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The Matka Café can be found not just in Thapa Gaon, New Baneswor. It is ubiquitous on Twitter, where owner Prakash Pyakurel (@Jitpur) regularly tweets and communicates with his customers, and where he debates contemporary topics—even about how expensive the tea is at Matka!

 The Matka, probably the only café in Nepal with a strong Twitter presence, is also the hub for a big group of Nepali Twitterati who spend hours socializing and chatting in the cozy café. Free wifi, a separate smoking zone and good company make it an ideal place to spend one’s leisure time, or drop by for a quick bite.

 The debate over the pricing of Matka’s Rs 120 masala tea served piping hot in a hardened clay cup (matka) is just an excuse for its followers (or non-followers) to have a bit of fun, we think. The APEX food sleuths have had more expensive tea at far less appealing joints.

THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Milk Masala Tea

- Mutton Khaja Set

- Saadheko Mo:Mo

Opening hours: 8 am to 8 pm

Location: New Baneshwor

Cards: Not Accepted

Meal for 2: Rs 1,000

Reservations: 9851075260

 With its famous star insignia and signature rubber soles, Converse is easily one of the most recognizable shoe brands in the world. First created in 1908, Converse has for decades been ruling the sneakers section of the global shoe market. Originally designed and made for American basketball players, these durable and comfortable shoes are now as popular among sportspersons as they are among hip urbanites.

 Converse sneakers first entered Nepal in 1979. Not much is known about their early Nepali customers except that most of them perhaps came from rich and elite families of the yore.

 “No one knows who introduced Converse in Nepal,” says Madhu Rai, the store in-charge of Converse New Road branch in Kathmandu. “Some say it was an Indian businessman, while others think the local Marwari community was responsible.”

 Right now, in Nepal, Converse shoes are sold from its five official outlets: at United World Trade Center (UWTC) Tripureshwor, New Road, Durbar Marg, and in Kathmandu Mall and Civil Mall. Customers from outside Kathmandu valley can order the shoes via phone, e-mail or social media.

A pair of original Converse will cost you anywhere between Rs 4,490 and Rs 9,000

 A pair of original Converse will cost you anywhere between Rs 4,490 and Rs 9,000. (Fake ones and copies, which are more ubiquitous than the originals, are available for as little as Rs 1,000.) “Most Converse shoes available in Nepal are brought from Singapore,” says Amrit Shrestha, the overall manager of Converse Nepal.

 Shrestha adds: “Just as Goldstar was once considered synonymous with rural populations, Converse has come to represent the modern, elite class of Kathmandu.”

 He says Converse shoes are popular among the capital’s brand-conscious youths who are looking to make a strong fashion statement with their preference for trendy brands.

 Ganesh Bhujel, 28, an IT Student found at Khichapokhari, loves the shoes for their tenderness, smooth surface, and unique color scheme.

 “Wearing a ‘Chuck Taylor Converse All Star’ makes me feel like I am marching in a mega-fashion parade,” adds Bhujel. A Converse fan for the past six years, Bhujel likes to flaunt his “few dozen Converses” on Instagram and Snapchat.

 Yet it is not just the urban teens and sports enthusiasts who wear Converse. Says Samir Shrestha, a hotel entrepreneur and another Converse fan, “Besides the urban youth, I also find that many entrepreneurs, bankers and industrialists also love this brand.”

 Samir Shrestha refers to the original Converse. The cheap fake versions from ‘Hong Kong bazaars’ and footpaths of Ratnapark are perhaps even more popular. Rare will be a longtime resident of Kathmandu who has never sported a pair.

 Or foreign tourists to Nepal, for that matter. “I have a collection of around 20 dozens Chuck Taylor Converse Shoes at my home in Alabama, USA,” says Nathan Morris, an American IT expert and tourist who was recently spotted in a pair of Converse in Jhochhen, Basantapur.

 But how different are the originals to their copies? “I have been wearing these shoes for a long time and I am still unable to differentiate between the original Converse and their good copies,” says Madhav Chhinal, a young design executive working for a media company. “In fact, I have never bought what you would call original Converse and yet nobody in my circle has been able to tell the difference.”

 Back in the Converse store in New Road, store in-charge Rai estimates that on average an official store in Kathmandu sells anywhere between Rs 60,000 to Rs 150,000 worth of original shoes a week. There is no telling how much the roadside vendors who are selling Converse copies by the NAC building not a kilometer away earn in the same time.

“When I was around 6, I remember going to Bagmati with a pot to fetch drinking water for our family. And I used to bathe here when I was 16. The water then was so clean!” reminisces Gopal Prasad Ghimire, 80, a resident of Bhaktapur. “Now, it is so disgusting I do not even want to touch it with my feet.”

 Back in 1940s, he remembers walking all the way from Bhaktapur to Pashupati to worship at the temple and just hang out with his friends. “I came here once every two days,” he recalls. Vehicles were extremely rare at the time, and Ghimire would rush to the road to see if one zoomed by. On foot, it took him an hour to reach Pashupatinath temple. “I used to gather 4-5 friends and we used to start at 4 am from Bhaktapur. We would be home by 8 am. Now, I try to come here once a month.”

