T he 'Khariko Bot' Ficus Tree kept watch over a large swathe of meadow land adjacent to the Kathmandu city from times immemorial. It carried on its lonesome presence in the center of this grazing land called Tundikhel, the play ground of the demon called Tundi as legend has us believe. Sometimes sheets of rain lashed against its strong boughs, at other times the blazing summer sun almost melted its will to live. Winter frost froze circulation in its innards when temperature dipped to minus. It dared lightning to strike it but providence spared it this trauma. The Ficus Tree survived the ravages of time in its bid to witness the next big story in the history of Nepal. Because the tree had seen it all! Tundikhel and the Ficus Tree Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa amassed an army to fight the British in faraway lands the Gurkhas had conquered. He reviewed those troops at Tundikhel from under the canopy of the Ficus Tree. Along the western side of the grounds were long rows o...

The Renaissance that transformed Nepal during the medieval Malla period is attested to by the magnificent royal cities of Kathmandu Valley classified under 'World Heritage Sites' by UNESCO. What is perhaps less well known is the neo-classical Renaissance that took place under the prime ministership of Maharajah Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, 1885-1901 A.D. Unfortunately very few of those buildings remain for us to marvel at due to the vagaries of fortune. Maharajah Bir Shumsher J. B. Rana with 2 daughters married to King Prithivi Bir Bikram Shah (center) European style architecture was already prevalent in the palaces the first Rana prime minister Jung Bahadur built after his epochal visit to England in 1850 A.D. Thapathali Durbar had an expansive potpourri of European styles since sections were added on to the original building as the family grew larger and more and more living space was needed until Jung's death in 1877 A.D. The second Rana prime minister Maharaja...

Balkrishna Sama's portrait of the nine Rana prime ministers, 1846 - 1951 A.D. Nepalese history books tell stories of the nine Rana prime ministers ruling Nepal in unison for 104 years and the family is often depicted and reviled as one monolithic juggernaut that assaulted and consumed the sovereignty of benign kings and their happy, loyal subjects. Nothing could be further from the truth on both counts. Out of the nine one was assassinated, two were unceremoniously removed from the post by their own siblings, one resigned due to internal and external exigencies and the last one was forced to give it all up. But who were those that did not get to wear the "Teen Chand" prime ministerial crown? I often look at the fading pictures of the family to trace the hierarchy at the times they were taken. The Soviets were famous for cleverly air-brushing out the disgraced party members from chesty pictures of proletarian solidarity. The Ranas just removed them from the frames...

T he Soviets had a penchant for declaring their cities "Hero Cities" in tribute to their resilience in the face of the mighty German Wehrmacht bearing down on them with all its might. Stalingrad, Leningrad and Kiev come to mind as cities that determined not to surrender. If there is one "Hero City" in Nepal, then it must be the legendary town of Kirtipur. The town has been famous in Nepalese history as the citadel that fought the invading Gorkha army of King Prithivi Narayan Shah bravely - three heroic times. Kirtipur surrendered only after exacting a heavy price on the forces of the king, including the death of his favorite general Kalu Pandey in the first assault. In the second assault the king's brother Surpratap was struck by an arrow in his eyes thus blinding him. It was only at the third attempt did the king conquer Kirtipur in 1767 A.D. opening up the route into the valley. Some historical accounts including the accounts of the Italian Capuchin...

The first Tika Vidhya Ashram, school named after my grandmother T he school next door to our estate at Kiran Bhawan was for the children of ordinary folks in our neighbourhood whilst we, more privileged ones, were sent to English medium boarding schools in the Indian hill stations or, later, to Godavari in the south-east corner of the Kathmandu valley. When I was growing up, the school next door represented to me the "outside" world while I was "inside". I had to be careful whilst having any kind of intercourse with those kids and my minders constantly remained vigilant. A selected few, vetted by them for family fealty, would be allowed in to play with me. In the semi-feudal state Nepal was in when I was a kid this kind of selective inclusiveness was an everyday affair. Tika Vidhya Ashram in the recent past The same school has been a subject of disgruntlement with us family members as the land that houses it at today's prices would be worth over ...