As I've been growing up, I realize that my childhood days were the best days of my life. Life's not simple now, it's filled up with a lot of responsibilities and tensions. No matter what stress I am in, this video always relieves me of my worries, so I thought of sharing it here. It's one of the highest viewed videos on youtube. It's nothing more than a cute baby laughing but it's got the power to make me forget my troubles and then laugh or smile for a while.
Read More...
Animated Nepali Video
A few months ago I uploaded a video on youtube. You must have all heard the song "Machi Marana ho". This one's a remix version though. The video is made up of mostly combined clips from different sources. I didn't make the video, but found it somewhere else and then uploaded it to youtube.
The views are increasing daily. However, I am just putting it up here hoping that it gets more featured and is watched by more people.
Oh, and by the way, don't forget to comment if you like/dislike the video.
Read More...
The views are increasing daily. However, I am just putting it up here hoping that it gets more featured and is watched by more people.
Oh, and by the way, don't forget to comment if you like/dislike the video.
Koshi flooded just India, not Nepal ??
I was reading some Indian sites about the recent floods, and I was shocked to find out that most of them didn't even mention that there was a flood in Nepal. Most of these sites were just talking about how it was the breach in the embankments of Koshi in Nepal that led to the devastating floods in India. And, they've kept silent about the Indian controlled and operated dam in Nepal that has been the cause for the floods in Nepal time and again. It seems that the Indians do not know that Koshi floods Nepal as well. They're just lamenting over Nepal's apathy towards floods in India. Someone should let them know that Nepal was hit by the floods earlier than India, and that Nepal suffered a lot too - in terms of density Nepal suffered way more.
Read what an Indian news site had written about the recent floods. And what about the part - "The first priority is to provide relief and rehabilitate the people affected by floods (in Bihar)" - Upendra Yadav. Well, it seems that this news agency added the things in parenthesis by themselves without Mr. Yadav saying anything like that, but I guess he has failed miserably in letting the Indian side know that Nepal also suffered heavy losses because of the notorious Koshi's floods in Nepal. Either that, or some of these Indian news agencies are withholding what they know.
NEW DELHI : As Kosi river continued to cause widespread devastation in Bihar, Nepal on Friday said it will strengthen the embankment of the river on its side to prevent recurrence of such calamities.
"The first priority is to provide relief and rehabilitate the people affected by floods (in Bihar). This is the biggest need right now," Nepalese Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav told reporters here when asked to comment on the havoc caused by the breach of embankment in Kosi river in Nepal.
Asked whether Nepal would fortify the dam on its side of Kosi, Yadav said "it will be strengthened".
He ruled out any change in the Kosi river treaty with India.
There was a breach in embankment of the river, which originates in Nepal, that led to flooding in Bihar. The state government and some political parties have been asking the central government to take up the matter with Nepal.
The issue came up when Yadav met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met here last evening and the two sides agreed to work together in addressing the matter.
This news story can be found at http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Nepal_says_it_will_strengthen_Kosi_river_embankment/articleshow/3422685.cms . I sent an email to the editor letting them know that the flood hit Nepal before it hit India, that the Indian management of the Koshi dam in Nepal is careless, and corrupt, and that they are responsible, and that the breach in embankments, if any, is not the cause, but rather the embankments themselves are the cause of these kinds of floods that have caused so many people to be displaced. Please do send the editors of newspapers like this an email - we need to try open their eyes, even though they might just be pretending not to.
If you want to learn more about Koshi's floods in India, with a bit of a reference to Nepal, you need to read this article.
The Koshi Untamed
Read More...
Read what an Indian news site had written about the recent floods. And what about the part - "The first priority is to provide relief and rehabilitate the people affected by floods (in Bihar)" - Upendra Yadav. Well, it seems that this news agency added the things in parenthesis by themselves without Mr. Yadav saying anything like that, but I guess he has failed miserably in letting the Indian side know that Nepal also suffered heavy losses because of the notorious Koshi's floods in Nepal. Either that, or some of these Indian news agencies are withholding what they know.
NEW DELHI : As Kosi river continued to cause widespread devastation in Bihar, Nepal on Friday said it will strengthen the embankment of the river on its side to prevent recurrence of such calamities.
"The first priority is to provide relief and rehabilitate the people affected by floods (in Bihar). This is the biggest need right now," Nepalese Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav told reporters here when asked to comment on the havoc caused by the breach of embankment in Kosi river in Nepal.
Asked whether Nepal would fortify the dam on its side of Kosi, Yadav said "it will be strengthened".
He ruled out any change in the Kosi river treaty with India.
There was a breach in embankment of the river, which originates in Nepal, that led to flooding in Bihar. The state government and some political parties have been asking the central government to take up the matter with Nepal.
The issue came up when Yadav met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met here last evening and the two sides agreed to work together in addressing the matter.
This news story can be found at http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/PoliticsNation/Nepal_says_it_will_strengthen_Kosi_river_embankment/articleshow/3422685.cms . I sent an email to the editor letting them know that the flood hit Nepal before it hit India, that the Indian management of the Koshi dam in Nepal is careless, and corrupt, and that they are responsible, and that the breach in embankments, if any, is not the cause, but rather the embankments themselves are the cause of these kinds of floods that have caused so many people to be displaced. Please do send the editors of newspapers like this an email - we need to try open their eyes, even though they might just be pretending not to.
If you want to learn more about Koshi's floods in India, with a bit of a reference to Nepal, you need to read this article.
The Koshi Untamed
Something to Ponder on
I came across this article today while trying to read what international media had to say about the Nepali Maoists. It's a bit shocking, but I think I saw it coming. I don't know how truthful this news story is, but it's something that we'd have to think about. Reminds me of the Animal Farm - In the end, the pigs stand up on two legs, and then there's no difference between the humans and the pigs.
Here's the news story. You can read this online at: http://newsblaze.com/story/20070707171218nnnn.nb/topstory.html
Read More...
Here's the news story. You can read this online at: http://newsblaze.com/story/20070707171218nnnn.nb/topstory.html
By Halshi Bash
I am a Swiss national and practice Buddhism. I have been to Lumbini, Nepal, the birth place of Siddharta Gautama and other places like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Lukla, Gorkha and several Himalayan regions, many times. I love Nepal the way Nepalese do.
The reason I have so much affection towards Nepal may be because my professor and mentor, the late Tony Hagen, renowned economist and very popular with Nepalese people, loveed Nepal more than his own country, Switzerland. He never tired of talking about Nepal.
Though I am a native of Zurich, the German speaking city of Switzerland, I am currently residing in Rue de Rhone (Rhone lane or avenue) of Geneva, the French speaking part of the Swiss confederation. I have been here three years because of my employment contract with the Swiss Bank, "Credit Suisse". All of Switzerland's major banks are located within walking distance.
It is the reason most of the employees of different banks come to a very popular eatery, "cafe de Geneve" to have their breakfast and lunch. At these times, we always try to outsmart our colleagues and friends of different banks by initiating a very hot or new item of talk. Swiss tradition is that whoever has a new or very hot topic is considered to be a smarter than the others. But the topic should be genuine and authentic. Anyone can lose his or her image for a whole lifetime if he or she tells an unreliable story. So, the Swiss people have a habit of speaking based on authenticity.
Very recently, we were all outsmarted by our friends at another bank. I was particularly shocked because the topic was related to Nepal, my dream country and by faith my mother country because Buddhism was born in Nepal.
The very hot item of talk was so shocking that if the people of Nepal listened to it, they would have a million watt electric shock. The leaders of the Maoist Party including ministers of the present Nepal Government, namely, Prachanda (Pushpa K. Dahal), Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, Krishna Mahara, Hishila Yami and others were here to transfer a huge amount of money from Indian Banks to major Swiss Banks. The amount of that money is even more shocking because it is in the hundreds of million Euros. If the people of Nepal ask the Swiss Government, it can influence the Swiss Banks for the disclosure of the amounts and the account holders.
For my part, as a person having deep affection towards Nepal, I will do my best to find things in details but the Nepali people should understand my limitations as an Assistant Manager. The Nepali people should ask the Swiss Government to freeze the money as soon as possible otherwise the Swiss politicians could be bribed by the Banks to keep the Bank's secrecy.