 Kancha Shrestha, 72, who is originally from Ramechhap, migrated to Kathmandu in 1960. “At that time we used to wash our clothes using cooked ash mixed with water and take bath using red clay on the banks of Bagmati. Soaps were not available. Our clothes were clay dyed if we wanted some color in our clothing,” he says, remembering the “simpler times”.

 But, in recent times, unregulated ground water extraction for industrial and domestic purposes, along with unchecked waste disposal along the river bank, has greatly polluted the water of Bagmati. It has become unfit for human use and inimical for the survival of aquatic plants and animals.

 But there have of late also been some laudable clean-up efforts. With the help of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), local community clubs around Pashupati area are making an effort to clean up the sacred river. ADB’s ‘Bagmati River Basin Improvement Project’ focuses on better water resources management at the Bagmati River Basin. According to an ADB report, projected improvements include “an upstream water storage dam system to increase the river flow in the dry season and riverbed oxygenation weirs”.

 The Department of Irrigation has initiated the construction of a 24-meter high dam in Dhap area of Shivapuri. This dam is being constructed at the headwater of the Nagmati River, a tributary of the Bagmati River, in the Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

 One community club involved in clean-up efforts of Bagmati in order to restore its recreational and cultural importance is the Nawa Amarkanteshor Youth Club-Pashupati.

 Treasurer of the club, Pralhad Lama, 29, says he grew up in the Pashupati area. Now he is a resident of the area around Guhyeshwari temple, a kilometer east of the Pashupatinath temple. “It was so clean before. Forget octogenarians! Even I remember swimming, taking bath and washing clothes in Bagmati. Now, there is no water to swim, just sewage.”

 But Lama says the condition is improving, “at least here in the Pashupati area due to our weekly cleaning efforts.” Lama’s club is involved in cleaning up the stretch of the river around Pashupati. (Other such clubs have the responsibility to clean up other sections of the river.)

 He grieves that even though there are fines for polluting Bagmati, some people still sneak at night to dump their waste into the river. “We need to somehow stop those polluting the river. Only then will the river become cleaner,” he says.

Nepal has six seasons of weather. Do you need me to list them out? No, because Google is your friend right? Anyway, despite the fact it would appear the weather got stuck in shishir (winter) this year, we enjoy many other seasons too. I’m sure we all remember the bandh season. An annual occurrence, usually around grishma (early summer), when the temperature begins to soar, literally as well as figuratively. Then there is the wedding season, or should I say, seasons—because there are more than one in a calendar year. We are now entering the ‘traditional festival’ season. Or did it start with Shivaratri? This stretches till the monsoon hits and then reappears at Dashain, plunging us again into weeks of eating, drinking and celebrating.

In more recent times Nepal has managed to successfully integrate several festivals from around the world—Christmas, the Gregorian New Year, and some which are not even festivals—Valentine’s, Halloween, etc. One festival that hasn’t made it to Nepal is Easter—not entirely sure why. Bunny rabbits and chocolate eggs have overtaken the religious meaning, so what’s not to love? These ‘imported’ festivals seem to be geared more towards the young, and the young-at-heart. But it’s the restaurants, bars and hotels that really put their heart and soul into the festivities. And money into their cash registers! On the other hand, ‘traditional festival season’ brings traffic jams and delays. The roads of Kathmandu were not built for wooden chariots AND cars. Plus, the low-hanging wires were not there when the original two- or three-story high chariots came into existence. 

I’m usually at a loss trying to keep up with the festivals—those red days on the Nepali calendar do not really help me, a non-Nepali speaker, much. I often don’t know it is a festival until I go outside to discover the larger shops are closed and, damn it, so is the bank!

Then there is the addition of music, art, dance, film, and theater festivals, all designed to keep our social diary full of cool stuff. It’s easy to miss something really interesting in the flurry of ‘red calendar days’ or Facebook event invites. It seems the local communities have also discovered this is a way to bring people to their area, and teach us something about their culture. Recently there was a Kirtipur Woman’s Festival showcasing the traditional culture of that town, with particular focus on the role women play. 

There is an interesting photo exhibition on Panaulti (a small Newari town near Dhulikhel which should not be missed), an annual event called Echoes in the Valley, which highlights traditional music from the Kathmandu Valley—and there is so much more to see, visit and do. One begins to realize the reason behind things being a bit slow and unplanned. Why the person you want to see is not at his desk (his deity is being celebrated at home perhaps?), and the reason why art of every genre exists in abundance in Nepal. My only real complaint here is—I have to work. So I miss many of the festivities, even if I do spot them on the calendar. Like many in Kathmandu, I find the old (read festivals) and the new (read 9 to 5 jobs) do not sit well together. Traditional festivals were arranged around the agricultural seasons so as to not interfere with working the land. Who the hell invented this 9 to 5 stuff anyway?  

Meantime, although we are witnessing climate change ‘as it happens’, and we may lose some of the six weather seasons, let’s hope the festive seasons of Nepal continue to enlighten, entertain and ground us for many years to come. With that I’m off to the Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival. Today is a ‘traditional’ festival day after all, and my office is closed!