Home is where the street is
For 72-year-old Arjun Thapa, being homeless was easy. Begging in front of the Mahankal temple abutting Tundikhel in the heart of Kathmandu, he was his own boss. Originally from Lalitpur, streets gave Thapa a home as well as a sense of freedom.
He doesn’t remember exactly when he first came to the street. “It could be over 15 years ago,” Thapa guesses. “After the death of my parents, my close relatives took away all my land and property. I then became homeless.”
For some time after that he worked in a meat shop as a butcher, but the owner didn’t pay him. He thought he would do better by begging where pay was guaranteed. Thapa says he was doing just fine. Then, he had to shift to a homeless shelter.
His ‘suffering’ started when the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), marking its 25th anniversary on December 15 last year, decided to rehabilitate all the homeless in the city. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had announced on different occasions that Kathmandu would be made beggar-free, not the least because of the high number of homeless deaths on the streets every winter.
The KMC started ‘rescuing’ the homeless from around town—Mahankal, Bhadrakali, Pashupati, Sankata, and other places. Nepal Police, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Manav Sewa Ashram and some other social organizations supported the campaign.
Somebody recorded the rescue operations at night and made it viral on social media, which drew mixed reactions. Thapa was also picked up as a part of this campaign and taken to a shelter home in Hetauda run by Manav Sewa Ashram, an NGO working for homeless folks. Thapa stayed at the shelter for around a month.
“I didn’t like the place. It was worse than the streets. They misbehaved with me there several times,” he says. That was not all that peeved him. “They made me wash dishes and clothes, which made me angry. I wasn’t used to that.”
He somehow convinced the shelter operators to let him go, pledging not to beg again. But he was soon back in business. The authorities found him begging and took him back to the shelter. And once again, he escaped.
Living on a prayer
Till date, the KMC has rescued more than 370 homeless. Of them, 145 have been handed over to their families, nine are being treated at hospitals, and the rest have been sent to different shelters run by the Ashram.
First, the homeless are brought to the Ashram’s screening shelter in Balaju, Kathmandu, where they are given counselling and motivational classes. A medical check-up is then done. The authorities then try to trace their family members and convince the homeless to go back to their homes.
“Our first attempt is to rehabilitate the homeless into their families,” says KMC Spokesperson Ishwor Man Dangol. “But if that doesn’t work, we send them to a shelter home.”
“At the Ashram, we engage them in different tasks such as cleaning, cooking, weaving doko. We also provide the facility of physiotherapy for the elderly,” says the Ashram’s Ramji Adhikari. “For the devout, we also organize Bhajan Kritan (religious chanting) in the evenings.”
Adhikari says the campaign will continue so long as there are homeless people on the streets. “We are even planning to find jobs for those who are physically and mentally fit,” he adds enthusiastically.
The KMC provides for the food, clothes, and medicine to homeless at the Ashram shelters. It’s a different story altogether that beneficiaries like Thapa think staying homeless is better as it saves them from being answerable to anybody.
Sital Chaulagain, 37, from somewhere in the erstwhile Koshi zone, has spent eight years in the street begging along with her three children and three grandchildren. She was abandoned by her husband before she took to the streets. Chaulagain too was taken to an Ashram along with her family. But a regulated life there made her uncomfortable.
“They made me to do a lot of work, from washing dishes to cleaning the floors,” says Chaulagain. “It made me sick. They didn’t give me proper medicines also. I was afraid if the same would happen to my children.”
She made a few pledges and left the place. As she had nothing to feed her children with, she got back to begging. These days Chaulagain runs away whenever she sees an official approaching. “Now we never want to go there [shelter home] again.”
Creatures of habit
Such is also the case with 40-year-old Kumar Subba from Illam, who has been begging for a ‘very long time’. He lost his parents when he was still a child. They also used to live in the streets. Subba too has been taken to the Ashram twice. “I escaped both times as I didn’t like the food there,” says Subba. “They gave clean beds and room. But the food they provided was disgusting.”
As the campaign is new for Nepal, authorities say they are yet to devise ways to keep the homeless from going back to the streets. And despite their best efforts there are plenty of homeless beggars to be found on the streets of Kathmandu. Perhaps the shelters they are kept in are not up to the standard.
But this phenomenon of many of the homeless people being uncomfortable in designed shelters is also global phenomenon—and one not easy to tackle. When the National Public Radio in the US wanted to know why some people chose street over a shelter, David Pirtle of the National Coalition for the Homeless, replied: “All I can say is that my fear of the unknown, of what might be waiting for me at that shelter, was worse than my fear of the known risk, you know, of staying out on the street. That was where I was comfortable. And I think people, we’re creatures of habit. We get comfortable in the most uncomfortable positions, and that just becomes home.”