It has also been said that some European Union members are helping the Maoists to transfer money to Swiss Banks. Why are the capitalist western countries helping extremist radical Maoists is beyond my understanding which could be a good subject of research for the people of Nepal.
Halshi Bash
Geneve, Switzerland (CH)
Make Videos in a Click
If you've ever wanted to make high quality videos by compiling your photos, but didn't have the knowledge about video-editing and stuffs, you shouldn't worry anymore. There's a site that was launched quite some time ago that does this work really easily and quickly. I used it to make some videos - and they are awesome. The best part about this is that you just need to upload the photos, and then choose a music from their library, or upload your music, and then you're done.
The site is http://www.animoto.com . They have Hollywood style transitions and effects - that's what they claim. In the free version, you can make 30 second long videos, but for a small fee you can upgrade and make better and long videos.
Here is a video I made sometime ago and uploaded on Youtube. Enjoy.
Read More...
The site is http://www.animoto.com . They have Hollywood style transitions and effects - that's what they claim. In the free version, you can make 30 second long videos, but for a small fee you can upgrade and make better and long videos.
Here is a video I made sometime ago and uploaded on Youtube. Enjoy.
Beware in Kathmandu
Well, I have real little medical knowledge so my rants about what I am about to write might not be really accurate but these are true events that happened sometime ago in my life and the consequences of which, I still face.
Firstly, there're a lot of things that you should worry about if you are in Kathmandu. When we are abroad, Mo:mo is the first thing that comes to my mind, and waters my tongue , whenever I think of Nepal. As soon as I landed in Kathmandu, I went to a lot of momo shops in and around Kathmandu to quench my thirst for momos. However, there're a few things you should keep in mind whenever you're in one of these restaurants.
The food is real unhygienic. And, you shouldn't drink water in these restaurants. Moreover, if you're one of those people, who feel that mineral waters should be safe - think again. Most of the mineral water bottles that are supplied in Kathmandu are directly filled from the taps in houses so they're as harmful and unsafe as your drinking water distributed by the Nepal Drinking Water Supply Organization.
So, a lot of momos and water made me sick. I went to a doctor. He ran some tests and concluded that I was suffering from typhoid. After that he gave me medicines that I had to consume three times a day. This was two days before I was scheduled to fly back to the states. However, I didn't feel any better until the day of my flight so my parents took me to Om Hospital. After some tests there, they concluded that I was actually suffering from Viral Hepatitis, or Jaundice and I was nowhere close to suffering from typhoid. Furthermore, they criticized the medicine that the other doctor gave and labelled them as being really strong and harmful to the strength of the body.
I had rescheduled my flight for 10 days later. The doctor at Om Hospital told my parents that he could make me feel well and ready to go back within three days. So, I stayed back at the hospital in the hospital bed with sline water passing through my body for three nights - four days.
Well, the hospital had good health facilities. But, one of the basic necessities of a good hospital is having good nurses that are always alert and talk in a friendly way to the patients. Most nurses in this hospital lacked this basic human instinct. They were rude, and unavailable most of the times. You had to shout back at most of them to have them respond properly. Well, the hospital charges a fee that's real high for most Nepalese, and yet the nurses speak to the patients as if they're working in state-owned hospitals where they have almost no responsibility to the patients.
I am now back at home and getting ready to go back. My advise to everyone who's visiting Nepal is - Don't eat outside a lot. Eat only in good places. Yummy foods in most places are made to get you sick. Be careful with water. Nepal is the last place in the world you'd want to get sick.
Read More...
Firstly, there're a lot of things that you should worry about if you are in Kathmandu. When we are abroad, Mo:mo is the first thing that comes to my mind, and waters my tongue , whenever I think of Nepal. As soon as I landed in Kathmandu, I went to a lot of momo shops in and around Kathmandu to quench my thirst for momos. However, there're a few things you should keep in mind whenever you're in one of these restaurants.
The food is real unhygienic. And, you shouldn't drink water in these restaurants. Moreover, if you're one of those people, who feel that mineral waters should be safe - think again. Most of the mineral water bottles that are supplied in Kathmandu are directly filled from the taps in houses so they're as harmful and unsafe as your drinking water distributed by the Nepal Drinking Water Supply Organization.
So, a lot of momos and water made me sick. I went to a doctor. He ran some tests and concluded that I was suffering from typhoid. After that he gave me medicines that I had to consume three times a day. This was two days before I was scheduled to fly back to the states. However, I didn't feel any better until the day of my flight so my parents took me to Om Hospital. After some tests there, they concluded that I was actually suffering from Viral Hepatitis, or Jaundice and I was nowhere close to suffering from typhoid. Furthermore, they criticized the medicine that the other doctor gave and labelled them as being really strong and harmful to the strength of the body.
I had rescheduled my flight for 10 days later. The doctor at Om Hospital told my parents that he could make me feel well and ready to go back within three days. So, I stayed back at the hospital in the hospital bed with sline water passing through my body for three nights - four days.
Well, the hospital had good health facilities. But, one of the basic necessities of a good hospital is having good nurses that are always alert and talk in a friendly way to the patients. Most nurses in this hospital lacked this basic human instinct. They were rude, and unavailable most of the times. You had to shout back at most of them to have them respond properly. Well, the hospital charges a fee that's real high for most Nepalese, and yet the nurses speak to the patients as if they're working in state-owned hospitals where they have almost no responsibility to the patients.
I am now back at home and getting ready to go back. My advise to everyone who's visiting Nepal is - Don't eat outside a lot. Eat only in good places. Yummy foods in most places are made to get you sick. Be careful with water. Nepal is the last place in the world you'd want to get sick.
Big G picks up the Mightier Sword
As he spends his time away from the political and media limelight, we have no idea what ex-King Gyanendra is up to as he stays in the government given palace in the outskirts of Kathmandu. Today, I found an article that briefly describes what the plans of the ex-King are. I do not know how credible either the agency or the reporter is, so you'll have to decide if you want to believe this article or not.
Here's the article.
By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, Aug 18 (IANS) Ousted Nepal king Gyanendra has reportedly exchanged his snake throne for a humble computer chair on which he sits everyday to hammer out his autobiography. Even as Maoist chief Prachanda, the revolutionary responsible for his fall from power, has laid down his gun, the last king of Nepal has metaphorically at least picked up the mightiest sword in the world for a last battle — though he may not be using a pen. His autobiography will present his experiments with truth, or what is perceived by him to be the truth.
Leading a low-key life in virtual exile, the former god-king’s autobiography in English is to have five segments, Nepali weekly Tarun reported Monday.
It starts with his turbulent childhood, when he was crowned king as a toddler and his life was in jeopardy after his grandfather Tribhuvan and father Mahendra fled to India seeking asylum, taking his elder brother Birendra with them but abandoning him.
The momentous incident is believed to have affected the boy profoundly, triggering a latent desire for power and two years ago, moving him to stage a coup.
When he quit the Narayanhity royal palace two months ago, the deposed king referred to the childhood crowning, saying fate had taken a hand in making him king.
The other parts of the autobiography deal with his experience of working as the chairman of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, a role that was taken away after his regime fell, his days on the throne as the unexpected king of Nepal after Birendra and his entire family perished in a midnight massacre in the palace, the fall of monarchy and conclusion.
If the report is true, publishers would be beating a line to the summer lodge in the Nagarjuna forest on the outskirts of Kathmandu Valley where the former king and queen were allowed to stay by the previous government of Girija Prasad Koirala.
It would be the hottest book to emerge from Nepal if not South Asia that would outshine the soon to be marketed biography of new prime minister Prachanda, the guerrilla chief who overthrew the once all-powerful monarch.
The Nepali weekly said Gyanendra, who has been reduced to a tax paying commoner and remains mostly confined to the palace, now spends a lot of his time reading up Nepal’s history and watching television.
Once used to projecting himself as an incarnation of a Hindu god whose shoelaces were tied by his aides, the former king has now thawed sufficiently to talk to his security personnel.
