Two painters' confluence

By Abhi Subedi

A joint exhibition of paintings by the senior well-known artist Uttam Nepali and contemporary artist of great creative energy Kiran Manandhar has opened at NAFA gallery in Naxal. This exhibition is supposed to represent a trope known as 'confluence' or meeting of different currents at one place. But confluence is a bigger dimension, a higher state of spiritual awareness according to Hegel, which moves through tension, conflict and opposition to a state of resolution at a higher level. What are meeting in these two artists' paintings are definitely the two times represented by these artists, two different modes of executing paintings, two ways of using the materials, and most importantly, two different perceptions, technique and forms of tensions and conflicts.

Uttam Nepali who comes next to Lain Singh Bangdel in the chronological mode of modern Nepali paintings, has been executing paintings over three decades. During this time Nepali painters have developed different ways of responding to various transformations in the domains of society, culture and political structure in the country. The greatest feature of the decades before 1990 is the artists' choice of modernity as the favourite form of expression.

Expression was the main thrust, but disruption of the forms of communication, certain subversion in the modes of saying through the mediums of arts, were the main features of the artistic expressions during the seventies and eighties. Expressing through words would have been or was the easiest method of communication, but the poets and writers used language for subverting what would otherwise be the cogent expressions. The paradox was one aspect of modernity experienced and practised by Nepali poets and artists. A strong desire to express ideas or feelings that were holistic in nature was the main feature of the dominant artistic movements in the sixties and seventies in Nepal. The writers also said that the purpose of literature was to present the singo or total picture of man or woman in writing. Tesro Ayam experiment in literature made strong use of the interart experience to project what is called the singo picture of man.

The desire to express the total man led the European artists to subvert the finer forms. In such paintings vignettes or the profiles and also the two dimensional forms are cogent and they are neatly outlined. Invisible lines play all over the canvas. Colours enter into tremendous tonal unity and the finer forms get foregrounded easily. But "totality" subverts fine forms. Uttam Nepali after Bangdel was the artist who understood the meaning of such subversion with passion and intellect. He was closely living his experience with the writers. So in his paintings he has made experiments with words and with the profiles of writers. His last exhibition of writers' portraits is a case in point. In some paintings words form the centrality of the canvas, words rise above the level of texture and in other places words create the effect of juxtaposition.

In this exhibition all of Uttam Nepali's paintings follow the canonically defined field of action. The canvases, horizontal or vertical show a very fine and finished field of action. His paintings are suave, beautiful, abstract and yet comprehensible. They show maturity of colour use, and the brush strokes especially in the Pancha Buddha or the five Buddhas which are very balanced and gentle. Buddhas sit in the gently swirling brush strokes, marking stages of consciousness. Paintings he had executed earlier are also included in this exhibition. On the whole Nepali's paintings are the combinations of quietness and melody. The melodic effect is unmistakable especially in his paintings that create the calmness of feeling disrupted agreeably by small bold strokes.

Kiran Manandhar's paintings as usual are experimental. They are just the opposite of Uttam Nepali in terms of their bold experiments. They handle themes that express disjointed feelings through both forms and colours. They are sometimes full of mobile riot of imagery, some of which are human forms lurking behind the invisible lines. His medium is not smooth. It is the coarse Nepali paper hanging in vertical forms like tapestry. His field of action is completely unconventional. He does not let the movement of his imagery, the brush strokes and primary colour blotches stop anywhere. They move out of the canvas as it were and mingle with the wall. Kiran's forms are not defined. They represent the strong force of expression. The thrust of expression is very strong in each of them.

But there is a tremendous sense of calmness behind the swirling brush strokes. The verve and panache with which they are used create a power of Mandala, a riotous meditation that settles down in the consciousness of the viewer as a permanent calm. The long vertical canvas, for example completely ravages the entire space, reaching out to the zenith of the field of action, but the entire storm returns to the central figurality, form like the sleeping stone god of Budhanilkantha astride upon the canvas, in white or blue, which creates the power of calmness behind the tumult.
The violent swirls that we see in some other huge canvases of Kiran Manandhar represent the sheer energy of expression. Each such canvas hangs next to Uttam Nepali's canonical canvas as a different force, a different time, nevertheless maintaining its uniqueness.

