" L hasa ma soon chha, kaan mero buch-chai ", teased Putali Maharani whenever she had the chance. She was referring to an old adage made famous in Nepal that women folks often chimed with petulant discontent aimed at their husbands,"There is gold in Lhasa but my ears are unadorned". Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana had come out victorious against the Tibetans and abrogated the unfair Treaty of Betrawati signed under duress by the Nepalese under Regent Bahadur Shah as the Chinese army had come to aid the Tibetans and pushed the Gorkhalis all the way from Kerung down along the Trishuli River to Nuwakot. Now Nepal could pursue trade with the Tibetans unhindered and the Chinese monopoly on the lucrative gold trade was broken. Putali Maharani wanted a piece of action of the gold and silver trade for her own clan and was frequently goading her husband to send her sisters to Lhasa on a trade mission to establish a company. From Left sitting, Putali Maharani, Hem Kumari