Adhikari of the Ashram concurs: “After keeping them with us for a while, we hand them to their families, if they have one. But they are not used to the comforts of home. So they pick a fight and go back to the streets. This, says Adhikari, is “the biggest challenge we face” O
Pahenlo Batti Muni: Under the light of music
Back in 2015, as the country reeled under daily power cuts, sometimes for up to 16 hours a day, a group of young musicians were trying to create their own music under the yellowish light of a burning candle— and that’s how “Pahenlo Batti Muni”, an experimental rock band, got its name. When the band released its debut single “Bari Lai” on May 2016, the maturity of its lyrics and music brought it instant recognition, and also music award nominations, that created a space for it as a band not bound by genres or any other limits.
With some original members of the band leaving for abroad in its starting phase, the band’s founder members Rochak Dahal (guitars/vocals) and Pravesh Thapa Magar (guitars) were joined by twins Lav and Kush Jung KC on drums and bass respectively to form the current line-up.
The entry of the musically accomplished KC brothers helped shape the sound further, the band says. With Rochak’s acoustic guitar and non-anglicized Nepali vocals, Pravesh’s carefully placed guitar licks, and the tightness of the twin’s rhythm section, the band found new avenues and went on to release a few singles like “Lori” and “Bichitra”. These brought the band more attention and then, finally, it released its debut album “Asthir” in May 2019.
Although they prefer being placed under ‘experimental rock’, the band members don’t want to confine themselves to a single genre. Their sounds vary in inspiration from Nepali folk to alternative, grunge and even metal, while keeping the foundations of rock intact. “When the KC brothers joined us, we already had a visualization of the sound we wanted,” Rochak says. “Of course when there are new musicians, there are new interpretations. But we are finally headed in the same direction and it is working for us.”
Listening to the band, one can feel the fluidity in their music that the band members want to emphasize. “Our feelings are not bound and that’s what transmits to our music,” Lav, the drummer, says. “We create whatever we want without restricting ourselves to genres.” This results in each of their track sounding unique.
With sounds that are not facsimiles of the older generation of Nepali music, PBM is one of the few young bands whose lyrics are poetic and meaningful. Every song the band has released has a powerful meaning and when the lyrics are read without music, they sound like astute poetry. “I do poems and am also a part of the group called Word Warriors,” says Rochak, who writes the lyrics to the songs. “But I never sit down deliberately to write songs using heavy words. Also, my lyrics and tunes come simultaneously.” Sometimes, when he’s written the lyrics but has not found the melody, Rochak waits. “It is Rochak’s honesty in writing that probably makes audience relate to our music,” Lav adds.
The band members, aged 25-27, seem ahead of their time in understanding their own music and the direction they want to pursue. But when the band had started making music seriously with the new line-up, it was never for fame.
“Even when we first met Rochak and started making music together, we had no intent of becoming popular, or shaping our music to what’s trending in mainstream market. The band’s motive was purely to make the kind of music we wanted to play and put it out there for the listeners.”
But the band did get popular, with some of its videos crossing a million views on YouTube, and it started getting invited to play at live events. “People usually judge us by watching our YouTube videos and listening to a few of our tracks. They think we’re some kind of indie soft-rock band but that’s not who we are at all,” says Lav. “We are a whole different band when it comes to live performance. That’s our forte.”
As the band looks forward to 2020, it already has plans for more singles, music videos, and concerts across the country. “We have been lucky to have filmmaker friends make music videos for us. Now that we are financially capable and feel our music requires fitting visuals to better connect with our listeners, we want to make professionally produced videos this year,” Rochak says O
(Pahenlo Batti Muni will be performing at The Annapurna Express Music Festival at Tangalwood on February 8)
Meat-lover heaven
Sometimes I’m just a little slow on the uptake. Although I’ve been there for four years I have only recently really discovered Flat Iron Grill (or FIG as they affectionately call it). This small but light and airy 30-seater restaurant is to be found inside the Ambassador Hotel on the corner of Lainchour and Lazimpat Road. Serving amazing, meaty sandwiches, burgers, and wraps, they also serve salads, soups and a mouth-watering array of pastries. There is a nice breakfast menu (7-11am).
What I really wanted to know was about their meat, of which I had heard wonderful things. I talked to the joint owners, Shibani Simha-Swiger and Raju Rijal. “Originally my husband and Raju established FIG around five years ago and we had just started selling goods at the 1905 Farmers Market when the earthquake hit,” explains Simha-Swigar. She goes on to tell me that they cure and smoke their own meats from animals they select at source.
Although the butchering is not carried out by them, Brian Swigar has trained the butchers in how to cut the meat. Having designed their own smoker, FIG smokes and produces, in its kitchen in Kaldhara, ham, holiday hams, pulled pork, chicken, sausages, bacon, mutton, pastrami, and pork hamburger meat. All the meats are produced fresh every week in order to keep standards consistency high. Cured for seven days then hung in a smoke house for eight hours this slow smoking produces sweet, savoury, and
smoky meats.
