Dedicated to Daniel Pearl

Last Saturday, I decided to spend my evening with one of my friends in Thamel. Deepak jee from Nepal weekly magazine offered me to go to Thamel and spend the evening. I thought it’s a good idea to share our feelings and also to know more about Deepak jee.

Relations are very strange and they are built out of a small circumstance. My friendship with Deepak jee began when I was in the United States under the Daniel Pearl Scholarship. He happened to email me inquiring about my stay and I in turn, encouraged him to apply for the 2007 scholarship. An energetic and flamboyant, Deepak did apply for the scholarship and he reached in the final list. I hope he will get the scholarship.

Thamel has a special atmosphere to drink and have fun. Deepak jee took me to Killroy’s, which I guess, is his familiar spot. I hadn’t been to Killroy’s before. Usually, I don’t go to Thamel for fun. And Thamel had also shrunken due to the Maoist insurgency. But I was surprised to notice dozens of tourists taking drinks and their dinner in Killroy’s. They were all smiles because the government and the Maoists have recently signed the Peace Deal. I could feel Thamel has regained its beautiful life. People were seen walkig in the streets till late night. Bars were filled with tourists; both domestic and international. An atmosphere of happiness had pervaded Thamel.

We took some three glasses of red wine each, had dinner and left the place for home. During our about three hours chat, I got to learn so much about Deepak jee. I found him very emotional but a determined person to make a prosperous career. As I found him very honest and a trustworthy friend, I shared so many things with him.

I felt I met my good friend whom I had missed for many years.

It’s a huge challenge for Maoist Chairman Prachanda to transform his cadres. Prachanda has lately given a very good impression to the people. People have begun to talk very good of Prachanda. “Oh, he is the leader.” Everybody has begun whispering these days. But I am noticing Prachanda as the right man with wrong cadres. His cadres are filled with megalomania, anger, vicdictive attitude and superiority. The Maoist cadres lack discipline and don’t treat general people with respect. They assume themselves as the masters and want others to follow what they say.

Prachanda must have realized that the Maoists will soon approach the people for ballots. People have become much conscious and they are at the same time much sovereign. They are not likely to vote for the one who disrespects them. Maoists need to win the heart and soul of the people. Till now, they have compelled the people to abide by the Maoists’ laws and regulations. The people are scared of the Maoists’ arms and majority people haven’t supported the Maoists from their heart and soul.

I have sensed that Prachanda has a very good future in politics. He can be the leader one day. But his cadres must transform their behaviour. The Maoist cadres must start respecting the people and must apologize for the mistakes committed in the past. Otherwise, people are not likely to forget how their family members were killed, how the Maoists captured their property and how their innocent siblings were beaten up, humiliated in public for no reason.

I expect Prachanda to take initiative in this aspect otherwise he will find no time to repent and he will miss the chance to be the future leader of Nepal.

Yesterday evening, it was the most exciting moment for me. I attended the ceremony in Birendra International Conference Center in Baneswor, where Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and CPN-Maoists Chairman Prachanda were scheduled to sign the historical Peace Agreement. The Agreement was the document declaring the end of the 11-year old armed insurgency. The hall in the center was filled with dignitaries, diplomats, business people, constitutional heads, journalists and politicians. All television channels and FM radios were broadcasting it live from the hall. I was much excited because I was remembering those days when the government and the Maoists were fighting each other. Everything was flashing back to my mind. In the beginning of the insurgency, the death of a single person whether it is Maoists or the security person, would make a news. Gradually, we started concentrating on the numbers. Less number of death would not make big news for us. It was also the time, we used to ask our reporter to tell the number of deaths so that we would determine which page does the news deserves to go. Lesser number of deaths would not get the space in the front page of my newspaper. If the death toll crossed a dozen, it would go to the front page. Otherwise, it would not be a big news for us. Humanity, human values were losing its significance. Anybody would die anywhere and anytime, it was not a concern of anybody. I remember many people died in the Kathmandu valley also. But nobody took care of it. It was just one of the daily news and people were used to listening it. The news headlines in newspapers, televisions and radios would always make peopel more depressed. Every morning we were used to taking a cup of tea, reading the news of the death of dozens of our brothers; whether it is security personnel or the Maoists.

