shops looted

-  By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 14 - Burglars looted two shops in Tripureshwor at midnight yesterday.

From one shop, Laser House, the thieves managed to loot goods worth Rs. 300,000, according to the shop owner Manindra Raj Malla. Goods including computer parts, printers, cordless telephones and a cash amount of Rs. 45,000 were looted from the shop.

Before looting Laser House, the thieves also managed to loot a nearby shop. In both robberies, the thieves used a combination key as opposed to breaking in.

According to an elderly citizen who witnessed the incidents, she called the police several times at 2-26999 but there was no response.The police reached the site only the next morning. According to police inspector Ganesh Aiyr, investigations are being held. “With the description of the thieves and of the stolen goods, we are applying various means to catch them,” he said.

FM music awards today

-  By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 14 - Nepali artistes are eagerly awaiting a rare occasion when a few hot ones will be honoured tomorrow afternoon as the curtain rolls down at the Hits FM Music Awards Ceremony.

“I am excited since the event is something close to Nepal’s version of the Grammy,” says popular singer Nabin K Bhattarai, who has been nominated in a number of categories. He has consecutively walked home with the annual award for Best Male Vocal since the award was set up in 1998.

“It is not about winning but the energy the award provides to singers...to excel in the musical arena of the country. More such awards should be established to promote the music industry that is gradually maturing,” Bhattarai adds. These awards have changed the very face of the music industry. “There were times when singers would be honoured only when they grew old or after their death,” says another singer Ram Krishna Dhakal, a first ever entry in the nomination list but still a hot favourite who competes with Bhattarai in three categories.

Dhakal’s Asha, released by Music Nepal, was recently awarded the Best Selling Modern Songs Album by the first private sector music company.

More than 35 artistes including singers, musical bands, composers and lyricists have been nominated in 11 categories that were selected by popularity voting.

According to the organizers, the categories of Song of the Year, Best Vocal Collaboration, and Best Pop Vocal Performance for Male and Female were added this year to cover a more diverse area of Nepali music. The award for songs recorded as motion-picture soundtrack was introduced last year.

Apart from the award in  various categories, a senior artiste is also honoured with a lifetime achievement award for the contribution made to Nepali music. Jan Kavi Keshari Dharma Raj Thapa and Sangeet Pravin Nara Raj Dhakal were the former recipients.

Similarly, Koili Devi has been awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award this year. Devi has served for more than 50 years in Radio Nepal as a singer, lyricist and composer. She is also the first lady to have recorded a devotional song for Radio Nepal.

Calls to focus on literature

-By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 14 - Litterateurs today stressed that the government needs to give more attention to literature because art, literature and culture represent the country.

This sentiment was voiced at a function organised in order to launch a quarterly literary magazine, Manjusha. During the programme, organised by the Nepal Litterateur Federation, the litterateurs expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s outlook towards literature and literary magazines.

Editor of the newly launched magazine, Gyanu Warkar Poudyal said, “the government allocated Rs 4 million for the SAF games. Even  Rs 200,000 sanctioned for literary magazines has been lying useless because it has been sanctioned under a press club that does not exist.”

Other litterateurs expressed  difficulties in running a literary magazine in Nepal. Devendra Prashad Shah, General Manager of Agricultural Development Bank and  litterateur himself said that literary magazines in Nepal generally struggle for survival. “Despite its long history, the survival rate of such magazines is very low,” he said.

They also expressed dissatisfaction over the role the government has been playing in this field. “Within the last 10 years since the new dawn of democracy, we are hardly featured anywhere,” said Binaya Rawal, president of the Nepal Litterateur Federation. “Before, during the Panchayat regime, the government used to pay attention to us, but now it is only  newspapers  the government looks into.”

Finance Minister Mahesh Acharya said literary magazines will find space in society despite difficulties. “The newly coming up magazines  indicate  that literary magazines will continue to survive,” he said. “Between the ups and downs, literature and creativity will never die,”he said.

Downtroddens urged to unite for their cause

-  By a Post Reporter

KATHMANDU, Jan 14 - The socially oppressed should raise their demands through their own initiative rather than depending on human rights organizations, said human rights activists today.

Speaking at an interaction programme here on Participation of   Dalits in the Human Rights Commission, President of INSEC Sushil Pyakurel said it is high time the downtrodden community evaluate themselves and move ahead rather than blaming others for not supporting them.

“The downtrodden communities have remained divided amongst themselves while the human rights activists have currently set their priorities on various other issues,” said Pyakurel, a human rights activist. “The movement of the oppressed class will be supported if they come forwardly unitedly on their own.”

He  said the voice of the downtroddens and various other issues have lowered as human rights activists are presently more into pressuring the government on the formation of Human Rights Commission taking in view the Maoist insurgency.

“The backward communities have to raise on their own against the discrimination caused to them,” said Padma Ratna Tuladhar, a human rights activist. “The need to form different human rights organizations both by the backwards and the existing organizations is also realised to specifically bring up the issues related to them.”

Representatives from various organizations accused the human rights activists of joining hands with political leaders and failing to bring up many issues where the violation of human rights is still prevalent. They also demanded better representation of the oppressed communities by human rights organizations at the interaction programme organized by the Dalit National Federation.