Submit your Article

 Let’s rewind the reels to the time when Basantapur stuffed your lungs with the smell of mari­juana, freshly smoked cigars, mixed odor of foreign perfume and, oh, the strings of guitars playing the Beatles’ tunes. That era of Basantapur, when Jhochen was re-christened Freak Street, and there was no Thamel to compete against.Times have changed but Basanta­pur retains some of its old charm. You still hear the guitar chords, if more John Mayer this time, but youths continue to revive what the 60s’ tourist hub left behind. They try to do so by visiting these (mod­erately) old and famous cafes and restaurants of Basantapur.

Grasshopper Café

Located at the heart of the Bas­antapur Durbar Square, Grasshop­per Café has been an established name for almost 20 years now. Estab­lished in 1999 by Kailash Shrestha, it is a well-known hub for get-togeth­ers among both Nepali and foreign customers. “We’ve had customers from many countries in the past but the number has gone down of late,” says Sabin Thapa, a cashier at the café. (Blame the 2015 earthquake.) Pork chops, lasagna, and the sizzling momo are recommended.

Chameleon Diner

Established in 2008 by a group of enthusiast entrepreneurs as “Razzle Dazzle” (which changed into Cha­meleon Diner after the split between the partners), the diner is located on Basantapur’s Freak Street. Aditya Suwal, the second generation owner of the diner, has recently renovated it. “We used to have good customers, but then we started getting trou­bled by the ‘dons’ of Kathmandu. That’s when we thought of recreating a homely environment to get our good customers back,” says Suwal. The diner has now shifted to a new building and serves a great variety of imported beers and cuisines. With live music and bed & breakfast ser­vices to be included soon, Chame­leon Diner is fully oriented towards customer satisfaction. Don’t forget to try the spicy pork, and the four-way pizza with bursting flavors.

Jessy Penny

Anyone who’s been to Basanta­pur frequently has probably come across this place at least once. With almost 70 percent of the total cus­tomers being teenagers, Jessy Penny has crafted a place in the hearts of many. Established almost 14 years ago by Rajendra Bhakta Shrestha, this restro used to see many foreign visitors before the earthquake. New visitors are nearly not as many. While having a little chat with us, Sanobabu Maharjan—who’s been assisting his brother Rajendra in the business for the past eight years—mentioned the subtle difference between the cus­tomers then and now. “Back then, they would ask us about the type of hukkah we had, but now the first thing they ask of us is the Wi-Fi pass-word,” says Maharjan. The restau-rant has rooms categorized into King Size, Medium and Normal sizes. A new branch is planned in Mehpi, Kathmandu. A little pro tip: Do not forget a cocktail from the rich variety on offer.

Snowman Café

 Anyone with a sweet tooth and sugar craving must not forget this amazing cake shop at Freak Street. Established in 1965 by Ram Prasad Manandhar, Snowman Café is a renowned name in the bakery busi-ness, with the same hype maintained over all these years. With no renova-tions since the beginning, the tung-sten lights, the smell of smoke, the worn out paintings of Bob Marley, and the old wooden chairs and tables take you on a time travel to the early 80s. Affordable and mouth-watering delicacies make the café a favorite of many, myself included. Continuing on his father’s foot-steps, Raju Manandhar currently looks after the business and has no plans to renovate it due to the café’s uncertain life. “Our children are not interested in the business; all of them have settled abroad. I have no idea what will happen to the café after me,” says Manandhar. Now, that is SAD for a place whose delicious crème caramel and chocolate love cakes have been included in many famous guide-books. Manandhar says with a smile on his face that celebrities like Janis Joplin and Cat Stevens have visited Snowman. The café is still filled with foreign and Nepali customers and business remains unaffected post-earthquake. Do try different types of cakes; none will disappoint.

Kumari Café

Following the list of these vin-tage eateries located on Freak Street is the Kumari Café. Estab-lished in 1980 by Madan Lal Shres-tha as a family business, the café is a known name to most regular visitors to Basantapur. Yog Prasad Poudel, who has been working as a chef there for more than 13 years, says how “the delay in the reno-vation of the Durbar Square could be beneficial as a disaster tourism strategy but a definite loss for the local restaurants.” He still hopes for the business to get back on track after reconstruction is complete. The famous Greek Mousakka served in both veg and non-veg options is a must try O

 First off, any resemblance of the title of this piece to a well-known food delivery service is purely coincidental! But yes, let’s talk about food. If we look back even 15 years you might remember there were very few places to eat out in town. There were bhattis selling a variety of Newari or pseudo-Newari food along with a lot of locally made strong liquor. I do confess to have been to quite a number of these, particularly in the winter when they serve warming tumba. There were ‘tourist’ restaurants in Thamel serving ‘continental’ food that was really a variation on a roti. Italian pizza: roti with tomato sauce and cheese. Mexican burrito: roti with refried beans. Middle Eastern pitta bread: roti cut into triangles. You get the picture. Naturally there were one or two good ones. Long running Fire and Ice for example. Outside of Thamel there were also long running restaurants such as Ringmo in Lazimpat. With its pic­tures of, surprisingly enough, Ring­mo Lake on its stained and dingy walls. I never found out whether the owner was from Dolpo or whether it was a dream destination. Ring­mo, I believe, has been selling its chowmein and chop-suey since the 1970’s.