It was unfolding into my mind, when I noticed Prachanda and Koirala shaking hands on the stage. It was just like a dream, a miracle, what the Nepalese people had never ever imagined of. It was the day, which put an end of the violence, intimidation and all frustrations of Nepalis people. Both Koirala and Prachanda signed the peace agreement in front of such a valued gathering. Everybody clapped and cheered up. I also clapped for a long time because it was the day which unfurled the curtain of a new era. After the signing ceremony both Koirala and Prachanda spoke out to the gathering and expressed their commitment to implement the agreement honestly. Prachanda, as usual, looked more confident and composed. He urged the gathering to change their perspectives to view the Maoists. He made it clear that the Maoists are not traditional nor they are dogmatists but they are open to ideological discussion. It was a commitment from Prachanda to respect people and people’s aspirations. He also expressed commitment to human rights, democracy, press freedom and civil rights. I found Prachanda really very positive and I envisage the leadership quality in him.

We also must give huge credit to Koirala. I sometimes get surprised to feel how bold and confident is Koirala at the age of 84. He along with Prachanda must be recommended for Nobel Peace prize.

Once again hip hip hurray….

Finally, the High-level Probe Commission (HLPC), formed to investigate the atrocities, practiced in the April movement, submitted its report to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Monday. The commission implicated King Gyanendra and his Council of Ministers and recommended to the government to make laws to punish them. It can be understood that there is no any law to punish the king in our constitution. So the current parliament has to formulate necessary laws to punish the guilty king. Now it’s a big challenge for the parliament to make laws so that the king, as the head of the executive during his rule, will have to pay the price of his misdeeds.

But I feel the commission couldn’t recommend appropriate punishment to other guilty persons. It has recommended murder charges only against those who shot at the pro-democracy protestors. But the commission should have dared to recommend murder charges against those who gave shoot orders. Kamal Thapa and Pyar Jung Thapa must be taken strong action because they are the people who gave shooting orders. It’s much ridiculous that Kamal Thapa, the most notorious of the Mandales, has been recommended only corruption charges and it is only Rs. 10 million. The commission should have recommended total confiscation of his property and imprisonment for life because he is the kingpin for the killing of 19 pro-democracy protestors.

Simlarly, Pyar Jung is also an equally responsible for the killing of so many innocent Nepalese people. The commission should have recommended imprisonment to all the guilty persons–Kamal Thapa, Pyar Jung, Tanka Dhakal, Shris Shumshere, Dr. Tulsi Giri, Badri Mandal, royal palace secretary, Ramesh Nath Pande and others. Among all the Mandales, Ramesh Nath is the most notorious and he is the one to have provoked the king to become more autocratic. Pandey has always tried to remain in power and he has massively misused the authority. The commission hasn’t recommended any substantial action against Pandey.

The Rayamajhi commission, to a large extent, has dismayed the peoples’ expectations. People had high hope on the commission but it tried to escape from its responsibility. Those criminals, who were responsible for the murder of so many Nepales people and who misused the state fund, are again given concession. The Rayamajhi commission couldn’t carry the peoples’ aspirations. I think the parliament must formulate strong laws to punish the king and the council of ministers immediately. It is another test of the parliament.

This is not a news nor is it an information. But it is the humour which has widely spread in The Kathmandu Post. It happened with my colleague Yuvraj Acharya. He felt little discomfort in his chest. He then went to a nearby Poly Clinic to get his chest x-rayed. The next day, the doctor examined his x-ray, Yuvra’s chest and said he had no any problem. Yuvraj returned to The Kathmandu Post, but had the feeling that there must be a little problem, what the doctor couldn’t figure out. He approached another colleague in the newsroom Bikash Sangraula, showed him the X-ray and asked if he could see anything wrong in the X-ray. Bikash said he didn’t have much knowledge about it.

My good friend Yuvraj then took out the X-ray and was busy looking at it, trying to find out what actually happend in his chest. Interestingly, Thirlal, another colleague approached Yuvraj and saw him busy looking at the X-ray.

“Yuvraj jee, what are you doing?”

“Just….trying to see if there is anything wrong in my chest…..,” Yuvraj continued looking at the X-ray. After a while, Thirlal also closely looked at the X-ray and said, “Yuvraj dai (Yuvraj brother), I am noticing something else in the X-ray.”

Yuvraj turned his ears with the feeling that Thirlal finally found out the problem. “So what are you noticing?, Yuvraj asked Thirlal.

“I am seeing a woman dancing in the X-ray,” Thirlal pointed out an image of a woman dancing in the middle of the X-ray. Yuvraj kept quiet. I was at my computer and was hearing their conversation. I burst out with laughter and told Yuvraj, ”So Yuvraj sir, what problem are you looking for, your problem has been diagnosed.”

So the entire newsroom burst out with laughter. When I and my another colleague Tilak Pokharel told it to our editor Prateek Pradhan, he said it was similar to what’s in man’s mind. He also couldn’t control his laughter. 