These two artists' paintings viewed together do represent one commonality and a number of differences. The commonality is that they are both modern abstract works and represent the new modes of paintings over the last four decades. But the differences can be seen in Kiran Manandhars's relentless experimentation and refusal to settle, and the calm and settled paintings of Uttam Nepali.
But both artists want to see the value of their paintings in the futurity. But only the desire is futuristic, not the paintings. These canvases do not show times by using futuristic metaphors. In Kiran Manandhar's wide brush strokes that float over the thickly textured Nepali paper and Uttam's tamed colours and forms over the smoothness of canvas both represent the times that do always already have a certain confluence of spirit and themes.

However, these paintings show only limited samples of the paintings of Kiran Manandhar whose range of experimentation is very wide, whose themes are diverse and who has already held 108 exhibitions in Nepal and abroad. Uttam Nepali too who has held 23 exhibitions so far at different times over the several decades, has made many experiments in his paintings. Finally, we can say that this exhibition, this confluence of times is a new beginning which does not have an end that is foreseeable.

Nutrition and teenage pregnancy

By Ms Uma Koirala

In Nepal marriage and child bearing for many women still occur at an earlier age than what has been legally stipulated. Survey results indicate that 7% of women marry by age of 12 years; 40% by 14 and 44% fall in the age group between 15-19 years (NFHS/96). Early marriage leads to higher rate of maternal and infant mortality. Here a mother's death in child birth means almost certain death of a new born child and severe consequences for her older child.

Nutrients requirement of different groups of population are influenced by age, sex, physical activities, physiological status and by environmental factors. A number of factors which effect the acceptability and the utility of food are common - habit, availability, familiarity, taste, cultural practices and knowledge about health. Inspite of that, the quality and quantity of food consumed largely depend on the economic condition of the family.

To a large extent, the well- being of children depends on the health of their mother. Proper nutrition of adolescent (teenage) girl is important for improving the quality of their own lives as well as of future generation. Generally, the health and nutrition status of a girl is largely affected by the cycle like: conception pregnancy, birth, infancy, childhood, early adolescence, womanhood marriage and again conception. To accelerate of such a life cycle is determined by the nutritional status of the girls when they are 10-18 years age bracket.

The adolescent period is characterized by the onset of puberty. This period demands heavy calories and protein. Roles of boys and girls in Nepal start to confirm the patterns of behaviour expected of adults. The adolescents especially girls, in rural areas are fully engaged in agriculture as well as household chores. Additionally, the girls will have a few opportunities to escape the never ending domestic burdens like cooking, caring of children, fetching water, and collecting firewood and fodder. When a girl reaches adolescence, her burden to work increases substantially. The total work burden of an adolescent girl was found to be 10:12 hrs compared to only 7:8 hrs for boys (RIDA/1991). In such an environment, their knowledge of nutrition will be dependent mostly on the knowledge of older women in the family.

For the very young girl, pregnancy creates a dual growth demand - that of the fetus as well as for the mother. Consequences of child bearing at an early age include low birth weight babies, birth complications, maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Teenagers who become pregnant within two years of menarche have a higher incidence of perinatal complications since their bodies are still physiologically and anatomically immature. This implies that the health situation for Nepalese girls and women is quite serious.

