“That’s it for another year,” is what my father used to say every Christmas night. With still another 10 days of school holiday and Boxing Day and New Year to come, this really annoyed his teenage daughter! But this is the way I feel now, in Kathmandu, in mid-December: that’s it for another year.  Christmas Day has not even begun, but for expats who do not have family here, after the Christmas bazaars, Christmas lunches, and the rounds of the embassy events and parties, we find the Christmas spirit waning. Those who are heading to their home country or to warmer holiday spots such as Goa or Thailand leave well before the day itself. 

Christmas in Kathmandu has become a copy and paste of another culture onto the local calendar

So yes, that’s it for another year. Looking back, I’ve had a variety of Christmases in my 28 years in Asia. My very first (and most vivid) was here in Kathmandu. On Christmas Eve I made my way to Mikes Breakfast, run by the late Mike Warren Frame. At that time it was located near the Yak and Yeti Hotel, and Mike then was young and slim, and very welcoming. He ensured all single guests were sat with others so that no one was alone that Christmas Eve. After dinner I took a rickshaw back into Thamel. It was very foggy and, wrapped in a large blanket of a shawl, the journey was extremely atmospheric, dreamlike and yes, Christmassy. There was no traffic as the rickshaw moved silently through the fog on the evening on December 24, 1990.

The following Christmas found me in Hong Kong where I spent perhaps my loneliest one, sitting on Victoria Peak looking down on Victoria Harbor, a my small box of chocolates being the only concession to Christmas. Moving on a couple of years, I once celebrated Christmas in November! I was living in Singapore and my mother came to visit me. My very obliging house-mate put up a Christmas tree and cooked a chicken dinner so that my mother and I could enjoy Christmas together, in Singapore, in the heat, in November.

Fast forward… I enjoyed celebrating Christmas for several years in the far-west of  Nepal, where again the weather would obligingly provide fog to create a white Christmas-like mood, and the oxen and goats next door could almost (almost) be construed as a nativity. Moving to Kathmandu in 2000, Christmas was shaped depending on which friends were in town, as friends came and went, as expats tend to do. For five or six years we celebrated around the open fire at Kilroys Restaurant, until the expat owner left. I’ve sampled a few Christmas Day buffets at the Yak and Yeti Hotel. I’ve even spend a Christmas or two on my own, but they were never as hard as that Christmas in Hong Kong.  One of my favorite Christmases was driving up to Nagarkot with a friend for breakfast. There was such a feeling of indulgence going there just for a couple of hours to stare at the mountains over hot tea!

Over the years the Christmas vibe has grown in Kathmandu among the local crowd. But this is merely a copy and paste of another culture onto the local calendar. Not that there is anything wrong in that; it is just not the way I have celebrated or perceive Christmas. As a teenager, I loved going to the midnight service on Christmas Eve where the congregation would fall silent to listen to the church bells strike midnight. This took place after the disco in the church hall next door spat out happy, sober, yet excited, youngsters. Paying money to get into a bar in Thamel (normally free) just because it is Christmas does not give the same warm glow!

So here we are, a few days before Christmas, and yes, for me, it’s all over for another year.

Delicious food, good drinks and great company are the trifecta that make for the perfect holiday celebration.

To help you capture the Christmas spirit in a glass, with not a little Dutch courage, we sat down with Tika Waiba, senior barman at New Orleans Cafe at Thamel. Here are three drinks of his choice to zin up your Christmas.

Mulled wine

As Jamie Oliver put it, “Come the festive season, there’s nothing better than a spiced, warming glass of mulled wine”. Mulled wine is a beverage usually made with red wine and spices, and served warm. It is a traditional Christmas drink with a smooth texture with a balanced hint of spices, says Waiba.

For a serving of 10

• Citrus fruits (2 oranges, 1 sweet lemon, 1 lime)
• Spices (6 cloves, 6 cardamom, 1 cinnamon stick, nutmeg)
• Red wine (2 bottles of Shiraz, Chianti or your preferred bottle of red wine)
• Orange juice or sugar

Directions:

• Cut the oranges, lime and sweet lemon into thin slices and put them in a saucepan.
• Add in orange juice or sugar, if you like it sweet, and put the saucepan on medium heat.
• Add the spices, and the bottles of red wine and gently heat the wine for five minutes.
• When it is warm, pour into a heatproof glass and enjoy.