So everybody thought it is the woman but not anything else, what Yuvraj has been wandering……..hahaha.

Note: Yuvraj Acharya is a handsome bachelor.   

These days Maoist Chairman Prachanda is heard everywhere speaking in favor of Prime Minister and Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala. Prachanda’s overt support to Koirala has even sent a chill into the UML’s spine. UML General Secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal went on to the extent of criticizing Prachanda in the parliament. Prachanda, in a recent press briefing, had said Koirala would lead the upcoming interim government. Immediately the next day, UML General Secretary Nepal said no any agreement in this regard was made and he also strongly criticized Prachanda on many issues. It can be fairly understood that UML has developed the feeling that Nepali Congress and Maoists have formed a pact to marginalize the UML. This suspicion has some truth because the mutual understanding between the NC and the Maoists will definitely have a perceptible effect on the UML. Many revolutionary UML cadres in the local levels have serious grudge over their party and they are finding the CPN-Maoist as a suitably party for them. So the UML has felt that some of its cadres have switched to the Maoists. The CPN-Maoist, on the other hand, has remained an untested political force. Prachanda sounds more confident and charismatic in comparision with the UML General Secretary Nepal. Both the UML and the CPN-Maoist share the same root of communism and the challenge for both is to pursuade the Nepalese people to their ideology. The growth of the CPN-Maoist is in a way a loss for the UML because both the parties have the same vote bank. I don’t think the people supporting the king vote for the Maoists and the UML. They may vote for the Nepali Congress. Even the people supporing the NC won’t vote for the Maoists and the UML.

Koirala seems to be in the uppper hand at the current political situation. NC has its vote bank intact because the NC cadres are not likely to vote for the Maoists and the UML. And the NC may get the vote from those who strongly criticise the communism. They may be the royalists or the anti-communist ones. Therefore, the NC is likely to receive more votes from any other parties because the Maoists and the UML will compete eachother. The stronger the UML becomes, the weaker goes the Maoists and vice versa.

I don’t think Koirala and Prachanda have any kinds of alliance or agreement to marginalize the UML. But it is for sure that Koirala wishes Maoists to grow so that it will challenge the UML. Therefore, UML has a huge challenge ahead. 

I also think UML General Secretary should not have spoken in public against Prachanda and Koirala. Silent diplomacy is the most powerful weapon, the UML should realize. If it goes ahead with a fierce campaign, the UML still has the potentiality to continue claiming the second position, once the NCs get united very soon. 

The intensifying fight for the No. 2 Democratic leadership job in the House is evolving into an early test of the power of the incoming House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, after her decision to throw her public support behind Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Murtha, widely considered an underdog to Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the current second-ranking Democrat, sought on Monday to use a new letter of support from Ms. Pelosi to gain ground, asking for new pledges from Democrats who converged on Washington after their decisive midterm election victory.

Mr. Murtha and his allies said the role he had played in questioning the war in Iraq helped legitimize Democratic opposition to the war and turn it into a winning campaign issue, making him the natural choice for majority leader at a time when Iraq policy will dominate the Congress.

“When the public speaks, things are going to change,” Mr. Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran, said on Monday.

Mr. Hoyer and Mr. Murtha are similar in some respects, both veterans of the byzantine appropriations process and skilled in winning money for local projects in the annual spending bills. While Mr. Murtha has been closely allied with Ms. Pelosi against the war, he is well to the right of her on many social issues like abortion and gun control and is known for his ability to work with conservatives in both parties. Mr. Hoyer is more liberal over all on social issues but is considered a pro-business Democrat.

While Mr. Hoyer has been a fixture in the party leadership, Mr. Murtha eschewed the spotlight and seemed content to wield his considerable influence well behind the scenes until he took a highly publicized stand against the war.

But Mr. Murtha is also coming under the spotlight on another subject that dominated the campaign: Congressional ethics. He helped block changes in ethics policies that Democrats proposed last year. He has also been an astute backroom-deal maker known for trading votes for the pet projects known as earmarks. He has had family members who lobbied on issues under his control, and he was caught up in the Abscam corruption scandal more than 25 years ago, though he was never charged.

The leader of one watchdog group said Monday that Mr. Murtha’s record should disqualify him for the No. 2 job, particularly since Democrats campaigned so hard against Republican corruption and have promised to make new ethics and lobbying rules a priority.

“How can Americans believe that the Democrats will return integrity to the House when future Speaker Pelosi has endorsed an ethically challenged member for a leadership position?” asked Melanie Sloan, the head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a Democratic-leaning group that focuses on government integrity in Washington. “Representative Murtha is the wrong choice for this job.”