Taking long walks in the mornings and evenings, Gyanendra now takes interest in his security guards, regarding them for the first time as human beings with lives of their own.
“Do you have any problems?” the last king of Nepal reportedly asks his guards. “Where is your family? Do your children go to school?”
Article extracted from: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/gyanendra-picks-up-mightier-sword-writes-his-autobiography_10085436.html
Recent Gloomy Events in Nepal
As I've been sick and lying down on my bed, I get to see and hear a lot of news stories that make me apprehensive of Nepal's future even with a Maoist leadership. Some of my recent concerns are:
1). PM Prachanda wears Western Clothes (a suit) instead of the National Dress - Daura Surwal. These Maoists always talk about preserving culture and tradition when it comes to raising their demands such as the ones against the Miss Nepal Contest. At other times, they don't pay any heed to any cultural or moral values.
2). Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum. Well, this party has always surprised me. They claim to speak for the oppressed people of the Terai region. However, I was not able to find them expressing any concern about the recent flood because of the breakage of Koshi River's boundaries. All they seem to care is about getting to power, and promoting the Indian culture and language. At a time, when most people in the Terai are angry against India because of the Indian's lack of cooperation in opening the dams that led to the floods in the Koshi region, they are not expressing any sadness over the loss in the Terai, or any anger against the Indian management that runs the dams.
3). A faction of the BJP has warned that if Indian language is not accepted by the Government of Nepal as one of the Language of the Nation beside Nepali, they they would start an agitation that would harm the 70 + Lakhs of Nepalese living in India. Wow! That's a direct blow to the Nepalese sovereignty. We still need to see how this takes shape.
4). PM Prachanda visits China. Oh! Well he needs to do that to establish his party and himself in the international arena, but at a time when the nation is full of crises, he could have waited to show that he is not like the past leaders, who were really greedy to visit foreign countries. He has proven that he cares more about visiting foreign countries than solving the problems here in Nepal.
Read More...
1). PM Prachanda wears Western Clothes (a suit) instead of the National Dress - Daura Surwal. These Maoists always talk about preserving culture and tradition when it comes to raising their demands such as the ones against the Miss Nepal Contest. At other times, they don't pay any heed to any cultural or moral values.
2). Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum. Well, this party has always surprised me. They claim to speak for the oppressed people of the Terai region. However, I was not able to find them expressing any concern about the recent flood because of the breakage of Koshi River's boundaries. All they seem to care is about getting to power, and promoting the Indian culture and language. At a time, when most people in the Terai are angry against India because of the Indian's lack of cooperation in opening the dams that led to the floods in the Koshi region, they are not expressing any sadness over the loss in the Terai, or any anger against the Indian management that runs the dams.
3). A faction of the BJP has warned that if Indian language is not accepted by the Government of Nepal as one of the Language of the Nation beside Nepali, they they would start an agitation that would harm the 70 + Lakhs of Nepalese living in India. Wow! That's a direct blow to the Nepalese sovereignty. We still need to see how this takes shape.
4). PM Prachanda visits China. Oh! Well he needs to do that to establish his party and himself in the international arena, but at a time when the nation is full of crises, he could have waited to show that he is not like the past leaders, who were really greedy to visit foreign countries. He has proven that he cares more about visiting foreign countries than solving the problems here in Nepal.
Rashomon
Rashomon is one of the best movies I've ever seen. It features few characters and tells a simple story but the way it does that is really stimulating for the senses. Here is a brief info about the movie, followed by the movie.
Rashomon (羅生門 Rashōmon) is a 1950 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. It stars Toshirō Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori and Minoru Chiaki. The film is based on two stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa ("Rashomon" provides the setting, while "In a Grove" provides the characters and plot). Rashomon can be said to have introduced Kurosawa and Japanese cinema to Western audiences, and is considered one of his masterpieces.
The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and also received an Academy Honorary Award at the 25th Academy Awards.
Synopsis - This landmark film is a brilliant exploration of truth and human weakness. It opens with a priest, a woodcutter, and a peasant taking refuge from a downpour beneath a ruined gate in 12th-century Japan. The priest and the woodcutter, each looking stricken, discuss the trial of a notorious bandit for rape and murder. As the retelling of the trial unfolds, the participants in the crime -- the bandit (Toshiro Mifune), the rape victim (Machiko Kyo), and the murdered man (Masayuki Mori) -- tell their plausible though completely incompatible versions of the story. In the bandit's version, he and the man wage a spirited duel after the rape, resulting in the man's death. In the woman's testimony, she is spurned by her husband after being raped. Hysterical with grief, she kills him. In the man's version, speaking through the lips of a medium, the bandit beseeches the woman after the rape to go away with him. She insists that the bandit kill her husband first, which angers the bandit. He spurns her and leaves. The man kills himself. Seized with guilt, the woodcutter admits to the shocked priest and the commoner that he too witnessed the crime. His version is equally feasible, although his veracity is questioned when it is revealed that he stole a dagger from the crime scene. Just as all seems bleak and hopeless, a baby appears behind the gate. The commoner seizes the moment and steals the child's clothes, while the woodcutter redeems himself and humanity in the eyes of the troubled priest, by adopting the infant.
~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Impact and Influence in Japan
The film was produced by Daiei. The head of the company didn't understand what the film was about, and the company was reluctant to support the film so they gave the director only a small budget, roughly $5,000 USD.[citation needed] However, despite their doubts, the company gave the film a two-week premiere, twice as long as usual.
Most Japanese critics called the film a failure: It failed in "visualizing the style of the original stories," was "too complicated," "too monotonous," and contained "too much cursing." When it received positive responses in the West, Japanese critics were baffled; some decided that it was only admired there because it was "exotic," others that it succeeded because it was more "Western" than most Japanese films.
In a collection of interpretations of Rashomon, Donald Richie writes that "the confines of 'Japanese' thought could not contain the director, who thereby joined the world at large" (Richie, 80). He also quotes Kurosawa criticizing the way the "Japanese think too little of our own [Japanese] things."
According to documentaries on Kurosawa and Rashomon, Japanese audiences were shocked at two places in the film. The first occurred when the medium speaks using the dead man's voice and words. The other shocking scene occurs when the woman begs her assailant to kill her husband and safeguard her own honor. That level of blatant self-preservation was not previously depicted in Japanese films.
Influence outside Japan
The film was noticed by Ms. Giuliana Stramigioli, who then taught Italian language and literature at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and had been asked by the Italian film promotion agency Unitalia Film to pick a Japanese movie to be shown at the 1951 Venice Film Festival, and was chosen by her over the objections of Daiei film studio executives and also of Japanese government officials, who believed that the movie was "not enough representative of the Japanese movie industry," and would have preferred her to choose a movie directed by Yasujiro Ozu instead. Her choice was indeed the right one, as Kurosawa's movie went on to win the Golden Lion Award, and is widely credited to have introduced both its director and Japanese cinema to Western audiences. The film pioneered several cinematographic techniques, such as shooting directly into the sun and using mirrors to reflect sunlight onto the actor's faces. The film is also notable as an instance in which the camera "acts" or plays an active and important role in the story or its symbolism.
The film's concept has influenced an extensive variety of subsequent works, such as the films Vantage Point, "Virumaandi" Courage Under Fire, The Usual Suspects, One Night at McCool's, Basic and Hoodwinked!, the television series Boomtown [2] and episodes of television programs such as Star Trek: The Next Generation, A Different World, CSI, My Name Is Earl, Veronica Mars, Good Times, The X-Files, Happy Days, All in the Family, Carter Country, Kappa Mikey and Farscape. An episode of Dexter's Laboratory even mimicked the wooded glen for its background. The first act of Michael John LaChiusa's musical, See What I Wanna See, is also based on the same short stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, and features a main character who goes to a theater to see Rashomon. The 1964 western movie The Outrage, which starred Paul Newman, Claire Bloom and Edward G. Robinson, was a remake of Rashomon. The movie Hero has also been compared to Rashomon.
In the film Inside the Edges, German filmmaker Werner Herzog said that Rashomon is the closest to "perfect" a film can get.
