T ravelers destined for the much storied Kathmandu Valley, a veritable El Dorado lodged in the fertile valley of the Mahabharat range, reached the mid-point oasis of Bhimphedi amidst great relief. Crossing the dense jungles of the Terai with leopards, tigers and other wildlife ready to prey on humans the weary travelers could now rest for a couple of days at Bhimphedi before embarking upon the final heart-thumping climb along rickety old tracks via Chandragiri passes to Thankot and thence down onto the valley floor. From time immemorial Kathmandu was thus protected from marauders from the South. Only in Maharajah Chandra Shumsher's time during the 1920's a motorable road was built from Hetauda to Bhimphedi and a ropeway line was drawn for transportation of goods from Dhursing near Bhimphedi to Kathmandu. Bhimphedi Bazaar in 1894 A.D. Bhimphedi witnessed kings and maharajahs passing through amidst great fanfare. Traders and artisans, scholars and saints rested here be...

C olonel George Ramsay faced a dilemma. He had been reminded a second time by Calcutta that the Viceroy Lord Canning had instructed a compilation of photographs of native peoples and distinctive landscapes and monuments to be documented across the vast Indian empire for his private collection. He wanted them from Nepal too. Photography was a new medium and it had not come to Nepal yet. Colonel Ramsay could not commission local artists to work with this new medium as there were none. Another restriction he faced was that even if a professional photographer was to come from India, he would not be allowed to visit outside Kathmandu Valley. As the British Resident in Kathmandu, Colonel Ramsay himself could not visit outside as per the restraining terms of the Treaty of Sugauly. He decided to write to Calcutta certain to face the ire of the government for not succeeding to fulfill as trivial a wish of Lord and Lady Canning as having photographs from Nepal for their collection. What kind ...

T he Declaration of Independence world is familiar with is that of a nascent United States of America freeing itself from the colonial masters and taking the destiny of its new nation in its own firm hands. We in Nepal always take it for granted that we were never colonized by the British which left us poorer perhaps due to isolation but prouder as a sovereign nation. It was not always so and had the twists and turns of late 19th Century diplomacy not gone our way; we might have been a part of Independent India today. So, when and how did we actually declare ourselves independent from the Raj, the British rule in the Indian Subcontinent? Map showing Nepal before the Treaty of Sugauly The prelude to this important moment in our nation's history started with the Rana prime minister Jung Bahadur Rana cleverly positioning himself as a friend and ally of the British. History had already taught him how his foolish grand-uncle Bhimsen Thapa the prime minister of an ever expanding G...

O ur moral science teacher at our alma mater St. Xavier's Godavari School, the Reverend Fr. Thomas Gaffney S.J., taught us that we humans have a conscience that makes us different from other animals. Our "Voice of Conscience" would always tell us what is right and what is wrong and guide us in the right path in life. Moral Crusader Fr. Gaffney Whenever we friends from St. Xavier's School meet after all these years we reflect upon the trials and tribulations we have faced as adults and how the guiding principles of the Reverend fathers imparted to us at school have made a difference in our lives. We look askance at those whom we perceive as lacking conscience. We marvel at those heroes who have excelled in contributing to the good of our society and humanity. Dr. Govinda K.C. the moral giant fighting nefarious government scheming on the Nepal Medical Education Bill with serial 'fast unto death' sacrifice comes to mind. The much celebrated Dr. Sanduk Ruit...

Sindoor Jatra of Maharajah Dev Shumsher in 1901 A.D. Q ueen Elizabeth I is credited with the lines,"to be a king and wear a crown is a thing more glorious to them that see it than it is pleasant to them that bear it." Indeed power and pelf as symbolized by a crown have taken a terrible toll on those who were seemingly blessed with these attributes. The crowning glory is of course the coronation, the state's official celebration of enthronement by means of both secular and religious rites. The last spectacular world event was the Coronation of Shah Reza Pavlavi of Iran who officially celebrated the event in 1967 after 26 years of taking the throne as he had vowed not to have a coronation until Iran was lifted out of poverty and modernized. Sixty royal and non-royal heads of state congregated in the specially created tent city at the ancient capital of Persepolis of Cyrus the Great near modern day Shiraz. The pomp and splendour of the event while breathtaking to beho...