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 For most folks, Narayan B.S Dangol, 78, is a Nepali aviation expert. Or the designer of the Nepali sky. But for this young reporter, Narayan is a man with a story to tell, too young for his age. With unflinching passion for his work and field, he still has the energy of a 20-year-old. Perhaps passion does not age as bad as we humans do? As much as he may have later contributed to aviation, as a youth Dangol didn’t dream of entering the field. Ever ambitious, he had con­tested the Sandhurst course for the British Army after dropping out of his Bachelor’s program, only to be rejected because of his Newari back­ground. Then, aspiring to be a pilot, he entered aviation. After several relocations, he finally ended up as an air traf­fic controller.

After rigorous training in Thailand, Dangol joined the then poorly maintained Tribhuvan International Air­port in 1963. “When I started, the control tower was a two-storey hut. We used to lean out of the windows to see planes coming and leaving”. He expedited several changes, from infrastructure to secu­rity, during his time at the TIA, modernizing the institu­tion. But changes only hap­pened after “banging tables”.

From carrying a stack of paper to the palace to facil­itate training for traffic con­trollers to calling in a favor with the chief of Delhi Airport, Dangol always took his work seriously. He told me about his many feuds with ministerial secretaries, TIA officials, and even ministers.

Many changes he suggested had gone unnoticed at the time, and are being imple­mented only now. “After my visit to Heathrow Airport, I had suggested an under­ground tunnel to direct the flow of traffic at the TIA. It didn’t happen and we are fac­ing the consequences now,” he added.

From leading crash investi­gations to participating in high level courses and seminars, Dangol has represented Nepal all over the world.

On the career prospect of air traffic controller, Dangol says it is lucrative. He remem­bers his first salary was Rs 475 back in the 60s. “Later I found out Rs 475 could buy one tola [11.33 grams] of gold”. Today, an air traffic control­ler can earn well above Rs 100,000 a month working at the TIA. “The beauty of the job is you get to travel all over the world.” However, he adds, the work of an ATC is physi­cally and mentally challeng­ing. “It’s easier to be a pilot. Our boys need rest after every 1-2 hours”.

Even after quitting as ATC over 20 years ago, Dangol is still involved in the field. Right now, he serves as the Director at the Helicopter Association Nepal. Towards the end of our conversation, while talking about the new parking expan­sion at the TIA that he is also involved with, Dangol pulls out a document detailing the project from a stack of other papers. His attachment to avi­ation is unwavering as ever. “I used to tell myself I am chosen by god to make things better. And that’s how I always kept ahead”.

 There are flocks of people walk­ing in and around Bir Hospital, one of the busiest in the coun­try. These are not just patients and their visitors, but also those looking for a palmist, in the hope of getting a peek into their future.

As a child, I was fascinated by palmistry. The idea of someone looking at my palm and somehow foretelling my future was too good to be true. But I took it seriously. I clearly remember two things a palmist had told me in 2010: I would soon be leaving Nepal for my higher studies and I would get married at 25. The thought of getting mar­ried at 25 was exciting then, but now that I am 23, I don’t see myself getting married in two years. But the palmist’s first prophesy was fulfilled. It seemed impossible at the time that I would leave Nepal soon, but two years down the line, I did end up in Bangladesh for an undergraduate degree.

Now that I am older, I am skeptical about palmistry. My first thought is, “Why do palmists sit around pre­dicting others’ future when they could have looked into their own future and changed it for the bet­ter?” Additionally, even though the palmist foretold those two specific things, other things he said were vague: “You will always be there for your family”, “You have a great future”, and “You should not trust people easily”. Unsure about his predictive power, I once again hit the streets to find out more about palmistry.

Under the overhead bridge in front of Bir Hospital is a small room with two palmists—Keshav Prasad Poudel, 79, and Dilliram Koirala, 71. They claim to have read numer­ous palms under that bridge in the past 15 years. Currently, they charge between Rs 150 to Rs 250 for reading a palm. They say they learned palm­istry from family members.

I ask Poudel what he can predict. “Everything,” he replies. I then ask him when I will die. “That’s an easy one,” he says, and explains that if he says I will die within a year, I might come back to question his knowledge after a year, but if he says I will die in the next 20 years, I will probably forget what he said by then. I nod.

I want to talk to other palmists before going back to him. So I approach Bharat Subedi, 75, who is sitting on the sidewalk in front of the hospital. He claims to have learned palmistry at the age of sev­en, when a palmist took him to a dark place in Sundarijal and taught him for seven months. When I ask him how I can believe what he says, he shows me a newspaper cutting. It’s an article about him from April 2015, entitled ‘Ma doctor ko doctor hoon’ (“I am the doctor of doctors”). He charges Rs 330 for a session, for which he uses rice. (I did not see oth­er palmists doing so.) Subedi divides the rice into three parts, each of which requires Rs 100 on top. (Another Rs 30 goes straight into his pocket.) Subedi claims the number of his “customers” has grown over the years.

As I head toward Shahid Gate, I see around eight palmists, all sitting close to each other. I approach one and he tells me they all came to Kathmandu 23 years ago from South India, where they learned palmistry. Tripadi baba, 38, accepts the money I hand him.

I show him my palm. He speaks hastily as if he is reciting a man­tra. And although he talks to me in Nepali, he has a strong accent, which makes it hard for me to understand. He asks my age and predicts I would get married at 25! He goes on to say things like I have a bright career and a future of Laxmi, the goddess of wealth. As I am about to leave, he warns me not to go to other palm­ists, as they might make false predic­tions (like I have a bad future), which would upset me.