In Taiwan, press used to refer to a case in which each party involved is having different versions of what actually took place (ex. a crime or a meeting between politicians) as "a Rashomon."
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki, Kichijiro Ueda, Fumiko Honma, Daisuke Kato
Running Time: 88 minutes
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Watch this movie. Click here for a Full Screen
Miss Universe is Rigged
I didn't write this one, but I liked this one, so I am posting it here. Below is the web-address that contains articles like this.
I'm amazed that with all the billions of galaxies throughout our vast infinite cosmos, someone from Earth always seems to win the Miss Universe pagent. How can this be possible? The odds of this happening every year must be astronomical. (No pun intended.) Come on, what about Miss Andromeda Nebula? She was a lovely morphing vaporous mass in her floor-length evening gown. Simply stunning... And what about the elegant Miss Alpha Centauri? Dazzling the audience with her oozing, yet quite shapely, gelatinous figure in the Swimsuit Competition and again winning over the crowd with her flawless plate-spinning performance during the Talent Competition. Incredibly achieved without limbs, I might add! How could she lose???... You know, I think the whole thing is rigged. Dang biased Earthling judges....
For articles like this, goto http://northvalley.net/weird
Read More...
I'm amazed that with all the billions of galaxies throughout our vast infinite cosmos, someone from Earth always seems to win the Miss Universe pagent. How can this be possible? The odds of this happening every year must be astronomical. (No pun intended.) Come on, what about Miss Andromeda Nebula? She was a lovely morphing vaporous mass in her floor-length evening gown. Simply stunning... And what about the elegant Miss Alpha Centauri? Dazzling the audience with her oozing, yet quite shapely, gelatinous figure in the Swimsuit Competition and again winning over the crowd with her flawless plate-spinning performance during the Talent Competition. Incredibly achieved without limbs, I might add! How could she lose???... You know, I think the whole thing is rigged. Dang biased Earthling judges....
For articles like this, goto http://northvalley.net/weird
Don't make these Analogies
For articles like this, goto http://northvalley.net/weird
Well, below is a list of bad analogies. If you don't know what bad analogies are, they are the kind of analogies in this list.
She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again.
The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
McBride fell twelve stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup.
From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.
Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.
Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center.
Bob was as perplexed as a hacker who means to access T:flw.quid55328.com\aaakk/ch@ung but gets T:\flw.quidaaakk/ch@ung by mistake.
Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like "Second Tall Man."
Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the period after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can.
John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.
His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like socks in a dryer without Cling Free.
The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon.
He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
"He smells bad," she thought, "As bad as Calvin Klein's Obsession would smell if it were called Enema and was made from spoiled Spamburgers instead of natural floral fragrances."
After having printed the book, he felt that very few would remember his participation. Like the football player who passed to the goal scorer.
The baseball player stepped out of the box and spit like a fountain statue of a Greek god that scratches itself a lot and spits brown, rusty tobacco water and refuses to sign autographs for all the little Greek kids unless they pay him lots of drachmas.
I felt a nameless dread. Well, there probably is a long German name for it, like geschpooklicheit or something, but I don't speak German. Anyway, it's a dread that nobody knows the name for, like those little square plastic gizmos that close your bread bags. I don't know the name for those either.
She was as unhappy as when someone puts your cake out in the rain, and all the sweet green icing flows down and then you lose the recipe, and on top of that you can't sing worth a damn.
His fountain pen was so expensive it looked as if someone had grabbed the pope, turned him upside down and started writing with the tip of his big pointy hat.
After sending in my entries for the Style Invitational, I feel relieved and apprehensive, like a little boy who has just wet his bed.
Read More...
Well, below is a list of bad analogies. If you don't know what bad analogies are, they are the kind of analogies in this list.
She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again.
The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.
McBride fell twelve stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup.
From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.
Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.
Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center.
Bob was as perplexed as a hacker who means to access T:flw.quid55328.com\aaakk/ch@ung but gets T:\flw.quidaaakk/ch@ung by mistake.
Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like "Second Tall Man."
Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the period after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can.
John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play.
His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like socks in a dryer without Cling Free.
The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon.
He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
"He smells bad," she thought, "As bad as Calvin Klein's Obsession would smell if it were called Enema and was made from spoiled Spamburgers instead of natural floral fragrances."
After having printed the book, he felt that very few would remember his participation. Like the football player who passed to the goal scorer.
The baseball player stepped out of the box and spit like a fountain statue of a Greek god that scratches itself a lot and spits brown, rusty tobacco water and refuses to sign autographs for all the little Greek kids unless they pay him lots of drachmas.
I felt a nameless dread. Well, there probably is a long German name for it, like geschpooklicheit or something, but I don't speak German. Anyway, it's a dread that nobody knows the name for, like those little square plastic gizmos that close your bread bags. I don't know the name for those either.
She was as unhappy as when someone puts your cake out in the rain, and all the sweet green icing flows down and then you lose the recipe, and on top of that you can't sing worth a damn.
His fountain pen was so expensive it looked as if someone had grabbed the pope, turned him upside down and started writing with the tip of his big pointy hat.
After sending in my entries for the Style Invitational, I feel relieved and apprehensive, like a little boy who has just wet his bed.
Sano Sansar - New (Different) Nepali Movie
Click here to read the latest review of this movie. Scroll below for music videos, and to read what I'd hoped from this movie.
For those of us, who always lamented about having to see Nepali movies that were designed for a different audience than us, there's something to cheer about. Quest Entertainment, the group that owns JaiNepal and Kumari Halls, is about to release it's new movie - Sano Sansar. After the success (or failure, I don't know) of it's movie - Kagbeni - has come up with this movie.
Kagbeni made quite a big name. It was different than the rest of the Nepali films, which mostly portrayed familial problems, and had a villain, who was running after the heroine, and then the story ended with the marriage of the hero and the heroine. It made the best of Nepal's natural beauty. Also, the technology seemed to be better in Kagbeni.
Sano Sansar seems to follow the same trend as Kagbeni albeit in a different way. It seems to be heavily inspired by Korean movies of high school students. Many people have expressed the view time and again that Nepali Music Videos are improving real fast, whereas the state of the movies seems to be at a standstill, if not declining. Well, Sano Sansar comes as a relief to people, who think that way. It's directed by Alok Nemang - the guy, who used to host shows in Image Channel when it just started, and who later started making good music videos.
To get an idea of what the movie is about, take a look at this trailer. It's always played in JaiNepal and Kumari these days.
There's also a music video of this song that's been released. It features some grinding action. The heroine, Namrata, is hot and beautiful. Take a look at this music video. The vocal isn't that great, but hey it's a commercial movie, and they always use vocals like this (in a lot of Bollywood movies). Here's the video.
There will always be people, who know how to criticize. However, despite the flaws that this movie might have, I feel that this is a change - a progressive change for Nepali movies. Also, these movies would be played in JaiNepal and Kumari - and would thus reach an exclusive audience that rarely watches Nepali movies.
Himal PhotoJournal
The publishers of Himal Khabar Patrika have brought out the Himal Photo Journal, 2008. This photo book has photos covering a broad scope including sports, politics, oil scarcities, protests, etc. It has photographs starting from the Jana Andolan to the constituent assembly elections. The pictures are real high quality, and if you love Nepal, you should download this photobook. As for me, I did it, and here I am, advocating it. Most of the photos come with a brief explanation of the conditions pertaining to the photograph.
Here is a picture from the magazine that shows the aftermath of a street protest.
Click here to download this photo book.
Read More...
Here is a picture from the magazine that shows the aftermath of a street protest.Click here to download this photo book.
Pictures of Kathmandu
I was just walking around the Basantapur Area with a camera in my hands. Then I thought - Why not click some random pictures and post them here. The pictures are medium sized - 600 x 399 pixels. If you want any photos here in a bigger resolution, let me know.
Read More...
This guy thought I was a tourist. He asked me to take his photo when he saw that I was shooting some pics. I took it, and then he comes around me and asks for money. I didn't have any change, but more than that I was not ready to give money for just a photo. He doesn't let me go. Then I ask him to come with me for the money and take him to the Hanuman Dhoka Police, who laugh when I tell them that I am a Nepali. They tell me that the Rishi guy is dumb. Everyone laughs, and he stops following me.