Sangria

As they say, ‘describing what sangria tastes like is difficult, because the right one tastes like how you want it to taste.’ This chilled fruity and boozy drink can be enjoyed in both summer and winter. But in time Sangria, which started in Spain, has become a global Christmas drink.

For a serving of 1

• Fruits (pineapple, orange, apple)
• 120ml white wine
• 30 ml brandy
• Orange juice as desired
• Two ice cubes
• Sweetener (Cane sugar or brown sugar)

Directions:

• Put the chopped rind-on oranges, skin-on apples and peeled cubed pineapples into a glass.
• Add ice cubes and pour orange juice and brandy into the glass and stir for 30 seconds.
• Add wine and stir again to thoroughly mix.
• Taste and adjust the flavors as needed: brandy to make it boozy, apples and oranges for more fruity taste and sugar to indulge your sweet craving.

(A home hack: Use an espresso cup for measurement; an average espresso cup holds 60 ml of liquid. A typical shot glass holds 30ml.)

Irish coffee

“A perfect harmony of coffee and whiskey that the lovers of each brew can relish,” as Waiba calls it. This easy recipe with simple ingredients is sure to warm your festive hearts.

For a serving of 1

• 60 ml Irish whiskey
• 1 cup of hot black coffee (A double espresso with a small measure of hot water to fill the glass; instant coffee with hot water works too, but should be strong enough to combat the tastes of alcohol, sugar and cream)
• Double cream, slightly whipped for topping
• Sugar as desired

Directions:

• In a glass with a stem, add black coffee and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
• Add 30ml Irish whiskey to the cup and stir.
• Pour the slightly whipped double cream over the coffee until you reach the rim of the glass. DO NOT STIR.   

The Garage Lounge and Bar on Jhamsikhel Road (opposite St Mary’s School) is a popular joint among the young crowd. Perhaps the well-lit ambience, non-conventional decorations and of course moderate food prices have something to do with it. Surely you would agree that Hawaiian Pizza for Rs 360, New York Pizza for Rs 350 and Mojitos for Rs 365 are fairly priced, considering the high average dining costs in that posh locale. Photos and posters of vintage motorcycles and cars adorn the interiors while the center-piece is a real bicycle embossed with the restaurant’s name. The warm lightening, an assortment of auto related decorative pieces and the tin roof give Garage a rus­tic, yet glamorous look. With the facilities for hosting private birthday parties and watching live sporting events also available, this retro Garage is one place you would want to park your hungry tummy.

THE MENU

Chef’s Special:

- Chicken Basket

- Nasigoreng

- Chicken Sadeko MoMo

Opening hours 12 pm - 10 pm

Location Jhamsikhel Road (opposite St Mary’s School)

Cards Accepted

Meal for 2: Rs 1,200

Reservations: 9823211215

Ram Bahadur Kurumbang, the Chief District Officer of Bardiya, who brought ‘government to people’s homes,’ emerged victorious in the final round of the Integrity Idol 2018 held on Dec 7 at Karki Banquet, Maitighar, Kathmandu. A panel of judges had selected five contestants among thousands of nominees. Then it was left to the public to pick one winner.

Selecting the top five was difficult. “We had to compile and analyze reports from numerous sources. Besides the large volume of information, it was also difficult to separate reliable sources from unreliable ones,” said public administration expert and former secretary of the government of Nepal Dr. Kashi Raj Dahal, and one of the Integrity Idol judges. “But the endeavor was worth it. We must reward honesty in order to build a corruption-free Nepal.”

Asked how he was feeling on being selected Interiority Idol 2018, Kurumbang said, “The joy of winning faded quickly and was replaced by an immense sense of responsibility to maintain the good work which brought me to this stage.” During his tenure as the CDO of eight districts, including Bardiya, he established and ran ghumti sivirs that brought governmental services to individual households in some of the most inaccessible parts of the country.

