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Most Nepalis who grew up in the 90s are familiar with the name Mike (Mukunda) Khadka. His songs would be played in most radio stations, a major source of music at the time. Khadka’s fan-base was immense. Even today, decades after his first stage performance, he is remembered for his contribution to the Nepali music Industry. Born and raised in Lalitpur, Khadka was fond of music. People close to him say that there weren't any lyrics he could not remember, or music he could not understand. He was mostly known as a rock musician, but his music taste was eclectic. Khadka stepped into the world by learning classical music as a student of Indian musician Rangarao Kadambari. “He had knowledge for every kind of music, be it Nepali, English, Hindi, or Urdu,” says Prakash Sayami, his longtime friend. Maria, Mohammed Rafi, and Narayan Gopal, were among his favorite singers. In October 1972, Khadka gave his first stage performance, where he sang a number by Elvis Presley. He was discovered by Michael Chand, who used to host musical events at the time. “No one knew Mike at the time, but I invited him to the concert because he was a great singer,” says Chand. “On stage, Mike had the personality of a rock star. He used to wear black most of the time because he wanted to stand out among the crowds.” Chand and Khadka would go on to become lifelong friends. In his early days as a musician, Khadka went by the name that his parents gave him, Mukunda. Mike was a nickname (a variant of the word ‘mic’) that his friends gave him. It is said that he started being known as Mike when he said during one of his performances, “Without mic, I can’t survive.” In person, Khadka was a reserved yet charming man, says his friends and relatives. Sayami remembers how even legendary Bollywood actor Dev Anand was impressed by Khadka’s personality. “We had an opportunity to attend a dinner program with Dev Anand during his Nepal visit, and he gave Mike his blessings and asked him to sit next to him,” says Sayami. “The incident says a lot about Mike’s amazing personality. Everyone was fond of him.” Besides being a musician, Khadka was also a radio DJ, who was adored by his listeners. He was the founder of Classic FM, a popular radio station. “His heart was always into music, which he showed by either performing and recording songs, or by taking up the job of a radio DJ,” says Chand. Throughout his musical career, Khadka recorded hundreds of Nepali and English songs. He was planning to record some new songs and write a book on music when he passed away aged 69 on 23 February. Khadka was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer in January and was undergoing treatment. “With Mike gone, the Nepali music industry has lost a prominent artist,” says Sayami. “He will be sorely missed by his friends, family, and fans.” Mike is survived by his wife, a son, and four sisters. Birth: 14 Jan 1955, Lalitpur  Death: 23 Feb 2023, Lalitpur

Laxman Gurung, the chairperson of Mahabu Rural Municipality, Dailekh, has passed away. He was involved in politics for more than five decades. “He was the hope and inspiration for the people living in Mahabu,” says Prakashraj Thapa, the spokesperson for Mahabu Rural Municipality. “He spent most of his life working for the development of his village.” Gurung is credited for initiating various development projects in Mahabu, such as rural road access and electrification. In 1969, Gurung was appointed Pradhan Panch, a village chief, which he held for 20 years. “He was the village chief during the Panchayat era, and he always worked for the interest of the local community,” says Thapa. After the fall of the Panchayat, Gurung continued his work as an active member of Nepali Congress. He was also elected as the chairperson of Bada Khola Rural Municipality. “There aren’t many people who return to their hometown with the sole purpose of assisting in its development. But Gurung was one of them,” says Thapa. As Gurung was a member of Nepali Congress, he and his family were targeted by the Maoists during the insurgency. His house was robbed and vandalized, and he and his family were forced to leave their hometown. They moved to Birendranagar, and Gurung stayed away from active politics for a long time. He returned to Mahabu after the situation got normal and resumed his political career. He even became the acting president of Nepali Congress for Mahabu. He was elected the chairperson of the rural municipality in the 2022 local elections. Although Gurung did not have the opportunity to get directly involved in the infrastructural development for the village, Thapa says that he played a big role in driving the authorities’ attention towards investing in bringing better infrastructure for the village, even before he got elected as the chairperson for the municipality. “The villagers looked up to him, and we had high hopes once he won the election,” says Thapa. “He was a kind, friendly individual and treated everyone equally.” Gurung, who did not have a history of any heart conditions, died on Feb 10 in Dailekh District Hospital, where he was admitted after suffering a heart attack. He was 77. Thapa says Gurung’s demise is a heavy loss to bear for Mahabu Rural Municipality. “It will be hard to come across someone who was as dedicated and sincere as him,” he says.

Birth: 8 Jan 1928, Kathmandu

Death: 5 Feb 2023, Kathmandu

Himalaya Shumsher Rana, the first governor of Nepal Rastra Bank, breathed his last on February 5 in Kathmandu, leaving behind a rich legacy. The reputed economist (95) passed away on Sunday in the course of treatment at the Thapathali-based Norvic Hospital. While he will primarily be remembered for his role in the establishment of the central bank, Rana has many other laurels under his belt. He was instrumental in establishing Himalayan Bank, Nepal's first private sector bank after 1990, and setting up Gorkha Brewery and Himalayan Distillery. Rana, the great-grandson of the then Prime Minister Dev Shumsher Rana, held the position of the governor from 26 April 1956, to 7 February 1961.