Mustang Photos - 1
Here are a few photos from my journey to Mustang. I have also tried to describe these images with a few words at the side, but to no avail, I think. The pictures are already worth a thousand words, so I might not be contributing much. I will add more in the days to come.
This is on the way from Muktinath to Jomsom. It was a very rough but exciting journey downhill. At times, the wind would be so strong that small pebbles would fly off and hit us at our legs and bodies, adding a bit of pain to the fun. The wind's real cool though.
This is the Dumba Lake/ Tal. It's an uphill journey of about an hour from Jomsom across the Kali Gandaki River. It's considered to be a holy lake so people aren't allowed to fish/swim or boat in the river. It's real exciting because of the wind and the cool water, and occassionally the panoramic view of the mountains on almost every side.
This is the view downhill from Jharkot. This big hill that you can see just beyond the green is real fun to watch. It's almost barren and on a few parts you can see patches of green, that makes one wonder and ask hilself - "How is there this green spot in such a sandy hill?"
These are the famous 108 taps around the Muktinath Temple. The water on the taps comes straight from the mountains and it's real cold. I bathed in the holy showers for three times - quite an accomplishment, I think. I also drank a lot of this water because I felt a bit of a head-ache because of the altitude, I guess.
This is the famous Muktinath Temple. Situated at a height of 3850 m, this truly is a majestic temple. The panoramic views of the mountains one can see from this place is simply awe-inspiring. I have made a resolve to go to this temple again - And this time, I'll be sure to do the Royal Trek - a trek of 21 days in which you travel through the Thorung La.
This is the view of Jharkot from a place midway between Jharkot and Muktinath. As we were walking through this path, I and my friends, were discussing if the grey-black mountain was taller than the snow capped mountains on it's left. After a long perid of discussion fueled by intoxication, we concluded that the snow-capped mountain was taller. That was a fun thing to do.
This is Jharkot as seen from the path that reaches Muktinath. This small town looks real historical and on passing one cannot overlook help feeling that this has many town must have many historical tales to tell.
This is the view from the uphill path to Muktinath from Kagbeni. Kagbeni, the new one, is just below, just on the left of the green fields we see. At the junction downhill, Kali that flows from Damodar lake mixes with Gandaki that flows from Muktinath, and forms the mighty Kali Gandaki River - the most mystical river of Nepal, I think.
This is the view from one of the small valleys on the banks of Kali Gandaki River. Kagbeni/Muktinath is beyond the hills, and Jomsom, the capital of Muktinath is behind the camera. This is the actual path we had to walk on - even vans would also be driving along this path. The whole trail to Muktinath is full of beautiful views like this.
This is the view of a mountain from the Kali Gandaki Valley, about midway between Jomsom and Kagbeni. This photo does not clearly depict what we saw. Makes me realize that I should have bought a Nikon D 80 instead of the camera I bought.
I forgot which place this is. But, from my estimations, I feel that this might be the end of Jomsom, when one's going to Muktinath.
This is the path from Jomsom to Muktinath. I like this picture. It shows how insignificant we humans are, as compared to this mighty nature.
This is Jomsom - the windy valley. It's a pretty good place. We stayed at Hotel Alka Marco Polo. It also has a few computers with internet. Sick! It's a nice place to stay. There's a pool place in front of the restaurant, and there's another one a few blocks away.
Read More...
This is on the way from Muktinath to Jomsom. It was a very rough but exciting journey downhill. At times, the wind would be so strong that small pebbles would fly off and hit us at our legs and bodies, adding a bit of pain to the fun. The wind's real cool though.
This is the Dumba Lake/ Tal. It's an uphill journey of about an hour from Jomsom across the Kali Gandaki River. It's considered to be a holy lake so people aren't allowed to fish/swim or boat in the river. It's real exciting because of the wind and the cool water, and occassionally the panoramic view of the mountains on almost every side.
This is the view downhill from Jharkot. This big hill that you can see just beyond the green is real fun to watch. It's almost barren and on a few parts you can see patches of green, that makes one wonder and ask hilself - "How is there this green spot in such a sandy hill?"
These are the famous 108 taps around the Muktinath Temple. The water on the taps comes straight from the mountains and it's real cold. I bathed in the holy showers for three times - quite an accomplishment, I think. I also drank a lot of this water because I felt a bit of a head-ache because of the altitude, I guess.
This is the famous Muktinath Temple. Situated at a height of 3850 m, this truly is a majestic temple. The panoramic views of the mountains one can see from this place is simply awe-inspiring. I have made a resolve to go to this temple again - And this time, I'll be sure to do the Royal Trek - a trek of 21 days in which you travel through the Thorung La.
This is the view of Jharkot from a place midway between Jharkot and Muktinath. As we were walking through this path, I and my friends, were discussing if the grey-black mountain was taller than the snow capped mountains on it's left. After a long perid of discussion fueled by intoxication, we concluded that the snow-capped mountain was taller. That was a fun thing to do.
This is Jharkot as seen from the path that reaches Muktinath. This small town looks real historical and on passing one cannot overlook help feeling that this has many town must have many historical tales to tell.
This is the view from the uphill path to Muktinath from Kagbeni. Kagbeni, the new one, is just below, just on the left of the green fields we see. At the junction downhill, Kali that flows from Damodar lake mixes with Gandaki that flows from Muktinath, and forms the mighty Kali Gandaki River - the most mystical river of Nepal, I think.
This is the view from one of the small valleys on the banks of Kali Gandaki River. Kagbeni/Muktinath is beyond the hills, and Jomsom, the capital of Muktinath is behind the camera. This is the actual path we had to walk on - even vans would also be driving along this path. The whole trail to Muktinath is full of beautiful views like this.
This is the view of a mountain from the Kali Gandaki Valley, about midway between Jomsom and Kagbeni. This photo does not clearly depict what we saw. Makes me realize that I should have bought a Nikon D 80 instead of the camera I bought.
I forgot which place this is. But, from my estimations, I feel that this might be the end of Jomsom, when one's going to Muktinath.
This is the path from Jomsom to Muktinath. I like this picture. It shows how insignificant we humans are, as compared to this mighty nature.
This is Jomsom - the windy valley. It's a pretty good place. We stayed at Hotel Alka Marco Polo. It also has a few computers with internet. Sick! It's a nice place to stay. There's a pool place in front of the restaurant, and there's another one a few blocks away.
Growing Number of Naked Protests
The number of naked protests happening in Nepal seems to be on the rise. Yesterday, there were a few females in Maitighar Mandala, getting semi-naked and protesting over the domestic violence against women in Nepal. Well, what they're fighting for is totally legitimate. And, the government didn't show any concern to their protests when they started their peaceful sit-in protest. But, yesterday, when they decided to get semi-naked to arouse government's attention, they were successful, albeit in a different way than what they'd planned.
Here's the video of how they protested.
Just after some time they decided to take some of their clothes off, the police took over. These women were fighting against the dominance of males in the households and the pathetic treatment that women get in the family, mostly in rural parts of Nepal. Well, they got a less-severe but similar kind of treatment by the police, who were mostly comprised of males. They grabbed the women by their hands, and legs, and put them in a van.
Well, they don't do anything to model contests, where the women get more naked than what these women yesterday seemed to be. If you watch music videos, women are clad in dresses that are no better than bikinis. Why were these women taken into custody and not them? Oh, well, one reason might be that these women, who were trying to show off some parts of their body, had a valid reason behind what they were doing. They were fighting for the overall good of all the women in Nepal. The government cannot tolerate that.
If you want to show your body, you should not demand anything for it - That's what the government mentality seems to be like.
However, I see some incomprehensies in the protest the females organized. By this time, they must be well aware that the Nepali government is real incapable. If they want to achieve something, they must take things on their own hands. That's the first and foremost requisite for the success of any movement in Nepal now. Until you resort to vandalism, or become some sort of vigilantes, you can get nothing accomplished. These women should have known that. Also, a better way to uplift women's status would be to go to villages and search for ways to empower women. Kathmandu protests' aren't going to be that effective. Look at all the laws we have even now! Even the ones that are there, aren't effective. Nothing is going to change by a government decision.