Along with locally sourced organic vegetables and cheese, they produce homemade potato chips, breads and pastries. Everything comes from Nepal, with the exception of mortadella and salami imported from Italy. All these items can be found either on the menu, or be pre-ordered (24-48 hrs in advance) for collection. Lunch boxes (from Rs 500) can be ordered, as can platters for private parties and meetings.
Now to the desserts! There is a collection of around 10 pastry items. They tell me their best sellers are the éclairs and the bearclaws. I must admit I had never seen a bearclaw—having only heard of it through the TV when someone orders ‘coffee and a bearclaw’. Sure enough it looks like the claw of a bear (with a bit of imagination) and tastes delicious. The other favourite of mine is the buckeye. Which is a sweet from Ohio, where Swigar is originally from. It’s basically peanut butter wrapped in chocolate. To die for!
Products from FIG can be found at the Le Sherpa Farmers Market on Saturdays and the Yellow House Market on Sundays. All of the above can basically be had, or ordered and collected from the markets. Additional items found at the markets are sausage rolls and blueberry muffins. And interestingly what can also be found in the restaurant are beers from the Great Divide Brewing Company based in Colorado. These are perfect to wash down a good pulled pork sandwich or buffalo chicken wrap. And if you don’t drink beer, they service fresh organic Nuwa coffee and fruit juices.
When other responsibilities took Swigar away from the day to day running of the restaurant, Mrs Simha-Swiger stepped in and has brought some new ideas. Like the recent promotion of FIG.CEPTION where three Kathmandu influencers were invited to create their own sandwiches. “We are also looking at green packaging and have been working with Doko Recyclers for some time,” explains Simha-Swiger, “and this is an area we will continue to explore.”
I wondered where the name Flat Iron Grill came from, assuming it was in reference to the grill the meats were cooked on. But what do I know? Flat iron in fact refers to the shape of a building, triangular, and originating in New York.
To order up your fresh meat items or for further information call 01-4413075 or find Flat Iron Grill on Facebook.
The Ultimate Venue for thrill seekers
What to boost your fitness while also having a load of fun? Why don’t you head out to the Ultimate Venue at Narayan Danda, Budhanilkantha? As the name suggests, the new adventure sports center is sure to offer you the ‘ultimate’ experience. The sprawling 90-ropani complex located 3.2 km north of the famous Budhanilkantha temple, is so close and yet feels a world apart from the pollution-filled and chaotic city it abuts.
Through Ultimate Venue, its two founders, Suresh Lama and Abhushan Karki, wanted to let people explore a new place, engage in challenging activities, and get over at least some of their fears. But where did they get the novel idea? “From nowhere in particular. We just decided that something like it could work here and plunged right into it,” says Lama.
The activities at Ultimate Venue are broken down into six components—camping, training, adventure training, agro farming, boot camp, and restaurant. The adventure sports include combat obstacle course, high ropes obstacle course, rock climbing and abseiling, hiking and trekking to amusing places like Baghdwar, Shivapuri Peak, Nagi Gumba, Sundarijal, Shivapuri Circuit, plus cycling.
The boot camp, likewise, is of three varieties, according to participants’ age, the number of days of engagement, and the fees. The 5-10 day fitness boot camp, usually for those above 14, ranges from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000; the 1-3 day Career Boot Camp for corporate clients ranges from Rs 2,500 to Rs 10,000; while the 1-7 day Teen Boot Camp for school and college students costs Rs 1,500 to Rs16,000. All these activities are supervised by experienced professional mountain-climbing trainer Sonam Tsering Sherpa, with a medical team as backup safety.
The main attraction of the place is an unobstructed 270-degree view of the Kathmandu valley and the beautiful views of sunrise and sunset it offers. People can visit any day and any time. The restaurant serves a mix of Indian, Chinese and authentic Nepali cuisines. Ultimate Venue also offers catering services, picnic spots, training in basic and advance rock climbing, lessons in route marking and rescue, as well as a crash course in farming practices.
“The present generation seldom gets a chance to be close to nature. All day they are playing with gadgets and modern technologies,” says Lama. “So, we thought, why not give them a chance to be close to nature while they also get to exercise a bit?” For instance, children are given rice and maze seedlings to plant in different named plots. They can later come and purchase the harvest.
As the venue has proven to be a hit among locals and tourists alike, it is also expanding. The Ultimate Venue plans to build rooms for night stays, have live music, and run motivational classes on fitness and nature for all age groups.
One of the goals, say the founders, is to help with the promotion of Visit Nepal Year 2020, “by letting them know that there is such a unique place in Nepal as well.”