Finally, I go back to Poudel. He asks the date and time of my birth, and does some calculation with the numbers. Then he looks at my palm and says I am going to get married soon. I wonder why they have to start with my marriage! I tell him I have no intention of get­ting married before 30. He hesitates slightly but tells me he sees a sign that I would get married earlier. When I ask him for a specific age, he says 28. He predicts I would go abroad within the next eight months and advises me to worship Saturn on Saturdays to placate him. He adds that I have a bright career and I will live a healthy life until I die at 75.

Poudel says people who are in deep trouble and looking for some solace usually get their palms read. Earlier, Subedi had said, “Even doc­tors can’t cure a troubled heart. There are many people who have problems related to life, relation­ships, money, etc. and I am here to guide them.” And Bir Hospital seems to be the right place for it, as there are countless people visiting it from all over the country.

 The Culture Studies Group Nepal (CSGN) was established in the late 1990s as a platform to share knowledge on the culture, heritage and arts of Nepal. Although the group attracts a good number of expats, it also has many Nepali members who can learn and share more about their heritage. I am a member of this group. But as there is increasingly so much to do in Kathmandu and some things get ‘lost in the pile’, I thought I would alert those who don’t know about CSGN to its existence.

CSGN is run by a committee of like-minded people who want to share their combined knowledge, and/or learn (and share) more about the different facets of Nepal. Concentrating mainly on the rich artistic environment of the Kathmandu Valley, the group also brings in interesting guest speakers from around the country and the world. Talk programs take place once a month, on a Friday morning, in the Shanker Hotel, Lazimpat. The topics can be as diverse as restoring heritage after the earthquake and taking a look at the unique of murals in Lo Manthang, to climbing Everest and the plight of the under-privileged in Nepal. These talks are open to the public and enjoy a patronage from students, lecturers, and lay people alike.

Once a month CSGN also hosts studio visits. These are member-only events which take place around the Valley. Some of the past visits include to stone carvers in Patan; vertical shaft brick kilns on the outskirts of Kathmandu; an architectural heritage walk to Sankhu; a visit to the Himalayan Cheese Factory near Dhulikhel; a trip to a silver jewellery workshop; and a trip to see restoration work in old Panauti town. Free to members (with a small charge for transport, if required) these studio trips offer a good insight into various aspects of the history, art and every-day life of the Kathmandu Valley.

Mainly attracting expats, these studio visits also see a smattering of Nepali members who wish to find out more about their own cultural past and present. Like the talks, the studio visits are guided by an expert from the ‘studio’ being visited, providing a good deal of knowledge we might never gain from visiting, say, Panauti, alone.

Having been a long-term member, I have seen some of the visits come round again. For example, to lokta paper or pashmina factories, or to thanka painting workshop in Patan. But for the newcomers it is invaluable to have some visits repeated every three or four years so everyone can benefit from the experience.

Naturally, not everyone is interested in every visit—probably just as well. Otherwise, studio visits would be overflowing! But when talking to members, I can honestly say that in the 10 months of the year that the group runs (September- June) there is usually around 7 or 8 studio visits that the average member is interested in. As well as many talks.

In December there is also a lunch for members so that they can relax and really get to know each other without distractions. On the topic of socializing, there are normally some refreshments during the studio visits, depending on the venue. For example, at a recent visit to a new hotel, members were treated to pastries, donuts and coffee. Not to mention the wine and cheese flowing liberally on the cheese factory tour! Overall I can say this is an excellent way to learn much about what we see around us in a very informative but also fun and relaxed way.

Membership is open to all and the group has a membership tea in September. This event allows for old, new and potential members to gather and discover mutual interests. With an annual membership of Rs 3,000 allowing free access to programs twice a month, it’s not outlandishly expensive. Students and senior citizens are half price.

For further information please see Culture Studies Group Nepal’s FB page or contact them on csgninkathmandu@ gmail.com

 Bikalpa Art Center’s first pop-up exhibit titled ‘Pop-up Summer Art Exhibition’ cherishes the onset of summer. The exhibi­tion brings together art pieces of six renowned Nepali artists: Chirag Bangdel, Rajan Pant, Umesh Shah, Uma Shanker Shah, Seema Sharma Shah and Sushma Shakya. Each art­work narrates a distinct story. According to curator/director Saroj Mahato, the objective is to highlight the significance of local art and bring it to the common people.

The goal is also to create a platform to celebrate Nepali contemporary art and to pro­mote Nepali art and culture. The art pieces differ in their styles, patterns and techniques used such as etch­ing, oil on canvas and acrylic on canvas. The contents cover a wide range of sub­jects, from phases of human life to mythological aspects from “The Ramayana” and “The Mahabharata” to human nature.

The exhibition is also great opportunity for art admirers and art collectors to enrich their personal collections.

Artist Umesh Shah’s acrylic on canvas paintings, “Hid­den reality” and “Behind the mask” impersonate the emotions of the people, each of whom is wearing a mask and concealing his genuine feelings. Says Shah, “My artwork is highly influ­enced by Mithila and Ancient Egyptian Art. I try to show the everyday life of ordinary people in the 21st century in my work.”

Due to our growing fasci­nation with western culture we are inadvertently aban­doning our roots. This exhi­bition is a reminder of what we are losing out in the pro­cess. The show runs through till 21 June 2019, from 10 am to 6 pm.