At this point, I also remember a naked protest by the supporters of Manokranti sometime ago in Kathmandu. Their full-naked protest was aimed against the media. Media's involved in yellow journalism. Why don't they publish our great accomplishments and only run after small, minor news in politics or anywhere else apart from ours'? With this they staged a naked protest.
I believe everyone should have the right and freedom to get naked. But, demanding something by being naked is not the way to go.
Below are some of the pics of the naked protest by the Manokranti followers.
Images courtesy of enasha.com, and mothshutup.wordpress.com
Read More...
Here's the video of how they protested.
Just after some time they decided to take some of their clothes off, the police took over. These women were fighting against the dominance of males in the households and the pathetic treatment that women get in the family, mostly in rural parts of Nepal. Well, they got a less-severe but similar kind of treatment by the police, who were mostly comprised of males. They grabbed the women by their hands, and legs, and put them in a van.
Well, they don't do anything to model contests, where the women get more naked than what these women yesterday seemed to be. If you watch music videos, women are clad in dresses that are no better than bikinis. Why were these women taken into custody and not them? Oh, well, one reason might be that these women, who were trying to show off some parts of their body, had a valid reason behind what they were doing. They were fighting for the overall good of all the women in Nepal. The government cannot tolerate that.
If you want to show your body, you should not demand anything for it - That's what the government mentality seems to be like.
However, I see some incomprehensies in the protest the females organized. By this time, they must be well aware that the Nepali government is real incapable. If they want to achieve something, they must take things on their own hands. That's the first and foremost requisite for the success of any movement in Nepal now. Until you resort to vandalism, or become some sort of vigilantes, you can get nothing accomplished. These women should have known that. Also, a better way to uplift women's status would be to go to villages and search for ways to empower women. Kathmandu protests' aren't going to be that effective. Look at all the laws we have even now! Even the ones that are there, aren't effective. Nothing is going to change by a government decision.
At this point, I also remember a naked protest by the supporters of Manokranti sometime ago in Kathmandu. Their full-naked protest was aimed against the media. Media's involved in yellow journalism. Why don't they publish our great accomplishments and only run after small, minor news in politics or anywhere else apart from ours'? With this they staged a naked protest.
I believe everyone should have the right and freedom to get naked. But, demanding something by being naked is not the way to go.
Below are some of the pics of the naked protest by the Manokranti followers.
Images courtesy of enasha.com, and mothshutup.wordpress.com
Miss Nepal - The Maoist Females Association's Protests; My Replies
Though they’ve dropped down their arms and ammunitions, the Maoists still have wars on various fronts. One such hot topic is the controversial Miss Nepal issue. I am yet to hear of any other country in which this competition is so widely criticized other than Nepal.
There are two sides to every issue. Hidden Treasure, the organizer of the pageant, along with dozens of other organizations, actively support the competition, whereas several Female Rights organizations actively want to put it to an end. The Maoist female wing is the most active and aggressive among such groups.
Recently there was a talk held between this year’s contestants and the representatives from the Maoist Female Organization. I list down the points put forth by the Maoists below. Most of them are invalid, and immature. I will list each of their argument and counter them ONE ON ONE.
1.The pageant's ultimate goal is to use women as tools or objects in advertisements for various products.
→ Well, if you’re against advertisements, why don't you try to put an end to all the advertisements in which women are portrayed? But mind this: You’ll be putting an end to the careers of a lot of people – the female models, the ad agencies, the graphics designers, the camera crew, and a bunch of others. What other employment opportunities do you have for them in mind?
Try being constructive, not only destructive.
2.Beauty is nature-given. And therefore what is natural can never be judged or put to compete.
→ Oh well, Nepal has a lot of natural beauty in the hills and mountains, and these are constantly judged by tourists, and hence Nepal is able to earn revenue through tourism.
Also, beauty is totally not nature given. There are ways by which you can be more beautiful, or ugly. Also, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. I can judge beauty along with billions of other people in the world. Can’t you? While you’re marrying or dating, don’t you search for a handsome guy or a beautiful girl? If not, that’s your problem.
3.This contest stands against Nepali culture and tradition.
→ Culture is never static, but dynamic. Nepalese society and cultures are changing, and the pageant is reflective of the changes. So you’d have to stop the changes in our society before you stop the pageant.
4.For a country whose majority of citizens live under the poverty line, this competition is way too expensive for all Nepalese.
→ Why don’t you first consider the expensive vehicles in which your leaders travel before you make that statement? Also, a lot of meetings that you and other parties hold take place in expensive hotels. Just because most Nepalese are poor, are you advocating that these girls should not be allowed to experience a rich lifestyle for some time?
5.The one-year contract that the winners sign after winning the crown is a violation of their basic human rights to be free.
→ This one seems to be a philosophical question. What do you think is freedom? You’d have to then go against all the other contracts – in the movies, serials, jobs and so forth. Don’t you think your barring of girls to take part in this competition is a greater obstacle to freedom than the contract?
6.The pageant is not a platform for opportunities; the girls are being fooled.
→ Isn’t being able to go to foreign countries and being able to be known in the whole world and earning a lot of money an opportunity? Also, all the Miss Nepal’s get a lot of work opportunities. Also, they get more prospective proposals for dating and marriage. That I think is not being fooled.
7.This pageant does not basically help the winners to help the society it rather gives them a platform to cheat work, a shortcut to name, fame and money.
→ Oops! NAME, FAME AND MONEY. Just before you said that they don’t get any opportunities, and that they are just getting fooled. Well, they don’t really help the society. They just pretend to. So, you think that anything that doesn’t help the society is cheating. They at least pretend to, but their social work has some positive outcomes. What have you done?
8.This pageant bogs down the young minds in a world of fantasies eventually triggering their tendencies to use drugs and go for other kinds of criminal activities or even commit suicide.
→ This is so ridiculous that I cannot even think of what to say. I just have to ask you again – How do drug use, criminal activities and suicides follow? It seems that your own mind is bogged rather than theirs’.
9.This pageant gives a message that "to be a woman, one has to be beautiful and only the beautiful are real women".
→ No, it gives the message that there are beautiful and talented women, and that they should be recognized. This competition is also about talent. It never, in any form, states that the losers in this competition or those that do not take part are not women, and are not real. Don’t just make up Bullshit.
10. And that message indirectly adds fuel to domestic violence, rape and murders of women.
→ Well, I think that it gives women the feeling that they can stand alone without males. They develop the confidence of speaking against domestic violence, rape and murders, not otherwise.
11.Even if it looks as if international agencies are aiding the contest, the truth really is that the pageant is run by government tax.
→ What is the evidence that you have to support your claim? Even if this is the case, you’d have to prove that this pageant is bad for the country to stop it. You can’t make the opposite argument that it has to be stopped because it’s run by government taxes.
12. And so the national capital goes to the hands of foreign country.
→ How much? Are you counting the money spent in the flights of the winners when they go to other countries to participate in these events? I do not think that our government is rich enough to spend money that immaturely. If this is even the case, why can’t you think of how these pageants could help to bring in foreign money? That would be a proper solution.
13.The pageant shifts away the focus from the common wish of those suffering from lingual, gender, caste, creed and nativity issues that would be talked about in the Constituent Assembly.
→ Oh well! The Constituent Assembly doesn’t need anything else to shift the attentions away from it. You, the representatives, have already done a lot to help that. Also, what do you mean? That we all should remain glued to our television sets and watch the commotion and the acts you perform there. Should everything else come to a halt?
14.The pageant hurts the sentiments and pride of women living across the country.
→ How? Do they even get to watch it? What do you think of Music Videos? This is simply not true. What have you done to uplift their status? Are you sure you haven't hurt them?
15.Civilization is about wearing clothes and when the contestants walk on the ramp half-naked, it dishonors women virtue.
→ That is what you think. Is civilization all about wearing clothes? What’s the women virtue that’s dishonored by walking half naked?
16.The government should be responsible to provide jobs to women, not this sort of beauty pageants.