And the Bakery Café was the go-to place for local families for Satur­day treats. Nanglo in Durbar Marg was iconic. And Mikes Breakfast was always a great place to eat. I remembering eating there in 1990! At the top end of the market there were restaurants like Krishnarpan in Dwarika’s Hotel and the Coffee Shop in the Annapurna Hotel. But few restaurants were on the ‘must try’ list for ordinary folks and their families. A point of interest: all of these restaurants I have mentioned which have been running for 20 or more years are still running very successfully. The secret is consisten­cy I think.

So why did the culture change from eating at home to eating out? Which came first: a change in taste driving demand or an increase in the number of restaurants seeking to attract customers? And when exactly did this happen? Fifteen years ago there were some restau­rants ahead of their time. There was Organic Village in Baluwatar run by Nepalis who had returned home from the US. Organic, healthy food was served, mainly attracting an expat crowd.

There was a small, delightful restaurant run by a Nepali guy and his South American wife opposite Bhat Bhateni that sold tasty South American food and delicious cakes. These two, along with others I’m sure, could not sustain with expat custom alone and closed down. Then, as far as I can figure it, around 10 years ago something shifted. In any case now we can definitely say we live in Foodmandu!

Just recently I went to two new restaurants. One providing South East Asian food and one serving continental. Both being franchis­es out of India but neither selling anything remotely like Indian food. Just today I heard there is a Ramen restaurant newly opened in the premises of Park Village Hotel. To counter this there is now quite a few restaurants selling Thakali food. These are kind of upmarket places but how authentically Thakali their fare is I would not be able to tell. I do know many moons ago a treat was going to a restaurant in Surket (yes, you read that right) run by a Thakali couple. Nothing upmarket about that restaurant.

Now it seem like every time I turn around there is another restaurant opening up. As I com­plete my 360 degree turn, there is another hotel too. With a num­ber of restaurants and coffee shops inside. Not that I am complaining about the variety and choices now available! No, indeed. But if I have a complaint it is that there just isn’t enough time (or money) to get round all these new eateries. Unless anyone wants me as full time food reviewer…

The evening of July 20, Saturday, was unlike most other languid weekends I have had recently. When given a chance to attend Sabin Rai and The Pharaoh’s show at Moksh, I jumped at the offer. Organized by Kripa Drishya Digital in association with Highlander Vodka, this concert was the second installment in the series.  

The opening act was a local band “Sketches” with their acoustic set. The combo of a few Nepali songs with Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” well and truly warmed up the crowd. They were enjoyable throughout. Their rendition of the headliners’ song “Timi Nai Hau” in particular resonated with the swaying crowd.

Then walked in the main band to a warm applause. As the show went on, it was apparent why they have such an appeal. To call Sabin Rai with that unmistakable swag of his, eccentric, would be an understatement. The power of his voice more than commands your attention. More than that, the man is a machine on stage, backed every step of the way by the solid musicianship of The Pharaoh. It all made for an unforgettable experience. What the main act delivered on the night was more than what the expectant crowd had expected.

It was my first time watching them live. But for some reason I didn’t feel that way. The camaraderie in the room was surreal (could be the drinks provided by Highlander, but come on!). Rai’s bits of inside info—like how he wrote the flirty number “Nilo Chhata” on seeing a couple under a blue umbrella on a rainy day—and his classic melancholic and mournful numbers like “Samjhana Haru Lai Angaldai” worked the expected magic on the entranced audience.

In fact, this is exactly the vision animating these “Ghar Ma” sessions. Says Ashish Syangden, one of the organizers, “We want to provide an intimate setting for core fans and music lovers to enjoy and appreciate the artists’ music.” 

In addition to getting to witness your favorite artists up close, Syangden explains, the sessions are also meant to give fans a chance to interact with the artists. In this session at Moksh as well there fans who asked the singer questions between songs. One of them was: “What is your most embarrassing moment?” He was suffering from a diarrhea during a show in Hong Kong, replied Rai, and having gone to the restroom once too often, he didn’t realize his zipper was open while he came back to the stage. Luckily, he was wearing a black underwear!

Rai’s replies were entertaining, prompting laughter and cheers. Needless to say, such intimacy is a rarity in music concerts. This felt more like a show in your own backyard.

In fact, that was how the idea for this series came about, when some of Syangden’s friends organized music sessions in their own homes with food and drinks. Thus “Ghar Ma” was born.

The first “Ghar Ma” session featured Rohit John Chhetri. There is one show every month, with a total of 12 shows. The fans of Nepali music have a chance to win tickets to this magical event. Check out Kripa Drishya Digital’s Facebook page for more information, and their YouTube page for videos from the sessions.

Anyone who has been driving a car or riding a bike around Kathmandu for some time will agree that the amount of time to reach from point A to B has significantly increased in the past few years. With the number of vehicles increasing and the road expansion slowing, the city has become accustomed to incessant traffic jams, especially during rush hours.