Mr. Murtha dismissed the attack and promised that, if elected majority leader, he would help formulate a strict ethics policy. “Wait until you see the ethics package we support and we pass,” he said. “No meals, no trips, nothing. I support it 100 percent.”

Mr. Hoyer, who learned of Ms. Pelosi’s letter of support for Mr. Murtha while he was courting new Democratic members at a reception on Sunday, said he did not anticipate much of a shift in votes as the result of what he described as her low-key endorsement.

“We have seen no sign of that,” Mr. Hoyer said.

He and other allies say he has well more than a majority of Democrats pledged to back him in Thursday’s election, providing a cushion to account for any lawmakers who might stray in the secret ballot.

Mr. Hoyer said Ms. Pelosi, with whom he has had an occasionally tense relationship since he unsuccessfully challenged her for party whip in 2001, had already told him she would vote for Mr. Murtha. But Mr. Hoyer said many of their colleagues believed that he and Ms. Pelosi had demonstrated a strong ability to work together over the past four years.

“We got the victory,” he said. “Why change?”

Ms. Pelosi’s preference for Mr. Murtha was well known since he ran her campaign for House whip against Mr. Hoyer. In the past year, she has come to believe that Mr. Murtha did the party — and her — a service by putting his own military credentials behind a call to begin removing troops from Iraq.

But the letter of support she provided Mr. Murtha was surprising, since it meant that Ms. Pelosi could be perceived as being weakened before she even takes her new office if Mr. Murtha falls short.

Ms. Pelosi’s allies said she was willing to take the risk because of her deep loyalty to Mr. Murtha and since it was already assumed by many that she was working to advance his candidacy.

She and her allies have also taken the view that Mr. Murtha’s scrapes regarding ethics should not be an impediment to his election. And some of his backers say the Abscam scandal in 1980 is ancient history.

In that case, Mr. Murtha was among lawmakers caught on film being offered bribes by F.B.I. agents posing as Arab businessmen. Mr. Murtha, a protégé of Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill Jr., refused a bribe, saying he was not interested “at this point.” He went on to testify against some of those sent to prison, and the federal government chose not to indict him. He was cleared by the House ethics committee, but the committee counsel quit after the case was dropped.

“It was 26 years ago,” said Representative Kendrick B. Meek, Democrat of Florida and a former Florida state trooper who is supporting Mr. Murtha.

Mr. Meek said he and others believed that Democrats needed a close-knit leadership team at this critical point, avoiding conflict in the crucial positions. “We need a united top shelf,” he said.

But Mr. Hoyer has won support from respected veterans who are in line to take over top committees, including Representatives Henry A. Waxman of California, John D. Dingell of Michigan, Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Ike Skelton of Missouri, along with Representative John Lewis of Georgia, a veteran of the civil rights struggle. He also won public support from leading Democratic progressives and more than 20 of the incoming freshmen.

Democrats on both sides of the leadership fight say they wished the battle could have been avoided in the interests of starting out together, but they say such contests are a fact of life, particularly with the lure of new power.

“They happen, and we will deal with them and see what happens,” said Representative George Miller, Democrat of California. (NY Times)

It happened when Kushal Regmi, a sanyasi, who has been working with The Kathmandu Post, once talked to me about Osho Tapoban and dynamic meditation. I was always interested in this subject and I had been practising meditation for few months. But I had not taken any traning regarding meditation and yoga. Therefore, I thought it was a good idea to visit the Tapoban and learn something about meditation. It would also be an opportunity to know about Osho, about whom there were already many rumours–both positive and negative. 

 By and large people in Nepal think Osho always advocated the concept of sex to nirvana (selflessness). People assume sex is an integral part of Osho’s meditation.  

With these anxities, I decided to visit the Osho Tapoban. My friends from the Kantipur Publications; Briden Subba and Pradip were also ready to go. When I reached the Tapoban at about 10 pm, my friends Briden and Pradip had already reached there. They were trying to sleep in a dormitory. But they were visibly not satisfied to stay in the dormitory because there were different types of people and it was not a quiet place. We then asked Kushal to manage a separate room for us. Finally, we got a room with an attached bathroom, where we joined two beds and arranged it for three of us.

We cracked jokes, both veg and non veg the Friday night and slept the night with the expectation of tomorrow’s meditation. Saturday morning was the beginning of the meditation. By 7:30 we were ready for meditation and went to a temple where meditation was practised.