→ The government is responsible for so many things it cannot do. If you feel that the government expenditure in this case if harming the country, why don’t you fight for stopping government donation to this contest, rather than the contest? Reasons such as these make me believe that you are not being honest in what you’re advocating for. Also, I fail to see what you’re advocating for here.
17.We've been raising our voices against this pageant since almost two decades now, and despite of it, the organizers have shown little concern and have been running the pageant without our consent.
→ Oh, well, should this be the reason for stopping this contest. You are trying to stop what they’re doing. Who are you that they should seek your consent? If I raise my voice against what you do, do you stop doing what you’re doing just to get my consent? I suppose no. Show some understanding.
18.Use of inappropriate sub-titles such as best smile, best figure etc. for the contestants is wrong.
→ Why is it wrong? What is right? What’s wrong? Define everything properly before you say something. You said beauty can’t be judged in the first point, so if that’s the case then this is not wrong but impossible.
19.And finally, this pageant must be banned because it opens a platform only to young, raw minded youth.
→ Why don’t you then advocate contests for elderly men and women? There are competitions like these for young kids. Should something be banned just because it gives an opportunity for a certain age group. If that’s the case, you’d have to put an end to the system of age qualifications in jobs. Young people are the ones who are in most need of a platform. The others are usually already established and don’t need any such platforms. According to this argument, you should also consider putting an end to Nepali Tara because it opens a platform only for people with an ability to sing, and all those that can’t sing are disadvantaged!
Well, I’m not totally a supporter of how the Miss Nepal contest is run. The females need more training. Many things about the competition look fake. It doesn’t actually measure talent (along with beauty, that’s what the organizers say) because the questions that are asked are of a real low grade. We need to make it better, not put an end to it.
This mentality expressed by those, who want to put an end to the competition, represents a backward thinking – one that will never help the progress and development of Nepal. Even if you want to stop the pageant, you’d have to put forth some valid points, not such rash, immature, and foolish points.
Read More...
There are two sides to every issue. Hidden Treasure, the organizer of the pageant, along with dozens of other organizations, actively support the competition, whereas several Female Rights organizations actively want to put it to an end. The Maoist female wing is the most active and aggressive among such groups.
Recently there was a talk held between this year’s contestants and the representatives from the Maoist Female Organization. I list down the points put forth by the Maoists below. Most of them are invalid, and immature. I will list each of their argument and counter them ONE ON ONE.
1.The pageant's ultimate goal is to use women as tools or objects in advertisements for various products.
→ Well, if you’re against advertisements, why don't you try to put an end to all the advertisements in which women are portrayed? But mind this: You’ll be putting an end to the careers of a lot of people – the female models, the ad agencies, the graphics designers, the camera crew, and a bunch of others. What other employment opportunities do you have for them in mind?
Try being constructive, not only destructive.
2.Beauty is nature-given. And therefore what is natural can never be judged or put to compete.
→ Oh well, Nepal has a lot of natural beauty in the hills and mountains, and these are constantly judged by tourists, and hence Nepal is able to earn revenue through tourism.
Also, beauty is totally not nature given. There are ways by which you can be more beautiful, or ugly. Also, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. I can judge beauty along with billions of other people in the world. Can’t you? While you’re marrying or dating, don’t you search for a handsome guy or a beautiful girl? If not, that’s your problem.
3.This contest stands against Nepali culture and tradition.
→ Culture is never static, but dynamic. Nepalese society and cultures are changing, and the pageant is reflective of the changes. So you’d have to stop the changes in our society before you stop the pageant.
4.For a country whose majority of citizens live under the poverty line, this competition is way too expensive for all Nepalese.
→ Why don’t you first consider the expensive vehicles in which your leaders travel before you make that statement? Also, a lot of meetings that you and other parties hold take place in expensive hotels. Just because most Nepalese are poor, are you advocating that these girls should not be allowed to experience a rich lifestyle for some time?
5.The one-year contract that the winners sign after winning the crown is a violation of their basic human rights to be free.
→ This one seems to be a philosophical question. What do you think is freedom? You’d have to then go against all the other contracts – in the movies, serials, jobs and so forth. Don’t you think your barring of girls to take part in this competition is a greater obstacle to freedom than the contract?
6.The pageant is not a platform for opportunities; the girls are being fooled.
→ Isn’t being able to go to foreign countries and being able to be known in the whole world and earning a lot of money an opportunity? Also, all the Miss Nepal’s get a lot of work opportunities. Also, they get more prospective proposals for dating and marriage. That I think is not being fooled.
7.This pageant does not basically help the winners to help the society it rather gives them a platform to cheat work, a shortcut to name, fame and money.
→ Oops! NAME, FAME AND MONEY. Just before you said that they don’t get any opportunities, and that they are just getting fooled. Well, they don’t really help the society. They just pretend to. So, you think that anything that doesn’t help the society is cheating. They at least pretend to, but their social work has some positive outcomes. What have you done?
8.This pageant bogs down the young minds in a world of fantasies eventually triggering their tendencies to use drugs and go for other kinds of criminal activities or even commit suicide.
→ This is so ridiculous that I cannot even think of what to say. I just have to ask you again – How do drug use, criminal activities and suicides follow? It seems that your own mind is bogged rather than theirs’.
9.This pageant gives a message that "to be a woman, one has to be beautiful and only the beautiful are real women".
→ No, it gives the message that there are beautiful and talented women, and that they should be recognized. This competition is also about talent. It never, in any form, states that the losers in this competition or those that do not take part are not women, and are not real. Don’t just make up Bullshit.
10. And that message indirectly adds fuel to domestic violence, rape and murders of women.
→ Well, I think that it gives women the feeling that they can stand alone without males. They develop the confidence of speaking against domestic violence, rape and murders, not otherwise.
11.Even if it looks as if international agencies are aiding the contest, the truth really is that the pageant is run by government tax.
→ What is the evidence that you have to support your claim? Even if this is the case, you’d have to prove that this pageant is bad for the country to stop it. You can’t make the opposite argument that it has to be stopped because it’s run by government taxes.
12. And so the national capital goes to the hands of foreign country.
→ How much? Are you counting the money spent in the flights of the winners when they go to other countries to participate in these events? I do not think that our government is rich enough to spend money that immaturely. If this is even the case, why can’t you think of how these pageants could help to bring in foreign money? That would be a proper solution.
13.The pageant shifts away the focus from the common wish of those suffering from lingual, gender, caste, creed and nativity issues that would be talked about in the Constituent Assembly.
→ Oh well! The Constituent Assembly doesn’t need anything else to shift the attentions away from it. You, the representatives, have already done a lot to help that. Also, what do you mean? That we all should remain glued to our television sets and watch the commotion and the acts you perform there. Should everything else come to a halt?
14.The pageant hurts the sentiments and pride of women living across the country.
→ How? Do they even get to watch it? What do you think of Music Videos? This is simply not true. What have you done to uplift their status? Are you sure you haven't hurt them?
15.Civilization is about wearing clothes and when the contestants walk on the ramp half-naked, it dishonors women virtue.
→ That is what you think. Is civilization all about wearing clothes? What’s the women virtue that’s dishonored by walking half naked?
16.The government should be responsible to provide jobs to women, not this sort of beauty pageants.
→ The government is responsible for so many things it cannot do. If you feel that the government expenditure in this case if harming the country, why don’t you fight for stopping government donation to this contest, rather than the contest? Reasons such as these make me believe that you are not being honest in what you’re advocating for. Also, I fail to see what you’re advocating for here.
17.We've been raising our voices against this pageant since almost two decades now, and despite of it, the organizers have shown little concern and have been running the pageant without our consent.
→ Oh, well, should this be the reason for stopping this contest. You are trying to stop what they’re doing. Who are you that they should seek your consent? If I raise my voice against what you do, do you stop doing what you’re doing just to get my consent? I suppose no. Show some understanding.
18.Use of inappropriate sub-titles such as best smile, best figure etc. for the contestants is wrong.
→ Why is it wrong? What is right? What’s wrong? Define everything properly before you say something. You said beauty can’t be judged in the first point, so if that’s the case then this is not wrong but impossible.