Physiological adjustment during pregnancy: The nutrient requirements of a pregnant adolescent are higher than those of a physiologically mature woman. There are increased nutritional needs for her own physical maturation and for the adolescent is, the higher will be her nutrient requirements. Her pregnancy weight gains will need to be greater by 2-4 kg than the average healthy adult gains 10-12 kg. There is general little weight gain during the 1st trimester, followed by a steady gain of~ 350-400g/wk during the 2nd and 3rd trimester. Maternal tissue stores (including fat, blood, and uterine and breast tissue) accumulate primarily in the 2nd trimester and account for 6kg of an average 11kg total gain. The remaining 5kg is accounted for by the fetus, placenta, and amniotic fluid. An 11 kg gain contains on average ~ 7kg water, 3kg fat, and 1kg protein. About 5-6 kg of the 7 kg water gain is in the extracellular fluid of the mother. Considerably more water may be retained by pregnant teenage with edema.

The nutrient requirements of insufficient intake are reviewed as follows:

Energy: Total energy requirement for pregnancy - covering the energy equivalents of protein and fat synthesis and increased metabolism has been estimated to be ~ 85,000 kcal. About 36,000 kcal are needed for metabolism, 41,000 kcal are deposited as fat and lean tissue, and 8,000 kcal are used to convert dietary energy to metabolizable energy. On the basis of Hytten's figure of 85,000 kcal, divided by the 280 days of gestation, an additional energy intake of 300 kcal/day is suggested during pregnancy. FAO/WHO recommends an extra 285 kcal/day for those pregnant women who maintain their pregnancy level of physical activity and 200 kcal/day for those who reduce their activity.
Protein: Maternal, placenta and fetal needs increase protein requirements during pregnancy. Protein comprises ~0.9 kg of an average pregnancy weight gain of 10-12 kg. About 50% of this extra protein is deposited in the fetus, 25% in the uterus and breast, 10% in the placenta and 15% in blood and amniotic fluid.

Vitamins: The circulated concentrations of many vitamins are reduced during pregnancy, but it is difficult to evaluate how much of those reductions are due to normal physiological adjustment of pregnancy and how much to true increase in need. All of above discussed factors contribute to the notion that the decrease in many vitamin (and mineral) concentration is a normal adjustment to pregnancy and not necessarily reflective of significantly increased needs. Those vitamin of particular concern during pregnancy are vitamin A, D, B-6 and folate.

Minerals: Particularly three minerals that might be lacking in the diets of pregnant women: calcium, zinc and iron. Calcium absorption doubles by 20 week gestation and remains high through pregnancy. Extra calcium early in pregnancy is thought to be stored in maternal bone and is available for the fetus in the 3rd trimester when the needs are greater. Additional calcium is recommended throughout pregnancy to ensure that the maternal skeleton is not depleted and also help for new born child, but the specific quantity varies from country to country.

Although fetal needs for zinc are highest in the late pregnancy, zinc is critically important in very early pregnancy organogenesis. Zinc concentration in human embryos was reported to be seven times greater on the 35th day of gestation than on the 31st day. Increased absorption and possible bone and muscle, zinc may help meet the fetal zinc needs of 0.1 - 0.751 mg/d during the last trimester. An additional 3-5 mg zinc is suggested during pregnancy.

Iron deficiency anaemia is a common problem among non-pregnant women and many women start their pregnancies with diminished iron stores. A total ~1,200 mg iron covers both fetal and maternal needs during the course of pregnancy and at delivery. Many dietary allowance committee increased supplemental iron during pregnancy, because the increased need can't be met by usual diets even among well nourished population.

Kamaiya release : Will govt uphold constitution ?