Other Integrity Idol 2018 finalists didn’t go home empty-handed either. Sita Kumari Sharma, a senior A.N.M. of Birendranagar Municipal health office, Surkhet, won the ‘Integrity with compassion’ award; Mahedra Prasad Paudyal, an undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, bagged the ‘Integrity with inspiration’ award; Arun Kafle, a senior horticulture development officer, Khumaltar, Lalitpur was given the ‘Integrity with Innovation’; likewise, the ‘Integrity with Action’ prize was given to Dhruba Raj Acharya, the chief administrative officer of Tikapur Municipality, Kailali.

Integrity Idol started in Nepal in 2014, following its global success. The number of votes in Nepal for the final five contestants has risen steadily in past four years, from 400 in 2014 to approximately 4,000 in 2018. Similarly, the number of volunteers doing the selection has also steadily increased. In 2014 nominees were selected from only 33 districts. This year the nominations came from 77 districts.

Interview

Can you tell us a bit about your career in government service?

I have been working as a government official for the past 30 years, even though my tenure was briefly interrupted by military service. When people find out that I am the CDO, they like to stereotype me as an unapproachable bureaucrat, but I consider myself no more than a devoted public servant. Before I was stationed in Bardiya, I had already worked as the CDO of seven other districts including Taplejung, Solukhumbu, Achham and Pyuthan. Throughout my career I have considered the people I am supposed to serve an integral part of my work.

What inspired you to enter public service?

I was a studious child born into a middle-class family. I thus felt obligated to work hard for a living. But I wouldn’t take a job where I had to know someone to be eligible. So I ended up taking the Public Service Commission examinations, where only my knowledge counted. I entered government service in 1988 and I am still a happy civil servant.

How has your experience as a civil servant been?

Being a civil servant in a country where people have lost faith in the government has been challenging. I believe that the absence of dedicated and honest officials is one reason why our country lags behind others. We have also been unable to utilize our resources, time most importantly. There are officials who do not work full time. Since people stereotype all government officials as bigots who care only about money, it is difficult to convince them there are also public officials who operate within the bounds of morality and are committed to the country’s development. I feel immense pride in saying that I am among the honest officials with high moral values and dedication for my work, and one who is not intimidated by challenges.

What inspired you to go to remote homes to offer government services?

There was an interaction program in an inaccessible village in the district of Myagdi. In that program I noticed that the villagers were reluctant to go to district headquarters and that they didn’t even have citizenship certificates. They had not heard about land revenue and survey departments. Their health was deplorable and the disabled had no identification certificates. There were other problems too. It was then I thought of the ghumti shivir, a government camp that would visit the most inaccessible parts and render government services.

We not only distributed citizenship certificates, but also all sorts of state documents like questionnaires for survey, disabled identification card, to altogether 117 inaccessible destinations. While residents of those communities benefitted, we government officials too got to hear people’s concerns and complaints firsthand. Government-citizen bond was thus strengthened. I have since carried over this idea to the other districts where I have served as the CDO.

Organizing the ghumti shivirs must have been challenging.

The primary challenge was to motivate other officials to join me in my quest to offer quality services to the people. They were reluctant as there would be no modern amenities in the remote areas we were visiting. Another big challenge was ensuring that the goods that we were delivering actually reached their destination. For example, often, the medications that were supposed to be delivered to health posts would not get there. The situation was worse during the monsoon where rains would make the process of delivering goods and services almost impossible.

How do you feel about winning Integrity Idol Nepal?

To be honest, I am quite intimidated, as public expectations have greatly increased. This may require me to double my output, but I am happy to do so. I may not have specific plans at the moment but I will continue with the work that I have been doing, with even more dedication.  

What message would you like to give to the youths who want to join public service?

The applicant pool for Public Service Commission examinations is fairly big because of limited job opportunities in our country. Despite such a large pool, most of the talented individuals are not attracted to government jobs. This should not be happening. Government officials are the ones who make plans and policies that have the biggest impact on the society. So until those who are honest and talented do not get into public service, we as a country cannot develop. The youngsters should view public sector as a platform to serve their motherland and its people.