B ishnu Shumsher was born with the proverbial golden spoon in his mouth. The eldest son of Maharani Bal Kumari Devi, the second wife of Maharajah Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal, Bishnu was the first son born after Chandra inherited the post of Prime Minister of Nepal and Maharajah of Kaski and Lamjung in 1901 A.D. Chandra already had five sons from his first Rani but they had been born when Chandra was emerging as the pre-eminent force in Nepali Rana politics. Unfortunately, Rani Loke Bhakta Devi died in 1905 A.D. only 4 years after he ascended to the highest post in the land. It is said that the Rani had beseeched Chandra to re-marry as she had young children to be taken care of. Her youngest, Krishna, was only 5 years old. Major General Bishnu Shumsher J. B. Rana Bishnu was born on 13th November 1906, an apple of his father's eye. Early childhood was spent in the opulence of Singha Durbar, the palace his father built after coming to power, a veritable Versailles in ...
C olombo has been in the international shipping lane linking East and West since time immemorial. The Portuguese landed there and called the island Selan alluding to the many herbs and spices found there. The Arabs called it Serendip when, perchance, they sailed to it. The word 'serendipity' entered the English lexicon from it. The British called it Ceylon and the name remained so until 1972 A.D. when she became Sri Lanka. The ship of Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal docked in Colombo on his sea voyage to England and back in 1850 A.D. Much later in 1956 A.D. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited Colombo and, bowled over by the beauty of the land, vowed to transport Singapore in its image. Independence Square with statue of the country's first prime minister Rt. Hon. Don Stephen Senanayake I had the fortunate opportunity of visiting Sri Lanka recently taking time off during the Dasain holidays, a much deserved sojourn having survived two lock-downs brough...