By Vivek Pandit

Fortunately, I was able to get an insight into the Kamaiya system. I participated in various debates surrounding their release and rehabilitation. I feel that existence of slavery or slave-like practices is not a slur on the country, but not responding to the aspirations of people is. Land Reform Department of the government made a survey of around 16,000 bonded labourers in five western districts. This means the government was aware not only about the general existence of the Kamaiya system but had details like their whereabouts, names of Zamindars, amount of saunki (debt) and so on. The fact that to this date the government has not acted to release those 16,000 Kamaiyas is what makes the government party to the crime of Zamindars in employing bonded labourers. It is even more serious that when the Kamaiyas are now coming forward on their own through the Kamaiya Mukti Andolan Parichalan Samity, CDOs and police are not responding to their demand for freedom. The Constitution and legal provisions abolishing bondage clearly state that all citizens have the right against exploitation. Article 20 declares that 'traffic in human beings, slavery, serfdom or forced labour in any form is prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be punishable by law.' Nepal has also ratified the Convention against Slavery of 1953 and is therefore bound by word before the community of nations. Muluki Ain (Part 4, section 11, sub-section 3) states that 'any person who keeps anybody as Kamara-Kamari (or into bondage or slavery or compels slavery-like practices) will be punished by imprisonment between three to ten years and will pay adequate compensation as directed by the court.' Muluki Ain (Part 2, section 1, sub-section 9) defines the offence of committing bondage or slavery including Kamara-Kamari system as a criminal offence against the State. It is clear from the provisions of Muluki Ain read in the light of the Constitution that any debt, advance payment, loan in cash or kind, given or promised to be given by one person (creditor) to another (debtor) against labour is declared unconstitutional and illegal. The same provisions also state that restricting movements of a person, forcing them to work against their will for the repayment of the debt is against the law. These provisions also abolish the customs of bonded labour like Kamara-Kamari and other forms of slavery and slavery-like practises. Negligent attitude of the government is the custodian of the Constitution and it is therefore mandatory on the State to protect the Fundamental Rights of citizens as enshrined in Part 3 of the Constitution, which includes the Right against Exploitation. Therefore the apathetic attitude of the CDOs who are representatives of the State at the district level towards the demands of the Kamaiyas amounts to a serious violation of the Constitution, criminal negligence and a dereliction of duty. Although the Constitution and the laws are indeed adequate, what Nepal lacks are clear-cut procedures for identification release rehabilitation and prosecution. This same lacking was felt in India when we were demanding for release of bonded labourers in the early eighties. At that time we formulated a set of procedures which was accepted by the then government. Since the system of debt bondage in rural areas is almost identical in both the countries, I am sharing the procedure here with a confidence that, if accepted by the government, this procedure will work here as it did in India. The government should impose duties on CDOs for identification of bonded labourers in their jurisdiction. CDOs should impose duties on their subordinate officers at lower levels for identification of bonded labourers. The government should direct the CDOs to actively involve non-governmental organisations or any other suitable individuals or organisations to identify bonded labourers.

After identifying or receiving written or oral information about the existence of bonded labour through the government machinery, any individual, organisation or bonded labourers themselves, CDOs or subordinate officers should record the statement of bonded labourers and satisfy themselves about the prima facie case of bondage. CDOs or officers should satisfy themselves that: 1) A loan or advance in cash or kind was given or promised to be given against labour to the bonded labourer himself or anyone else in the family. 2) The bonded labourer is working with the landlord or employer against whom the complaint is being made. 3) The bonded labourer was not allowed to work anywhere elsewhere. 4) The bonded labourer was paid less than minimum wages. Once satisfied, CDOs or officers should orally state that 'You are free from bondage and your debt is abolished. You are free to work anywhere. The government will protect you.' Immediately, a written release certificate should be issued to bonded labourers for the purpose of rehabilitation. Each member of the family who worked should be given a separate release certificate.

The first step of rehabilitation is registration of the offence with the police. No other rehabilitation process should start before the offence has been registered with the police. After issuing release certificate, immediate relief in kind of adequate foodgrains (enough to feed the entire family for three months) should be given. If the bonded labourer is living on the premises and house of the employer that homestead land along with house should be declared as belonging to the bonded labourer and a certificate of ownership should be issued immediately. Released bonded labourers should be given 10 kathas of land per family whose title deed should be given to both husband and wife. A long-term rehabilitation plan should be planned and LDO for the economic rehabilitation of the released bonded labourers, which should be implemented within three months. Hostels should be opened for the educational rehabilitation of the children of bonded labourers. The hostel should be run by the government or with the help of non-governmental organisations for which adequate budgetary allocations should be made. Released bonded labourers should be given priority in all developmental programmes.