After a successful tenure as finance secretary, Himalaya Shumsher Rana was offered the job of governor at Nepal Rastra Bank by the then King Mahendra. As there was no central bank in the country, the king gave him a book that had a draft of the Banking Act. But Rana requested that he would need some time to study the acts of central banks of foreign countries and only start the process of establishing Nepal’s central bank.

At first, he established a central office, an office for banking transactions, and a note department. After almost six months of homework, he was appointed the governor on 26 April 1956. With a small team, Rana started working to realize King Mahendra’s dream. He had two major concerns: to introduce Nepali notes in the Tarai, and stabilize an exchange rate between Rs and InRs. During those days, the Nepali currency was not in use in the Tarai, so much so that it was customary to take the land revenue and immigration duties in Indian currency.

In such a situation, replacing Indian notes with Nepali ones was a challenging task. Unless there was a stable exchange rate between Rs and InRs, it was not possible to circulate Nepali currency in the southern plains. The team researched for three years and came up with an exchange rate of Rs 160 for InRs 100. To date, Nepal uses the same rate. Rana and the team then established currency exchange centers from the east to the west. Nepali notes were printed at Nashik Security Press in India back then. After the establishment of the central bank, the central bank called for an international tender because the revision of the notes being printed in India was a must.

A proposal from a company from the UK was considered the best as it came up with a new design for notes bearing the pictures of famous places of Nepal. It was very nice and attractive. The notes printed in India also did not have the security thread; it was added on to the notes printed in the UK.  After serving as the governor for four years and eight months and almost two months since King Mahendra banned political parties and started a dictatorial regime, he was sacked on 8 Feb 1961 because of being a supporter of democracy.  

Rana then worked as a representative in various countries from 1962 to 1986 under the United Nations Development Program. He worked in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, America, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Indonesia. 

In an ApEx Pioneers column of The Annapurna Express, Rana said ever since he became the finance secretary, he had worked tirelessly. “After retirement, I tried to spend my time playing golf and reading books. But I got bored after six months and decided to start a business. I established the Gorkha Brewery Company and brought international beer brands like Tuborg and Carlsberg to Nepal. I also established the first private bank in Nepal, Himalayan Bank Ltd.” Among many national and international recognitions, he was conferred with the title of The Order of Japan (The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star) for his contribution. Former governor Chiranjibi Nepal described Rana’s demise as a huge loss for the banking sector. “Without him, the Nepali currency would not have found its place for a long time,” he says.

“The establishment of the first private bank was itself a milestone back then as it opened the door for aspiring bankers.” Rana’s friend Kiran Pyakurel remembers him as an admirable man. “Though born to a Rana family, he always advocated for democracy, which also cost him the post of governor,” he says: “I am inspired by how he never lost his learning spirit and has managed to remain curious all his life. No matter his age, he is always curious to learn about new things.”  Rana is survived by two daughters and two sons. 

Born: 1943, Yorkshire, England 

Death: 25 Jan 2023, Lalitpur, Nepal

Greta Rana, a celebrated poet, novelist and translator, died on Jan 25 at the age of 80. Born in Yorkshire, UK, Rana lived most of her life in Nepal with her late husband Madhukar Shamsher Rana, a prominent economist and former finance minister. Rana was a writer of the highest class, who produced several works of fiction, poetry and other literary works. ‘Les Misérables’ by Victor Hugo, ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Emily Brontë, and ‘Great Expectations’ by Charles Dickens were some of her all-time favorite books. Among the Nepali literary figures, she admired novelist Dhruba Chandra Gautam.

In 1991, Rana won the Arnsberger Internationale Kurzprosa for her short story ‘The Hill’, which was inspired by the Godavari marble quarry. She also translated ‘Seto Bagh’, a historical novel by Diamond Shumsher. ‘Hidden Women: The Ruling Women of the Rana Dynasty’, ‘Beneath the Jacaranda’, ‘Hunger is Home’, ‘Nothing Greener’, ‘Distant Hills’, ‘Guests in this Country’, ‘Hostage’, and ‘Ghost in the Bamboo’ are some of her notable works of poetry and fiction. Rana was also a founder member of PEN Nepal and a former chair of International PEN Women Writers’ Committee.

In 2005, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire by the British government for her contributions and achievements in the literary field. Besides literary career, Rana also contributed to children’s education in Nepal. She established Shakespeare Wallahs, a theater group, to raise funds for the education of children from the poor communities.

Rana was also passionate about conserving the mountain environment and the people living there. She was active in the development work of International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), where she worked until 2004. Sharing her vision for Nepal in this paper, she had said she wanted to develop towns in the mountains where all services are available, so that our youths don’t have to labor in foreign lands.

“The Himalayas of Nepal are full of micro-climates. We have a comparative advantage as we can grow anything here. We can grow fruits and vegetables when it is off-season for them elsewhere and then export them. This will give Nepal much-needed revenue.” Rana was also an advocate of an education system that incorporated job training. “We won’t get anywhere with the outdated curricula that simply don't contribute to our society,” she told this paper. 

Rana also dreamt of Nepal having enough electricity and running water for each home. She firmly believed that with proper governance, those things could be achieved within couple of decades, especially with mini and micro hydel potential in Nepal. Rana passed away while undergoing treatment for brain tumor at Nepal Mediciti Hospital in Lalitpur.