 The hall was very quiet and the Guru began his mild speech on Osho and meditation. There were many other people, both Nepalis and non-Nepalis; Americans, Russians, Chinese and many more. We practised dynamic meditation, which I found was basically was the method to purgate ourselves. I found it much wonderful meditation because it releases all the pent of feelings and leaves you relaxed, light and fresh. By 9:00 am, we completed the dynamic meditation, which included dance and many types of meditations. it was the time for breakfast and the next round of meditation began at about 10:00 pm and it continued till 2:00 pm. We had our lunch at 2 pm and it followed Osho’s speech on screen about life and spiritual values. The meditation continued till 9:00 pm.

Many a times the participants get an opportunity to dance in group. Unlike what many people think, there is strict discipline and women are treated with much respect.

Interestingly, men are called out by Swami and women are by majee. We enjoyed by calling eachother swami (which meand husband in Nepali). So everyone was husband……haha.

I returned on Sunday morning and felt much relaxed and fresh. Particularly, I was much impressed by the location of the place. It is a huge area, surrounded by a dense forest.  We hardly listen to noise, vehicles’ horns and feel we are far from the maddening crowd. It’s exquisitely a quiet place.

Oh, yes, there are many women participants also but they maintain their discipline. You are free to talk to them but you must know your limits.

I found two types of personalities in Osho Tapoban. One type of people are more meditative, argue Osho’s phylosophy and assume Osho as a philosopher. But there are some people who regard Osho as the god and think they are on the way to nirvana. Indeed, Osho’s dynamic meditation makes you feel relaxed and Osho’s also always advocated for the purity of heart and happiness in life. But he never said he was the god. I found being happy was of course the destination in everybody’s life and it provides you an opportunity to understand yourself and helps you feel always happy.  But it’s very important to always have a sense of happiness in you. I felt it strongly and once you feel you are the happiest person in the world, you find everything moving around is good and it develops positive attitude to look at life.

 For the first time, we wore maroon-colored gowns and shawls. We looked much different. Briden also loved posing for photographs. 

Sunday morning, I talked to some women Srijana and Anu at the canteen. Anu had been practicing meditation for six years and she had transformed herself as swamini (matajee) and Srijana was attending for the first time. Srijana had many questions about Osho and meditation. I had seen them dance the other night during the relaxation course. Anu was a good dancer whereas Srijana was trying a good dance.  We exchanged our last good byes and meet the next time, if time permitted. 

Anyway, I was much impressed by Osho’s dynamic meditation and dance sessions, which were the means for purification of yourselves. A part of dynamic meditation was to release anger, laughter and pain. In a loud music, the guru asks you to let your mind and heart speak whatever it wants. YOu can hear participants cry, laugh, scold, shout and just jump, all to vent the pent up feelings. It reallys makes you feel light because you release those feelings in a subconscious mind.

The dynamic meditation takes you to subconscious, superconscious and again brings you back to conscious, this way makes you feel relaxed.

(I will upload photographs tomorrow, as the battery in my digital camera has gone down?

On November 8, the very next day of the peace agreement, the nation was in jubilant mood, streets were booming with excitment and party leaders, including the Maoists’ chairman Prachanda were busy briefing the press about the political agreement reached on November 7 and the future political strategies.

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had invited journalists in his residence in Baluwatar and Maoists’ Chairamna Prachand had organized another press conference in Kathmandu’s posh hotel Yak and Yeti.

I attended both the conferences. PM Koirala’s remarks was very short and it was basically his party (Nepali Congress) meeting with his cadres.

When I along with my news editor Ameet Dhakal, reporters Yuvraj Acharya, Bal Ram Baniya and Ghanashyam Khadka reached the hotel, I was surprised to see peeopl queeuing up with flowers, garlands and bouquets to welcome Prachanda. After about 15 minutes, Prachanda arrived with an escort from his cadres. He was in blue-suit with a red tie. He had well combed his hair back and trimmed his moustache. Photo journalists rushed to capture Prachanda in their cameras. I also ran to take his some photographs. I was successful in taking his some poses. He was escorted to the conference hall. It was a big hall and some television channels were broadcasting it live.

After about a five-minute welcome speech by Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, prachanda spoke out to the press. He looked more confident and was carefully choosing the words while speaking out to the press.

He said he doesn’t regret to have launched the armed insurgency. He also said he was disgusted to feel that other political parties were still fighting for power. Prachanda sounded more confident, more vigorous and it gave the impression that he will be one of the leading political figures in Nepal.

But I was not much impressed with the reception of Prachanda by his cadres and hotel workers. The cadres shouted slogans; long live Prachanda, Great Prachanda, etc. But my point is that he shouldn’t be glorified this way. The fear in glorification is that once he is glorified as the god, his cadres and leaders tend not to see any weakness in him, which is very dangerous. The leaders and cadres should have the right to criticise their leadership.