Since the system of bonded labour is a criminal offence, it is incumbent upon the police to act immediately upon receiving any information regarding employment of bonded labour within their jurisdiction. Any person, organisation, or the bonded labourer himself may approach the police station to register offence against the bonded labourer employer. Upon receiving such information, the officer-in-charge of the police station should immediately record the information in writing and give a copy of the same to the complainant. If the officer-in-charge refuses to register the offence, the complainant may approach the district superintendent of police who will register the offence. The police will proceed with the investigation, including arrest, gathering evidence, etc as direct by the criminal procedure, and file a chargesheet to proceed with the prosecution of the accused in court. It shall be mandatory for the police to arrange for the protection of the lives and property of the bonded labourer and his family. The police will forward a copy of the information report immediately to CDOs for completion of release and rehabilitation procedures.

In order to demonstrate its political will to enforce the Constitution and uphold human dignity, it must respond to the petitions filed immediately and set a procedure for release and prosecution. The government must hold the CDO and other officials in the district responsible for the strict implementation of procedures. This is the least that the government can do to uphold the rights of Kamaiyas. Otherwise it may be construed that the government is more interested in siding with the Zamindars rather than with the Constitution or Kamaiyas.

Ungratified cultural needs

By Dr Gauri R Ghimire

Obviously, the basic principle of marketing is to provide maximum satisfaction to customers. However, this complex task needs to be performed in the midst of challenges for exploiting prevailing marketing opportunities. Perhaps being influenced by this reality even parental efforts to rural areas are emptying rustic lasses resentlessly from many villages. Bandidity occurs frequently in the distribution of such valuable and alive goods.

Modern marketing principle also clarifies that comfortable and safe use of technological goods can only provide the users the best satisfaction, perhaps realizing this virtuality, the conscious consumers have started using scientific instruments for killing two birds with one stone-contractual satisfaction in one hand and illusive protection of virginity in the other. The fact is users have a good knowledge of being safe from crunch of virus bunch while taking a tasty lunch. Although 'be blunt and make a grunt before hunt' has become a chant of most of the urban civilized generations, it can never be accepted as social norm.

Philosophy of segmenting market allows analysis of various determinants, such as geographic, demographic, psychographic and behaviouristic ones. Among various demographic variables, family life-cycle-stage is the one. Truly speaking life-cycle-stage of a particular person makes a great effect on cultural value and beliefs and ultimately, ungratified needs start increasing tremendously.
Although there have been many such stages, the stage of mingles and singles has become a clutch in the writing because it has been reflecting changing life styles of those dwelling in urban areas. Many males and females live single and involves themselves in marketing business of hotels, bars, restaurants, Rodi Ghar, etc. They have been found selling their values for money in the name of providing optimum satisfaction to their customers. So happens in many travel agencies, parks and resorts.

Similarly, the trend of mingles is inclining day by day in a developing country. The opposite sex are living together enjoying a married life but they haven't been accepted by the society as a married couple. These unmarried couples don't hesitate to expose themselves as mingles even while addressing a large gathering. One of the mingles says with pride" I am not yet married, but not bachelor". Perhaps, they are trying to set up a new culture--a culture in which they can obtain maximum satisfaction, both mental and physical one hand, and will be free from donkey-loads (kids' responsibility) in the other.

To the great extent, the responsibility to preserve nation pride culture from ill-going practices also rests upon the governance system because political stability breeds conviction in the mind of general public and business people. Political parties could have raised themselves high above power, pelf and facilities, and could have brought security and economic discipline with economic upliftment programmes that could provide employment. The system such as multiparty democracy has no alternative, but mentality of people and governance is not meshing to the system at present. Let's hope, the time will come and germinate the personalities needed to the democratic system. Let's also hope that cultural need gratification will take a turn of the nation pride.