Bol Bom

In a religious rally Bool Baam on on the occasion of Chaturdasi of Sawan Mahina, devoties walk towards Legship Kirataswar Mandir to offer holy water.

Photo taken on Jorethang Road by Prabin Gurung.

Remind me of the Bol-Bomb posted earlier:

Maoist ministers resign en masse

UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ has handed over group resignation letters of his party ministers to Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal on Saturday evening.

During the meeting at the PM’s official residence in Baluwatar, Maoist chairman also gave an ultimatum to the PM either to reshuffle the cabinet by inducting the proposed Maoist members in the government as per Maoist decision or else have the Maoist party withdraw  its support to the Khanal led government. Prior to this meeting, Maoist standing committee has made such decision.

Today, a meeting was held on the same agenda between PM Khanal and UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Dahal, but, has ended inconclusively as the meeting failed to find common ground.

Nepali Movie – Eutai Bhul

First film of Dipak Films P. Ltd.; Gopal Subba presents
Nepali Movie – Eutai Bhul
Starring  – Dilip Rayamajhi, Dipak Tamang, Arpana Singh, Smarika Thapaliya etc.  
Script/Dialogue - Mukti Upadhaya (Baral)
Story / Direction - Pramanu Pradhan (Bom)

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Nepali actresses’ first child – daughters

In Nepali movie industry, it is seen that, most of the actresses give birth to a daughter as their first child. A Nepali movie related online media, filmykhabar, has collected a data of Nepali actresses who have already become mothers. It is surprising to find that majority of them have daughter as their first child. Not only the current mothers, to be mother like Arunima Lamsal is also expecting a daughter.

Bhuwan Chand with her husband and three daughters

Let’s see who are those actresses and their daughters:

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Samata school teachers resigned en masse

All 34 teachers of the Nawalparasi-based Samata School except Principal Sheshkanta Rimal resigned en masse on Friday saying that their demands including salary hike went unheard. A teacher said the teachers resigned collectively following heated disputes over salary hike and acknowledgement of their contribution by the school management committee.

The School was closed on Thursday, and on Friday, the school decided to close classes for five days after endorsing the resignation of teachers. The school is popular in imparting quality education to its pupils at a very less fee of Rs 150 per month only and has its branch across the nation.

After the parents’ gave pressure to seek a solution to problems, a meeting was conducted between the management and teachers on Saturday. According to Director of the school, Binod Pandey, the school has been paying each teacher up to Rs 8000 monthly salary and the school plans to run classes up to 10 from the next year.

Gorkhapatra – Insufficient Bandwidth

When I wanted to see the online edition of the oldest newspaper in Nepal, Gorkhapatra, I was surprised to the following screen:

It is surprising for a few reasons:

1. The media is the mouthpiece of the Government of Nepal.
2. It is state-owned: meaning they have more money to spend in quality webhost than any other private owned media in Nepal.
3. They have more manpower than other media houses
4. The newspaper is not that popular to have that many visitors (Stats show that they have less than half the visitors in xnepali).
5. Bandwidth are really cheap these days.

Now, I don’t know what this means in Gorkhapatra!

Technology in Ashram!

A laptop being used to teach the hymns in an Ashram in India.

Although, the spiritual and devotional Guru’s are not willing to change the 100s of years old (or is it thousands of year old?) style of clothing, it is good to know that technology is compelling enough to embrace.

I can visualize the kids swiping their hands on iPads (or, any other tablets) in a couple of years!

Nepali Movie – Jaya Shiva Shankar (2009)

Sushil Pokhrel’s
Nepali Movie – Jaya Shiva Shankar
Released in  – 2009
Starring: Rajesh Hamal, Mithila Sharma, Nikhil Upreti, Sanchita Luitel, Biraj Bhatt , Rejina Upreti, Poojana Pradhan etc.
Direction – Rajendra Upreti

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FIFA ranking: Nepal-1 in South Asia, 20 in Asia and 136 in the world

With the release of latest FIFA rankings, Nepal leads the South Asian region climbing up to the 136th position. Nepal has climbed 12 spots in the FIFA ranking list published on Wednesday that is released every month by football’s world governing body FIFA. Nepal ascended to the 136th position collecting 184 points, and in the South Asia, Bangladesh is the next following Nepal at 147.

India has slipped six places and is ranked 153 in the world rankings and third in South Asia. Nepal and Bangladesh are the only two countries in the South Asian region to ascend in the FIFA rankings whereas Bhutan remains unchanged at the bottom at rank 201 and all other remaining five countries have fallen back.

According to the latest FIFA rankings, ranks of South Asian countries are: -

Nepal – 136

Bangladesh – 147

India – 153

Maldives – 160

Pakistan – 171

Sri Lanka – 176

Afghanistan – 179

Bhutan – 201

In the history, Nepal’s new ranking is the second best. The first best, the highest ranking was 124 that Nepal had achieved from December 1993 to February 1994. The lowest ranking was in February 2008 when Nepal declined to 188.

In Zonal ranking among 46-member nations of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Nepal ranks 20.  On the basis of three international matches played recently by Nepal within a month, Nepal has achieved this new improved ranking though Nepal lost against Jordan with a huge margin last week. Nepal  was able to defeat East Timor 2-1 and 5-0 in two legs of the first round of 2014 World Cup Asian zone qualifying matches.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Nepal managed to hold Jordon to 1-1 draw in the second leg of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers played at the Dasharath Stadium, Kathmandu.

