary studies and research on environmental impact assessment related to the distribution of natural resources and make recommendations to the government. However, the commission is lagging in this aspect as well.

More focused on fiscal part

Although the NNRFC is required to work on natural resources as well, it seems more focused on the finance aspect. Its work and activities are also finance-centered. It has no role in the protection and promotion of natural resources. The NNRFC’s focus is only their consumption. “Nepal is rich in natural resources. We are poor because we haven’t been able to protect and properly utilize them,” a staff of the NNRFC said. “The constitution created this commission to address this issue. But the focus is on how to consume natural resources and share royalties generated for them.”

This story has been produced with the support of the Internews Earth Journalism Network through the Media for Inclusive Green Growth project