19.And finally, this pageant must be banned because it opens a platform only to young, raw minded youth.
→ Why don’t you then advocate contests for elderly men and women? There are competitions like these for young kids. Should something be banned just because it gives an opportunity for a certain age group. If that’s the case, you’d have to put an end to the system of age qualifications in jobs. Young people are the ones who are in most need of a platform. The others are usually already established and don’t need any such platforms. According to this argument, you should also consider putting an end to Nepali Tara because it opens a platform only for people with an ability to sing, and all those that can’t sing are disadvantaged!
Well, I’m not totally a supporter of how the Miss Nepal contest is run. The females need more training. Many things about the competition look fake. It doesn’t actually measure talent (along with beauty, that’s what the organizers say) because the questions that are asked are of a real low grade. We need to make it better, not put an end to it.
This mentality expressed by those, who want to put an end to the competition, represents a backward thinking – one that will never help the progress and development of Nepal. Even if you want to stop the pageant, you’d have to put forth some valid points, not such rash, immature, and foolish points.
Itihaas Jitneharuka Lagi - History for Winners
Itihaas Jitneharuka Lagi is a Nepali Documentary about two musicians. I had heard about it a lot until today when I saw it.
An award-winning singer makes a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to make a comeback after being in musical hibernation for seven years. Itihaas Jitneharuka Laagi portrays the changes in the Nepali music scene, as represented by Kuber Rai and Dhiraj Rai. The two singers are a study in contrasts, with their diametrically opposing personalities and attitude towards music.
Here is the documentary - Itihaas Jitneharuka Lagi.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Read More...
An award-winning singer makes a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to make a comeback after being in musical hibernation for seven years. Itihaas Jitneharuka Laagi portrays the changes in the Nepali music scene, as represented by Kuber Rai and Dhiraj Rai. The two singers are a study in contrasts, with their diametrically opposing personalities and attitude towards music.
Here is the documentary - Itihaas Jitneharuka Lagi.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Budhanilkantha School Sex Scandal, Teacher's Union and Avenues TV
Budhanilkantha School has a big reputation inside and outside Nepal because of its resources, infrastructures and the amount of successful graduates that it has produced. Recently, a sex scandal was reported by a lot of media. Things were already looking nasty for the school, when Avenues TV pounced into the case and shot videos inside the school.
Read More...
I heard this thing first from my mother. Her friends had talked to her about the case. They said, "Oh, there's a teacher called Badri Gautam inside Budhanilkantha School, who calls young girls at nights into his room, and then rapes them." WHOA. I was dumbfounded. Two years back, when I was there nothing like that happened. Well, Badri Gautam had a reputation among guys that he used to touch them, and their male instruments, which most of my friends, who had studied from class 4 in the school took as a joke then. It seemed that he didn't do anything to girls. And, when I asked my mom about how her friends came to know of it, they were like Avenues TV.
Truly speaking, I feel that this sex scandal is not actually what it seems to be. It seems to be more of a political nature than a humanitarian action. I studied in other schools, and incidents like that were common, when I was a kid. Well, sometimes, the teachers would make students of grade 5 or 6 naked, and touch their inner organs (oh, not the heart or liver) with sticks. I am not saying that this incident should not have been overlooked. I mean to suggest that things like this are very common in Nepal. There isn't yet the concept of sexual harassment. I had worked for Save the Children, UK for a period of 6 months on the same topic, and all that I learnt from there was that sexual exploitation of children is rampant in Nepal, and we need laws, and awareness campaigns to put an end to those social evils.
Badri Gautam was then fired from the school after a long period of what was said to be occupied by the investigation. After a few days, Mrs. Priya Poudel (who teaches Nepali) was also suspended from the school because she was the one who invited the camera crew of the Avenues TV and set up the whole show inside the school. She was also the one, who is said to have tricked and convinced the junior kids to give distorted interviews on the TV. Well, I don't know if that's actually what happened but things are said to have taken place like that.
The case of sexual assault by Badri Gautam aroused a lot of interest in a lot of the parties in the school. Firstly, Badri Gautam is a close-aide of the principal, Mr. Narayan Prasad Sharma. Secondly, there's a teacher's union now operating at the school that's trying to get rid of NP Sharma and establish themselves. They have been using this incident to oust NP Sharma. Well, for a fact, NP Sharma has been detested by a large majority of the students for a long time now. We always had discussions about his corruptions, and the miserable state the school was getting into time and again. There might be very few BNKS alumni, who do not want a change of leadership in the school. But, The UNION? The Teacher's Union is not the answer to this. Personally, I feel that this is a group of disadvantaged losers. When the Principal put them in posts, they licked his boots. They wouldn't listen to anything against him. When removed, they now threaten to remove him.
Avenues Tv, no matter how much impartial they claim to have been, have surely distorted this incident. There were many ways of perceiving this incident, but they have chosen to look at this incident from the eyes of Priya Poudel. Well, people also claim that Priya ( an active member of The Staff Union) 's actions are planned, and it's her politician husband that has been her Guru during these times.
After the Badri Gautam incident, when Mrs. Priya was suspended, her backing up force - The Teacher's Union (oh, it's TU - seems right for most of them are TU graduates) locked up the Principal's Office. The senior students protested and sat on the roads inside the school. Avenues TV, which seems to have been informed by the TU, or Mrs. Priya more specifically, tried to come back into the school again to shoot videos. No sane person would let a media inside their house, when they know for what reason they're there. This channel operates like India's Aajtak - by sensationalizing news. Even small news, that shouldn't have been news in the first place, are presented as if they are REAL BIG, with all those gestures of the news readers, and the sound and graphics effects. The students, who had by now realized that Avenues TV was simply coming inside the school for the desires of a small group of teachers, as opposed to the overall good of the school, decided to teach them a lesson. They snatched away their camera, and deleted all those scenes they'd captured in their tapes, and chased them out of school. That I feel was the right thing to do.
Sudhir Sharma - I think that was what the reporter called himself. He bullshitted a lot in course of the whole program. In the program, they read a letter in which he was like - I am not afraid to write against you. I am a writer. I write good things. I am not afraid of death, etc. Well, they totally modified the whole news then. Was the news supposed to be how the reporter felt, or how good and capable he is ? Surely, no. So, I feel Avenues TV Sucks, Mr. Sudhir Sharma (dude how much have you learnt?) sucks. Till today, I've not seen any journalist except in the Colbert Report (where he is just making fun of course!), who praises himself and his actions, and denounces his opponent.
The news reporting was not fair. Even the media was clinging to one side. Fuck ya'all.
I do not know who's right and wrong. The only things I know that are good for the school would be to -
1). Fire Badri Gautam ( Done)
2). Fire Priya (Done)
3). Dissolve the TU, a crap established by TU graduates
4). Remove the Principal, and have Keshar Khulal as the Principal (This one can wait because the Principal has been in the post for so long that no one expect him knows how to run the school)
5). Dismiss teachers, who can't teach properly. For eg. Mr. TLK, (who's one of the leader of the TU) and others.
Nepali Music
Here's a pretty good collection of Nepali music. Scroll below and you'll know I'm speaking the truth. However, if you want to share your music, and listen to more Nepali songs, which might not be here, Click here
There's some people sharing their music, go and join them. It's a social networking site, so you'll be able to do many things besides just listen to music. Called HAMRO NEPAL - Connecting you to a Nepali near you - the site is just at it's starting phase (which it might be in forever), this site has a collection of beautiful pictures/photos of Nepali people, temples, mountains, scenic places, and the durbar squares amongst others.
Nepali Classic Songs
Modern and Miscellaneous Songs
Best Nepali Whatever Songs
Nepali Movie Songs
Read More...
There's some people sharing their music, go and join them. It's a social networking site, so you'll be able to do many things besides just listen to music. Called HAMRO NEPAL - Connecting you to a Nepali near you - the site is just at it's starting phase (which it might be in forever), this site has a collection of beautiful pictures/photos of Nepali people, temples, mountains, scenic places, and the durbar squares amongst others.
Nepali Classic Songs
Modern and Miscellaneous Songs
Best Nepali Whatever Songs
Nepali Movie Songs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)