News in Brief – Inaruwa tense, Dispute resolution panel, Ambulance plunged in Trishuli

Locals picket Inaruwa police station

Devanunj of Sunsari has been tense after the locals clashed with police on Friday. The clash ensued after the locals pelted stones at the police who had confiscated illegal cotton brought from India. Police reportedly fired some rounds of tear gas shells into the air to contain the situation. According to DSP Indra Dahal of Sunsari Police Office, around five hundred locals picketed the police station this afternoon. Around six people have been injured in the scuffle, police said.

Dispute resolution panel resumes discussion

The Dispute Resolution Subcommittee under the Constitutional Committee has given continuity to resolve contentious issues on Friday. The meeting held for an hour in Singhadurbar this morning decided to focus the sub-committee on subjective issues to reduce the disputes seen in constitution drafting and House obstruction, sub-committee member Laxman Lal Karna informed. The next meeting has been scheduled for Sunday. The sub-committee formed under the coordination of UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has till date reduced the contentious issues seen in the committee for state restructuring and forms of governance to 25 from 78. However, the political parties are yet to forge consensus on other contentious issues including state restructuring, form of governance and election procedure.

Ambulance, truck plunge into Trishuli

An ambulance and a loaded truck plunged into the Trishuli River along the Mugling-Narayangarh Road stretch on Friday morning. Five persons have been injured in the accident. The truck (Na 3 Kha 6605) heading for Kathmandu from Narayangarh collided head-on the ambulance (Sa 1 Cha 682) and plunged into the river, informed District Police Office of Chitwan. Both the vehicles have been damaged in the accident. (Source – Kantipur)

May the corrupt rot – MaHa, Rameshowr Khanal, Bhagawati Kafle and 200 others

In a protest against corruption, high profile protesters like Bhagawati Kafle, Rameshore Khanal, MaHa jodi (Hari Bansha Acharya, Madan Krishna Shrestha), Rabindra Mishra, and others gathered in front of the office of The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), wearing the T-shirt with the message "Bhrasthachari laai kira paros" (Let the corrupt rot).

 Photo credits – edited from Chandra Maharjan’s photo

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Prachanda and Paras on common platform

A report published by the website of the Times of India on Wednesday, indicated that Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, chairman of Nepal’s Maoist party and Paras Bir Bikram Shah, the former crown prince, are sharing a common platform. Both, who were sworn enemies during the “People’s War” that sought to abolish monarchy in Nepal, are co-chairs of the Asia Pacific Exchange and Cooperation, a little-known organisation from Beijing that hit the headlines worldwide this month after coming up with a $3 billion grandiose plan to develop Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace, into a Buddhist “Mecca”.

The website has asked what common does Prachanda has with Paras. The party leading by Prachanda has fought a 10-year war ending in the death of over 17,000 people and the Paras is known for for letting fly with his gun and fists first and asking questions later? And the unexpected answer, according to the website, is: the Buddha, the apostle of peace and the Middle Path.

The website citing to the China Daily, further, listed out the joint chairmen as: Steven Clark Rockefeller Jr, a fifth-generation member of the Rockefeller family; Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress, Leon H Charney, a real estate tycoon and former US presidential adviser; Prachanda and Paras.
The ways of the Foundation have been mysterious. According to a local media report and the Chinese web site, Paras left Nepal in a huff for Singapore in 2008 and in March, Prachanda went on a clandestine visit to Singapore, ostensibly to attend a programme hosted by the Foundation. The visit led to speculation that he had gone there to meet Chinese authorities over the fluid political situation in Nepal. The previous year, Prachanda had gone to Malaysia on the invitation of the same organisation.

The Foundation has claimed to build hotels, railway tracks, a Buddhist university and an international airport at Lumbini, but, the Nepal government no inklings about this.  According to the Times of India, the Chinese appearance in the Buddha’s birthplace comes during India improving the Indian cities associated with the Buddha that is trying to mislead the world into believing that the Buddha was born in Nepal.

Kenjo – endangered herb found in Nepal hills

Kenjo is one of the many plants found in high hills. The plant used as a traditional medicine ingredient, is found in high hills of Taplejung.

Photo credits – Rabin Bhattarai, Taplejung (from Facebook)

Murder 2 – poster plagiarism – can also happen in Bollywood

I thought, it can only happen in Nepali movies, – a low grade trick to copy the idea from other movies’ posters to design their posters. But, I am proved wrong!

Big banner Bollywood movie Murder 2 did the same – not in one but two of its posters. The sequel to the 2004 superhit film Murder, Murder 2 is told to be a Bollywood erotic thriller film.

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Three arrested while selling statue of Budhha

Chitwan police arrested three people while trying to sell a statue of Buddha at NRs. 1 crore in Bharatpur on Tuesday.

Bom Bahadur Bumbu (40) of Palpa- 3, Bishnu Pariyar (26) and Aite Ram Sunar (29) of Mukundapur, Nawalparasi were arrested near Maya Devi Kanya College. However, their accomplice Chun Bahadur Ale of Butwal, managed to escape. About 10 inch statue weighs approximately 9.5 kg.

A saw and pliers were also seized along with the statue.  During the arrestee making public, SP at the Chitwan District Police Office (DPO) Rabindra Prasad Sharma said, “We are investigating where the statue came from and if it is actually made of gold.” He further added that he is handing over the statue to the archeological department for its identification.