The Metropolitan Traffic Police Department (MTPD) cites lack of infrastructure as the main culprit for the unmanageable road congestions. The streets of Kathmandu are ill-equipped to serve around 1.2 million vehicles registered in the valley alone, forget the vehicles that are registered outside and are plying here. “Our roads are not built for such volumes,” says a traffic police spokesperson. “As we don’t even have rudimentary traffic management technology, our work is difficult.”

Still, greater awareness among motorists and pedestrians could help to greatly minimize traffic jams. But that is evidently not the case here. On a recent afternoon, the Baggikhana, the MTPD headquarters, was packed with traffic rule violators who were there to pay their fines and attend the mandatory traffic awareness classes. None of them showed any remorse. “It is my first time being penalized for cutting the lanes,” a young man in a group of offenders waiting for the next class said. “The traffic police was too harsh. Everyone cuts lane and here I am, penalized.” A middle-aged man joined the conversation claiming how the government cannot catch criminals and corrupt politicians and instead focuses on common people who have only had a drink or two and can safely ride their way home. Everyone nodded in agreement.

The streets of Kathmandu are indeed choking. It is true that the government should be doing its bit to ease the pressure on Kathmandu’s roads. Having better traffic technology would certainly help. But forget the traffic police and the government for a moment. Isn’t it also the responsibility of pedestrians and motorists to play their part to make their city clean and orderly? ...

We all complain about bad traffic. But what are we doing about it?

The problems

(Note: We writing this article, the author tried to get in touch with many traffic police personnel. They all declined to comment. Instead all of them asked him to consult the official traffic police spokesperson. That is what he did)

“Our biggest problem is infrastructure,” says Rabi Kumar Poudel, Superintendent of Police and Traffic Police Spokesperson. “It is easier to manage traffic in cities with wide roads, overhead bridges, flyovers, footpaths, zebra-crossing and other infrastructures.”

Poudel says more advanced and bigger cities also have traffic jams but they are still easier to manage because of better planned infrastructure. “There is bound to be a traffic jam wherever there is a crossroad. Properly planned streets make these jams more manageable,” Poudel says.

Kathmandu’s roads also lack even basic traffic technology. Most of the traffic management in Kathmandu is done manually by traffic personnel. Braving dust, smoke and other street hazards, on-duty traffic personnel have to spend hours on end on busy street, to try and control the ebb and flow of traffic. “But manual traffic management is not feasible during rush hours,” adds Poudel.

“These days we won’t even need traffic police personnel at major junctions if we have well-functioning traffic lights. But as we do not, sometimes even seven or eight traffic police personnel are not enough to manage a single junction.”

Apart from right technology, the streets are also short of proper signboards and signals—what the traffic police term “road furnishings.” Motorists and pedestrians have the right to be informed about speed limits, one-way entries, right turns, zebra crossings and other instructions before they are penalized for violating the rules. There have been cases, Poudel says, where motorists have been caught for violating rules they had no idea about. “We do not have proper lanes and road signage to help the motorists,” he says. “But we are still forced to penalize them if they make mistakes.”

Some traffic rules that the traffic police is forced to implement are dubious too. For instance, a traffic police can impose a speeding fine on a vehicle going over 50 kmph on a 50km speed limit road. But if the same person drives at the speed of 10 kmph on the same road and blocks traffic, there is no law to charge the driver.

What can we do?

“We are deployed at risk of great health hazards, just to serve the public,” Poudel says. “Even if we do not have enough infrastructure and technology, the public can at least support us by being aware on the streets, respecting each other’s space, and complying with traffic rules.”

Motorists should understand that the road is made for everyone and respect traffic rules. Overtaking on corners, overtaking from the left side, rushing through traffic lights, not maintaining lane discipline and blocking lanes by driving too slowly are some problems the traffic police identify as additional reasons for Kathmandu’s traffic jams.

With more than 1.2 million vehicles in the valley alone, it is impossible for the traffic police to monitor all the vehicles plying every nook and cranny in an “unscientifically-planned city.” From a traffic management perspective, the city has far too many interconnected roads and lanes, some of which cannot let more than one vehicle pass at a time.

Pedestrians are adding to the traffic jams. Jaywalking halts the smooth flow of traffic, creating bottle-necks at major junctions. Despite the availability of zebra crosses and overhead bridges, people are found crossing the roads whenever and wherever they want. “We admit that there is a paucity of zebra crossings at some places. Some streets even do not have a footpath,” says Poudel. “But we request the pedestrians to find the safest zone to cross the road in these cases. And please cross in groups so that you do not break traffic flow.”

What are they doing?

The traffic police says it is wrong to assume that they are solely responsible for dealing with traffic congestions. “The traffic police is only a managing body. Their only responsibility is to monitor the users in the streets and check whether they are complying with the rules. We have to work within government rules and infrastructures. This is all we can do,” Poudel says.

The MTPD has been conducting public awareness classes for both pedestrians and motorists who violate traffic rules, but results have thus far been unsatisfactory. To instill awareness on road safety from an early age, the traffic police have suggested the Education Ministry to integrate road safety into school-level curriculum. The ministry has approved the idea and a course on traffic rules is on its final phase of preparation.